Wild chicks vs Captive chicks... Slight study on Quakers and Budgies

[Monica]

After Lynda’s post on the wild quaker chick that was rescued, I've been thinking. The rescue quaker (guessed to be 4-5 weeks old) had a beak that seemed more developed than Quinn, though from the looks of feathers, looked younger than her current 6 week old quaker (Quinn). Why would a younger quaker from the wild have a harder beak than one in captivity?

Well, I've been reading so much that I've read in the wild, budgies can produce a clutch of eggs, and raise them, then as soon as the chicks wean/fledge, the chicks are able to leave the nest, and raise a family of their own if it is still during breeding season for them. In captivity however, most people worry about letting young chicks raise families of their own because the females usually have a high rate of egg binding at a younger age, are less mature and young males tend to not 'understand' the idea of mating and raising a family, though usually understand flirting all too well.

So what's the difference? Wild budgies are usually foraging throughout the day, flying around grasslands to find food for the flock to eat, or watering holes/ponds/streams, occasionally resting in-between. Budgies in captivity, they are usually stuck in small cages, or flights/aviaries, have a BUNCH of food sat RIGHT in front of them, and usually sit around for a lot of the day. This means that the birds in the wild are more physically healthy than ones in captivity. The budgies in the wild may also have a more ranged diet with certain foods only available at certain times of the year (seeds are usually sprouted or still on the plant when the wild birds eat them), where-as budgies in captivity may get the same foods week after week, hopefully consisting of more than just seeds.

I've heard of 'scientists' chasing around a budgie hen while she was breeding and laying eggs. They chased her around a room or building so that she would most likely be able to pass the egg easier. The ones in the wild are usually flying miles each day just to find food, water, place to sleep or rest, and a spot to raise a family, working hard to clean out a hole in a tree or even digging one in the ground. One's in captivity usually just get what they need right in front of them. Another fact is that most birds in captivity don't get nearly as much exercise as the birds in the wild, so problems can arise such as obesity, tumors, cancer, and add in unhealthy diets and you'll get a bird with overgrown beak and nails.

I've seen birds in the 'wild' eating unhealthy diets, though they are far healthier than ones in captivity who get similar diets, and I'm sure much of this has to deal with exercise and the ability to be able to pass the foods through the body. I've even heard of a budgie that lived into its teens on a seed only diet, while most budgies who are on seed only diets and in small cages don't make it past the age of 6 years if they are lucky.

It seems as if the root of most problems in birds can come from the inability to fly and forage (foraging toys are great!). I know that we cannot replicate a birds natural habitat indoors very easily, though if we are able to force them to fly more often, at least for a total of 2 hours minimum each day, that maybe we would have healthier birds. I know many people are a fan of clipping wings to keep their birds safe (as I am for one as well), but wouldn't the bird’s health benefit from flying throughout the day as well? Aviary birds do tend to fly more often than ones kept indoors though I am sure they too would benefit from being able to fly just a tad more and to be able to forage for food.

I'm not too sure what got me started with this post, though there are thousands of people who don't understand WHY their birds are unhappy, or WHY the birds are plucking. Maybe a lot of the root of it begins with not being able to fly and forage for themselves. There are other possible explanations as to why a bird may be unhappy or mutilating itself, even if the bird is able to fly and has foraging toys/food (because of that endless possibility of reasons).

From reading and thinking on it, a healthy chick begins with a healthy parent, a good diet, and being able to have plenty of exercise. Birds in the wild may not get a healthy diet at different times of the year, though the wild birds are more phsyically in shape and so therefore can process much of the unhealthy foods, and if they get fat from the foods, the birds can easily drop that extra weight (think about a hummingbird, they eat as much as they weigh, daily).

[Lynjupiter]

Thats cool Monica. All my conures are free flighted. My nanday Zorro loves to forage the floor for dropped food. It drives me nuts but Nandays are ground foragers in the wild also.

One big difference I have noticed between the wild quaker and Quinn is physical ability. The quaker chick could run when Quinn could only waddle. The quaker chick was also jumping and climbing when we got him. Where as Quinn just climbed over my arm today. So even though Quinn is bigger and has better feathering he is not as agile as the wild chick.
Lynda

[Monica]

I know that for the information I had gathered just there, I hadn't really put much research into it as I was more or less recalling from memory. I'd actually like to do more research on the subject (as well as other topics) though just been too busy to actually do so.

Most of my birds are usually flighted and in flight cages for their own safety. At the moment, only 3 are clipped (two more than usual) so that they too can enjoy the apple tree. I only wish I could get an aviary built up for them so that they'd have more room and space to fly about in and be able to get some sun.