Download AAZK Avian Certification Workshop Abstracts

AAZK Avian Certification Workshop Abstracts
AVIAN CERTIFICATION WORKSHOP:
Talks/tours by Carol Hesch, Assistant Curator, Memphis Zoo
1)
Zoo day tour through bird areas including tropical bird house, hatchery (chick
rearing/incubation), cranes, and penguins. Talk about adaptations of birds and
management husbandry and breeding challenges. How do you safely mix large birds
with hoofstock, creating more space for your bird species?
2) Classroom talk about record keeping: animal records (Tracks), including egg
management tool, studbook and ssp using PopLink.
Avian Certification Course: Health Portion
Drs. Felicia Knightly and Aimee Berliner, DVM, Memphis Zoo
Not only are birds unique in many ways from other animals, they are also one of the most fragile
groups of vertebrates out there. Successful captive care of this diverse group requires extensive
knowledge of natural history, anatomy, nutrition, behavior, and the physical capabilities of each
species in the collection. Since most bird keepers look after a large number of individuals,
regular health checks and observations can be daunting, but are crucial to noticing issues early.
Over the course of three hours the Memphis Zoo’s Veterinarians will introduce participants to
many topics, including basic bird biology (including differences in each taxonomic family), how
to correctly record visual and vocal observations along with their applications, signs of health
and ill health (including beak and nail maintenance), treating injury and illness, and the most
common disease concerns in avian collections.
Avian Certification Course: Nutrition Portion
Dave Morrow, Nutritionist, Memphis Zoo
Meeting the nutritional goals of avian collections in zoos encompasses challenges that many
other taxa do not have to deal with. With individuals who are strict herbivores, insectivores,
carnivores, and everything in between, creating a bird diet requires lots of research as well as
strict observation of the target animals to identify what they are actually consuming. Since many
bird exhibits are mixed species, getting the right amount of food to each individual can take
some creativity in both diet presentation and exhibit design. In this brief introduction to basic bird
nutrition, we will be looking at such topics as: common feeding strategies, different types of
diets, supplements, special challenges with insect-based diets, and nutritional deficiencies.
Avian Certification Course: Reproduction Portion
James Ballance, Zoo Atlanta
Our primary foci will be to discuss different strategies related to persuading your birds to breed.
Breeding programs are a joke if you can’t get your birds to actually reproduce! A critical issue
within our bird community is the loss of the practical skills required for successful bird
reproduction. We’ll look at how to get the keeper into the mind of the bird. Who are your bird
clients? Planning the wedding. Mood lighting. Choosing real estate. Setting up a home to warm
the heart. Nosy neighbors or peace and quiet? Nesting materials that create frenzies of desire.
Egg management with the parents. The question of family involvement. Who gets to raise the
babies? Recording the entire event. And maybe we’ll help launch a whole new set of passionate
bird breeders!
Avian Certification Course: Exhibit Design
Erin Brown, Bird Keeper, Memphis Zoo
In this session, we will discuss the design of exhibits for various bird species. Included will be all
types of exhibits from small jewel boxes to mixed species aviaries. We will also cover off exhibit
holding spaces, service areas, and crates. You will learn to select species appropriate perching,
substrates, vegetation, enrichment, nest sites, and food and water delivery. This will include
examples from exhibits purpose built for avian species as well as pre-existing exhibits adapted
for birds.
Avian Certification Course: Mariana Avifauna Conservation Program
Fields Falcone (Memphis Zoo) and Ellen Gorrell (Toledo Zoo)
The introduced brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) decimated forest birds on the island of
Guam in the latter half of last century, and it now poses a threat to endemic species in the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). To avoid further extirpations and
extinctions, translocations of birds to sanctuary islands free of the snake have been undertaken
over the last several years through the Pacific Bird Conservation’s Mariana Avifauna
Conservation (MAC) Program, in partnership with the CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife and
several participating Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) institutions. Preliminary results
of DFW surveys show successful breeding on the sanctuary island of Sarigan for two Marianas
endemic species translocated from Saipan, the bridled white-eye (Zosterops conspicillatus) and
the golden white-eye (Cleptornis marchei). Furthermore, long term assurance captive programs
through AZA zoos have been initiated for several species including bridled white-eye, Mariana
fruit dove (Ptilinopus roseicapilla), and Tinian monarch (Monarcha takatsukasae).
Current snake status in the CNMI, past and future translocation plans, and field methods will be
described. Captive population statuses will be updated. Husbandry methods will be discussed,
in detail for bridled white-eyes raised at the Toledo Zoo, including captive diet transition, dietary
demands for niche feeders such as flycatchers and fruit feeders, exhibit accommodations for
habitat preferences, and breeding advancements including nesting materials and live insect
propagation for nestlings.
Avian Certification Course: Avian Management, Training
From Emus to Ravens: Training your Bird Brains
By Sharon Brounstein, Turtle Bay Exploration Park
This interactive training workshop will introduce the basics of operant conditioning training. We
will explore the techniques to train your birds from beginning to end, whether it be husbandry or
educational behaviors. We will look at how to create bonds, set up the training environment, and
carry out a behavior step by step. Through a powerpoint presentation and hands-on interactive
activities, participants will walk away with the foundations to create positive relationships and
healthy training environments for the birds in their care.
Avian Certification Course: Avian Management, Behavior
Strategies for effective avian management; Understanding factors that drive behavior to
house healthy birds
By Debra Dial, National Aquarium
Managing avian collections can be complex. A focus on proximate and ultimate behaviors
along with the drives for specific individuals will provide the foundation for successful
management. An understanding of these behaviors assist in developing successful
management strategies.
This course will discuss behavioral biology as the basis for successful avian
management. Students will learn to identify the antecedent, behavior, and consequence in a
given scenario. Behavioral considerations in capture/restraint, housing (mixed species, single
species), and the development of management strategies such as rotating pairs and single sex
flocks will be discussed. Concepts of enrichment with the intent of promoting stress free
behaviors will be explored.