Handled 85 (Dublin), 32 (Finny), 91 (Berkeley) and 97 (Austin).

Trap Training, Part Two

Moving very slowly on the trap training. Trapped 3 individuals birds this morning at feed time - 92 (Memphis), 96 (Phoenix) and 42 (Dover). Dover got out of the aviary - AGAIN. This time she (pretty sure she's a hen) flew on top of the loft roof, to the toucan aviary, on top of the neighbor's wall and then finally on to the landing board. This make me extremely nervous about ALL the birds out at once.

I've got a lot more reading, studying, asking experts, etc. before I take the next step.

Handled 92 (Memphis) for a long time. Really nice bird - must work on her deformed toenail tonight.

Fantail Move

The fantails are now inside the house. Victor, my male toucan, had no reaction. Mollie, my female, spent the afternoon terrorizing the poor things. They seem nervous, but this will be much less stressful than the loft (both on the fantails and the homers).

All birds were vaccinated with Sal-Bac today. Jack is now completely vaccinated for the year.

Pigeons in the aviary today. A few self-trapped (98 and 87). More entered the loft with the bobs open. The remainder are still sunning in the aviary.

1st Day Trap Training

This is going to be much more challenging than I thought. Let pigeons get hungry, shake feed can, pigeons will trap. Yeah, right. I shook the can for minutes. Not one bird moved. Came back an hour later, same results. Finally, I lifted the bobs, sprinkled feed on the landing board and a few birds got the idea. No going through the bobs, I guess I need a few more steps to get to that level. Plus, they aren't hungry enough.

The recommendation is 1 ounce of food per bird, per feeding. That is what I have been feeding, and they are leaving feed behind. I suppose I should shorten the time they have to eat. I'll also reduce the amount. There was a ton of feed left over tonight.

First birds through the trap: 95 (Topeka), Jack and 96 (Phoenix). Last birds through the trap: 83 ('Frisco) and 89 (Shanghai).

Handled 99 (Casper), 30 (Boca) and 94 (Barcelona). Barcelona needs A LOT of work. He's absolutely terrified of me and struggled the entire time. In fact, all the birds need more handling and toenail trims.

Throat Swab

There are still very loose stools in the loft. Not many, but a few. I floated fecals on the worst - and they came out clear. Looks like the Ivermectin did its job.

I will try to isolate the birds with bad feces and throat swab them.

Dust Free Pine Shavings/Loft Size

I am trying out the dust free pine shavings. So far, not impressed. When the birds fly the shavings scatter everywhere, exposing the floor. So how does it work? My birds are always in motion.

There's no doubt about it. I need a larger loft. Once I am sure the birds are not a problem and the neighbors find them as enchanting as I do, I will expand another four feet.

Handled 83 ('Frisco), 85 (Dublin), 97 (Austin) and Jack. Rio gave me a nice wing slap.

Handled 32 (Finny).

Latecomer Trap

The plan is to install a latecomer trap on the outside the aviary. It comes complete with a metal landing board and bob trap. Once the birds are trained to use the bobs, I will train them on both traps. It gives me peace of mind to know that latecomers will have a way of getting into the loft rather than risking encounters with cats.

The interior trap will also be replaced with a metal bob trap. Hopefully, this does not slow down the trap training.

Handled 21 (Chile), Rio and India.

Keep an eye on Dover (42) - appetite down.

Things I've Learned So Far...

Paint NOTHING inside the loft. It's much easier to scrape and powder natural wood.

Don't bother buying expensive v-perches. They work fine, but the birds are just as happy with the 7 inch wood block perches I built them. Maybe even happier. Plus, it's less to clean.

Get a really good floor scraper. The plastic scrapers at Home Depot save you a few bucks but the large metal floor scrapers will save you tons of time. They also clean the floor a lot better than the economy types.

Use a microscope and float the fecals once a week.

Be prepared, buy extra. Test out different feeders. You get what you pay for, don't be cheap.

Handled 85 (Dublin).

Getting Better all the Time!

The fecal quality in the loft is getting much better. If I had to make an educated guess, I would say that only one or two birds are still having problems. The wormer should start working any day now...and the Baycox (to treat the Coccida) should arrive soon.

The fantails are starting to nest - although after this evening's feeding they did not rush back into their nestbox, but displayed on the landing board.

Handled 94 (Barcelona), 97 (Austin) and 98 (Cheyenne).

Darn that Trap!

Brooklyn (106) taught himself how to open the bob trap. Yup, he jumps at the bobs until they swing wide enough and jumps into the aviary. It's super fast - and a reminder of just how smart pigeons can be. They are more aloof and demure than the toucans, which is misleading. Smart little guy!

Plans to go to Anaheim and buy a new bob trap plus a late arrival bob trap and landing board. If necessary, I can add another board inside for them to "fall" onto.

Will be treating the coccidia with Baycox.

Coccidia

I floated six fecals. 4 were clean, 1 tested positive for roundworms and 1 tested positive for roundworms and coccidia. Although there are generally a small number of coccidia in pigeons, the feces are extremely unformed, green and watery.

Of course, I have meds for everything EXCEPT coccidia. I'll be ordering it and having it shipped via overnight mail.

3-5 days (depending on the drug) in the water or orally until clear.

Removed white boxes and replaced with six inch wood block perches. The birds are confused, but getting used to it.

All birds went into aviary today to bathe. I placed three birds in (and Jack) and the others followed through the open trap. I used blue and pink flags to redirect them through the stalls (no bob trap, yet). They did extremely well!

Bombay is still a dirty mess and I noticed that Memphis has a deformed fourth toe (the nail grows backwards) - I need to keep an eye on it.

The fantails have a new nestbox which they seem to be using. I'm going to place some tobacco stems in the nestbowl and see what happens.

All birds were wormed with 3 drops of Ivermectin.

Handled 95 (Topeka), 98 (Cheyenne) and 103 (Juneau).

Removed the "litter box". Tomorrow the boxes come out and will be replaced with single perches.

Plans for moving the Fantails alongside the house in a separate, small loft.

Big weekend!

Feeders

Initially, I used a "chicken" feeder with Jack (feral/homer) and seed went everywhere. It also was a great poop catcher when he roosted above the feeder.

For the loft, I switched to the flat top, economy wood feeders. They worked well, but the fantails used the tops for display areas and, even in the 20 minute feeding session, caused a lot of poop.

The third feeder worked like a charm. It's the all metal grill feeder from JEDDS. The price threw me off a bit. Turns out, you really do get what you pay for. I did have to do a little sanding around some rough edges, but the feeder works great and the birds seemd to love it. Plus, because of the shape, it's impossible for any of the birds to sit on top. No poop accidents, and easy to clean.

The Birds Arrive

I picked up the two fantails and 20 homers from the post office on Saturday, June 12, 2010. Actually, the fantails arrived at 10:00 while the homers were "lost" until 6:00 that evening. The post office was nice enough to stay open until I arrived to pick them up.

All birds, including my feral cross, Jack, are currently housed in the loft during quarantine. I have four weeks to cut back the large tree and build an enclosure for the fantails.

The feces have been very watery and green for the past few times, but are finally firming up. I ran two particularly liquid fecals under the microscope. Other than a lot of plant material, it was clean. I have to chalk it up to lack of food during three day shipping period and the stress of a new home.

I've learned a ton in just a few days. Several things about the loft need to be altered and more precautions taken to keep a clean, dry loft. It may be overcrowed, but that will change when I move the fantails. I'm assuming the additions and losses once we start flying will round things out (what a sad thought).