NORTHWEST WILDFOWL

Getting Started in Aviculture

Sea duck pond under construction

Introduction

I was prompted to write this article by all the requests I get from people desiring to get off to a good start raising waterfowl and upland gamebirds, and concerned by the lack of up-to-date information they find in their local library. Over the years most of these inquiries have come primarily by mail or telephone, however recently their frequency has increased drastically with the easy access provided by the internet and E-Mail. I've been especially surprised that these more recent inquiries, while primarily from North Americans, have also been sent from such far away places as Australia, The Carribean and Europe.

The scope of a subject such as this is soooo broad that for practical reasons I'll have to limit coverage of many issues, however I'll try to point the reader in the proper direction to get more detailed information. Please bear in mind a few other limitations, based on my personal experiences.

1. Although I have successfully reared Quail and Long-Tailed Pheasants for quite a few years, my primary interests during the last 40 plus years have been waterfowl and grouse.

2. As a result of the need for aviculture to be done responsibly in a world of rapidly advancing animal and environmental ethics, you will observe that I will only advocate methods of husbandry, water management, aviary construction and predator avoidance and control that I believe are humane, legal and responsible.

STEP 1 - Do Your Homework

There's lots of good information out there, although granted it's scattered far & wide and often not readily available at your local library. A great place to start is with available avicultural organizations and their publications. In North America the largest of the organizations I'm aware of are The American Pheasant and Waterfowl Society (APWS) and The International Wild Waterfowl Association (IWWA). They both have publications with helpful information. Another good publication originating in the U.S. is the Game Bird Breeders Gazette magazine. In Europe, both the IWWA and Aviornis have good membership and provide useful information. Addresses for the above mentioned organizations and publications are provided at the end of this article. I'm aware that frequently people are very independant and reluctant to join organizations, however this is one case where they provide the very best access to the latest in books and videos relating to aviculture, as well as the most current ads offering birds and bird-related equipment. I suggest prospective aviculturists initially join at least two of the above organizations, with the goal of eventually settling for the one that most closely seems to satisfy your needs.

STEP 2 - Make Contacts

There is no quicker way to learn about aviculture in your area than to "rub elbows" with a couple of the most experienced practitioners already operating in your area. If you don't know of someone locally who can point you in the right direction, use the organizations/publications mentioned above or your local wildlife department to find a couple of local contacts. These experienced local advisors usually will be more than willing to provide you with the kind of information you will need to get started. Be prepared for your meeting so you don't have to become a burden to your local advisor. Questions regarding local and national regulations, licenses and agencies, shipping of birds, predator-proof aviary design for your conditions, feed availability and variety, weather related limitations and parasite and disease problems should all be discussed, among others. "An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure." You'll find most experienced aviculturists will be happy to help you get started, provided you avoid becoming a pest.

STEP 3 - Aviary Construction

By this time hopefully you will have decided what species you wish to rear, how much room you can make available for aviaries, and as a result of step 2, what your practical limitations might be. Local city, county or provicial regulations concerning aviary and/or pond construction need to be researched. How much of your aviary needs to be covered by a solid roof vs netting to protect your birds and feed from heavy rain and hail needs to be decided. Where you'll obtain water adequate to keep your pond fresh, how you'll periodically drain your pond for cleaning, and especially where you'll put the pond overflow are all considerations that will cause headaches if not anticipated. Few things will bring local authorities to your doorstep fester than a neighbor's complaints about noisy birds or used pond water being drained onto their property. Attracting rodents is another no-no, and needs to be addressed during pen construction, usually by using 1" or smaller mesh fencing for at least 1' above and below ground level. If you're in a rural area where children are used to encountering electric fencing, and no prohibiting ordinances exist, a "hot wire" along the juncture where the rodent barrier fine mesh joins the larger mesh side fencing will further impede rodents in addition to weasels, opossums, raccoons, cats and other similar ground predators. Also, using solid metal or plastic paneling for the first 2' from the ground will slow the ingress of many snakes and mice, as well as providing a measure of security for the birds by keeping worrisome pets and wildlife out of sight.

Most of us get some measure of pleasure out of building new aviaries, but find rebuilding old ones that have degraded to be unpleasant. To avoid the necessity for early maintenance, use quality materials from the start. Galvanized steel or pressure treated posts and vinyl coated or galvanized after woven (or welded) side fencing are a must for longevity. Several companies offer plastic netting for your pen tops that not only restrains your birds, but provides excellent protection from avian predators. A decision that needs to be made when selecting your netting size is what sized mesh you need. The smaller 1" mesh will keep starlings and other local birds from stealing feed and introducing disease, but it can proove to be a real headache during that heavy snow or wind storm.

Small details like spring-loaded gates make life easier for years by minimizing escapes. If you're in heavy snow country, keeping the bottom of your gates 1' above ground level provides a real convenience during that wicked winter storm, provided that bottom foot is removeable when you need to do heavy tractor or wheelbarrow maintenance. Another convenience you'll really appreciate during the worst freezing winter weather is rubber or leather flaps that keep your padlocks dry so they don't freeze solid.

Since most predatory birds are totally protected you need to exercise caution when dealing with them. A covered aviary provides by far the best protection, but even there an occasional pair of owls will learn to lure or drive birds close to the netting, where they can be dispatched. For larger open ponds, such as are often employed at Zoos and on larger properties, I usually recommend the method I use here at Northwest Wildfowl with reasonable, though not total success. I employ outdoor floodlights pointed upward, usually 2 or 3 to a pond, that illuminate the most likely approaches to a pond by predatory owls. If only one of the birds on a pond observes the flash of a wing in the illuminated area it sounds an alarm, alerting the others to dive and take other evasive action. Also, a company by the name of Oakwood Enterprises in Princeton, MN offers solar powered flashing red lights that seem to discourage predators if placed strategically.

I'll only touch lightly on pen size here, as requirments vary greatly from area to area, based largely on climate and soil type. Where my farm is located is an area of temperate coastal rain forest, with mostly loamy and clay soils. These conditions, while ideal for growing a wide variety of plantlife, also provide excellent conditions for the formation of mud, and all the parasites and bacteria it can host. Population densities of birds in my smaller aviaries would have been severely limited had I not added 6" or more of coarse sand as a substrate, eliminating the possibility of mud and the earthworm hosts for many parasites, and considerably easing the job of keeping them clean. Areas with dryer climates and more porous sandy or gravelly soils have an entirely different set of conditions affecting population density limitations. Usually these areas have more hot and/or cold seasonal conditions. Both extreme heat and cold can perform a natural decontaminating function, while presenting a host of other housing and husbandry problems. This is definitely one area where the advice of a successful breeder in your area will pay off in terms of your future satisfaction.

STEP 4 - Obtaining Your First Birds

I'm assuming here that you've done your homework as recommended in step 1, and have some idea of what species you wish to keep that would be compatible with conditions in your area. Selecting a source for good quality birds is definitely one area where your local contacts and avicultural organizations can play a helpful role. If breeding is to be a primary goal, then obtaining unrelated pairs of a species is paramount. Frequently the best way to do this is to purchase a pair from one breeder and then swap one of them with another source. An obvious advantage of purchasing locally is your ability to inspect the birds before payment is made. Always select specimens that appear alert and clear-eyed, with good, clean feathering and solid, well rounded breasts.

If the species you desire are not available locally, but should be compatible with your environment, then turn to your local advisor, avicultural organization or publication or to the internet to help you find a reputable source. Here in the U.S. most waterfowl and Gallanacious birds can be shipped to almost any domestic location by overnight express mail. This has turned out to be an excellent service that apparently began as a means of transporting racing pigeons to their point of release. Special shipping boxes, equipped with bacteria-resistant membranes that allow adequate air circulation while keeping the interior of the box dark and tranquil have been approved for this purpose by the postal service. Ads offering these boxes can be found in most avicultural publications. Using these boxes, I have successfully shipped waterfowl or grouse to almost every region of the U.S., without a mishap. To use this method you need to keep in mind that some of the airlines will not accept live animals from the postal service if the temperature at either airport is appreciably below freezing. Also, it would not be very humane to subject the birds to excessively warm weather conditions while enclosed in a box with limited airflow. This is one of those cases where the application of a little common sense will pay big dividends.

STEP 5 - Introducing New Birds To Your Facilities

This is frequently an area where prospective new aviculturists screw up. Assuming you did your homework, constructed your aviaries, and purchased good birds, this is an area where if you're really an animal lover, a little sensitivity pays off. Whether the birds you purchase are only a few, or a hundred generations removed from the wild, they still retain a good measure of the survival instinct that preserved their species over the years. Undoubtedly, the successful breeder who produced your new charges understood the need to provide for both their psychological, and their physiological needs, and that is what resulted in both their reproductive success, and their good health. Stress kills! Its a simple and well known fact, but one that's easy to forget when excited about your new little treasures. Do you know for certain what predatory species are likely to harrass and worry your new birds? This should, at least initially, include neighborhood dogs, cats AND kids. Have you provided adequately for their security by providing vegitation or other shelters for them to retreat to when being pestered? Are there perching places well up off the ground for roosting species, and are they sheltered from heavy wind and rain? If frightening creatures can patrol the fence have you provided the sight barriers mentioned earlier? Have you established a routine feeding schedule that assures your birds that feed will arrive on-time and in adequate quantities? They may not have a human's intelligence, but they do think, they do worry, and they most certainly can stress-out.

If planning to keep multiple species in the same enclosure I usually recommend that they all be purchased and introduced at the same time, especially if no backup aviary is available in case of serious conflicts. Just as in the wild, once they become acclimated to your facility, most species will become territorial, especially if kept in pairs. It usually works out much better for the less agressive residents if this process develops gradually, allowing them time to reach a balance within the available habitat. Of course, some species, such as most grouse, many pheasants, and a few waterfowl, are totally incompatible with others, and must be kept no more than 1 pair to an enclosure. This is another area where you need to consult a publication or an experienced breeder of a species before it arrives.

STEP 6 - Carry On - Carefully

I hope I've helped a few new aviculturists get started. Bear in mind there's lots more to learn. Nest structures, feed and vitamin refinements season-by-season, medications, and incubation and brooding are just a few of the things that will have to be learned to achieve a good level of success over time. Try it - you'll like it.

Take a look elsewhere in this website for frequently asked questions regarding the keeping and breeding of grouse and waterfowl.

Organizations & Publications

To learn more about and to join the IWWA or APWS, see writeups the Avicultural Organization portion of this website.

For information regarding Aviornis, I suggest you contact Laurie in the UK at Tel: +44(0)1625 573287, E-mail: Laurie@coldarbor.demon.co.uk .

To subscribe to the Game Bird Gazette, I suggest you contact them at PO Box 171227, Salt Lake City,UT 84117. E-mail is Allenpub@aol.com, FAX: (801) 277-7832.