The Hybrid Bird Debate

For years now, people have collect birds of all sorts. These animals have been domesticated, some for pet purposes and others for the food industry. In both groups hybrid birds, a bird born from parents of different species, have become more and more available. There is a huge debate about whether or not this should continue. Should the breeding of hybrids be outlawed?

The Science.
A hybrid animal is one that has a mother from one species and a father from a second species. There are many examples of these throughout the world, but most of them take place in captivity for one reason or another. The most common hybrid of all time is the mule which has a donkey father and a horse mother. This is a hybrid that has been around hundreds of years. As time has gone by a huge number of other hybrids have been created. Now parrot, finch, songbird, and fowl hybrids are being created and sold all over the world. This has brought up a number of debate issues among avian communities.

Understanding the Arguments.
Both sides have their points when arguing whether or not there should be hybrid birds bred and sold. Some have a lot of support, other are questionable. It is hard to say who is right and it will probably remain a battle with people on both sides.

Against the Creating and Selling of Hybrid Birds:
Many who argue that this practice shouldn't take place begin their argument with the fact that these birds could be breeding and continuing their genetic lines within their own species. Birds, unlike other types of animals, often require a long term bond. This takes time to form and often the bird will breed for life and not accept another mate. Therefore breeding it with a bird outside it's own species often means it will never have offspring of its own kind. Many who are concerned with this fact are concerned due to conservation efforts, especially of many parrot species which are endangered in the wild and may very well become extinct. Still others don't like the idea of creating birds that don't usually happen in nature. Some parrots have hybridized in the wild, but this is mostly due to humans taking over their habitats and forcing them closer and closer to one another. If these things don't happen naturally then they shouldn't happen in captivity. The last argument that many bird breeders use against the breeding of hybrid birds is that we don't know the best food options for many baby birds. This becomes especially true to a bird that now has the nutritional needs of neither of its parents.

While there are some good arguments against breeding hybrid birds, most of these arguments have counter arguments as well. On the other side there is a huge number of people who want hybrid birds which are more unique and even more special then many of the birds on the market today.

In Favor of Creating and Selling of Hybrid Birds:
Those in favor of creating and selling hybrid birds often argue that a huge number of birds aren't bred anyway therefore aren't part of the continuation of their species. These birds are pets and often kept as nothing more then pets. So, arguing in favor of continuing the species and in need of conservation this just doesn't work well for the pet market in general. While hybrid birds don't happen in nature a lot, they do happen. This makes it hard to argue that what doesn't happen in nature shouldn't happen in captivity. Many different types of birds have been known to readily breed both in the wild and in captivity with one another. In fact, many hybrids are created on accident in aviaries that have multiple species housed together. Finally, when it comes to what to feed baby birds, there have been few problems with this and if a hybrid is being sold then the baby bird apparently did well. Hybrids are thriving and that is what is exciting those who wish to buy, bred, and sell them.

Hybrids in Captivity.
While most of these arguments have to do with breeding and selling hybrid parrots because this has become a huge section of the parrot market, it must be noted that other sorts of domesticated birds are being bred as well. These include canaries and finches being bred across species. Domestic game birds such as the different types of pheasants. It also includes hybrids such as the chicken and the pheasant and even the chicken and the turkey. These hybrids are being used as pets and even as food.

Hybrids in the Wild.
The real hard part of arguing against hybrids in captivity is that they do happen in the wild. Birds, more then any other group of animals, have a huge number of hybrids in the wild. There are many examples including various types of geese breeding together (such as the Canada Goose and the Greylag Goose), Ducks (such as the mallard and the domestic duck), game birds (such as the Lady Amherst's Pheasant and the Golden Pheasant), Gulls, Kites, Parrots, Pigeons and Doves, Hummingbirds, and even Falcons. With all of these birds naturally choosing mates that are of different species it is hard to argue that breeders shouldn't let it happen or encourage it to happen in captivity.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Hybrids.
Many hybrids are not successful in creating birds that can breed and produce offspring. This often leads to a single generation of birds that are gone when they die off (both in captivity and in the wild). However a percentage of these hybrids can produce offspring. They will breed with another hybrid or another similar species. Sometimes this is a species that one of its parents was and other times it is a third species. This can make for a complicated history and often an interesting look. Sometimes it even leads to interesting behavior. On top of the fact that hybrids are not always able to reproduce they are often less healthy then their parents. This can cause issues when they are passing weakened genes to their offspring. However, some don't have this problem and instead combine the best of both of their parents genes.

What Does It Really Mean?
Many conservationists are worried that this could help blur the lines of the different species making it harder and harder to distinguish between one and the other. This could change the face of the world as we know it or it could really be how new species are created and over time we could find species developing among these hybrid groups. It could be a huge change for science, or we could be aiding in the destruction of the species we are familiar with. What happens when you can get a chicken-pheasant, a chicken-Guinea fowl, and a chicken-turkey, but no chicken?