Biography of the Director
Mark Hagen
M.Ag. Director of Research
The Director of Research at Rolf C. Hagen Inc. and at the Hagen Avicultural Research Institute (HARI) Mark earned his Master of Agriculture Degree at the University of Guelph, specializing in Psittacine Aviculture. During the course of obtaining his Bachelor of Science, Mark concentrated on nutrition and zoology and attended a semester at the University of California, Davis, taking courses in cage bird medicine, nutrition and avian science.
He later gained hands-on experience while housing birds indoors for five years in a converted warehouse. He founded HARI in 1985 in Rigaud, Quebec and applied his practical avian design knowledge to create a state-of-the-art facility. Over the course of the next 30+ years, HARI has gained a worldwide reputation for its ongoing studies into captive breeding, maintenance and nutrition of companion birds. Current areas of study include disease control, pair bonding, nutrition, early parrot education, and the influence of temperature, humidity and light cycles on breeding.
A firm believer in sharing his knowledge and experiences, he has published dozens of papers relating to the work at HARI, including egg incubation, oil and nutrition, formulated diets, husbandry and sanitation disease control, cage design, ventilation, and pediatric care. Many of his papers have been presented at most of the avicultural conferences held in the USA, Canada and Australia.
Mark has also been deeply involved in supporting the avian community, providing personal as-well-as Hagen funding to a variety of organizations, including the Loro Parque Foundation, The ARA Project, the Belize Bird Rescue and Parrots International, and many others. . He continuously coordinates monthly donations of Tropican food to parrot shelters and rescues around the world.
With conservation being one of his main passions, Mark travels widely around the world to directly experience birds in their natural habitat to ascertain ways of improving preservation. He has personally seen over 50 parrot species where they occur on most continents.
Mark’s research papers:
- Comparing Two Feeding Methods in an Outdoor Aviary
- Avian Nutrition: Trends and Philosophies
- Identification Methods in Parrots
- The Acquisition, Husbandry and Breeding of Common Amazons
- Artificial Incubation Applied to Bird Eggs
- Nutritional Observations, Hand Feeding Formulas and Digestion in Exotic Birds
- Psittacine Pediatrics: Housing and Feeding of Baby Parrots
- A Proposal to Form Codes of Recommendation and Facilities Accreditation for Exotic Bird Facility
- Disease Prevention Through Proper Sanitation and Disinfection in an Indoor Psittacine Breeding Facility
- An Outbreak of Herpes Virus and Its Future Prevention in an Indoor Parrot Breeding Facility
- Ventilation Systems for Indoor Breeding Facilities
- The Metabolizable Energy of Sunflower Seed Kernel in Goffin’s Cockatoo (Cacatua goffini) and a Review of the Amino Acid and Fatty Acid Composition of Oil Seeds Eaten by Parrots
- Recommended Feeding Methods for Companion Birds