Laughing Kookaburra Should Be Sprinkled Over the Food Dish Jady

young mice seem to be among the The Kookaburras favorite food items and tame birds will often accept these items from the keeper's fmgertips. A good qual­ ity multi-vitamin and mineral powder Laughing Kookaburra should be sprinkled over the food dish Jady. Health care considerations for keep­ In Aviculture ing Kookaburras are basically the same as for most other aviary birds. Worming should be carried out periodically and by Roger Sweeney. Curator of Birds the birds' physical condition, appearance Lora Parque, Tenerife, Canary Islands and behavior should be monitored for any signs which could be considered he Laughing Kookaburra Dacelo countries of temperate climates a heat­ unusual. The often strong and indi­ T novaeguineae has been a well ed shelter may \vell prove to be a good vidual personality ofthe Kookaburra can known and much admired bird repre- precaution. Plenty of height is one soon be learned by its owner and any sented in many zoological collections consideration in the design of the aviary sign of deviation from the normal can around the world for many years. The that the birds will appreciate. Although therefore be quickly noted. impressive physical appearance and naturally confident in their character, high entertaining character ofthe Kookaburra aviaries do seem to give Kookaburras Breeding has placed it into a position of public a much increased sense of security Sexing of Laughing Kookaburra can interest and affection that few other non- and nest boxes which are situated with often be successfully achieved by look­ psittacines could possibly enjoy. As the entrance hole at least 60 cm (24 in.) ing at the amount of blue feathering on softbilled birds come increasingly under above the owner's head height inevitably the upper wing and rump areas of the the spotlight as to whether aviculturists prove to l,e more successful than those bird; these areas of blue are clearly can really maintain these species into placed at a lower height. Aviaries for apparent in the male, but are usually future generations and true avicultural Kookaburras can be planted to improve reduced or absent in the female. There establishment, then it soon becomes clear their appearance as Kookaburras gen­ are, however, exceptions to this rule and that some genera and species will erally will not unduly damage or inter­ I have some females with a fair amount reproduce more successfully in captivity fere with plants. unless they are a size ofblue marking that could lead to con­ than others. The Kookaburra is one the bird might like to perch upon. fusion if visual sexing were relied upon. bird where the captive population is Perching should consist ofseveral shott More accurate methods ofsexing include already self-sustaining and has a steady horizontal perches for resting upon, surgical sexing via endoscope and DA population growth. This bird should but these should h~ve plenty of open become more Widely kept by an increas- flying space bem'een them. When fed r------­ ing number of aviculrurists each year. a diet which contains segmenrs ofday- The qualities ofthe Kookaburra as an old chick or segments of rodents, A real treat for your birds! avicultural bird are clear; its impressive Kookaburras often hear their food (,~D~~ Macadamia appearance, its tame and inquisitive against the perch, or the walls of their lrNUTS ~ Nuts nature, its willingness to breed and its shelter if the food dish is placed inside Callfornla grown, unique and evocative call which provides the shelter. This beating ofthe food items from grower to you. ~~? Raw -In Shell this bird with its common name all is done to tenderize their food. It is there­ No salt, no chemIcals, combine to make the Kookaburra an fore necessary thar any perching ancVor no preservatives interesting and impressive aviary inhab- wall areas \\'hich are used bv the birds 50 lb. minimum at $1.60 per lb. itant. for this purpose should receiv regular plus shipping The Laughing Kookaburra has long cleaning and disinfection. TASTE C.O.D. ACCEPTABLE been on the list of my own favorite The diet of Kookaburras in captivi­ THE D1ffEllENCB Call 1-800-344-6887 Gold Crown Macadamia Assoc. species that I have worked with. From ty is ptincipally animal matter. In the wild P.o. Box 235, Fallbrook, CA 92088-0235 the beginning of 1989 until the end of these birds reed on manv prey ani­ 1992 I maintained a number of pairs of mals such as nxlenrs. lizard". snakes, larg­ Laughing Kookaburra in the collection er insects and fish. In captivity the diet of Birdworld Bird Park, where I was can be made up from a mixture of GOLDEN formerly Livestock Manager in England. domestically bred mice, segments ofday CONURES Successful breeding was consistently old chicks, diced ox heart (or a good achieved in each of the four breeding quality mince meat), segments ofsmall White Bellied seasons with many young birds being fish and large insects such as locusts. At Caiques reared by the parents and also by hand Birdworld, we also used soaked Zoo A rearing methods during this time. pellets (produced by Special Diets FollowillAviaries A Closed Al'im)' Services for Zoological collections). Specializing in the Queen ofBavaria's Conure Husbandry Aviculturists who do not h;1\'c access to Please call for free information package Kookaburras should be given a large Zoo A pellets use altern~tives such as Dave FoUowill (407) 773-7571 aviary with plenty of flying space. In soaked canine biscuits Locust and

afa WATCHBIRD '5'5 sexing which requires a blood sample the perch also makes emergence from pie prefer to persist with parent rearing, from the bird. Both of these techniques the nest box a much easier task for both instead of hand rearing, because of are widely practiced and should be the chicks and the parent birds. A layer the pleasure that is gained from build­ available to the aviculturist. of nesting medium is placed inside of ing up a family group of Kookaburras Pairing of young birds is generally the nest box for the birds to make a in an aviary. I have reared many unproblematic. As the birds become scrape, the medium usually consists Kookaburras by both artificial and par­ more mature, more problems can be of a mixture of sand, peat and some ent rearing, but I gained most pleasure encountered. When mature birds are wood shavings. from seeing parent reared chicks fledg­ being paired it is often necessary for the Once the eggs have been laid then ing from their nest boxes. Hand rearing more aggressive bird to be housed incubation is shared by both the male does, however, have its place in the inside a small cage, within the main and the female birds and lasts for breeding of Kookaburras and can be aviary for several days until the birds have around 25 days from the date each achieved with an extremely high level become accustomed to each other. egg was laid. The clutch size is most of success. Close observation should always be commonly two or three eggs. carried out for several hours after the Kookaburras in captivity can prove to Artificial Rearing introduction to prevent fighting, and also be unreliable parents during their early Kookabuo'a eggs have heen incubated for several days afterwards to ensure that attempts at rearing their chicks, with per­ from various different ages, including both birds are feeding normally. haps the most common parental mistake freshly laid, and have proven to be A variety of different nest boxes being the feeding of non-edible objects generally unproblematic. The incuba­ have been used by various aviculturists such as soil or even stones. Given tion temperature used has been 37.5Q to successfully breed the Kookaburra in practice, however, most parent birds will Celsius (99. 5QF). The level of humidity captivity. The design used at Birdworld eventually achieve success, especially is altered according to the needs of Bird Park was of fo:-ty-five degree if extra care is taken by their keeper to each individual egg so d1at a weight loss sloped shaped and measure 90 em in supply them with live food and plen­ of around 14-15% can be achieved length and 35 cm (36 x 14 in.) in its ty of diced items of food in their food from the eggs original freshly laid height and width. The entrance hole dish during the period when the chicks weight. The eggs were hand turned sev­ measures 15 cm (6 in.) in diameter are still young. eral times a day (in alternating directions) and is positioned towards the top of the In the wild, Kookaburras live in as well as being turned in the incuba­ front facing panel. A perch is secured extended family groups, often with the tor by rollers. FollOWing these basic incu­ onto the front panel ofthe nest box just previous year's chicks staying with bation conditions. and by carefully below the entrance hole. The pres­ their parents and helping to raise d1e next monitoring the egg's weight, and emblyo ence ofthis perch next to the entrance, year's clutch of chicks. As an avicultural development by candling, a high level and other perching nearby, is of impor­ display, family groups of Kookaburras of hatch is achieved with d1e chick dry­ tance as the male bird will spend much always make an intere ting and enter­ ing and becoming strong and vocal time roosting outside the nest box and taining aviary. For this reason many peo- within a few hours of emergence.

48 Days

35 Days 21 Days

7 Days 14Days

1 Day

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56 November/December 1995 diet started to change away from seg­ ments of pink lnice and onto day-old chicks. of which the thigh meat is ini­ tially used. This, to begin with is ten­ derized by lightly beating the segments that are offered to the chick for the first few days while the chick adjusts to the change in diet. By the 30th day, when initial weaning hegins, the chick should be receiving nlost items that are present in the adult bird's diet in a diced form. The chick's weight starts to level out from day 25 onwards and during weaning, which can slowly start from day 30 onwards. Most chicks will expe­ rience a slight weight loss as their handfeeding is reduced and they start to experiment with feeding themselves. The weaning period should not be rushed and if a chick continues to show weight loss it should still be given some handfeeding until it is well and truly feeding for itself and its weight has stabilized. Hand feeding does not normally stop completely until around day 45, unless the chick is feeding itself vigorously well before this time. Care should be taken in the later stages of the rearing period to ensure that the chick's legs are developing suitably. As soon as the chick becomes mobile> then sterilized twigs should begin to be placed upon the floor sur­ face ofthe container for the chick's feet to grip against. A good quality vitamin and mineral supplement should be used on the chick's diet throughout the rearing period, with special care heing given to ensure that there is ade­ quate calcium in the diet. At weaning, care should be taken that the chick is eating a good selection of different food items and not just one specific favorite item from the diet. Other than ''Kookaburra''a beautifulpaintingbySusieChristian uJhose attention to detail 1nakesherbirds this, the same guidelines that are followed verylifelike, indeed. for hand rearing many other softbilled birds also apply to hand rearing the To hegin with, the chick' were paper toweling for the first week, and Kookaburra. housed inside a hrooder on their with wood shavings for the remainder Many of the formerly well known removal from the hatcher. Th chicks of the rearing period. species of softbilled birds in avicul­ remained inside a hrooder for their The diet for hand rearing Kookaburras ture are now becoming scarce. Those first week of life with the tenlperature consists aln10st entirely of animal pro­ species, such as the Kookaburra, which being sloV\Tly lowered slightly each day tein. At Birdworld we gave segments of have proved to be so adaptable and will­ from the original hatching ten1pera­ pink mice and also the bodies of ing to breed, will become of much ture. After the first week the chicks Crickets (with the legs, head and ovipos­ greater avicultural significance in the were then housed inside open plastic itor relnoved) for the first seven day of future. The Kookaburra has always had containers with a heat source over one life. Feeding periods to h gin with a unique appeal to many aviculturists, end. This is only done inside the nurs­ were five feeds a day given evelY three so with continued successful captive ery where the room that the open con­ hours froln 8am until 8pnl. After the first breeding, this is one species that should tainers are located in is of a stable and week the last feed (8pm) was no longer become firmly established within avi­ controllable environment. The floor of necessary hecause of the chick's rapid culture for many future generations to the chick's container is covered by weight gain. Also after seven days the appreciate. + afa WATCHBIRD 57