genus as though they have precisely the same requirements, often not taking into account their differing dietary needs, nesting requirements or housing preferences. This is especially the case with food. We should be studying the needs and preferences of each pair -- not each species. We can feed them and care for them as individuals only if we have a limited number of birds. If it is impossible to know each individual, breeding results suffer, except with the smallest and most free-breeding species. Even then, in a large collection the most obvious factors that prevent breeding -- such as a nest entrance which is too small -- could be


missed. With just a few birds, each one gives enormous pleasure and is treated like an individual. If there was just one rule that could be applied to parrots kept for breeding purposes to improve their well-being it would be that no person was allowed to keep more than fifteen pairs.


I suspect that today, compared to the mid-1980s to 1990s, a much larger percentage of parrot keepers would fall into this category except for prolific species that can be kept several pairs to the aviary, such as Cockatiels and some lovebirds. There are


comparatively few large collections now, also fewer people breeding the larger parrots.


One reason for


this is that unless you have a large property or you are a farmer, the space does not exist to keep a large collection in good


surroundings. Unfortunately some people keep breeding pairs in garages or in other unsuitable environments. If the pairs do not have access to outside enclosures, their health will suffer over the long-term, also the quality of young produced. A recent newspaper item stated that in the UK the incidence of rickets (bone disease) -- something not seen for decades -- has increased greatly because children spend so much time at


26 BIRD SCENE


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