Method for semi-wild feeding of tragopan with yellow abdomen

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of rare and endangered pheasant protection and breeding, and discloses a semi-wild feeding method for Tragopan ptilorhynchus, which comprises the following steps: step 1, constructing a semi-wild large cage; step 2, making and throwing a bionic artificial nest; step 3, installing an automatic feeder; step 4, installing monitoring equipment; step 5, throwing parent birds; step 6, daily feeding; step 7, courtship and mating; step 8, egg laying and egg treatment; step 9, artificial hatching and artificial brooding; step 10, parent birds self-hatching; step 11, hatchling breaking the shell and leaving the nest; step 12, parent birds brooding; step 13, hatchlings moving out of the semi-wild large cage; step 14, parent birds supplementing and eliminating; step 15, wild domestication; and step 16, returning to the wild. The present application has the advantages of low cost, simple operation and effective expansion of the wild population of the Tragopan ptilorhynchus.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of rare and endangered pheasant protection and breeding, and particularly relates to a semi-wild feeding method of Tragopan caboti. BACKGROUND

[0002] Tragopan caboti belongs to Tragopan of Phasianidae of Galliformes, is a national I-class key protected wild animal, is praised as "bird giant panda", and is a special rare bird in China. Tragopan caboti has a small wild population, is distributed in evergreen broad-leaved forests above 600 m in various provinces in southern China. Tragopan caboti has weak reproductive capacity, has many natural enemies, and has a low wild reproduction success rate. Thanks to the strict protection of national nature reserves such as Wuyanling in Zhejiang, the wild population of Tragopan caboti is recovering at a very slow speed.

[0003] In the last century, Beijing Normal University took the lead in solving the problem of artificial breeding of Tragopan caboti, and gradually formed an artificial breeding system of small cage feeding, artificial insemination, artificial incubation and artificial rearing of chicks. The artificial population of Tragopan caboti is gradually established and grows. Under the technical guidance of Beijing Normal University, Wuyanling National Nature Reserve in Zhejiang began to artificially breed Tragopan caboti, and the number also developed from more than 10 to more than 100. The traditional artificial breeding system of Tragopan caboti has the following shortcomings: 1. high cost, high technical content and complex operation, which is difficult to popularize and apply in basic protection areas; 2. artificial insemination often leads to the decline or disappearance of the natural mating ability of parent birds; 3. artificial insemination leads to a high rate of deformity of chicks; 4. artificial rearing of chicks leads to the decline or disappearance of the ability of parent birds to feed offspring; 5. artificial rearing of chicks leads to the decline of wildness of chicks. SUMMARY

[0004] Technical problems to be solved

[0005] In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art, the present application provides a semi-wild feeding method of Tragopan caboti. According to the basic conditions of the difficulty of popularization of the artificial breeding system of Tragopan caboti, the obvious decline of wildness of artificial population in foraging, mating, avoiding natural enemies and the like, the activity range and the movement ability of Tragopan caboti are expanded by building semi-wild large cage in a suitable area, the foraging and the ability of avoiding natural enemies of Tragopan caboti are improved by reducing the contact with people and changing the food supply mode, the mating, hatching and rearing abilities of Tragopan caboti and the wildness of offspring are improved by free mating and partial bird eggs hatched and reared by parent birds, so as to improve the wild survival ability of Tragopan caboti artificially bred, provide enough Tragopan caboti artificially bred with strong wildness for wild domestication and wild return, and finally promote the growth of wild population of Tragopan caboti.

[0006] Technical scheme

[0007] To achieve the above object, the present application is realized by the following technical solutions:

[0008] A semi-wild feeding method of Tragopan caboti, comprising the following steps:

[0009] Step 1, building a semi-wild large cage: a large cage with an area of more than 400 square meters is built in a region suitable for Tragopan caboti with an altitude of 700-1200 meters, the large cage is supported by steel columns, the height of the large cage is 8-10 meters, the periphery and the upper part of the large cage are wrapped with flexible steel wire mesh, the mesh hole is ensured to prevent small animals from entering, a steel wire mesh or hard plastic with dense mesh holes is arranged 30 cm below the ground and 100 cm above the ground around the periphery of the large cage, clean running water and several small water pits are arranged in the large cage;

[0010] Step 2, making and releasing artificial bird nests: an artificial bird nest with a nest opening diameter of 25 cm and a depth of 15 cm is woven with bamboo green, and the artificial bird nest is released on a large tree with a chest diameter of more than 15 cm in the large cage;

[0011] Step 3, installing an automatic feeder: an automatic feeder is installed at the middle position of the large cage, and the installation height of the feeder is 1.5-2 meters;

[0012] Step 4, installing monitoring equipment: monitoring equipment is installed near each artificial bird nest and around the periphery of the large cage;

[0013] Step 5, releasing parent birds: parent birds of 2 years old, non-close relatives, not having been artificially inseminated, and having strong bodies are selected, and are released into the semi-wild large cage in early spring according to a ratio of 3 females to 1 male, and the population density is controlled according to the standard of 4 parent birds for a large cage of 400 square meters, 3 females and 1 male;

[0014] Step 6, daily feeding: according to the food demand of Tragopan caboti, granular feed is configured, and the granular feed is put into the automatic feeder;

[0015] Step 7, courtship display and mating: after 1 year of adaptation and exercise, the male Tragopan caboti shows more courtship display behavior and mating ability in spring of the next year;

[0016] Step 8, egg laying and egg treatment: after mating, the female bird starts to lay eggs, the egg laying situation of each artificial bird nest is observed through the monitoring equipment, Tragopan caboti generally starts to incubate after laying 3 eggs, therefore, the first 5-6 eggs need to be picked up in time every day for artificial incubation and artificial rearing, so as to promote the female bird to lay 3 more eggs, or the female bird lays 3 more eggs in a new nest after abandoning the nest and starts to incubate, and the eggs abandoned by the parent birds are picked up in time for artificial incubation;

[0017] Step 90, the parents self-incubate: after the parents lay the third clutch of eggs, they start self-incubation. During the incubation period, they concentrate on feeding and detailed records of the start of incubation, hatching and nest leaving time are recorded through monitoring equipment;

[0018] Step 10, the nestlings hatch and leave the nest: after 28 days of incubation, the eggs hatch one after another. In the next 3 days, the nestlings bravely flap their wings and fly out of the nest, glide to the ground and start their new life with the female bird;

[0019] Step 11, the parents raise the nestlings: after the nestlings fly out of the nest, they follow the female bird to forage and move on the ground. At night, the nestlings often hide under the female bird's wings to keep warm. As the nestlings grow up, the female bird encourages them to fly to low branches to spend the night, avoiding the dangers of ground predators. When the nestlings grow to 3-4 months old, they start to live independently;

[0020] Step 12, the nestlings move out of the semi-wild large cage: when the nestlings grow to 6 months old, which is winter, they are moved out of the semi-wild large cage, and the parents are left to enter the next breeding cycle;

[0021] Step 13, the parents are supplemented and culled: after 6 years, the parents in the semi-wild large cage are culled in batches, and new 2-year-old parents are introduced. At the same time, if a parent in the large cage dies accidentally, a same-age parent is introduced;

[0022] Step 14, field acclimation: 6-month-old yellow-bellied pheasant nestlings are moved out of the large cage and placed in a field acclimation special cage. After 3-6 months of field training;

[0023] Step 15, field return: after systematic field training, suitable habitats are found for field return in late spring, summer and early autumn. At the same time, a lightweight GPS positioning tracker is installed on the yellow-bellied pheasant's back to observe its living state after returning to the field.

[0024] Preferably, in step 2, the artificial nest is placed on a tree branch 2-4 meters high.

[0025] Preferably, in step 2, when the bionic artificial nest is placed, it is first fixed with a brown rope, then a layer of pine needles is laid inside, and small branches of cryptomeria are inserted around. A rain blocking device is set above the artificial nest.

[0026] Preferably, in step 3, the automatic feeder requires a large storage space, which can feed for more than 3 days at a time. The automatic feeder needs to have waterproof and moisture-proof functions to prevent food from mold. The amount and frequency of food can be controlled manually to meet the different needs of yellow-bellied pheasants for food quantity and quality during the breeding and non-breeding periods.

[0027] Preferably, in step 6, specifically, the granular feed composed of peanuts and corns, and the appropriate amount of green forage are taken in the method of multiple small feeding to increase the number and frequency of the yellow-bellied bush-hen foraging in the vegetation in the semi-wild large cage.

[0028] More preferably, in step 8, the eggs abandoned by the parent birds are also timely picked up for artificial incubation.

[0029] Beneficial effects

[0030] 1. The present application has been tested in Wuyanling National Nature Reserve in Zhejiang Province for many years, and through the present application, the cost can be effectively reduced, the wildness of the artificially bred yellow-bellied bush-hen can be improved, and the abilities of mating, hatching and avoiding natural enemies can be restored. After further wild training, the yellow-bellied bush-hen is released into the wild, which greatly increases the survival rate in the wild, thereby effectively expanding the wild population of the yellow-bellied bush-hen.

[0031] 2. The present application helps the yellow-bellied bush-hen to restore the wildness by building semi-wild large cages in suitable areas, changing the feeding method, and reducing the contact with people; further increases the survival ability of the offspring by self-mating, self-incubation and self-hatching; and additionally increases the breeding output by artificially incubating part of the eggs. Through the above series of comprehensive measures, the wildness of the artificially bred yellow-bellied bush-hen is effectively improved, and the offspring, after a period of special wild training, has a high survival rate when released into the wild, which can effectively expand the wild population of the yellow-bellied bush-hen.

[0032] 3. In an ideal state, a semi-wild large cage of 400 square meters can breed 4 pairs of yellow-bellied bush-hen (3 females and 1 male), and 3 females can produce 27 eggs in a year (calculated as 3 clutches of 9 eggs per female), of which 18 are artificially incubated and 9 are self-incubated by the female, and about 27 chicks can be obtained. The 18 artificially incubated and artificially hatched chicks continue to be bred in the semi-wild large cage, and the 9 chicks hatched and bred by the female are released into the wild after further wild training. This mode can not only ensure the continuous breeding of the artificial population of the yellow-bellied bush-hen, but also provide enough offspring with strong wildness for returning to the wild. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0033] Figure 1 The flowchart of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical scheme of the present application will be described clearly and completely in combination with the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0035] Example 1

[0036] As Figure 1The embodiment is shown in the suitable area of yellow-bellied bush-hen with an altitude of 1000 meters in Wuyanling National Nature Reserve in Zhejiang Province. A large cage with an area of 400 square meters is built in the secondary broad-leaved forest with a slope of 20 degrees. The cage is 10 meters high. Except for the tree branches higher than 8 meters, most of the natural vegetation is retained. The cage is mainly supported by steel columns. The periphery and the upper part are wrapped with flexible steel wire mesh with a mesh size of 3 cm x 3 cm. A hard plastic board is set from 30 cm below the ground to 100 cm above the ground around the cage. Clean water is introduced into the upper part of the cage and flows down along the slope, passing through the cage, and flowing out from the lower part. Three small water pits are set in the middle of the cage. Six artificial nests are woven with bamboo green from a bamboo. The nest opening is 25 cm in diameter and 15 cm in depth. The nests are fixed on the branches with a chest diameter of more than 15 cm and a height of 2-4 meters high with a layer of pine needles inside. Small branches of cryptomeria are inserted around the nests. A 1 square meter rain shelter is set above the artificial nests. An automatic feeder is installed in the middle of the cage. The feeder is installed at a height of 2 meters and is dry inside. It can feed for 3 days at a time. The parameters of the feeder can be controlled artificially. The setting is inclined upward and uniformly scattered within a range of 2-6 meters in all directions. Ten monitors are installed near the six artificial nests and around the cage. The monitors are networked. The cage dynamics can be viewed at any time on the terminal computer. In early spring (February), four 2-year-old (hatched last year) non-cousin birds without artificial insemination and with strong bodies are released according to the ratio of 3:1 of male to female. Peanut and corn pellets are configured. The method of multiple small feeding is adopted. The automatic feeder is used for feeding. The grasses of the family Poaceae are appropriately randomly increased as green forage. In the first year, the birds are mainly familiar with each other, adapt to the environment of the large cage, familiar with the artificial nests, and accumulate breeding experience. No intervention is made on their egg laying, incubation and brooding. In the second year, the birds enter the artificial intervention breeding cycle. After one year of adaptation and exercise, the male birds show strong mating desire in the spring of the next year (March to May). The female birds look for suitable artificial nests for egg laying. The male birds occupy the dominant position in the cage, make courtship calls, dance and show off their wings to the passing female birds, complete mating after obtaining the favor of the female birds, and start nest laying. The female birds lay one egg every other day. The egg laying situation of each artificial nest is observed through monitoring. The first six eggs and the eggs abandoned by the parent birds are picked up in time. The machine incubation and artificial brooding are carried out according to the traditional artificial breeding method. The female birds continuously supplement the eggs until they supplement three eggs or abandon the nest to find new nests to lay three eggs again to start incubation. The incubation period is 28 days. Except for the short feeding time, the female birds are all incubating eggs. The feeding method is slightly changed during the incubation period. The relatively concentrated and large feeding is required to reduce the time of the female birds going out foraging to avoid the failure of the incubation of the eggs due to the loss of temperature. The time when the parent birds start incubation, break the shell and leave the nest is recorded in detail through monitoring. The eggs break the shell successively after 28 days of incubation. The first day, the nestlings hide under the wings of the female birds for warmth. The second day, they start to move in the nest and practice flapping their wings. The third day, they frequently practice flapping their wings near the nest and try to fly away from the nest.Finally under the hunger stress and the encouragement of the female birds, the nestlings fly out of the nest, glide to the ground, and start ground foraging and activities with the female birds. The nestlings often hide under the wings of the female birds to keep warm at night. As the nestlings grow up, the female birds encourage the nestlings to fly to low branches to spend the night to avoid the danger of ground predators. The nestlings start to live independently after growing up for 3-4 months. When the nestlings grow up to about 6 months, i.e. in winter, they are moved out of the semi-wild large cage, and the parent birds enter the next breeding cycle. The female birds have no experience in the first year of hatching and rearing, and some nestlings will die due to poor care, especially in the rearing stage. However, as the female birds accumulate experience, the success rate of rearing in the third year remains at a high level. The parent birds are replaced after 5 years, i.e. after 4 breeding cycles, and a new batch of 2-year-old parent birds are used for semi-wild breeding. If a parent bird dies, a same-age and same-sex parent bird is added in time. The offspring of machine hatching and artificial rearing are used as backup parent birds to supplement the semi-wild large cage. The offspring of female birds self-hatching and self-rearing are better in wildness recovery, and after 3-6 months of wild acclimation, their foraging and predator avoidance abilities are further improved. They return to the wild in late spring to early summer when the weather is warmer and the food in the wild is more abundant. A light GPS positioning tracker is installed on the back of the Tragopan caboti to observe their living conditions after returning to the wild.

[0037] Five semi-wild large cages are built in this example, and 20 Tragopan caboti (15 females and 5 males) participate in breeding. In the first year, the birds self-lay eggs, self-hatch and self-rear, and 5 nestlings of 6 months old are bred. In the second to fifth years, the birds self-hatch and self-rear, and machine hatching and artificial rearing are combined. In the second year, 135 eggs are laid, of which 90 eggs are machine hatched and 45 eggs are parent hatched. A total of 81 nestlings of 6 months old are obtained, of which 63 are machine hatched and artificial reared (81 hatched, 18 died), and 13 are parent hatched and reared (38 hatched, 25 died). As the female birds accumulate breeding experience, the number of 6-month-old nestlings obtained by parent hatching and rearing increases to about 22 in the third to fifth years.

[0038] Comparative Example 1

[0039] Another suitable area for Tragopan caboti at an altitude of 1000 meters in the Wuyanling National Nature Reserve in Zhejiang Province is selected as a control. The semi-wild cages, the number of parent birds released, and the feeding method are the same as in Example 1, except that the first two nests of eggs are not taken away for machine hatching and artificial rearing, i.e. all eggs are self-hatched and self-reared by the female birds.

[0040] Five semi-wild large cages are built in this example, and 20 Tragopan caboti (15 females and 5 males) participate in breeding. In the first year, the birds self-lay eggs, self-hatch and self-rear, and 5 nestlings of 6 months old are bred. In the second to fifth years, the birds self-hatch and self-rear, and machine hatching and artificial rearing are combined. In the second year, 135 eggs are laid, of which 90 eggs are machine hatched and 45 eggs are parent hatched. A total of 81 nestlings of 6 months old are obtained, of which 63 are machine hatched and artificial reared (81 hatched, 18 died), and 13 are parent hatched and reared (38 hatched, 25 died). As the female birds accumulate breeding experience, the number of 6-month-old nestlings obtained by parent hatching and rearing increases to about 22 in the third to fifth years.

[0041] Table: Effects of different semi-wild feeding modes in large cage on the reproductive coefficient of Tragopan caboti

[0042]

[0043] The above examples are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, but not to limit it; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing examples, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing examples can be modified, or some technical features can be replaced by equivalents; and these modifications or replacements will not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for semi-wild feeding of Tragopan caboti, characterized in that, The method comprises the following steps: Step 1, building a semi-wild large cage: a large cage with an area of more than 400 square meters is built in a region suitable for the survival of the Mrs. Hume's Pheasant with an altitude of 700-1200 meters, the large cage is supported by steel columns, the height of the large cage is 8-10 meters, the periphery and the upper part of the large cage are wrapped with flexible steel wire mesh, the mesh hole is ensured to prevent small animals from entering, a dense mesh steel wire mesh or hard plastic is arranged on the ground 30 cm below the periphery of the ground and 100 cm above the ground of the large cage, a clean flowing water and several small water pits are arranged in the large cage; Step 2, making and releasing artificial bird nests: an artificial bird nest with a nest opening diameter of 25 cm and a depth of 15 cm is woven by using the green bamboo, the artificial bird nest is released on a large tree with a chest diameter greater than 15 cm in the large cage; Step 3, installing an automatic feeder: an automatic feeder is installed at the middle position of the large cage, the installation height of the feeder is 1.5-2 meters; Step 4, installing monitoring equipment: monitoring equipment is installed near each artificial bird nest and around the periphery of the large cage; Step 5, releasing parent birds: parent birds of 2 years old, non-close relatives, not having been artificially inseminated and having strong bodies are selected, the parent birds are released into the semi-wild large cage in early spring according to a ratio of 3 females to 1 male, meanwhile, 4 parent birds, 3 females and 1 male, are released into a 400 square meter large cage to control the population density; Step 6, daily feeding: according to the food demand of the Mrs. Hume's Pheasant, granular feed is configured and the granular feed is put into the automatic feeder; Step 7, courtship display and mating: after 1 year of adaptation and exercise, the male Mrs. Hume's Pheasant shows courtship display behavior and mating ability in spring of the next year; Step 8, egg laying and egg treatment: after mating, the female bird starts to lay eggs, the egg laying situation of each artificial bird nest is observed through the monitoring equipment, the first two clutches of eggs are picked up in time, artificial incubation and artificial rearing are carried out according to the traditional artificial breeding system; Step 9, parent birds self-incubation: after laying the third clutch of eggs, the parent birds start to self-incubate, during the incubation period, a large amount of food is relatively concentratedly fed, and the time when the parent birds start to incubate, break the shell and leave the nest is recorded in detail through the monitoring equipment; Step 10, hatchlings break the shell and leave the nest: after 28 days of incubation, the eggs break the shell successively, in the next 3 days, the hatchlings bravely fly away from the nest, glide to the ground and start a new life with the female bird; Step 11, parent birds rear the hatchlings: after the hatchlings fly away from the nest, they follow the female bird to forage and move on the ground, at night, the hatchlings often hide under the wings of the female bird to keep warm, as the hatchlings grow up gradually, the female bird encourages the hatchlings to fly to low branches to spend the night to avoid the danger of ground enemies, when the hatchlings grow to 3-4 months old, they start to live independently; Step 12, hatchlings are moved out of the semi-wild large cage: when the hatchlings grow to 6 months old, that is, in winter, they are moved out of the semi-wild large cage, and the parent birds are left to enter the breeding cycle of the next year; Step 13, parent birds are supplemented and eliminated: the parent birds in the semi-wild large cage are eliminated in batches after 6 years old, new parent birds of 2 years old are replaced, and when the parent birds in the large cage die accidentally, the same age parent birds are also put into the large cage in time; Step 14, wild domestication: the 6-month-old Mrs. Hume's Pheasant hatchlings are moved out of the large cage and put into a special cage for wild domestication, and are trained in the wild for 3-6 months. Step 15, field return: After systematic field training, find suitable habitat in late spring, summer, early autumn for field return, and install a light GPS positioning tracker on the back of the yellow-bellied pheasant to observe its life status after returning to the field.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the semi-wild feeding method of the Tragopan is characterized in that, In step 2, the artificial nest is placed on a tree branch 2-4 meters high.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the semi-wild feeding method of the Tragopan is characterized in that, In step 2, when the bionic artificial nest is put in, it is first fixed with brown rope, then a layer of pine needles is laid in the nest, and cypress twigs are inserted around. A rain shelter is set up above the artificial nest.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the semi-wild feeding method of the Tragopan is characterized in that, In step 3, the automatic feeder can feed for more than 3 days at a time. The automatic feeder needs to have waterproof and moisture-proof function to prevent food from mildewing. The amount and frequency of food can be controlled manually to meet the different needs of yellow-bellied pheasants for food quantity and quality during breeding and non-breeding periods.

5. A semi-wild rearing method for Cabot's Tragopan according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step 6, the specific configuration is to use peanut kernels and corn to make granular feed, and appropriate amount of green forage, and adopt the method of multiple small feeding to increase the number and frequency of yellow-bellied pheasant foraging in semi-wild large cage with vegetation.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the semi-wild feeding method of the Tragopan is characterized by, In step 8, the abandoned eggs by the parents are also collected in time for artificial incubation.

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