Loft Log 06/11/2008
Time flies when you are having fun…
Since the last update, I have received a few replacement birds and birds from Crazy Al. Unless you have been notified, I should still have your birds. I have been keeping a close eye on them, and all are doing well.
The latest ones are probably settled, but I do not 100% trust them yet. All of the other birds have made many single toss flights to the loft. Some take a spin around the yard. A few birds have stayed out over night, and many have been on the loft roof and ground and know their way back to the loft.
The darkening is taking its toll on the body feathers. The birds look a bit ragged, especially the older ones. The 7th and 8th flights are mostly grown back from the ones I have pulled, and the 9th and 10 are beginning to grow in. They will be darkened for about another month, maybe until the end of July. By then they should be flying fairly well. When I am ready for the loft flights, I will take them a bit further from the loft, then release them in-mass. They will usually take to the sky. After a few times of this, they will be flock flying. By now I would have lost several to hawks if I used a ‘normal’ type system.
The birds have been getting a bath every week, weather permitting. I generally put either borax or Ivermec in the bath. While I do not see any mites or lice, I never want to see them. They are easy to control, so it just makes sense.
I had a problem with a couple of birds. One of my own was let out on Friday afternoon. On Monday afternoon, it still wasn’t ready to come in. It was the lone bird out and it continuously sat on the roof of the business next door. Sometimes it flew abound, but always back on the roof. A well placed 35-yard shot from my air rifle ended the problem child. But that is one error the birds cannot make. The refusal to come in and getting food and water from somewhere else. I do not want to get shut down for any complaints about birds on the wrong roof. With the accuracy and power of my air rifle, it comes in handy for many things….
The second bird had just flown back to the loft from my short single toss. When I went to the loft to add more feed, it was dead beside the feeder. Maybe it got its head caught in the feeder the previous time I fed, just a few minutes earlier? Maybe it flew into a light fixture or other obstacle in the loft? Maybe it was a medical problem? I am not sure. In any case, it was dead. I wish I knew the answer to these questions.
In a week or so, I will vaccinate for Pox and Paratyphoid. All of the replacement birds will have arrived, and the team will be static from here on out. I have already put the blue and pink spiral bands on the birds. I imagine I am about 75% accurate on the guessing of the sex, but I will adjust the bands as the birds start showing their true identity. When the lights go back to 16 hours, I should start to see them acting like the sex they are.