Domesticated Parrots

[jaimmorr]

I am curious about something... In all the research I have been doing, it is made quite clear that even if your bird is not "wild caught," it is still a wild animal. We must tame them as they mature, but they are still wild, not domesticated animals.

Do you think it's possible to have domesticated birds in the future?

What I don't understand is this: Breeders usually take birds that are NOT tame for breeding purposes. They can't handle them, but they hand feed the babies (well, usually, from what I've read) and sell the babies. Wouldn't it make morse sense to breed the birds that are the most tame, with the sweetest temperaments? That is what happens when people breed dogs (well, "good" breeders, at least.). That is how we domesticated wolves, by taking the sweetest wolves with the calmest and most people-friendly temperaments, breeding them to each other, then taking the sweetest wolves out of their offspring and breeding them, etc, etc, all the way down the line until today.

So, am I missing something here? Why don't people *try* to domesticate birds? Curiosity is getting the best of me here.

[Michael]

Sort of but not how it really works. Domestication takes many generations. There has been a study done on domesticating the red fox which illustrates partly what you are talking about. However, parrot breeding works quite differently. First of all people tend to care more about pretty colors than personality which is why there are so many mutations of budgies and cockatiels. The problem is that there is a ton of inbreeding which creates a ton of genetic issues. The fancy mutations seem to be far less resistant to illness and prone to die younger.

When it comes to the larger parrots, the really good breeders will opt to breed from wild stock or not far removed. This leads to stronger genetics without domestically induced health problems. Plenty of such problems exist in domesticated animals but the medicine is far ahead that it can also treat these. In parrots, they can barely treat anything so having a genetically strong/healthy parrot is key. While tameness can be taught, health cannot. Thus in the short term (as in our lifetime and the next few lifetimes as well), it's far better to have undomesticated parrots with wild genetics than inbreeding existing ones over generations. Furthermore wild caught parrots tend to make better parents than domestically bred and hand raised ones.

Since learning is very quick/effective, a domestically bred parrot can be tamed and turned into a domesticated-like pet within a year (will still have wild instincts/hormones though). On the other hand, domesticating genetically may take 50-500 years before it yields any value. That said, Truman comes from a domestically bred Cape Parrot pair (but their parents were wild caught). The breeder actually selected those two for temperament and thinks their babies tend to be sweeter. However, results are hard to gauge and it would take many many generations to achieve substantial results. One more major reason: species. Unlike dogs. Heck unlike all species domesticated by humans, there are far more separate species of parrot bred in captivity. Since all dogs are of the same species, it is only one lineage to work on and genetics can be mixed to create new hybrid breeds when desirable. Since all parrots we are familiar with are different species, domestication would have to be individually performed in many separate species. It would be substantially easier and more effective if there were only one species of parrot to focus on. But since there are many, it is difficult to coordinate because they are bred sparingly. The budgie/cockatiel have the highest likelihood of domestication based on quick reproductive rates and quantity but as long as they keep breeding them for colors rather than behavior, you won't be seeing any domestication. Most people who buy them just leave them in the cage anyway, so there is no judge or care about tameness anyway.

[jaimmorr]

I see, I see. Very interesting points, Michael. I will read that link when I get off work ( ).

Most people who buy them just leave them in the cage anyway, so there is no judge or care about tameness anyway.

That is so sad... I don't understand why people would do that. That would be like getting a dog and then just chaining it up outside all the time. (Oh wait, people do that, too!)