Thursday, February 12, 2009

Four Weeks till Breeding Season!

Getting the Message to the Birds!

While Oklahoma was getting tornadoes earlier in the week, we finally got a half inch of rain. Humidity is coming up, more rains are predicted soon, nature is crying, Spring is Coming!!

In my aviary, yesterday, the cocks got their third weekly dose of vitamin E in the water. Watching their behavior, I notice a little territorial scrapping and quarreling. An occasional cock will add a little "Macho " dance dropping his wing and assuring the boys that HE IS THE MAN! I also notice the hens occasionally feeding each other and sometimes one will carry a piece of string they luckily found.

Starting today, and about three times a week, I will offer various greens, (Today it was leaf lettuce, as it is on sale for $1 a head). For my birds, getting any greens is a big change as they haven't seen any since locally grown greens became unavailable in late summer!

I do not give show birds, whether type, color, or song, any greens after the molt. I do not want greens staining the feathers above their beaks . And I do not want greens to push the song toward breeding sounds! How could they not get it, by changing the diet, I too am crying, Spring is Coming soon! And do the birds love it!!

It is also time to ship any promised birds early next week because on Wednesday, all birds including hens will get the water soluble vitamin E and the lights will be suddenly turned up to 14 hours. The ones that are pet quality, like the hen featured in yesterdays blog, will be shipped today to Anna Sinclair at Trinity Bird Gallery in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Anna runs an excellent pet shop and really takes the time to make sure that whoever purchases a bird knows how to take care of it. It is clear that yesterday blog hens laid a single heat egg. She is not inviting mating, didn't even try to build a nest, and just dropped the one egg she laid off the perch. That does not mean she won't be a good mother when she recycles, in fact her new owner will have an easier time with her! She will love the mountains, longer days, and the food is great!!

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