Incubation

Bird Incubation Units

East Section Keeper Mark

Artificial incubation at Cotswold Wildlife Park is an important tool for the successful breeding of many of the bird species around the Park. Keepers put in a lot of work creating conditions in which the birds will be content and the successful breeding of a species is usually a good indication that these conditions are right, resulting in happy birds and very happy keepers! Whenever possible the keepers will leave eggs with the parent birds, as natural incubation and parent rearing is always the best option; however, on occasions it may be deemed necessary to remove the eggs to increase the chances of hatching.

It is when these decisions are made that the incubation unit comes into play. There are two incubation units in the Park, one in the Walled Garden and one in the Farmyard. Both will take on numerous eggs each year and it is the keepers’ job to monitor the progress of each egg, recording information such as the length and width of the eggs, the weight of the eggs, and the development of the embryos (a process known as candling). This constant monitoring helps keepers estimate the age of the embryo and allows accurate preparations for the hatching of the chick.

There are eggs in the incubators throughout most of the year, however the breeding season always brings a flurry of eggs for the keepers to work with. Each egg that enters the incubation unit is as important as the next and the success of a hatching egg always makes the keeper feel as if it has been worth the effort.

"Foster" incubation/rearing

As well as artificial techniques as an alternative to natural incubation, we also have several pairs of Barbary Doves which are used to "foster" incubate and rear various pigeon species.

For example, Pink Pigeons, an extremely rare species endemic to Mauritius, are notoriously bad parents in captivity and left to their own devices some pairs would probably never successfully breed. By taking the eggs from these birds and placing them under Barbary Doves which share the same incubation cycle as Pink Pigeons, the chances of breeding success can be increased, securing the captive population of this highly endangered bird species.

Hand rearing

Hand rearing bird species is never the ideal solution; if not done carefully the chicks can become imprinted on the keeping staff to such an extent that they never go on to be successful breeders themselves, which defeats the reason behind rearing the birds in the first place.

Wherever possible, birds are reared in pairs and any unnecessary human contact is avoided. This technique has worked extremely well and resulted in physically and mentally healthy birds that have gone on to rear their own chicks.

Want to Help?

A visit to the Cotswold Wildlife Park can now be even more worthwhile. By adopting an animal, you can provide a helpful contribution towards the costs of keeping and feeding the animals and supporting our conservation breeding programmes... click here for more information