Captive breeding, January 2013

Breeding aviary, Healesville Sanctuary

What's captive breeding?

The aim of the captive population of Orange-bellied Parrots is to prevent the species' extinction. It supplies birds for release into the wild, and acts as an insurance population. It began in 1985.

In order to quickly increase the captive population, six facilities now breed Orange-bellied Parrots:

•  Taroona captive breeding facility (Tasmania)
•  Healesville Sanctuary (Victoria)
• Adelaide Zoo (South Australia)
• Melbourne Zoo (Victoria)
• Priam Parrot Breeding Centre (NSW)
• Halls Gap Zoo (Victoria)

Private zoo, Moonlit Sanctuary (Victoria), has older birds for display which may or may not breed. 

So how's captive breeding going?
On 7 July 2012, studbook analysis showed the captive population numbered 205. The recovery program aims to have at least 350 birds by 2016/17.

Eggs are being laid at all institutions mentioned above. Chicks are hatching everywhere except Melbourne Zoo and chicks are now fledging at Healesville and Taroona, the two largest breeding facilities.

Taroona - breeding OBPs in the heat
Jocelyn Hockley is Senior Keeper of the Captive Management and Trans location Section of DPIPWE (Tasmania's Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment). She oversees the captive OBP program and is the Studbook Keeper and Species Coordinator for the entire captive population. 

According to Ms Hockley, the OBPs at Taroona breeding facility are doing well. The first chicks fledged on Christmas Day and this week, late-laying females hatched chicks.

Hockley says that the recent hot weather affected the birds, especially chicks in the nest. But she is confident about the staff at Taroona.

'They've done an amazing job in ensuring that everything is done to cool the birds down by opening nestboxes up a little, providing fresh food and water in the afternoon and spraying the aviaries. 

'They have also been going back in the early evening once it starts to cool down, to check chicks again and close nestboxes back up for the night. All the chicks appear to be doing well.'

Taroona has more than 20 pairs housed together and also four group aviaries. One aviary has four birds (two male, two female); three aviaries have three birds (one male, two females).

Sources:
Jocelyn Hockley 
Kristy Penrose
Orange-bellied Parrot Recovery Team, Update on the Orange-bellied Parrot Recovery Program, January 2013.

Debbie Lustig