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Artificial incubation and hand‐rearing of 'Alala ( Corvus hawaiiensis ) eggs removed from the wild
Author(s) -
Kuehler C.,
Kuhn M.,
McLlraith B.,
Campbell G.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
zoo biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.5
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1098-2361
pISSN - 0733-3188
DOI - 10.1002/zoo.1430130307
Subject(s) - biology , incubation , zoology , biochemistry
The wild 'Alala ( Corvus hawaiiensis ) population has been declining for many years, and only a few pairs of birds are currently reproductively active on the island of Hawaii. A recovery program was initiated in 1993 which included removing eggs from wild nesting birds for artificial rearing and reintroduction. This paper describes the artificial incubation and hand‐rearing techniques. Eleven eggs were removed from three nesting pairs; eight were fertile, and seven hatched and were hand‐reared (fertility, 72.7%; hatchability, 87.5%; survivability, 100%). Eggs were incubated in a forced‐air incubator at 99.5°F (dry bulb), 80.0–86.0°F (wet bulb), and hatched under still‐air conditions at 99.0°F (dry bulb) and 88.0–90°F (wet bulb). Hatched chicks were hand‐fed a diet of fruit, insects, and mouse pups. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.