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Modern Captive Breeding - Part II ..continued

 

 

is how long can the hunting season go on before pairing up. We have currently bred from Harris hawks and peregrines paired up in late January, but rule of thumb is that the earlier you can put the pair together the better the chances.

Birds put together late in the season who do not breed can be tried earlier. Once a successful pattern has been established it can usually be followed with success every year. Bearing in mind the importance of the stress factor, it is probably true to say the species which are naturally tamer such as Harris hawks can be paired up later, though there are always wide variations amongst individual birds. Another factor to take into account is that there is variation in the breeding season between different species. For example lugger falcons often lay in February whilst merlins lay in late April or early May.

We always place pairs into a breeding chamber or pen at the same time. It is not a good idea to place a male into a chamber where the female has been resident for any length of time as she may show territorial aggression toward him. All birds should be approaching or at top weight when paired up.

Compatibility and natural attraction.

The question of compatibility between paired raptors has often been debated. One school of thought is that, if both birds reach a high enough breeding condition, then they will procreate. However, if they are not at ease with their mate, the stress level and hormonal imbalance which associates itself with stress, will suppress the hormones which are required to bring the bird into breeding condition. There is also the question of natural attraction. Forecasting this is extremely difficult if not impossible and placing two birds into a breeding chamber is a bit like a blind date, sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. Natural attraction in raptors definitely exists, and this is recognised by some of the world's leading breeders of gyrs and peregrines, who have pioneered a very successful method of pair selection for large falcons. This involves placing several unrelated pairs of eyass falcons in one large pen together. A single nest ledge is put in the pen and the birds are observed closely over the first eighteen months of life. As soon as a pair takes over the ledge territory, and defends it against the other inhabitants, the other birds are removed from the pen. Thus, the pair have had the choice and chosen their mate.

 

Observation of breeding behaviour in natural pairs.

Close observation is required to assess what breeding behaviour is taking place. This should begin in January or February at the latest. You should undertake some research before beginning observation to check what behaviour should be occurring if all is well. There are now numerous articles and papers written on a multitude of breeding successes with different species. Unfortunately, if you read accounts written on a particular

species bred in captivity it is easy to fall into the trap of expecting your birds to be doing exactly the same. It should be remembered that all birds are individuals and although a species will follow similar breeding patterns there are variations. For example one pair of peregrines we breed from are very vocal when copulating, whereas another pair we have, don't make a sound. Some male Harris hawks are ardent nest builders and others never pick a stick up, but yet both can be equally productive in the eyass production stakes.

 

Period of time from start of courtship to egg laying.

The period of time from when the first sign of courtship begins through to egg laying will vary enormously, not only between species but between individuals within a species. First time breeders usually start their courtship slightly later than experienced pairs but in subsequent seasons they will start earlier and for a longer period.

 

Age at which different species breed.

It is generally considered that parental stock bred in captivity, regularly breed at younger ages than their original wild taken ancestors. A few examples of this are golden eagles breeding at three years of age, prairie falcons at one and Gyrs as young as two. The general view on this is that if the right conditions are created, stress levels can be lower in captive-bred birds and nutritional intake higher. This phenomenon has occurred in the captive breeding of many other species of birds such as psittaciformes.