Parrot breeding advice
The breeding season is beginning for the parrots at Loro Parque Fundación, and now is the time to sharpen the instincts of the keepers to do much better than in the previous season. Give the nest that a pair likes best. Encourage those that did not succeed last year. See what the newly formed pairs can do. And to enjoy, in general, one of the most exciting moments in parrot keeping and conservation.
In parrot keeping, it is normal that learning never ends. We never know everything, there are always new surprises and new challenges. That is why training is so important. Different species have different behaviours, each pair is different, the individuals have their own particularities and in every breeding centre in the world the situations are different. It is perhaps this variability and the challenges it presents that most attracts the fanciers who enter into a cycle of unbridled passion for parrots that is renewed every year.
Nowadays, the information shared through social networks and the possibility of having this content immediately in our hands through our phones allows us to learn apparently more easily than in the past. Even so, we continue to suffer great disappointments, making mistakes and failing in details that can cost an animal its life. For this reason personal experience based on access to books, both ancient and modern, must be complemented by attendance at congresses, seminars and direct discussions in breeding associations. This way is still the most effective way to update knowledge and to be able to decide on the changes to be made in the daily management of parrots. A system that is now complemented by the power of digital communication. Faster, shorter and more immediate, but with risks associated with misinterpretation.
Short written comments or visual information on social media is a valuable supplement for experienced breeders. However, for new fanciers it carries risks because of the lack of accumulated experience and because they receive diverse opinions that are not always based on knowledge. Confusion is created and the recipient is tempted to make changes to their animals that are often not appropriate.
The truth is that there is a high risk of doing everything you hear from another breeder who is doing well with some vitamin supplement or way of acting. And all these changes must be made with rigour and giving time to see the particular results in each case.
In any aviculture association, you can see how those who have the best results are the people who have retired from their work because of their age. They are the voice of experience, those who have learned from their own successes and failures. They know how to identify what works and what doesn’t. And they are also open to new suggestions to apply them and see their effect with the rigour and caution required.
Since the beginning of September 2024, breeder Has Jürgen Geil has been supporting us with his lifelong knowledge of parrot management. This is an important help, because his experienced eyes make it easier to have more options on the table to change a type of management if neccesary.
His recent statement to a German reporter: ‘To put it bluntly, it is the best, dream occupation a parrot lover can imagine and it fills me with the greatest gratitude to support a team with such wonderful caretakers, all of whom carry out their tasks with great enthusiasm, dedication and love. Not only is helping the largest parrot reserve in the world unique, but the dedication to the welfare of the animals and the efforts of the Foundation fill one with pride and admiration. I have to thank to Mr. Kiessling, for giving me the opportunity of the best end to a life, where we are all united by our love for feathered creatures and the ability to admire all the natural splendour of animals that can fly. Hans-Jürgen Geil. –
En Loro Parque Fundación we have worked with many world experts on parrots, each with their own particular views and approaches. Their contribution to world aviculture and conservation has been immense. Thanks to them we have been able to establish little known species under human care. And their management protocols have been made available to hobbyists through congresses and publications.
From Loro Parque Fundación we wish you all a good breeding season.
Rafael Zamora Padrón
Scientific Director
Loro Parque Fundación
