Parrots and koi under one roof

Download: Parrots and koi under one roof (PDF file)Harry van Keulen has been breeding parrots for over 30 years - initially just as a hobby, but in 1986 he turned it into an occupation. Since the trade in parrots has become increasingly difficult due to ever stricter nature conservation regulations, the passionate animal lover extended his range to include Japanese koi in 1999. The regular presence of his company at leading pet supplies exhibitions has helped it to build up a good reputation among pet owners and specialist dealers. A large collection of cups and other awards won at various competitions in and outside the Netherlands over the last few years for particularly beautiful specimens offers emphatic proof of this.1 million litres of waterThe company's new site, covering roughly 3.5 acres, is only 50 metres from the previous premises. The van Keulen family's house is also located on the site. Before reaching the spacious, modern fish hall, visitors come across a large, beautifully designed Japanese garden that is intended to fire the imagination of customers with regard to the layout of their own garden pond. Inside the new building, the fish are kept graded according to size. A separate room set apart from the sales area houses the breeding centre, where older, prime koi specimens swim in separate pools. The sophisticated pond equipment is located in the basement. Not including the outdoor ponds, the volume of water contained in the pond facilities of the Dutch firm amounts to around 1 million litres. An important constituent of the new building is a new parrot unit, which the birds were moved into in December following the breeding phase. Special attention was devoted to ensuring that the macaws, cockatoos and other parrot species offered for sale have plenty of space.Close contacts with JapanThe complete range of koi comes from Hiroi Masaki, a breeder based in Niigata. Van Keulen stocks up on fish twice a year in Japan. The contacts established with the Japanese business in 1997 are now so close that Harry van Keulen's son even went to work in Niigata in October, to give the fish supplier a hand.To be able to offer customers fish of the optimum quality, the koi arriving from Japan are kept in quarantine for five weeks. During this period, the fish are tested twice for the notorious Koi-Herpes-Virus. Each breeding batch is put into a separate pond, so that in the event of an outbreak of the virus, the source can be tracked down immediately. As a…