I am the daughter of a veterinarian who has always had a special interest in birds in general. When we wanted to get swans, I studied long and hard before making the commitment and we have had our breeding pair for 7 years now. Two avian vets who have visited our farm socially have made the same comment--never seen such a healthy and contented-looking pair of swans as these. It is from this perspective that I pose the question after reading the previous posts over the last month or so on swans:
Given that the maturation of a swan is far different (and the time needed FAR longer) than most other birds, how can anyone even begin to think of separating them from the parents as young as 3 weeks of age??? Not only is that literally like taking a child away from a very caring and concerned set of parents (remember the male is every bit as involved as the female!), it is also precisely the age at which a cygnet loses the last of it's yolk sac and therefore the immunities passed on from the mother. At that age, the cygnet is at its most vulnerable. Given their connection to the parents and how "baby-like" their behavior is, we would never let them go till at least 5-6 mo of age. This is still a little early, but our weather has to factor into this as well.
I'm sorry if I sound too preachy, but I think there are many who wouldn't know this as it is very hard to find information on behavior/care/breeding of these beautiful animals and if this helps even one person to make the right choices for the birds, it is time and effort well spent.
Beth
Crias del Cielo Alpaca Farm
Given that the maturation of a swan is far different (and the time needed FAR longer) than most other birds, how can anyone even begin to think of separating them from the parents as young as 3 weeks of age??? Not only is that literally like taking a child away from a very caring and concerned set of parents (remember the male is every bit as involved as the female!), it is also precisely the age at which a cygnet loses the last of it's yolk sac and therefore the immunities passed on from the mother. At that age, the cygnet is at its most vulnerable. Given their connection to the parents and how "baby-like" their behavior is, we would never let them go till at least 5-6 mo of age. This is still a little early, but our weather has to factor into this as well.
I'm sorry if I sound too preachy, but I think there are many who wouldn't know this as it is very hard to find information on behavior/care/breeding of these beautiful animals and if this helps even one person to make the right choices for the birds, it is time and effort well spent.
Beth
Crias del Cielo Alpaca Farm