by Pajarita » Sun Jun 21, 2020 7:56 am
Ay, Michael, I wouldn't say they 'refuse'... it's not something they decide to do or not to do. It's not stubbornness on their part, it's the humans that are at fault, not the birds. Most parrot species are not really good at adaptation so we need to try (fight?) harder, study them more and learn more about their needs so we can then offer them a viable option that they can accept. It was the same thing with the Spixs. They need a specific type of tree for their nests and it needs to be real old and because there were none to be had and nothing could replace them, the birds refused to mate and breed. So they did artificial insemination, put the eggs in incubators and handraised the chicks until, FINALLY, something clicked and things started to get better. But it took years and years to achieve this and, most likely, it will take years and years to get the capes in good shape. Let's not lose hope!
But, aside from that, I want everybody to take note of how important their natural diet is! The bird actually got better from PBFD just eating those little fruits that are their natural diet - is that amazing or what?!