June Bird Photo s Any photos we use belong to a Forum member. Crimson Cock Black Bellied (Neochmia phaeton)

Transcription

1 June 2010 Monthly Newsletter New month and a new style layout. Please let me know what you think about the new style. The last day of May was a very busy one at my place. Two Blue faced Parrot finches fledged, four Gouldians and one Red throated Parrot finch hatched and more eggs to go of various species. Bird Photo s Any photos we use belong to a Forum member. Crimson Cock Black Bellied (Neochmia phaeton)

2 June Bird Sales and Shows ACT None known NSW 12 th Kempsey Showground, Sea Street, West Kempsey Host: Kempsey Macleay Bird Club Inc Queensland 13 Exhibition Hall Ipswich Showgrounds Warick Road Ipswich Host: Queensland Finch Society South Australia 6 th Community Club, Port Pirie Table Tennis Hall, Port Pirie. Host: 27 th Riverland Exhibition Centre, Sturt Highway, Barmera Host: Riverland Bird keepers Club Inc Victoria 12 th Redcliffs Civic Centre, Jamison Ave, Redcliffs Host: Mildura and District Bird Club 13 th Exhibition Hall, Warragul Showgrounds, Howitt St, Warragul Host: Victorian Cockatiel & Aviary Bird Society 20 th Ararat, Victoria Host: ASA Ararat Branch Western Australia None known

3 Apple Cider Vinegar Take all the web hype on ACV with a grain of salt. If you chase down the sources for most of the info, they will usually track back to the same places - health food store sites selling ACV. Or they are personal sites from people who have read the hype and repeat it trustingly without knowing whether or not it is really having an effect. The information on the effects of ACV on yeast in birds amounts to nothing. At one time, I had problems with yeast in my aviary. I can test for yeast with a microscope. I have tried using ACV on birds shedding yeast organisms. I can tell you the following after doing faecal tests repeatedly on a group of birds shedding yeast organisms to varying degrees: 1. ACV had no impact on the number of yeast organisms shed by a given bird. This held true even when I increased the concentration of ACV to well beyond the recommended dosages. 2. ACV had no impact on the severity of branching of yeast organisms being shed, even when the concentration was increased well beyond the recommended dosages. 3. ACV had no impact even after weeks and even months of treatment. 4. ACV had no impact even in the most minute cases (a healthy bird shedding just a few slightly branching yeast in the entire sample), and thus was not effective as a preventative against developing illness. 5. ACV had no impact in the symptoms of a sick bird (i.e. did nothing to aid in treatment of actual illness produced by yeast). To the contrary, I also tested some birds using probiotic. I found that probiotic did little in cases where a bird was sick (displayed symptoms). However, in the cases when only a few branching yeast organisms were shed in a faecal and where the bird was visibly healthy, the probiotic was able to eliminate the yeast organisms. Thus, probiotic is not effective as a treatment, but was very helpful as a preventative - to stop the yeast before illness results. If you want to protect your birds from problems with yeast, I suggest ditching the ACV and using a probiotic instead. As far as I could tell, the ACV had no negative impact on the birds, but no positive one either. If you want to use it, it probably doesn't hurt, but there is no evidence that it helps either. The best you can probably hope for is that making the water more acidic may prevent bacteria growth within the water itself, perhaps reducing risk of infection that way. However, daily water changes should be sufficient in this regard. When it comes to the birds, you have to ask yourself

4 whether the work and money put into something is justified by results. With ACV, I doubt it. Probiotic may be a different story. I have heard that Grape Seed Extract may be effective against yeast. I now have some on hand (did not have any when I ran the above tests). If I see yeast again, I will try to put GSE to the test and see if it is any more effective than ACV. I have no clue whether or not it is any better than ACV, but I have had a number of people recommend it to me, so I am curious to try it and see if there is anything there. Haven't seen yeast for a while, though, so I haven't had the chance. I guess that is a good thing! Vonda Zwick Crimson Hen (Neochmia phaeton) Finchbreeders Genetic Snippets Genetics, can finch breeders avoid it? Yes. Don't keep or breed anything that comes in more than one colour mutation, or more than one pattern type, or more than one feather quirk. See it's easy. You just avoid half of the finches in existence. Now, if you have decided to dip your toe into the murk of Genetics, the first thing you discover is that Genes can be dominant, recessive or sex linked. What is a Dominant gene? Well like the name suggests it Dominates or overrides other genes, so when we write it is shown as a capital letter. So if the dominant

5 colour in a type of finch were blue you would write it down genetically as BB. If a bird has all dominant genes of the same type it is said to be pure for that type. This can be very desirable. Patterns and quirks can sometimes be dominant too. So pied feathering might be dominant or a crest may be dominant. More next month Laureen (finchbreeder) This Months most popular Topics Leg banding Moxidectin plus Vinegar flies Seed Hopper for Breeding Cages For Sale peper brothers add bird world auction WA House for Sale - near Albury (NSW/Vic border)

6 Members Aviary GregH Greg Howell Starting an Aviary in the Philippines. I personally don t like intensive breeding facilities like bird rooms as it does not allow the birds to exercise or express their full range of behaviours so I have always maintained my birds in aviaries. This is of course expensive and mixed collections have led to management problems like interspecies pairing and interference for other bird species. However, the sight of my newly purchased star, Hecks and Gouldian finches barely able to flutter to a perch when first placed in my new aviary was enough to convince me that I had done the right thing in building an aviary. Recovery was rapid and I am now inspired to build more aviaries. A vine snake slips between the outer 10mm and inner 3mm mesh panels of my aviary while eyeing-off the finches. Design Considerations Manila and Darwin are both located at roughly equivalent latitudes and although wetter, many of the challenges for aviculturists are similar: cyclonic activity, hot & humid weather, termites, rodents and pencil-thin snakes. Some local breeders here also believe that the common house geckoes will eat finch hatchlings. Most Philippine bird-rooms use straight wire panels, which are fine for urban areas, but as I live on the edge of a rainforest there are far too many red-tailed green rat-snakes to use anything but 3mm mesh. Rat-snakes can easily pass through the 10mm mesh commonly used on Australian aviaries (see photo) but can t get though 3mm mesh. This fine mesh sold as hardware cloth in the Philippines is not very strong, so I have an outer skin of regular 10mm mesh. If you want to see your birds it is necessary to paint the mesh black. Hardware cloth probably restricts airflow and may make the aviary hotter so I may need to install a misting system this summer to cool the birds during the period April to August in the build-up to the wet season when the conditions are oppressively hot and muggy. High rainfall and humidity means that wooden framed aviaries are in danger of rotting or being eaten by termites even when erected undercover. Only occasionally have I seen 6-7mm weld-mesh bird-wire and if you can find it that would be a better solution. Steel frames are probably no more expensive than wood and a lot more durable. My aviary is fully steel and is completely roofed (rear corrugated iron and front corrugated polycarbonate sheet) - as a precaution against bird-flu. H5N1 avian influenza has not been detected in

7 the Philippines but when it is detected, I want to exclude wild bird faeces from my enclosure as much as possible. My aviary has a concrete hollow block perimeter wall buried to 40 cm in the hope that it might discourage rodent entry and so far it has. To further discourage rodents and snakes the flight area has a 30cm high sheet metal skirt but as can be seen in the photo, vine snakes can get over it. I may be old fashioned but I chose to have a dirt floor so that I could grow shrubs and landscape the aviary. It s too early to say if that was a bad move but I can easily pour a slab over it and grow plants in pots. The most suitable brushwood I have found for my aviary are trimmings from bottle brush (Callistemon viminalis) but the supply is tight. The dried fronds of tree-terns would also make suitable nesting brush when piled into a basket but tree ferns are even more scarce. Sourcing brush is probably more difficult than in Australia. There are native Melaleuca and Leptospermum species that might work but I haven t found them locally. The nurseries in Laguna do produce a medium sized shrub of the golden form of Melaleuca bracteata sold as bottle brush that is often used as a topiary specimen and which I plant in the aviary so my finches can snip off the new growth to line their nests. Other than the Melaleuca, suitable plants for the aviary are parlour palms, miniature bamboos and seeding grasses but I m still learning My biggest problem as an expatriate who doesn t speak Tagalog is that the contractor who built my aviary had no idea what an aviary was and my expectations for workmanship were higher than most of their clients. My modest 3x2.5x2.2m structure took nearly 3months to complete but cost only P22000 (AUD$565). Around Cartimar a few business specialise in building wire bar cages for bird-rooms and do it very well but free flight out-door aviaries are not their forte. Feeding Birds For seed eating birds, mixes and dietary supplements are readily available from the large pet-shops and even the supermarkets in Manila. At the exotic markets of Cartimar and Arranque you can purchase mealworms, prepared dry food for Hill miners, egg & biscuit mixes and even mixes for hand-rearing parrots. Outside of Manila I have found that Hill miners are usually given moistened dog-food pellets, which I m told, results in a premature death from hemochromatosis. Unfortunately there are almost no sources for lorikeet mixtures and many in the trade don t see anything wrong with feeding lorikeets, lories and colasisi hanging parrot exclusively on seed, rice-based baby cereals or bananas. The many softbilled birds on sale have to make do with rice cereal & bananas and perhaps the occasional mealworm.

8 Good finch breeders here give mealworms, sprouted seed; seeding grasses, egg food and vitamin supplements. The supplements are basically for fighting cocks but they seem to work. In my aviary I put domestic fruit waste (mango skins and seeds, pineapple peel etc) into the aviary to attract ferment flies (Drosophila sp.). To feed the fruit I have a plastic sump in the ground covered by a wire grate. I place fresh fruit peelings on the grate each day and empty it into the sump the following morning when I change the fruit. The fruit, especially pineapple, works well to attract Drosophila but I have not seen any birds eat either the fruit or the insects. I also feed mashed Japanese quail egg and my home made egg & biscuit mix which is readily taken by the cut-throats and diamond doves but only sporadically by the others. A field of Guinea grass near Calamba great place for young spice finches in November. Living in the provinces has one advantage for me - I have had an endless supply of seeding grasses, which I give to my finches on a daily basis for the last 6 months. Like others have discovered, placing the seed heads upright in a holders next to convenient perches is the best way to feed them. Not only do they enjoy the food, the grasses are used for nesting Grass material. Finch breeders will know most of these, as they are a favourite in Australia too: Guinea (Urochloa maxima formerly Panicum maximum), palm grass (Setaria palmifolia), barn-yard grass (Echnichloa crus-galli), jungle rice (E. colona), wire grass (Eleusine indica), wild sorghum (Johnson grass Sorghum halepense) and anything fluffy (e.g. Phragmites spp and Imperata spp) are relished for nest lining. I m not looking forward to the summer (April-June) when it will be relentlessly hot and humid and except for the occasional rice plant seeding grasses will be in short supply. I had to construct my own seed hopper with husk capture table, as such things aren t available here because almost no one has aviaries. I recover any unused seed from the husks by using an aquarium gravel cleaner mounted to a cordless hand-held vacuum cleaner. One problem I never faced feeding birds in southern Australia was ants stealing seed and egg food. I ve had a custom made feeder made with the stem supporting the feed container emerging from a covered oil filled reservoir to prevent ants reaching the seed. Nesting materials are presented in suspended wire baskets (originally hanging plants baskets). These work well and the diamond doves use them as ready-made nests. The main grass I use actually comes from the typical Philippine soft straw broom from Baguio made from what the locals call tiger grass. Baguio brooms are cheap (<P100) and the texture is similar to the leaves of Poa species utilised by wild finches around Tamworth where I grew up. The local

9 breeders also recommend that in nest boxes have a layer of charcoal topped with coir dust on the base, which the nest is constructed on top of. Many locals also use coconut husk fibre cut into 8cm lengths for birds utilising baskets. Breeding Considerations Unlike Australia, many birds here have been cage bred and fostered for generations and consequently have lost their natural instincts. I have found that while my Gouldian finches nest and raise their young; my early attempts with Stars and now with Diamond Sparrows saw the young starve. My sample size is low but I can see the attraction of letting Bengalese do the work however I ll try with different parents until I can get a strain that will raise their own young. If DENR permission were granted to obtain the local blue-napped parrots or hill miners from a pet shop I suspect hand rearing may incorrectly imprint these birds and make natural breeding difficult which just perpetuates the wild trade. Another problem here is inbreeding resulting low fertility and lack of vigour. I have a pair cut-throats which I believe are probably siblings (same sale, low fertility single hatchling from three eggs), and whose only hatchling died 3-4 days after hatching with a full crop. Since then I ve purchased a pair of supposedly unrelated individuals and they have performed much better. Inbreeding too may be the flaw in my search for a pure normal line of normal zebra finches as they too have low fertility and the young often die before maturity. Pests and diseases Some problems just don t go away. I d never kept Gouldian until I came to the Philippines but I d heard of the cursed air-sac mite. My birds finished colouring and bred first time around successfully fledging three out of three nestlings then one November morning I came out to see the hen fluffed out on a branch and sneezing. As this is approaching the coldest time of the year I placed here in a cage and kept here warm and within hours she perked up but the click at the end of every breath made me suspicious. A little research on the web and then visited the local university veterinary clinic where I purchased some Ivamectin (P100/mL). I diluted the Ivamectin to 0.1% in mineral oil and applied it to the bird s neck and kept her inside for a few days before returning her to the aviary. I assume that it will be good for lice too if they ever appear in my birds. Also in November I noticed a chicken at one of the pet-shops at Cartimar down with what looked like Mareck s disease, which certainly made me wary of their birds but they didn t seem to care that customers can see the state of health of their birds. So far I ve had not problems with worms but I have de-wormed my birds as a precaution using a proprietary blend of praziquantel and oxfendazole that I purchased in Cartimar. In theory many drugs require a prescription but in reality if you know the name and have the money anything is available at the local

10 pharmacy (drug store) and I had no trouble asking for Ivamectin at the University of the Philippines veterinary clinic they even asked me if I was a veterinarian! Philippine Indigenous Aviary Birds If it s not obvious already, I ll declare that my interest is in Estrilidad finches and I m no expert on birds of the Philippines. The Philippines consists of some 7,100 islands and as expected has a high level of endemism and biological diversity because of its long biogeograhic isolation. In actual numbers the Philippines hosts some 576 avian species of which 195 (34%) are endemic. The captive breeding needs of Philippine native birds, especially the soft-bills, are unknown to the wildlife dealers. I can only hope that there are a proportion of their clientele that have greater knowledge and resources that do the traders so that one day they can supply their own needs. In Laguna I have seen spice finches (Lonchura punctulata), black headed nuns (L. malacca) and some Java sparrows (Paddia oryzivora) feeding on ripening rice and other grasses around paddies. Commonly Java and tree sparrows are seen together enjoying the shade amongst the roof trusses of large open buildings like machinery sheds and basketball courts. Another manikin species, the whitebellied munia (L. leucogastra) also occurs around Luzon. I have never seen any of the four Philippine parrot-finches (Erythrura coloria, E. hyperythra, E. prasina and E. viridifacies,) in the wild or in captivity, Bird club members say that they seem to have a 4-year cycle and that next year the peddlers may have the bamboo parrot-finch for about P200! The red avadavat (Amandava amandava) is supposed to occur in the Philippines but my bird watching friends say that it has probably become extinct but again the bird peddlers may turn up with one as a member of the BIRDS group told me that he purchased one a couple of years ago for P65 from a peddler. By far the most numerous finch is the Eurasian tree sparrow but it doesn t really hold my interest and neither do the numerous rose-finches and buntings that occur in here but I ve never seen them for sale. There aren t as many native parrots in the Philippines compared to Australia but the twenty-one species recorded here are certainly beautiful. There are a number of smallish lorie or hanging parrots (Loriculus sp.) and the Guaiabero (Bolbopsittacus lunulatus). Medium sized parrots: like the Mindinao lorikeet (Trichoglossus johnstoniae), ring-necked parrots (Psittacula sp.) and various racquet-tailed parrots (Prioniturus sp.). Large parrots: like the blue napped parrot (Tanygnathus lucionensis) and related species (T. megalorynchos, T. sumatrus) and the Philippines cockatoo (Cacatua haematuropygia). Unfortunately pressure from the pet trade has just about driven the latter species to the verge of extinction, admit my contacts in the bird industry.

11 Pink-necked pigeons at Cartimar. There are some 25 native pigeons and doves that could be and are kept by some enthusiasts. A few of these are familiar like the Indian turtle, zebra and ring necked doves however the majority are fruit-eating pigeons making them specialist birds. Some species, notably the peaceful (zebra) and emerald fruit doves also occur naturally in Australia. The bleeding heart and Nicobar pigeons are kept in Australia but I m unsure if others are kept. A word of caution for foreigners interacting with Filipino nationals - be socially aware and hasten slowly. Inscribed in the national psyche is the belief that this country can t look after itself, which is not true, but for the educated cohort there is some resentment at being told what to do by outsiders. What may seem, as a Westerner, to be a question, a suggestion or a point of debate can appear to a Filipino to be an arrogant attack on their way of doing things so I tread carefully but fail often. Conclusion Philippine aviculture in its broadest sense not only provides the nation with many of its favourite pets but with poultry meat eggs and its national sport cock fighting. Australian finches and parrots from the core of the legal trade but a small

12 number of illegal wild caught birds from out-lying islands and from Indonesia are sporadically available. Legal imports of birds, principally the Netherlands, also occurs but is increasingly difficult. Poor compliance and policing of fauna laws is a problem but by far the largest threat for wild birds is land clearing. Poor knowledge of the feeding and breeding requirements of the wild-sourced species creates a continual and un-necessary drain on their populations. Space restrictions and security needs rather than poverty prevent most Filipino aviculturists from owning and breeding in aviaries. Filipino breeders house stock in bird-rooms with pairs held in individual breeding cages. Bird rooms and aviaries must be built to withstand thieves, typhoons and vermin. Breeding success is variable as there isn t a great deal of knowledge and many locals are only after trophies. Breeders of some birds such as canaries and cockatoos have exploited the desire for trophies by charging well in excess of production costs in order to restrict the number so birds entering the market. The national government has attempted to regulate aviculture so that it might limit wildlife depletion, tax avoidance and potential H5N1 transmission but it lacks the resources and discipline to enforce and manage these laws. To remain compliant with these laws aviculturists are required to register their facility and to source birds from legal sources, to keep and to submit quarterly records of acquisitions and disposal of birds to the DENR. My initial inquiries with DENR show that it may be possible for those with the interest and means to introduce some best practice aviculture methods to help defend the wildlife laws and bring desired species into captivity for the purposes of establishing them. The Hill miner and Blue-napped parrot would the prime candidates as no-one claims to breed them and even DENR says that it s impossible. Others like the parrot finches could be imported from European sources and reintroduced to the local market without impacting on the wild population. Aviculture has challenges and rewards in every country and the Philippines are no exception. I m glad that I ve been able to start a bird collection here and luckily there isn t anything here that I can t get in Australia because in the end it s a whole lot easier at home. Greg Howell

13 Wanted Strawberry finch posted by Slick on 19 th May CORDONS WANTED WA posted by Clarissa on 13 th May O/Breast hen posted by jusdeb on 19 th May Website links Finch Society of Australia Clifton Finch Aviaries - Marcus Pollard Queensland Finch Society Auspigeonco Vetafarm NutriWing Birds r Us July Bird Sales and Shows ACT None known News South Wales None known Queensland None known South Australia 3 rd and 4 th Enfield Community Centre Regency Rd Enfield. UBSSA Seminar Host: UBSSA Victoria 12 th Newborough Town Hall Rutherglen Road Newborough Host: Latrobe Valley Avicultural Club 18 th Exhibition Hall Howitt Street Warragul Host: Gippsland Cage Bird Society Western Australia None known

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