Modern Captive Breeding II-Breeding Methods

Modern Captive Breeding - Part II by Peter Gill

Text Box: INITIAL CONSIDERATIONS There are two primary methods of' achieving fertile eggs from a female raptor within captivity. These are: NATURAL BREEDING A male and female bird are placed together in the breeding chamber. Copulation takes place between the two birds and fertile eggs are laid. ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION Semen is inseminated into the female. This can be either: Voluntatry, If she is an imprinted bird who stands and presents herself for voluntary copulation toward her human mate. Involuntary, in the case of' females who fail to copulate with their intended mate in a natural pair breeding project, or an imprinted female which refuses to stand for voluntary copulation with a human mate.

In the first article of this series of four, I covered commitment, planning, choice of breeding stock, housing and nutrition. In this article we will look at breeding methods.

For anyone considering beginning a breeding project, a decision has to be taken on what approach to take. Generally speaking, this will depend on the amount of time and resource you are able to put into the project. 1f' you have limited time then a natural breeding project might well be your choice. The main advantages are that far less time is needed in terms of observation and interaction with the birds. The disadvantage is that

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fewer birds are likely to be produced and you will have far less opportunity to produce specific types of bird, and in the case of' specific hybrids use of' Al is the norm. Of course for many aspiring raptor breeders this will not be an issue, as they will be aiming simple to produce enough birds to meet their own falconry needs, and perhaps, also those of a friend or two. On the other hand it' you are aiming for a commercial operation, or to selectively breed e.g. different hybrids from the same female, then you will almost certainly want to acquire the skills needed to collect semen from male raptors and inseminate the female.

NATURAL BREEDING

By far the most popular method of' captive breeding in the UK is placing a pair of birds in a suitable breeding chamber and hoping that nature takes its course. To the tyro breeder the initial act of releasing two birds into a chamber is generally quite daunting, as fear of aggression and fighting is generally in the forefront of their mind. The truth is that this rarely occurs if the birds have been reared correctly in the first place. In the case of falcons, buzzards and eagles a few threat displays and some mild harassment may occur, but this should sub-side over a short period of time. In the case of accipiters however, they should be kept in adjoining pens with a window between them and only allowed together once both birds show full breeding display. It always amazes me why this double pen system is accepted for goshawk breeding, but is used less often for sparrowhawks, especially when you hear how many muskets are killed by their intended female partner.

Best time to pair up.

We are often asked to advise on the best time to pair birds up. Our approach at Falcon Mews is, if possible, to put birds together in the early autumn. This allows time for them to settle into their accommodation and become used to the daily sights and sounds of their new environment. Stress, or rather lack of it, is crucial to successful raptor propagation whatever approach is used. So the more time to settle in the better is the general rule. Of course there are many falconers who want to fly their birds and then breed from them in the non - hunting season. The question then