Things You'll Need
- Aviary, closed on top
- Rock ledges, extending to aviary roof
- Pool
- Section of grass
- Section of beach sand
- Two large logs
- Numerous thin sticks
- Adult cormorants of both sexes
- Smelt
- Herring
- Vitamin E tablet, with thiamine
Instructions
Design and build an aviary that includes a shelter and a pool. Use either natural or artificial rocks to build a number of ledges that extend to the roof of the aviary. Enclose the aviary to prevent the cormorants from escaping. The different species of cormorants differ in size, but offer these birds an aviary of at least 25-feet long and 10-feet high.
Place grass in half of the aviary and beach sand in the other half. Cormorants have very sensitive feet, which are easily damaged on rough surfaces. Concrete, wire mesh and tiles are very poor choices for flooring, as the birds will develop foot lesions.
Place two partly submerged logs into the pool.
Supply numerous thin sticks for the birds to build their crude nests on the ledges.
Place a number of pairs of a single species of cormorant into the aviary. Cormorants are highly social and are colonial breeders, which feel safe in large groups.
Offer fresh or freshly thawed whole fish to the cormorants daily. Choose from smelt and herring and push a vitamin E tablet, containing thiamine, into the mouth or gill chamber of the fish. Ensure that each cormorant receives one of the "medicated" fish, together with the rest of their ration.
Continue to feed each cormorant until the bird refuses more fish, typically by dropping the last fish from its bill. Under natural conditions cormorants consume about 10 percent of their body weight in fish per day. These birds self regulate the number of fish they need and should be fed as much as they will take, unless the individual bird is overweight.
Leave the birds to pair up as they choose and to incubate their eggs.
Allow the parents to rear their own chicks, as this is a time-consuming activity for the bird caretaker or keeper.
Approach nesting cormorants with caution as these birds have strong beaks with sharp, hooked tips. These beaks can inflict serious damage, particularly to your face and eyes.