One of our yellows:
Bunch of the canaries eating eggfood on the Waterschlager cage:
Cheking out the nestbox:
More house inspection:
The Avairy from the house door:
One of the chicks picking at millet:
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
More Aviary Pics
One of our white Canaries:
One of our yellows:
Bunch of the canaries eating eggfood on the Waterschlager cage:
Cheking out the nestbox:
More house inspection:
The Avairy from the house door:
One of the chicks picking at millet:
One of our yellows:
Bunch of the canaries eating eggfood on the Waterschlager cage:
Cheking out the nestbox:
More house inspection:
The Avairy from the house door:
One of the chicks picking at millet:
Monday, July 18, 2005
THE AVIARY IS DONE!
The aviary is DONE!
Well, done enough for us to let the birds out, and overall it was a success!
Phoenix and I had thought that we could release the birds Saturday, but there was far too much work to do. First we had to get our new population of gouldians from Anne (we sold the old ones, as being far to screwed up to raise their own children. Never again are we going to buy any bird at a bird show), then we went on the quest to find foliage. We ended up buying about 10 pots of small grasses (at $2) 6 pots of large ornamental grasses ($6) and two palm trees ($12 and $20) and soil and pots… Repotted the plants, hung up some perches, and then got all the cages from the canary room and brought them to the aviary. We banded all of our non banded breeders, trimmed their nails and gave them all a dose of SCAT. After the trauma of all that, we set them free. The gouldians were fine, but the poor canaries had quite a time of it. They freaked out. Most of them adjusted to their freedom very quickly, and in fact the one pair that was feeding babies went back to feeding them within an hour or two. Some of the others did not fare so well. One of the white canaries that has been kind of sickly to begin with is now a ground bird. It tries to fly up a bit, but seems to prefer the floor. We put some food down there just in case. One of the yellows broke its brain. Poor thing started having conniptions and started jerking its head over and over again. We put it back in a small cage and covered him with blankets, and this morning, he seemed ok. Tomorrow we will open his cage to see if he will go out on his own.
The rest of the day, we spent watching the birds on and off. Great entertainment! Who needs the SCA when you can watch the politics of canaries and gouldians, not only trying to establish dominance over the other species for territory, but also with each other, while trying to court for a mate. Singing, hopping, posturing, showing off, chasing each other, bonded pairs flying together. All I would have to do is make some of them feel more important then the others and I would be set. *grin*
But seriously, it is a wonder to see….
Well, done enough for us to let the birds out, and overall it was a success!
Phoenix and I had thought that we could release the birds Saturday, but there was far too much work to do. First we had to get our new population of gouldians from Anne (we sold the old ones, as being far to screwed up to raise their own children. Never again are we going to buy any bird at a bird show), then we went on the quest to find foliage. We ended up buying about 10 pots of small grasses (at $2) 6 pots of large ornamental grasses ($6) and two palm trees ($12 and $20) and soil and pots… Repotted the plants, hung up some perches, and then got all the cages from the canary room and brought them to the aviary. We banded all of our non banded breeders, trimmed their nails and gave them all a dose of SCAT. After the trauma of all that, we set them free. The gouldians were fine, but the poor canaries had quite a time of it. They freaked out. Most of them adjusted to their freedom very quickly, and in fact the one pair that was feeding babies went back to feeding them within an hour or two. Some of the others did not fare so well. One of the white canaries that has been kind of sickly to begin with is now a ground bird. It tries to fly up a bit, but seems to prefer the floor. We put some food down there just in case. One of the yellows broke its brain. Poor thing started having conniptions and started jerking its head over and over again. We put it back in a small cage and covered him with blankets, and this morning, he seemed ok. Tomorrow we will open his cage to see if he will go out on his own.
The rest of the day, we spent watching the birds on and off. Great entertainment! Who needs the SCA when you can watch the politics of canaries and gouldians, not only trying to establish dominance over the other species for territory, but also with each other, while trying to court for a mate. Singing, hopping, posturing, showing off, chasing each other, bonded pairs flying together. All I would have to do is make some of them feel more important then the others and I would be set. *grin*
But seriously, it is a wonder to see….
Friday, July 08, 2005
Updates
Well, lets see, what's been going on with my life...
The bird thing is still going ok. Am currently converting out screened in porch into an aviary for the Gouldians and the Canaries. Have it structurally finished, but need to get all the accoutrements (like feeders, trees, etc.). Phoenix is feeding the last survivor of our latest gouldian eggs, all the rest the parents either tore apart or ignored. The good news is that the chick has made it 19 days and is doing very well. Also, one of the gouldian males bit off the toe of the female in the same cage. All our friends who breed them have suggested we get rid of that lot and get more from Anne (who is the uber-gouldian breeder). Is what we are going to do... On the other front, the Canaries are doing great! We have 2 ready to sell, 3 weaning and 2 more still in the nest.
On the bigger bird front, we just got another Black Headed Caique, a female, which makes our first breeding pair (hopefully) in the big birds. I think the plan is right now is to take the canaries and the gouldians and put them in the aviary, and convert the love shack to be a birdie paradise for the caiques. I hope this works.
In other news, talked to Dad yesterday, which was wonderful. Talked to Robin too, which was very nice. Hurricane Dennis seems to be on its way to the panhandle... WE will get some rain from the rainbands, just enough to screw up weekend plans.
Work still sucks, but may be getting better with the possibility that I may become a blackboard admin part time. Less time on the phones! Whoo hoo! That is if its not just another line they are feeding me.
Went and saw Dave and Michelle and kids when they came up for Vacation, what a blast :) I hope they visit again soon... I hope Dean and Jack come down and visit sometime too... And Robin and Danielle, and Dad... Need to get that bed for the guestroom.. and a new dining table...
Well, that's about it. I am hoping to get some pics of the new aviary up, and some pictures of the canary chicks.
The bird thing is still going ok. Am currently converting out screened in porch into an aviary for the Gouldians and the Canaries. Have it structurally finished, but need to get all the accoutrements (like feeders, trees, etc.). Phoenix is feeding the last survivor of our latest gouldian eggs, all the rest the parents either tore apart or ignored. The good news is that the chick has made it 19 days and is doing very well. Also, one of the gouldian males bit off the toe of the female in the same cage. All our friends who breed them have suggested we get rid of that lot and get more from Anne (who is the uber-gouldian breeder). Is what we are going to do... On the other front, the Canaries are doing great! We have 2 ready to sell, 3 weaning and 2 more still in the nest.
On the bigger bird front, we just got another Black Headed Caique, a female, which makes our first breeding pair (hopefully) in the big birds. I think the plan is right now is to take the canaries and the gouldians and put them in the aviary, and convert the love shack to be a birdie paradise for the caiques. I hope this works.
In other news, talked to Dad yesterday, which was wonderful. Talked to Robin too, which was very nice. Hurricane Dennis seems to be on its way to the panhandle... WE will get some rain from the rainbands, just enough to screw up weekend plans.
Work still sucks, but may be getting better with the possibility that I may become a blackboard admin part time. Less time on the phones! Whoo hoo! That is if its not just another line they are feeding me.
Went and saw Dave and Michelle and kids when they came up for Vacation, what a blast :) I hope they visit again soon... I hope Dean and Jack come down and visit sometime too... And Robin and Danielle, and Dad... Need to get that bed for the guestroom.. and a new dining table...
Well, that's about it. I am hoping to get some pics of the new aviary up, and some pictures of the canary chicks.
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