Field & General Reports

In June 2004 I spent three days taking faecal samples from all flights on both the north and south sides of the finca: mature breeding pairs of Scarlet Macaws, Great Green Macaws, and juvenile flights.

In all samples I saw medium to large amounts of mixed bacteria, a few yeast, and occasional pollen. In approximately 10% of the 30 or so samples collected I also observed ascarids (round worms). It would be normal to see this because a majority of the parrots are in contact with the ground, but this low percentage speaks well of the flock's overall good health. *

All birds are in good feather and overall appear to be in good health. Diet at Amigo de las Aves is exceptionally good: a healthful combination of masa corn, rice, peas, vitamins and minerals, and occasionally seeds and nuts with daily fresh chopped fruits and vegetables.

I was honoured to be a part of this wonderful good work and look forward to another work/study month there again soon.

* As a part of regular husbandry the head keeper worms the flock three times annually.

January 2005
Michelle Burt Senior Veterianry Technician, RVT With Oakland Zoo, California.

In January 2005, I volunteered with Amigos de las Aves for 2 weeks. During that time, I collected approximately 40 fecal samples for parasite testing from the north and south aviaries, juvenile flight, and indoor patio birds. All fecal tests were performed by direct smear method.

In total, there were 13 samples positive for parasite ova - approximately 33% of the samples tested - which is an increase from when fecals were performed 6 months ago. Both ascarids and strongyles were seen on 5 samples, ascarids only were seen on 4 samples, and strongyles only were seen on 3 samples. Capillaria ova were seen on one toucan sample. Mixed bacteria were seen on occasional samples, and 2 live, unidentified worms were seen on two separate samples.

The great green macaws in the northeast flight had the highest percentage of positive samples (approximately 80% of samples from that aviary), followed by the scarlet macaw in the northwest aviary (approximately 30% of samples from that aviary). This may be due to the birds' access to and contact with the ground.

All positive birds were dewormed with Panacur (fenbendazole); the toucan was wormed with both fenbendazole and ivermectin.

Overall, all birds appear to be in good health and are in excellent feather. I enjoyed my time at Amigos de las Aves greatly, and I hope to return regularly to continue to assist in the fecal and deworming regimen.

May 2006
Dr. Silvia Coto CMV #900

Our breeding centre counts with around 250 birds among Great Green and Scarlet Macaws. The veterinary visits are done once or twice a week and we communicate almost daily via phone or email. Such strong communication and close contact with the animls let us detect any problem right on time and take corrective measures, as well to do improvements and come up with new ideas and changes.

Our birds are under strict supervision and monitoring of general health status. We periodically run fecal tests and do dewormings at least every 6 months or per need depending on the fecal tests results. Any medical condition is quickly detected and treated. When required surgery or special proceedures our close relationship with the Veterinary Teaching Hospital form the UNA university let us work with the best equipment and best trained staff and veterinarians Costa Rica has to offer. We provide to senior veterinary students through this means, the posssibility of having hands on practice in avian medicine, surgery and handling. Every postsurgical period counts with daily veterinary visits for a proper follow up.

We are committed to offer our birds the best care. Thanks to the volunteers, keepers, veterinarians and technicians that have helped and supported our project with their work and advice at the breeding centre or through the distance.

The breeding season has already started and we receive with joy every new bird hatched to fly free!

January 2007

After an extreemly successful breeding season during 2006, preparations for the oncoming breeding season began in September 2006, once all the birds had been moved into flocking flights for the following four months.

We encourage the birds to flock and interact during this time, to remind them that they are birds, that they may enjoy interaction with other birds, that they may choose their mates for the coming season, and generally just stretch their wings.

We then begin to clean the aviaries. Firstly old perching is removed and the area and wire are scrubbed with Virkon. Any repairs are made at this time and the wiring replaced if necessary. All screens are inspected and either replaced or repaired. Nestboxes are taken down, old nesting material burnt and boxes thoroughly scrubbed with Virkon - new boxes are made if necessary.

Wire flooring was removed two years ago, as it proved to be too difficult to clean underneath. Regular worming checks are carried out every four months, with worming and mite spraying being administered inbetween, three times a year. Therefore, all aviary bottoms are dug out to two inches and if necessary replaced with new turf and also sprayed with Virkon.

Work begins on finding new perching and wood is collected to begin to chop substrate material for nesting. This accounts for a large proportion of time, and when this is completed, it is time for the boxes to be filled, sprayed with Virkon and re-hung. Vertical for Scarlet Macaws and Horizontal for the Great Greens.

The job of pairing birds is usually made easy - depending upon paperwork of course. Scarlet macaws tend to be a little more fickle than the Great Greens and although some of the older much more established pairs rarely stray too far from their partners, a lot of the younger birds do tend to pick new partners. This can make the job of catching "pairs" quite difficult and usually takes over a week to complete. The Great Greens appear to stay with their partners, regardless of time, if they have found a mate, they stay put. So it is relatively easy to find the pairs in the flights.

We find there are always "spare" birds left in the Scarlet flights and recently we have found that the placement of three or four nesting boxes have encouraged these birds to pair up. Last year we had three breeding pairs in the flight, all producing youngsters. So again this year, we shall continue with this practice.

There is obviously going to be the odd moving around of birds in the aviaries within the first month as compatibility does not always follow. Usually within the first month to 6 weeks we have eggs from the Scarlet Macaws, whereas the Great Greens tend to be about 2 months before the first egg.

And so, onwards we go towards another breeding season……. New pairs, new babies, new bonds …… lots of early and late hours ……… but all so worth while.