Part 2. Hyacinthine updated 1998 – 2004

 

All of the 5 chicks hatched in 1998 were successfully reared and weaned. Of the five, the female chick, of pair ‘A’, has been paired with ‘Chick no. 2’ of pair ‘B’. This pair, ‘C’, laid their first clutch of one egg in June of 2003. The egg was left with the female and she seemed to cope well with incubation.

 

At 26 days we removed the egg for candling but it was not fertile. Two fertile eggs were laid toward the end of July, again they were left with the female, both eggs were early embryonic deaths. It is not unknown for captive bred females to breed at this age; she was just under five years old when the first egg was laid.

 

As aviculturists, it gives us a great deal of satisfaction, to see young that you have hand-reared completely at ease with their own species and that the instinct to bond and breed has not been lost.

 

2004 Two fertile eggs were laid at the end of May. These were removed to the incubator. Both hatched and were hand reared. A second clutch of two fertile eggs laid toward the end of June did not fully develop but the pair surprised us by laying a third clutch of  two fertile eggs in August. These were removed to the incubator; again we had two live chicks. 

 

She was given 2 fertile Greenwing Macaw eggs. [These had been laid around the same dates]. This would give us a chance to see if she would hatch and rear the chicks. The female sat the eggs, though the first egg due to hatch was full term DIS and she left the second egg. Possibly she had had enough of incubating eggs.

 

Pair ‘A’

 In 1999 and 2000 the birds were observed mating but no eggs were laid. A total of nine eggs were laid between May 2001 and July 2004. Three chicks hatched and two of the chicks, both female, have been paired to other, unrelated, males in the collection.

 

The one egg that was laid in 2004 was infertile but was replaced with a fertile macaw egg. She incubated, hatched and successfully reared this chick. 

 

Pair ‘B’

 

In 1999 two clutches, of two eggs, were laid, all fertile. One egg of the first clutch was full term D.I.S and the second egg was an assisted hatch. The first egg of the second clutch was a very early embryonic death and the second egg hatched independently.

 

Data

 

As the captive breeding of the Hyacinthine becomes more successful breeders are more willing to share information on, not only their success stories, but also ‘fertile failures’.

 

From three breeding pairs we have the following information:

 

 

 

 

Breakdown of information plus hatch weights and sexes

 

 

Eggs Laid       F          IN.F    Hatch  F.T./D.I.S        D.I.S   E.E.D  Deaths

 

Key;    F = Fertile

            INF =Infertile

            F.T.D.I.S = Full term dead in the shell

            E.E.D = Early embryonic death

            D.I.S = More than ½ way through embryonic development less than full term

 

Fertility rate of the eggs is high with the majority of the egg losses due to early embryonic deaths.

 

Hatch Weights and sex

 

1996            1997            1998                1999             2002              2003              2004

 

 

Hatch weight appears to have no relevance to sex of the chick. Of the 18 chicks 10 were DNA sexed as male and 8 as female. Average hatch weight is 24-26gm. Though if only one egg is laid the hatch weight of the chick will, usually, be higher than if there are two chicks hatched.

 

The Hyacinthine have been one of our most prolific [and fertile] egg layers compared to some of our other larger macaws, such as Scarlet and Blue and Gold macaws.

 

The breeding of these birds has not been a problem. I do not find the chicks any different, or more difficult to rear, than other large macaws chicks. 

 

We are still using the same rearing formula and I still prefer to spoon-feed our chicks.