Why Bird Breeding Facilities Do Not Allow Visitors

When you look at this photo, you are looking at a dead baby eclectus parrot, a baby which was healthy, normal and alive a few hours ago. What happened? An unauthorized person entered the building and walked past the flight housing a pair of vosmaeri with new chicks in the nest.

Most parrots are quite sensitive to intrusions into the area around their nest sites. Depending on the individual birds or the pair, the consequences can be fatal to chicks in the nest and even to the female parrot brooding the chicks, especially if the birds are cockatoos. Male cockatoos will not only kill the chicks but also the brooding female of the pair.

This is something that the average person does not realize. Even individuals who own pet parrots or other birds do not realize the seriousness of entering the area where parrots are nesting. These intrusions by strangers cause extreme stress for the parent birds, stress so severe that hens will purposefully kill chicks or inadvertently kill them during their rush back into the nest area.

This issue of stressed parent birds is the main reason that most serious knowledgeable professionals who breed parrots or other non-domesticated exotic species will not allow strangers to enter the breeding area. That is the main reason that inspection programs like the Model Aviculture Program, make a point of recommending against inspections during breeding season. Even the slightest intrusion can be devastating for nesting birds. Sometimes even a strange yard worker or electrician or noisy neighbor at a distance can be sufficient to cause extreme stress to nesting parrots or other exotic avian species.