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Anti-fostering - Pro-fostering

Howard D. Pancoast vs. Terry Dunham

Fostering - the raising of one .\peciesunder another - is a controversial butwidely practiced techinque. Does itdestroy the quality ofbirds for future gen­erations? Or does it make quality stockavailable in greater numbers for thefuture? Is it boon or bane? In thefollowinf?two articles, two friends - and adversar­ies - debate the issue, with no holdsbarred.

Dave Pancoast and his wife Nancyoperate Blue Ridge Aviaries. in Lowes­ville. Va .. where they breed an impressi\'earray of birds. Ter0.' Dunham is theWatchbird's finches editor. and raisesfinches at Bird Bay Breeders in St.Petersburg. Fl.

There's the bell. Gentlemen: enter thering.

Ed.

ANTI-FOSTERINGby Howard O. Pancoast

I write as a layman, not as a trainedzoologist or agriculturist. I try. as best Ican, to relate all knowledge to the whole,so that when I think of captive bird breed­ing, I think of the emerging nations andtheir frantic drive to industrialize and toexploit to the fullest their natural re­sources. When I think of aviculture, Ithink of overpopulation, pollution, war,and of our desperate need for an ethicalcommitment to a more meaningful pur­pose than the raw pursuit of another dollar.

It follows from such habits of thoughtthat I am strongly opposed to the indis­criminate use of any breeding practicewhich would tend to dilute, or otherwisediminish, the long-range vigor and via­bility of any captive-bred animal.

Note that I used the word" indiscrimi­nate". Obviously, when the total popula­tion of any species is inadequate in either anatural or captive context, or is not yetamenable to captive breeding, then prior­ity must be given to increasing that popula­tion by any means possible. If theimprinting of the resulting offspring isthen safeguarded by early introduction ofthe young to naturally imprinted adult

members of its own species, then the useof such artificial breeding practices wasbeneficial.

But it is my impression that such israrely the case among those who maintainrows of cages of frustrated Society finchesopposite corresponding rows of cages ofchoosier and more colorful finches.

Quite the contrary: the Society finchdevotee will almost invariably brag firstand loudest about his production volume.This is usually followed by an obliquereference to the resulting income. There­after a discussion of mutation and hybridsis par for course.

A leading practitioner and spokesmanof this school recently offered me thefollowing information as an example of histhesis. A friend of his had foster-raised 55offspring in one year from a single pair ofPurple Grenadiers. Far from being anadvantage, it is my opinion that this feat ofproduction could prove to have been adelayed-fuse disaster.

It must be conceded that the PurpleGrenadier is (or was, until then) a ratherrare finch in U. S. aviculture. I will hazardthe wild guess that that one pair increasedour domestic population by at least 20% ­one out of fi ve, all brothers and sisters.One could speculate from now 'til dooms-

day about the potential for gene pool pollu­tion since virtually nothing is known aboutthe inherent stamina of the parents or oftheir breeding and rearing potential if leftto their own devices. It would be comfort­ing to know at least something about suchsuper-studs before they become the grand­parents, aunt and uncle of every indigen­ous Purple Grenadier in the United States afew generations hence.

Another, and very real, source of poten­tial gene-pool pollution comes from thesimple fact that there is virtually no naturalselection process at work here. As long asthe offspring have feathers, can fly, seelightning, eat seed and survive in a temper­ature controlled room, they are salable.Birds which are subtly, probably invisi­bly, flawed since conception-birdswhich would not, in an even half-waynatural environment, have made it throughthe first year, or even week, of their lives-are pampered, reared, and shipped out,hopefully to disseminate their geneticinadequacies into an ever-increasing pro­portion of the species' captive population.

But all that is probably quite academiccompared to the vastly more immediateproblem of imprinting. The simple logis­tics of fertilizing and delivering enougheggs to result in the successful foster-rear-

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ing of 55 offspring would reasonably seemto preclude the likelihood that parentsdevoted whatever spare time they had tothe task of imprinting this herd. A far saferguess is that the young Grenadiers wereremoved from their foster-society parentsat the earliest possible date and subse­quently sold or traded at the first oppor­tunity.

Meanwhile, I assume that this same pairof birds is still hard at work, pumping outmore eggs to increase its share of the U.S.Grenadier gene-pool. No doubt there willbe some small fraction of this huge gener­ation which will overcome these handi­caps of flawed imprinting and/or flawedgenetics, and will successfully raise viableyoung. But my logic tells me that it will bea minute fraction.

It would seem far more predictable thatone or more of the following will occur:I. The new owner will get fed up waiting

for his new finches to get it all together,and will tum to the tried-and-true So­ciety finch.

2. The new owner will inadvertently pairsiblings, with God-knows what resultsfor the future.

3. The new owner will go ape trying tofigure out (I) why his bird's eggs arealways clear, or (2) why the youngalways die in the nest, or (3) why theparents invariably toss them out, or (4)why they never breed at all, and maydecide to cross one of the pair with anover-sexed Violet Eared Waxbill onthe companion theories of the Society­ists of hybrid vigor and re-crossbreeding.

No matter how you cut it, the logicalextension of these proceses would have toresult, at some not too distant date, in acaptive race of Purple zombies resemblingtheir vigorous wild ancestors in color only.

I have belabored the example of thefecund Grenadiers for convenience sakealone. The same straight line logic may beapplied to any other species, from thous­ands of Gouldians to a handful of PeterTwinspots.

Fortunately, however, straight-linelogic seldom occurs in reality. Too manyvariables intervene to throw it off course.In this case, one of those variables is us,and many others like us-the believers innatural breeding and rearing. We, like theSociety-ists, brag first and loudest aboutproduction volume, but with a difference.We brag not of dozens, but handfuls. Wethink in terms of nests, and of end resultsin terms of one through five. The subjectof consequent income is usually avoided,or at best expressed with a groan. And forourselves, at least, a mutation is regret­table, and a hybrid is shameful.

Our policy, here at Blue Ridge Avi-

aries, is to provide our breeding birds withas spacious, natural, and challenging anenvironment as we can devise and afford,given the inherent unnaturalness of an en­vironment which is enclosed and free ofpredators. All breeding structures havedirt floors, and all are heavily planted withsmall trees, shrubs, vines, weeds andseeding grasses from foxtail to millet. Allsuch structures afford maximum exposureto sun and weather, consistent with thetolerances and health of the species in­volved. Bear in mind that our aviaries arelocated on a windy hilltop on the southernfringes of the mirldle Atlantic region. Ourtemperature extremes are essentially thesame as those in coastal Connecticut.

Our breeding Saffron finches, GreenSinging finches and Brazilian CrestedCardinals are kept in large outdoor flightswith attached, open-fronted, shed-typeshelters the year around, despite wintertemperatures that occasionally dip belowzero. Even the young from the previoussummer stay out all winter.

Our more delicate finches - VioletEars, Parrot finches, Gouldians, Owls,BlueCaps, Melbas, Twinspots, to name afew, and a pair of yellow-winged Honey­creepers, are maintained in 50' x 20' shed­type building which is virtually convert­ible to an indoor-outdoor enclosure on amoment's notice. Fresh air and bugs whizin and out as freely as if there were no roofat all. Within this building two or morepairs each of several species compete formates, nest sites, and resident live food.No meal worms are offered. This buildingis kept above the freezing point in winter- more for the sake of the exotic plantsthan the birds - by means of a singlewood stove.

Once, late last Fall and due to my ownoversight, an icy blast in the teens pene­trated that building. A fig tree and severalsmaller plants were killed. The water andnectar froze. But not a single bird was lost.No medication was required, just a littleextra sun-bathing. Under such conditionsour finches court, build their own nests,incubate their eggs and rear their young.Only the strong grow up. The flawed andthe weak don't make it, and we do not raisea finger to alter that process.

We have had the pleasure of watching ayoung hen Violet Eared Waxbill help hermother feed the young from the next nest.

We have had the surprise of seeingyoung Shafttails, just after developingadult colors, and much earlier than wethought possible, build a nest - disdain­ing available nest boxes - and rear fourfeisty youngsters.

We have had the amazement of findingthree healthy young Peter Twinspotsperching in a bush in an 8' x 16' outdoor

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PRO-FOSTERINGby Terry Dunham

The single most compelling fact aboutfostering is that it WORKS. The practiceof using very domesticated species(society finches, zebra finches) to raiseyoung of less manageable species, eitherroutinely or as an emergency measure, hasdemonstrated its effectiveness. Any readerwho has had any finch species lay fertileeggs but fail to raise the hatchlings has aserious reason to consider fostering. Withthe availability of continuing stock of im­ported birds becoming ever more uncer­tain, breeders of EVERY bird type shouldweigh the disadvantages ~ real or ima­gined ~ outlined in the accompanyingarticle. against the very real considerationsoutlined here.

Among the species successfully raisedby society finches here at Bird Bay Breed­ers and by our friends: Lady Gouldians.Owls, Shafttails, Stars, Cherry Finches.Chestnut-breasted Mannakins, Red-headand Blue-faced Parrot Finches, and otherAustralian grassfinches. Less well knownare our successes with various Africanfinches, including Cordon Blues, Firefinches, Violet-eared Waxbills, PurpleGrenadiers, Melbas. various species ofNun. Peter Twinspots. and others.

Luis F. Baptista outlined fostering tech­niques in the August/Septmeber 1978 is­sue of the Watchbird. An article in the lastissue of the Watchbird elaborated on anesting food diet used to raise 55 PurpleGrenadiers from a single pair by utilizingfostering under societies after the adultsfailed in several nesting efforts when leftto their own devices. Although my friendand adversary Dave Pancoast tells me hehas selected that species to illustrate hisfears about fostering. it is ironic that heand his wife Nancy saw fit to order severalpair of the fostered Grenadiers from us, aswell as our fostered Owls and LadyGoulds.

Before anything else is said. it must beunderstood that in my opinion, Dave's ar­guments have merit, as do my own: it ismy contention, simply. that at a time whenmany species are disappearing fromAmerican aviculture. or are threatened,we MUST consider alternatives that couldpreserve their numbers. At the same time,we must carefully observe anyDOCUMENTED harmful affects offostering and react to eliminate or mini­mize them. We do this. for example. byremoving young from their foster parentsby their 42nd day, when Dr. KlaussImmelmann believes fostering either hasnot taken place or is reversible (see Juneand August 1975 Watchbirds). As Dr.Immelmann recommends. we then place

flight. which their parents shared withthree pairs of Gouldians, a pair of BlueCaps and a pair of Splendid Parakeets, oneweek after a television crew had beentrapsing around inside the flight.

And we have had the sorrow of findingdead babies on the ground. eggs that fellthrough ill-constructed nests, mates thatrefused to help feed young, and young thatchose fatally-exposed perching sites.

But the strength and the future of anyspecies, be it captive or wild. is not inthose that fail but in those that make it. anddo so knowing who and what they are.Therein lies the crux of the argument.

The Society breeder swamps the totalcaptive gene pool with masses of unculledand generally unimprinted young. But hedoes so profitably. The natural breederproduces mere handfuls of culled andhardy young thoroughly imprinted. But heprobably loses money. It is a goal,secondary to the ideal, to learn how to doso profitably. The ideal ~ which isprimary ~ is less amenable to logic orproof. Ideals are more often simply sensedand believed.

I have enjoyed observing and workingwith wild creatures since I was a child. Ihave had a fifty-three year love affair withall that is natural about our planet. I wantmy captive wild creatures to be just like. inall ways, their free counterparts in somefascinating land half-way around theworld. If they are green in the wild, I don'twant mine to be blue, yellow or white.And I want them to know how to competefor mates, how to build nests, and feedtheir young, and how to scrounge for seedsand bugs.

Probably because I have always feltrather guilty about encapturing a wildcreature, I want to believe that those birdsbred under our care are as tough andresourceful and fertile as their wild breth­ren; that should some war or condition oframpant development in an emergingnation lead to the extinction of the PeterTwinspot. or any other species, those ofthat species bred with us will have at least areasonable hope of reintroduction intotheir native habitat; and, ~ the ultimatedream - that if enough people wouldplace this goal above (but not exclusive of)the pursuit of profit, we could somedayprovide a self-sustaining and guilt-freeaviculture in America without resort to thedepopulation of wild stock with all thatthat entails.

Birds are not cars. cans of spagetti. orshares of common stock to be marketedwith a hard-nosed, one-eyed. view toprofit. They belong to something biggerthan we. If we can profit from them. itshould be only with an overriding commit­ment to their long-range preservation.

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the young in a holding cage with others oftheir own species.

One of the most articulate critics of fos­tering has often complained to me aboutthe production of inferior quality birds,birds he feels would die under natural con­ditions. To me, this is the weakest argu­mente. and I touch on it here only becausemy adversary in this debate-in-print mightrefer to it. I simply fail to see the justifica­tion for this fear: all society parents do isFEED hatchlings, just as natural parentsdo. Some live, some die. Those that die doso - perhaps - because they are inferior,flawed in some way. Those which livewould also live in a nest with natural par­ents WHICH FED. The advantage of fos­tering is not that it raises all young whichhatch: the advantages instead are thatyoung are raised which might die if theirparents refused to feed them, and thatmore young are produced because the par­ents (called serial layers) produce multipleclutches of eggs in the time it would takethem to raise a single clutch by them­selves. There is NO proof that when exoticbirds refuse to feed young they are doingso because of the perception of defects inthose young. There is more reason to be-

Iieve the parents fai I to feed because of thecontrast between the unnatural conditionsin most captive set-ups and the wild envi­ronment they are accustomed to.

Now, on to the facts. First: fosteredbirds are NOT useless as breeders. RalphHerman, Exotic Birds. in Ft. Lauderdale,Fla., for example. has a pair of our foster­ed Lady Goulds that at last count hadraised 19 young in the natural fashion. Wefrequently get reports of such success,though it is usually more moderate. YetRalph's birds are our FOURTH generationfostered stock. I'd be surprized if therewere not al '0 other generations of foster­ing in the birds' lineage before we gotthem. Every breeder knows a dealer whocalmly asserts "all our imported birds areaviary raised in Europe" or some otherarea: How many breeders believe that isALWAYS true? Can the Europeans beblind to the same economic possibilitiesthat motivate breeders elsewhere?

The first question a breeder consideringfostering should ask himself or herself:ARE FOSTERED BIRDS BETTERTHAN NO BIRDS AT ALL?

The answer is obvious. Given a choice.I would take aviary (natural parent) raised

stock rather than fostered stock for myown collection. because there MAY be anadvantage but there is no imaginable dis­advantage. Taken by itself. this might in­dicate fostering is undesirable. But con­sider the other factors: With some difficultspecies (wild-caught African imports. forexample) a talented breeder might raisenone or only a handful of young from agiven pair or pairs. By fostering. he mayraise dozens. Which alternative puts himin a better position to later establish a suc­cessful breeding population" Obviously.one's odds of success improve with thesize of the initial colony. Anyone who hasever had a small number of a given speciesbut lost them all before successfully repro­ducing them would have to agree: fosteredbirds ARE better than none at all.

The second question: ARE FOSTEREDBIRDS BETTER THAN WlLD-CAUGHT STOCK?

Wild-trapped birds are accustomed tounlimited freedom of movement. Theylive among untold varieties of plant andinsect foods. Suddenly they are trapped.put through the rigors of quarantine. andthrust into diverse captive envronments.

Continued on next page

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The same is true of mutations: say, fordiscussion, that a Lutino gould appears inyour collection. The third question:WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Attempt onlyto raise young under the natural parents?Or foster enthusiastically to produce asmany genetically-linked offspring as pos­sible, to assure the maintenance of themutation for future years? I think inanswering questions like this one breedersare casting their votes - FOR fostering.

These are not idle questions. TheCrimson and Painted finches testify totheir significance. I know of a Californiabreeder who has had an apparent LutinoStar Finch for four years: it has failed toraise young with the hens in the flight withit, though it has produced eggs which havehatched. A carefully planned fosteringprogram, pairing the male to two or threehens a year, might have firmly establishedthe mutation, if that is what it is, by now.We are now working with White-breastedand Blue-breasted Lady Gouldian finches,and until their numbers are secure I wouldnot dream of watching young die in nests,or even successful nestings which pro­duced only a few pairs of young for thesubsequent year.

While some breeders oppose mutationsas unnatural, others pursue the establish­ment of new color varieties with greatzeal. The list below is probably incom­plete, but it tries to list finch mutationswhich presently exist.

I. Shafftails: fawn, pied and whiteexist in England. A fawn specimenappeared in a Georgia breeder's col­lection.

2. Zebra finches: In addition to thecommonly recognized color varie­ties, English breeders have black­breasted and yellow-billed strains. Avariety that may constitute a newmutation has occurred in Floridaand, apparently, elsewhere, and hasbeen discussed earlier in the Watch­bird. Crested zebras exist in the U.S.

3. Star finches: In Australia a yellow­headed variety is common. The redon the head is replaced by a goldenorange similar to the head color of"yellow-head" Lady Gouldians. ACalifornia breeder obtained fromimport a uniformly yellow star finchfour years ago. It has since moultedin several feathers of normal color. Ithas not bred.

4. Diamond Sparrows: A "silver" var­iety which may be a dilute appearedin a Texan's aviaries. The younghave so far showed unusually highmortality in the nest.

5. Lady Gouldians: white and Blue­breasted varieties are now in small

Continued 011 next page 27

Fostered birds, on the other hand, willgenerally have been cage raised. The dietthey are offered as adults will approximatethe diet they have known all their lives.When released into larger breeding quar­ters they will experience an increase infreedom, OT the restriction experiencedby birds which originally flew free. Like­wise, the intelligent breeder will enhancethe diet for breeding stock: these factorshelp arouse the breeding urge.

Opponents of fostering will generalizeabout birds they have known (or heard of)which were fostered and which would notraise their own young. I object to thisunscientific methodology, but for fairnesslet me offer an equally inconclusive obser­vation. Acclimation to captive environ­ments DOES seem to be a problem foraviculturists to overcome. I know of anynumber of cases where wild-trapped birdsshowed no significant nesting activity fortheir first year or two in captivity. Myanswer to question two: I would preferintelligently fostered stock to wild-caughtstock, except for a few cases with rarespecies where all domestically bred stockmay be inbred and the infusion of newblood from wild stock offers a wi e alter­native.

Dave Pancoast has often challenged ourfo tering efforts on the basis of potentialinbreeding. We keep careful records toavoid that result. If a breeder using purelynatural techniques raises four Violet-earedWax bills in a season, what will he do withthose young? Pair them up? Sell two ofthem as a pair? If he is intelligent, he willtry to obtain unrelated stock for thepairings, be they his or his customers'.Fostering - and the concurrent increase inproduction - simply makes more birdsavailable, giving breeders more choicesfor obtaining unrelated young, not fewerchoices. I see no difference in the twosituations insofar as inbreeding isconcerned.

The question of wild-caught stock doesnot apply to Australian species, of course,since export of those birds has been ban­ned since the early sixties. Nevertheless,consider the case of one Australianspecies: the Painted Finch, Emblemapieta. Painted finches were generaly avail­able in the U. S. before the ban onAustralian exports. Breeders failed toreproduce the species. I l'nderstand theremay be one or two males remaining inCalifornia. Some breeders undoubtedlyfostered their Painted finches, but for vari­ous reasons the species is lost to Americanaviculture, as is the Crimson (AustralianFire) finch, to the best of my knowledge.How I wish the breeders who had the finalfew pairs in this country had put those eggsunder society finches'

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It should be pointed out that mutationsare as natural as the species themselves.Eons ago, differences in the first birds ­mutations, if you will - resulted in thewonderful diversity of species we enjoytoday. A more recent example: It is likelythe first Gouldian finches were black­headed and the red-headed variety is theresult of a mutation that became estab­lished in the wild. The yellow head, pre­sent in numbers one-thousandth of that ofred and black-heads, is a more recentmutation. To say one color variety is"more real" than another is a form ofphilosophical bemusement I'm unable tolabel more accurately.

Critics may focus on the use of fosteringwith fairly commonly available species:Cordon Blues, Star finches, and norm~!

Goulds, for example. I would answer withanother question: Are fine birds to beavailable only to expert breeders, and tothose with unlimited funds? There aremore than a dozen breeders now workingwith our Purple Grenadiers who simplywould not own that species if it were notfor fostering. Some of them may succeedwith natural breeding. At least, there aremore opportunities now for success.Breeders now working with our starfinches might have found stock elsewhere,

continued on next page

COlllillued frolll page 22

PRO·FOSTERING

numbers in the U. S., and there arereports of a blue-backed variety.Dilute-backed Gouldians in Austra­lia, Europe and S. Africa have thehead color diminished and the greenof the back replaced by a pale yel­low. There are reports of red-breas­ted Gouldians in S. Africa. LutinoGouldians were bred in Australiaand at one time it is reported severaldozen existed, but it can not be con­firmed that the mutation still exists.Disease destroyed the breedingstock of the two most successfulbreeders of that mutation.

6. Society finches: the crested varietyis now fairly common in the U.S. .

7. Strawberry finches with a few whiteflight feathers have appeared in aFlorida aviary, but have not beenestablished as a true-breeding vari­ety.

It is interesting to note that almost all ofthe mutations have occurred in Australianfinches. which are the most domesticatedof the finch species. Is that simply theresult of greater captive breeding andmanagement when the mutations appear'J

39 mgs

25 mgs.0.069 mg.TraceTrace0.7 mgs.0.037 mg.0.008 mg.0.245 mg.. 39 mgs. 50 mgs.

E . 10 IUK . 0.001 mg.C .6 mgs.BioflavanoidComplex. . 0.85 mg.HesperedineComplex. . 0.735 mg.Rutin. . 0.365 mg.B, . . 0.5 mgs.B2 . • 0.5 mgs.B.. . 0.5 mgs.B'2 . 0.001 mg.Choline . 7.8 mgs.Inositol . 7.8 mgs.

THE SECRETIS OUT.

NET WEIGHT 50Z .

Analysis per 3.5 grams (approximately one teaspoon). 6001U. 0.365 mg.

Niacinamide 3.7 mgs.PABA. .2 mgs.Biotin . 0.003 mg.Calcium. . 170 mgs.Phosphorus. 170 mgs.Magnesium. 7.3 mgs.PotassiumChloride .SodiumChloride .ManganeseCobaltSiliconIron .CopperIodineZinc .Proline.Serine

The secret of Avia' s Pantothenic"Magic Powers" has Acid . 2.5 mgs.b II d d t Folic Acid . 0.122 mg.een we guar e up 0

now. Whispered in top aviaries around the world, concealed from the public, men with thatspecial edge know that when it comes to developing the most brilliant intense colorationcovering the full breadth of the spectrum, that when it comes to developing luxuriant plumage, fullweight and all those enviable qualities of vitality and durability Avia has no peer.

ACaroteneCantha-xanthin . 1.8 mgs.OJ . .60 IUArginine . 32 mgs.Histidine . 13 mgs.Isoleucine. . 24 mgs.Leucine . 33 mgs.Phenylalanine. 30 mgs.Tyrosin~ . . 33 mgs.Methionine . 12 mgs.Cystine. . 8 mgs.Threonine. . 33 mgs.Tryptophane . 9 mgs.Valine . 40 mgsLysine . . 44 mgs.Alanine . 30 mgs.Aspartic Acid. 50 mgs.Glutamic Acid. 140 mgsGlycine. . 36 mgs

Available from leading bird supply shops or from:

NUTRA-VET RESEARCH CORPORATION, 201 Smith Street.

PoughkeepSie. NY 12601 914-473-1900

2 ozs $2.99 - 5 ozs $6.49 - 9'1. ozs $9.79

20 ozs $17.49 - SIbs $57.60PLEASE ADD $1.00 FOR SHIPPING AND

HANDLING ON ORDERS UNDER $9.79.

27

ATTENTION! ALL '79BIRD EXHIBITIONS

The American Federation of Avicultureis offering complimentary patronage showawards to all clubs holding shows in 1979.These awards are in the form ofcertificatessuitable for framing plus one year sub­scriptions to "Watchbird" magazine.A.F.A. awards are to be offered at thediscretion of your local show committee.

Clubs which are '79 affiliated membersof A.F.A. are entitled to three award cer­tificates and three "Watchbird" subscrip­tions. Non-affiliated clubs can receive onecertificate and one subscription. We canonly honor one show per club.

The following information is needed inapplying for A.F.A. show awards:Name of Club~ _Date of Show ~ _SecretaryAddress~ Zip~ _Telephone__ A.F.A. affiliated club member(3 awards)__ Non-affiliated club member(I award)Please send request to: (203) 688-4069

Nancy A. Reed/Award Committee55 Sunnyfield Dr.Windsor, Conn. 06095

November 3, 1979Greater Pittsburgh Cage Bird

Societypresents its

5th Annual All Bird Showand

A.B.S. District No.3 RegionalShow Loc:atioll:

Ramada Inn, Rt. 8, & McNeal Rd.PA. Turnpike Exit No.4

Allison Park, PA.Judges

Ed Rogacki-Type CanariesAdelaide Walow-Amer. Singers

Scott R itch ie-Color-bred CanariesDick Ryan-Foreign Birds &

American BudgiesTony Mancini-English Budgies

For more information, contact.Karen KroshefskyShow Secretary

406 Camel DriveAliquippa, PA 15001

28

but perhaps not at the price ($60/pr) whichfostering has made possible for us. I wouldargue that the increased productivity ofourGoulds due to fostering has made it pos­sible for us to breed selectively enough toproduce stock the size of which we're veryproud.

A related observation on star finches:because ours were so prolific, I wanted toset up a colony to raise their own young. Ibought stock from two different Californiabreeders whose stars had been raisednaturally for many generations, and werequite reliable parents. None of those birdshas ever successfully raised young in ouraviaries. Had the stars been fostered stockplaced in the hands of a critic of fostering,their failure would have been erroneouslyattributed to their background.

I also mentioned what purists considerthe chief bugaboo: economic considera­tions. Is here something intrinsicallywrong with the breeder who fosters inorder to raise more birds to make moremoney? First, they make more birds avial­able to more breeders. The waiting lists forbirds from breeders all over the countryattest to the need for more birds. Surelythen, increasing production in a respons­ible manner is a contribution to Americanaviculture.

There is another factor, too. If I had notfostered my stars, I would probably still bebreeding silverbills and zebras, unlessboredom drove me out of the fancy entire­Iy. Instead, the increased income fromincreased productivity has financed movesinto new species, new varieties. Anyreader who might someday obtain PeterTwinspots, Blue-breasted Lady Goulds,or any of the other birds we raise, owes adebt to fostering. Because of other finan­cial responsibilities, we simply would notnow be breeding those many types of birdshad we not fostered.

To be sure, we MUST have breederswho rely solely on natural breeding, andwho invest great effort in making thoseexperiments succeed. Some will concen­trate in this way because they have thefinancial capacity to do so. They deserveour praise and respect. But we can consi­der their efforts in a positive way ONLY ifthey do two things: I) succeed, and 2)make their offspring available to others. Inthe absence of these two things, or at leastof the first (with publication of method­ology for other hobbyists) there is NOcontribution to American aviculture, andthat, by the very standards of the AFA, iswhat we should be talking about here.

Fostering also reduces the demands onwild-caught stock, thus causing less deple­tion of wild populations - another goal ofthe AFA.

Before concluding, let me ask somequestions for readers to ponder:

1. One danger of fostering is that thefostered offspring might prefer mates ofthe foster parent species to their ownspecies. How many of you attempt to raiseowl finches, Goulds, or Twinspots inflights WITH society finches?

2. Some species of birds, the Why­dahs, for example, are basicaly parasiticand are NEVER raised by their naturalparents. If imprinting is an inescapableconclusion of fostering, how do theseoffspring of "naturally-fostered" speciesmanage to continue reproducing their ownkind?

3. Eggs are now taken from the near­extinct Whooping Crane and placed undersand cranes. The Whoopers will then layagain and it is hoped the technique willincrease their numbers. Do you endorsethis practice? It is fostering.

4. For wild-caught Peregrine Falconsto breed in cages, Cornell-trained orni­thologist Heinz Meng believes they mustbe taken captive before leaving their natalnests. He says he knows of no peregrinetaken later in life that has been success­fully bred. Is it not possible that captive­raised offspring - even if fostered - aresuperior to wild-caught stock for captivebreeding programs?

5. No details need be given to remindreaders of the incredibly extensivechanges taking place in the planet's envi­ronment, changes which threaten manyspecies in the wild. Nor must details begiven to remind readers of our govern­ment's ever-more-restrictive policies onbird importations. Do you believe thefuture of American aviculture lies indomestic breeding programs?

I'll rest my argument on the answer tothis final question. If you believe, as I do,that we must now rely on the stock weNOW have, and upon our own skills atbreeding, you may share my conclusions:

I. The future of American aviculture isin our hands - and in our cages andaviaries.

2. We must never stop watching forharmful side-effects of ANY captive pro­cedures, be they techniques for feeding,housing, or raising young.

3. Fostering - like serious efforts topromote natural breeding - must bepursued diligently, wisely, and must beconsidered a positive contribution to ourfuture.

Tom Gade, founder and director of theperegrine-breeding project at CornellUniversity, offers this final thought:

"Compromise," he says, "is the neces­sary rule of our time, for man and hisenvironment. '