The death of the living stamp collection - An immersive and higher welfare future for all birds.

Thinking almost constantly about the future (and the future of bird keeping in particular) I often find myself asking the same questions, often in different ways and formats but one of the main ponderances I reach is "What is the future shape of bird exhibition?".

To be clear here I am not considering the future of exhibition in the show and competition circles (these do not thrill me in the slightest and on a basic level are limited in development by the very basis on which they must exist, but that's another story). I am talking about the way the average human will perceive and interact with exotic birds in zoos and to some degree private collections in the future and also, how this might impact the all important welfare of our birds, a new indicator for excellence in a new avicultural era (see Is it time for a new "Golden age" of aviculture?).

Macaw species are often over represented and "stamp collected" due to their variability, colour and sometimes rarity and value.

 So lets look back and consider the historic influences on bird exhibition. It is fair to say that the roots are entrenched as were so many taxa, within the menagerie style displays of previous centuries which rather than educate, seek to simply demonstrate the exotic, much like one might show a mounted butterfly collection in a museum. Even scientific institutions placed more interest in the cladistics of birds than their behaviour or welfare and so the "stamp collector" method evolved, a method so pervasive that it still exists today in almost all circles of aviculture.

Like so many stamps, history has sometimes made mad collectors out of good birdkeepers.

 Over time, as human perceptions of animals changed, the way they were displayed changed also, ushering in the Hagenbeck revolution of the 1890s and onward. This was the first real step which considered education and immersion as it's core value. Hagenbeck was famous for creating panorama enclosures which approximated wild habitats and where needed kept animals physically separated by moats and the like, but still visually cohesive to the viewer. At last the charismatic mammals of the globe could be seen in some context, as they would exist in the wild. There must have also been a slight shift in welfare (maybe not intentionally) for these individuals, now sharing space with others of their kind and other compatible species. This of course was far from what we expect today, but for the time a great leap forward.

The Bronx zoo bird atrium in 1905 - one of the first heavyweight attempts at quality space for birds.

It is here however that methods diverge a little. By and large birds were not given such attention for a number of possible reasons. It is possible that the public drives (as they still do today) pushed for innovation with charismatic megafauna but were less concerned with birds. It could be that the physical aspect of flight may have placed a dampener on such displays as interestingly birds which could be pinioned (an operation to remove flight) such as flamingos, pelicans and waterfowl were included in such situations fairly early on. It seems however that for one reason or another the Hagenbeck train left most bird species behind in this respect, with the "stamp collection" method being the norm in many public and private collections, preferring to show row upon row of bird species in fairly empty environments, often as a display of species rather than a practical demonstration of survival and adaptation to habitat. Even now many collections house rows of block aviaries inherited from an earlier time when eating, flying and breeding were the only real considerations for a bird. Tragically in some parts of the world intensive bird farms exist knowingly continuing this tradition.

Although there are a few sporadic examples at the beginning, it was not until fairly late in the last century that volumes of space were considered a basic requirement for birds, with one example, the Snowdon aviary in London Zoo designed to house a flock of ibis on the banks of Regent's canal. It was at this time that aviculturists across the board really started considering what constituted an interesting habitat for a bird and also, like Hagenbeck's designs, the Snowdon allowed for immersion by allowing visitors to walk amongst the birds and see them moving around as nature intended. Glimpses of the future can be found peppered through history, with the whole concept being developed something like a jigsaw puzzle, parts learnt and nurtured here and there which later combine to produce an even more advanced environment.

The Snowdon Aviary 1962 - it is an ironic tragedy that this icon is at present being converted for use with primate species.

So having established the basic blueprint for an immersive, welfare based aviary, collections the world over began to develop similar facilities, experimenting more with housing birds together that would never have been a consideration before. This resulted in interesting environments that must have been far removed from the traditional block aviaries that were so common previously.

When I imagine (and we have to here) what the viewer's perception of such a change must have been, it's possible that these new aviaries shone a light on the previous unsatisfactory designs and produced a zoo bias toward "birds in cages" that was not there before, it could indeed have been the start of the same logic that plagues every bird keeper to this day, the assumed subjective understanding that every lay onlooker believes they have. Indeed there is a persistent ideology that space equals good welfare, when in reality it is the quality of the space that has more bearing than volume, but of course, if you provide ample good quality space your birds win on all fronts.

In some places the old way still remains in varying degrees, it could be down to lack of space, lack of funds, convenience or just lack of knowledge. In private collections this is still often the case, with collecting being more common than it is in public zoos these days. One thing is obvious however, housing mammals in a manner similar to the 1900's norm would be rightly unacceptable today, why then is the same acceptable for birds?

A modern bird farm shows the typical "block" design.

I won't caption this one, I'll leave it to you...

 There are obvious benefits to block aviaries and when used correctly these can be part of a very effective avian husbandry strategy, but they are certainly not required to display to the public. If you have a pair of highly territorial birds which do not play nice with their usual neighbours in a larger communal aviary then housing them off show for the duration of their breeding cycle would be beneficial for all, and on a welfare front the birds would be so busy rearing young that compromise is unlikely to occur. Again this sort of situation requires peace and quiet rather than public observation, so it is my opinion that block aviaries should be used as a "tool" rather than a long term housing solution for birds, much as we may use an incubator or net.

So then, what should we aim for when creating new environment in which to display birds?

We have to consider 3 parties, viewers, birds and keepers, in no particular order.

I used to believe that it was impossible to build an aviary in which all three could co-exist happily, but these days it is becoming more and more clear that with a bit of forward thinking this is most definitely not the case. It IS still easy to produce an outcome which favours one group heavily over the other but that does not mean balance cannot be achieved.

There are many extra factors in play today (and will be more in future) which make this even easier. Animal training has come on leaps and bounds and now allows for passive management of birds without the need for stress on their part. Technologies exist to help viewers and keepers observe and interpret the birds without having to be invasive in any way.

Interpretation is key in this scenario, it is fine to present several well adjusted species in a wonderful microbiome but without allowing viewers to understand what to see and how, you end up with very happy birds but rather bewildered viewers. Offering such a brilliant opportunity to learn only to fail the viewer with lack of direction renders the exercise futile.

Face to face - A red crested turaco in a natural environment presents a much more engaging prospect.

Engagement is also critical. how can you get the viewer closer to the birds in a way that cannot be interpreted as contrived or subservient to the viewer? Clever husbandry planning can induce some truly wonderful moments for onlookers. Much in the way that Disney pioneered an almost screenplayed safari at Disney's Animal Kingdom, it is possible to place enrichment and motivation in areas where viewers are likely to congregate and encounter the birds. I have personally seen many times the difference in demeanour between a zoo guest who has looked at a row of aviaries, a zoo guest who has seen an inactive, sedentary bird within a walkthrough and a zoo guest who has truly encountered a bird in a way that was interpretable by anyone with even a basic understanding of animals. It is a fine line however between this sweet spot and producing an experience which is forced and leaves the viewer with the feeling that the bird is obliged to entertain them, rather than themselves being obliged to respect and understand the bird in question.

So ultimately if we design an exhibit which aims to deliver this experience to viewers, aims to provide a highly stimulating, high welfare environment for the species living within it and aims to be reasonably accessible and functionally manageable for keepers, we are on the right track. Technology can be incorporated to a high level but must only ever serve functionally as a means of assisting these aims, never overshadowing them.

I could go into the details of collection planning here, but that is maybe for another day, as it is far more complicated a topic than can be covered in part of another article.

Will we ever see the death of the "stamp collection"?
 I'm not sure, in some aspects pooling expertise in certain genera can be helpful but this is seldom the motivation for accumulating species within collections and is certainly a poor way to show the diversity of the avian class. At the other end of the scale we have the ever present fear of creating homogeneous public collections which vary very little from one another due to regional collection plans and trends, something which in my opinion is equally as dreadful. One thing I honestly hope to see the extinction of in the coming century is the block aviary (at least on public display anyway!).

As ever really have a think (after you have read the following item) and see what changes you could make to you birds environments that could improve any of these criteria. Even better, go crazy and knock some blocks through into bigger better spaces!

Stay awesome and keep giving your birds 110%,

C.

With that I leave you with some cracking further reading from a legend of the zoo world which really captures the sentiments of good display and how species is not always as important as interpretation.

Take it away Mr Conway...

How to Exhibit a Bullfrog: A Bed-Time Story for Zoo Men (or women!)

Is it time for another "Golden Age" of Aviculture?

Come with me now on a journey through time and space...

Let me set the scene for those not familiar with the history of aviculture -

Birdkeeping of all sorts has always been popular in both private, professional and conservation contexts. The history of aviculture is almost as old as civilised human society, with many of the great civilisations of the past caring for and venerating certain species of bird. In more recent times however, lets say the past 200 years, aviculture as we now know it started to develop and within the past 100 it really took off. Huge numbers of bird species have now been kept, studied and even bred in human care and we have learnt much about them thanks to the dedicated bird keepers of the past that took the time to push forward with new species and document their work so that we could repeat the same in future. The past 100 years has been punctuated by an era that is fondly referred to as "The Golden Age", a time where great progress was made and a wealth of species became accessible to bird keepers the world over. This era spanned between the 1930's and the 1970's, from a time when keepers such as Ezra and Delacour were highly active, pioneering with fresh species through to the heydays when incredibly uncommon species were being kept in both zoos and private collections. It is generally considered that in the last 50 years aviculture has been in decline although it is my personal opinion that this is not the case (more on that later). The idea of a second "Golden Age" would then seem far fetched, but this, as you will hopefully see, may all be a case of perspective.

A metaphor. That will make more sense later!

So which characteristics defined our perspective on what could be considered excellence?

During those eras it's worth remembering that in general the science of animal welfare was still largely in it's infancy and what was known about the subjective inner workings of other animals, let alone birds in their tetrachromatic, high speed world was relatively little, if anything at all. Often discoveries were made on a trial and error basis, adapting methods and hoping for the best. It was considered for the best part of this era that if a bird bred, it was contented with it's lot. It is important to point out that this ideal was not created out of ignorance on the part of the keepers of the time, this was just the most reasonable observation they could make with what info was available to them. Keeping that in mind it is no surprise that the standards for excellence were focused sharply on breeding performance.

Wild Australian magpies show play behaviour when encountering a washing line.

The second factor of the "Golden Age" was availability. In that time much of the founding stock for today's well known species was brought from the wild into human care. Some were lucky and might end up in the hands of responsible keepers who would go on to develop husbandry techniques and diets for these species and form the basis of all we know today. Many however would end up in the hands of novices who may achieve minimal success or worse not even make the trip. Some estimates placed a survival ratio of 10:1 on imported birds, with thousands being trapped and exported and a lucky handful surviving the journeys. These were dark days and although this kind of activity is now reduced, it still very much goes on in parts of the world with undeveloped justice systems. We must never forget the sacrifices that were made so that we can enjoy birds in our lives today and that too gives us a greater responsibility to maintain them for the future so such terrible things do not ever repeat themselves.

One aspect of this availability to consider is the large number of wild caught, pre bonded pairs of birds which must have made their way into the system, the only familiar thing in their new life being each other, this may have helped facilitate many of the sudden breeding successes of this era in what would otherwise be considered poor conditions.

So what has changed since the 1970's and how is that relevant?

The 60's, 70's and 80's were decades where people's awareness of the world around them really started to blossom, many new ideas gave rise to new fields of science. Animal welfare and the veterinary sciences really began to develop in these decades as we learnt more and more about how animals function both physiologically and psychologically. Today we take this information for granted but there does still seem to be a disconnect between the current state of science and traditional aviculture. Toward the end of the 80's scientists such as Marian Stamp Dawkins were unravelling more and more of the inner workings of animal cognition and laying the groundwork for the past 20 years, where our understanding of avian consciousness has come on leaps and bounds. Avian veterinary science is now a strong field where previously unfixable issues are being solved with new state of the art drugs and birds that would have been a lost cause are now just weeks away from full recovery in some cases.

This sun conure has learned to identify and place coloured rings, with a little help this is not hard for birds.

The world is a very different one here in 2018. We understand now that each bird has a subjective experience of the world around it quite unlike our own and often more complex, with birds seeing hundreds of light frequencies that to us are invisible, they regularly perceive life in 3 dimensions rather than our traditional terrestrial 2, for a bird, there is a lot going on and a lot it would seem, that we have neglected to consider when caring for them until recently. It is true that if a bird breeds regularly it's biological needs are being catered for, indeed almost every biological process is designed to reach this end, reproduction of course being the driving force behind evolution. But is it any longer acceptable to think that because a bird is in good health and is biologically active that it's subjective needs are being fulfilled? The general consensus amongst contemporary bird keepers is no.

We have established then, that to just breed is not an accurate measure of the psychological welfare of a bird and that there is much more to a bird's life than just this process. If we change our perspective at this point, suddenly things seem to look quite different. The past 50 years have not bought us a swathe of new species to breed but what they have bought us is something far greater, something no doubt the pioneers of the first "Golden Age" would have found fascinating. They have bought us understanding and insight, information that we are just now really starting to put into practise.

All over the world traditional husbandry systems are being changed or replaced with new high welfare alternatives. In zoos many birds that traditionally had to be chased down and caught in nets are now trained to freely enter crates themselves and some species are even taking part in their own health care, with training extending to voluntary injections and presentation for anaesthesia.

Here a Yellow fronted amazon participates in his own healthcare.

If we stop focusing on the outdated ethos that eggs = happy and really start to consider the psychological welfare of our birds the possibilities for groundbreaking innovation are endless. Going back to my comment earlier about not believing that the last 50 years have seen a decline in aviculture I would say that instead they have seen a transformation into something less recognisable but ultimately far more rewarding for birds and keepers alike. It is sad that many sectors of aviculture still have not embraced these changes and maybe they never will, but for now there are a strong and dedicated demographic of aviculturists who are changing the way we keep birds and empowering them to get involved with their own lives rather than just be subjects of breeding interest. The results speak for themselves.

Under our "new" criteria for avicultural excellence in the 21st century, based on the past 50 years it seems fair that we can say our main priorities now are sustainable breeding to protect wild populations, observing high levels of welfare for the birds in our care, reducing stress via behavioural management and providing the best possible nutrition and health care. All of these things are possible to achieve and are being achieved in both zoo and private contexts.

All around us these new ideas are being put into play in innovative and exciting new ways which directly and considerably improve the way our birds live.

Now the idea of a second, enlightened "Golden Age of Aviculture" does not seem far fetched at all does it?
See, I told you, a little perspective... In fact it may have already started!

There are plenty of amazing examples that I have not covered here, I challenge you to research yourself and find some new methods that you have not heard of before and maybe even put a few in place with your charges.

Till next time, keep being awesome to your birds and yourself.

C.

Micromonsters - Health and Husbandry in Aviculture - Aspergillus Sp.

Disclaimer - I am in no way a vet and do not claim to be, it is probably likely that you are also not a vet. As birdkeepers we can however arm ourselves with the information we require to manage our birds effectively and reduce the chances of poor health. This DOES NOT mean that this information or the practise of preventative husbandry is a substitute for GENUINE VET CARE AND TREATMENT. If you have a bird that is sick and you are looking here for help, you are far too late for this to be useful, please contact your vet immediately.

I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE USE OR MISUSE OF INFORMATION AND LACK OF VET CARE, THAT REMAINS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AS THE KEEPER OF YOUR BIRDS.

Before we start, two things, I am not going to go through the veterinary side of things here as that is not the focus of this series of articles, also I will not be filling the article with tons of gross pictures of infections, I trust if you would like to learn more on that front you can do so but it would not be needed here.

Let's crack on...

In this action packed instalment of Micromonsters we are going to look at a group of pathogens very commonly encountered in aviculture and the wider world, this group are the Aspergillus Species.

For the uninitiated I am going to quickly go through the terms you may have heard before but become confused by so that everyone is clear moving forward. The term Aspergillus refers to the organism itself as the causing agent, in the sense that matches cause fires but they are not fires themselves. Aspergillosis is the disease caused by the organism itself if favourable conditions prevail, the "fire" if you like. One other term often used is Aspergilloma, which refers to a very localised and sometimes long term colony of Aspergillus present within the bird itself.

If you read the introduction to this series you will know that Aspergillus species are fungi, specifically affiliated with the moulds. There are a about 250 species within the genus Aspergillus which is why I generally refer to them as Aspergillus Sp. here as there are several of note that will have the same effect on our birds, but they can in practise be treated more or less the same.

Any bird (and many other animals) can be effected by Aspergillosis but some are more vulnerable than others, often because of prevalent conditions and the needs of that species.

Some Birds species often vulnerable include -

Penguins - Coming from and requiring water these birds are more likely to be exposed to high humidity, their flightless nature places them much closer to the source of infection, at nesting time in particular. In the wild the saline nature and movement of the water nearby would reduce incidence of fungal pathogens, often in human care however, penguins are kept in freshwater which does not have the same effect.

Snowy Owls - Coming from very cold climates where pathogen pools would be strictly limited by the temperature, these birds (and some other cold climate species) can become vulnerable when kept in temperate climates where spore count is high and resistance low.

Birds of prey - Species which have evolved for a high level of performance in turn have advanced respiratory systems which can easily be compromised by the wrong conditions.

Pionus Sp. - Medium sized members of the parrot family often hailing from the humid could forests of the Americas, these species display a strong resistance to Aspergillus which becomes their undoing in the company of humans, as they will hide symptoms so well for so long that it is often to late to treat by the time to problem is identified.

Tropical Birds of various species - Quetzals, Trogons, Turacos, Toucans etc.. can be more vulnerable due to the higher humidity they require to thrive.

This is just a small selection of the more common candidates, but again under the right circumstances any birds can succumb.

Members of the Genus Pionus are known for being at high risk when it comes to Aspergillus. This Handsome spectacle is a White Crowned Pionus if you were wondering.

The initial damage to our birds is centred around the lungs, with the organism being inhaled, groomed from feathers or already present and taking advantage of individuals in an immunocompromised state, without a healthy immune system to defend the body the pathogen can run rampant, growing through the lungs and producing breathing difficulties for the bird. If left untreated in later stages the toxins produced by the fungus itself will find their way into the bloodstream causing the kidneys to struggle and eventually death will occur, often birds do not even make it to this stage in advanced cases.

It is important to stress the fact that under normal circumstances a healthy bird can easily deal with a normal amount of Aspergillus spores and indeed they are present in almost every environment (not to creep you out, but I could say with reasonable certainty that there are some on YOU right now. It is generally only when a bird is struggling with something else that it will succumb to an infection of this type or in certain cases where conditions are poor the bird can be absolutely overwhelmed by spores to the point that it's immune system becomes exhausted, but this is rare in good conditions.

When we want to try to prevent this in our birds we must look at two things, avoiding the situations that compromise our birds and make them vulnerable AND reducing the pool of pathogens around them. Of course eliminating them completely would be next to impossible but reducing them significantly will reduce the chances of mass exposure and it is here where we can use careful husbandry planning to help ourselves and our birds.

So looking at reducing compromising situations we are looking generally at stress and health. Stress as mentioned in other articles is subjective to the bird, that is to say that you do not know what that bird experiences or perceives as stressful, therefore we must consider the behavioural cues we receive from our birds that may tell us a few things. Instances where birds try to move away or escape are clear indicators that the situation is causing fear or pain, both of which will cause stress to the bird. Stress can also be social, is the bird in an overcrowded aviary with others it does not feel comfortable with. Falling into the age old "in the wild" trap is easy here as yes, often many species would co-exist together in the wild, but NEVER under enclosed circumstances such as we find in aviaries, the option to leave an area and cool down would always be available in the wild, alas in aviaries, it is not. Such problems ignored can easily escalate into a feedback loop of stress which finds no relief and you guessed it, over time the end product is an immunocompromised bird that is a prime target for an opportunistic fungus or worse. Remember to monitor behaviour and take note from other keepers that have mixed bird species before, they usually speak from a point of having already tried and failed with some species. Obvious examples are predatory species with prey species and species that are known for being territorial. They will often be fine for a while, with social stress only becoming obvious at a later date when it is to late to undo the stress caused.

Training our birds can have a massive effect in this respect as potentially stressful situations can be converted into good ones to some degree, a fine example is crate training, this involves teaching a bird to enter it's crate or box voluntarily which then massively reduces stress by avoiding a catch up with traditional net techniques or rounding the bird up manually and restraining by force, which are all traumatic experiences for most birds. Catching and transport can be a major source of stress and often individuals can be struck down shortly after arrival at their new quarters once the fallout of the journey kicks in. Allowing our birds to be active participants in their care increases their feeling of control and therefore reduces stress.

Frustratingly the stunning Resplendent Quetzal and it's relatives are known for high mortality rates in human care connected to Aspergillosis.

General husbandry can have an impact by keeping things clean and making good choices in design and maintenance. A well designed aviary with plenty of space for exercise will allow your birds to remain in optimum health. Appropriate shelter for that species needs to be offered depending on the conditions you keep them in. Good hygiene is critical to good health and I would hope that I can gloss past this on the assumption that if you have got this far you already know this. Selecting a good disinfectant which covers fungal species as well as the other pathogen groups covered in the introduction will help here.

The main point of concern when looking at Aspergillus is choice of substrate and air conditions within the flight and or shelter. Aspergillus thrives on carbon based substrates and breaks down the various sugars found in them as food much as other moulds would. The main offenders are dusty substrates such as bark, shavings or sawdust which when combined with humid conditions and poor ventilation provide an incubator for Aspergillus, sending the spore count through the roof and presenting a ticking fungal time bomb for our feathered inhabitants. When selecting a good substrate to reduce these issues, often substrates such as dry clean sand can be effective as they offer little in the way of home comfort for Aspergillus, sand also has desiccant properties if kept dry and will further dry out any feces that might offer pathogens an outpost. The flip side to sand is that it is heavy and requires regular changing if you wish to keep it clean with large birds, it is however worth it if you can make it work. Other organic substrates with low spore counts are available which present a considerable improvement on bark and other waste wood based options, these include Hemp, Miscanthus and Aspen to name just a few. Do some research into what works best for you and the environment within your aviaries. Another thing to consider is the vegetation in the aviary, fungal spores can thrive on decaying leaves and vegetable matter so keep plants trim and healthy and the floor tidy.

Meet the delightful Aspergillus fumigatus, one of the main offenders from it's genus. Seen here sporting Prussian Blue.

Finally we must address the air within the aviary. Outside is not so much of an issue but usually poorly managed shelters can be a problem. A good level of air flow is needed, usually you can tell if somewhere feels fresh or stale just by sensing the air, does your shelter feel stuffy? does it smell fresh or damp? These obvious things are indicators you would use in your own home and often have the same causes. If you are in doubt, get hold of a hygrometer (usually available at reptile stores or online) and see what sort of humidity levels are common, anything higher that about 60% will lend itself to aiding fungal growth. One concern is that some species of bird require high humidity to be comfortable, and so you can see how ventilation is important as it is the only other means to easily reduce mould growth in enclosed conditions.

In conclusion we cannot protect our birds from exposure to Aspergillus and resulting Aspergillosis therefore we must focus on the influencing factors and reduction of the pathogen pool as a preventative before the disease occurs.

To recap -

Reduce stressful situations, monitor behaviour, consider where training could help you here.
Maintain general good health and an environment which allows exercise.
Keep everything clean and dust free, remove old food.
Keep things as dry as your birds needs will allow.
Maintain good ventilation in all areas
Choose an appropriate substrate for your conditions.

If you are lucky some of these precautions should also reduce some other pathogens as well as Aspergillus, reducing chances further. Air filters are available if you want to go the extra mile and reduce dust in the air and in certain environments these can be a blessing if managed correctly.

I hope this has been an interesting (and thankfully brief) introduction to the fungal horror which hides in plain sight. Forewarned is forearmed, have a think about areas within your aviaries that could be a risk, can you make any changes to improve them?

Until next time, keep giving your birds the 110% they deserve!

C.