Saturday fun with my hands

[Sally]

So sorry he escaped on you, I also recently lost a bird to the great outdoors. Your projects are just wonderful, you are so handy!

[Dramoth]

Sally
Thanks Sally... this the first bird that I've lost on my own... my dad has been involved in the loss of our other two birds I can't wait to get onto making the extension to the current aviary with the airlock system. No more lost birds

Well... feeling rather foolish, I wandered up to the pet store to see if they had any charcoals left... and they had 2... both males. One juvenile and 1 adult. I double checked to make sure that he didnt come from the same breeder that we got our female from this morning.

They tried to tell me that the other bird in the cage was a female and I had to point out that males had a red bill and females had an orange bill. They were still dubious about it, but I wasn't buying 2 male birds when we had a juvenile charcoal male in the aviary already... that unfortunately came from the same breeder as the female.

And now our poor lonely female charcoal has the love of her life.

[lovezebs]

Dramoth

Sorry that you lost your one boy , and congratulations on finding another boy. Are there any wild Zebras around the area where you live?

I had a runaway Zebra today as well, but luckily it was in my kitchen, and I was in no mood for nonsense, and grabbed her in less than a minute flat.

Well, fingers crossed for the young couple to get through their acquaintance, wedding and honeymoon quicly, and get down to business for you .

[Dramoth]

There probably are some wild Zebs in the area. However, it's up north here in WA that they are endemic

We once had an aviary with about 30 Zebs in it... and a cyclone came. After the cyclone went through, we went out to see what had blown away... and we couldnt see any of our zebs. Dad went into the cage and almost stepped on one of the food bowls... and then he heard chirping from under it. Flipped it over and here were all our zebs... and about a dozen more

We had a trap entrance on the top that let the birds in, but wouldnt let them out. Seems that the trap cover flipped open with the wind and a bunch of wild zebs decided that our aviary was a good place to hide out the storm. And in the end, they fit right in.

[lovezebs]

Dramoth

What a cute story, lol.

I hope your escapee finds some companionship out in the great outdoors. Hopefully he will survive.

[Dramoth]

I hope he comes back later on and tries to sneak into the aviary... with a sheepish look on his face

[Dramoth]

And here is the new boy... he doesnt look half as fine as the other charcoal was... yet.

I dont think that they have explored the nesting box yet... I'm hoping that I don't have to put another nest in there so that they can pick and choose.

[Derk]

Dramoth
Very lovely! Here's hoping for eggs and babies sooner rather than later!

[Dramoth]

Derk

There has been no movement between them consummating things so far and the lovely nest box I've built for them has been explored, but there is no nest building going on yet

I'll keep them in there for the time being. We have to start making plans to remove the new fledgling males we have in the aviary and as soon as the newest fledglings are weaned, we are going to take them to the local pet store to sell.

The problem is catching the little gits first

[Derk]

Dramoth
Yes catching a healthy bird can task your hand eye co-ordination that's for sure. I try and catch my birds only when the lighting is very dim. It is much quicker and so less stressful for them and me.

[Dramoth]

Well... after worrying about the charcoals trying to make a break while I am putting in seed and changing their water... and to reduce stress on them as much as possible, I have made a swinging gate type feeder set from some of the scrap plywood we have floating about.

Catching them proved to be fun... but I eventually got them and put them in the transporter cage for a bit... made the modifications, put it all together and... now they are sitting up the other end of the box, not moving towards the other perch which is next to the seed and water.

Maybe they will take a hint and start using the nest box behind them for the purpose it was intended.

[debbie276]

A swing gate is a great idea! I've seen a couple different styles.
Would love to see a picture if you can.

[Dramoth]

debbie276

Here is the swing gate I made for the love birds (or at least I hope soon to be love birds). It's a bit rough and ready... but it works and thats all that matters

[debbie276]

That's great!
Love it