As the importation of wild caught birds draws to its inevitable end, aviculturists, pet shops and would be pet owners must rely on domestic production. This ever growing demand can only be met by increasing productivity on a per pair basis, beyond what mother nature had intended. With minor exceptions, breeding pairs of psittacines in their natural habitat raise between zero and four offspring a year. The quantity of eggs laid and nestlings fledged is not only a function of protection against predators and the acquisition of sufficient food, but also the size of the bird in question. Typically the larger psittacines (macaws, cockatoos, amazons, etc.) are the least productive.

Modern aviculturists have discovered two methods to circumvent these natural limits to production. One is the pulling of eggs from the nest for artificial incubation. The second is the pulling of nestlings at a very young age for handfeeding. By interrupting the reproductive cycle the pair will usually be stimulated to nest again and produce more young than would otherwise be possible. In many cases these methods have been successful and production has increased dramatically. Whether the choice is to incubate eggs or to pull nestlings at a young age the aviculturist will be left with the responsibility of feeding and maintaining nestlings that are as completely dependent as human infants.

Increased production is not the only advantage of hand-rearing nestlings. The imprinting or bonding between bird and human that is achieved when a bird is handfed, greatly enhances its pet quality. In fact, when the pet owner is fortunate enough to be the one who takes over the hand-rearing process and brings the bird through the weaning stage, the bond between the pet and owner is a rewarding lifelong experience.