Oh No, Docile Hens with Developed Vents

This morning I noticed that these two imported German Roller hens had eaten an unusually large amount of mineral grit, so time for an inspection, bottoms up.

Swollen enlarged red vent on one hen.

The other hen is almost as developed as the first one.

That means they are coming into laying condition. So what's the problem?

Laying condition and breeding condition are not necessarily the same thing and with these two docile hens, their lack of movements means laying is far ahead of breeding. Should they be paired now, they would be timid and run from the cock.

Egg fertility has a lot to do with the hen, does she call to him and beg to be fed and assume a mating position? Docile hens because they are not acting according to script, may even be attacked by the anxious cock.

The best thing to do to get the hens active and hopping back and forth and turning flips in the air in anticipation of breeding is to give them a dose of iodine. This could come from a variety of available iodine products such as vanodine, lugol's, or Ioford.

Since the hens also look a little loose feathered compared to my others I decided to give a two consecutive day treatment with Ioford with Dufoplus added in their water. This cocktail should be used at the first sign of lethargy and works remarkable well.

Update Photo Below: 24 hours after treatment, feathering is tightening up, wing carriage is improving and the hens are moving some. This is going to be a tough one, after the second day, I will put the hens one one side of a divided cage and a cock on the other side. The cock is the most important factor for bringing the hen into condition.

Breaking News - Petamine

Just received a heads-up call from Herman Brothers that Kellogg is no longer making Petamine! They only have 10 of the 20 lbs bag left and after that no more! If you use Petamine and want some for this breeding season call Herman Brothers at 1 810 420-5055.

Mild Eye Problem - Conjunctivitis

About a week ago, I notice a German roller acting like it could not see well. On close examination, I noticed his right eye was totally sealed shut. Using lukewarm water, I gently poured water over his eye until it unstuck. Click on the photo and noticed the missing feathering around the eye.

Immediately, I moved him to this "transport" cage which I purchased at the National Cage Bird Show from The Finch Connections vendor (www.thefinchconnections.com). I love this small cage and have already decided I need lots more of them.

With plastic perches, they stay clean much better than roller cages.They are great for isolation of sick birds as the food and water is easily accessible and always close to the bird.

And I also plan to use them for males that are destined to move from hen to hen but need a place for two days off to build their sperm count between hens.

I could use them when I am caging up a number of rollers trying to decide who goes in the show cages and perhaps I can get a cabinet made and use these cages for a song school!

The most common cause of mild eye problem cases is Mycoplasma but it also can be due to a number of infectious agents and even exposure to environmental toxins such as cigarette smoke and chemicals.

Once I was invited to visit an aviary of about a hundred red factors. The first thing I noticed after noting their beautiful color was that nearly everyone of the birds had mild eye problems. The problem was the perches that he cleaned with harsh chemicals and the birds rubbing their heads on the "clean" perches. After seeing this, I just wash my perches in plain water.

The only environmental factor I could find in my case was that he was fairly close to the heat pump and air would blow on off and on. This could cause dry eyes and set the scene for an eye problem.

I concur with veterinarian Dr. Rob Marshall who in his book Canary Health stated "baytril (enrofloxacin) is a first choice medicine when the cause of the illness has not been identified".

Enrofloxacin is available from some pigeon suppliers. I purchased mine from ladygouldianfinch.com.

You can either use one drop in the beak twice a day or administer in the water as directed on the label.

Positive response within 24 hours is typical with this medication but it is continued for several more days as directed on the label to prevent the common recurrence problem associated with eye infections.

Following the antibiotic treatment, the bird should remain on vitamin treated water such as orlux vitamins for five more days.

The bird is looking better and acting fine and I do not anticipate any further problems.

Note: can't get over how fast his beak grows, after taking the first picture, I trimmed it but look at today's picture, he needs it again!

Performance Enhancers

Sometimes, the show season seems to come to soon, much before our birds are in peak condition. Whether it is the feathers are not tight or the confirmation such as rounded heads or raised back just isn't there or perhaps they lack stamina after a long day on the show bench or perhaps birds that will not sing in their show cages, all of these problems can be rectified by using vitamin enriched products.

I had this Orlux fertility product on hand and was surprised to read on the product label it that it was for singing & fertility. I started using it daily and the song developed quickly and quickly they no longer sang "baby song." I bought this product from Bird Supply of New Hampshire.

While judging type canaries at the Vancouver Canary Club in Burnaby, BC, Canada, on November 13th, Chirpy Chum Brian Johansen, not only shared with me that some of the top exhibitors in England use Boost to gain a competitive edge but also he gave me a bottle to try.

As soon as I got home, I had about a week to give it to my rollers before the National Cage Bird Show and Borders who needed confirmation and others who had loose feathers especially in the flanks. I was very impressed with the results which corrected all of the above problems and all birds had improved well being.

At the show the rollers who before treatment were not singing to frequently, got remarks on their judging sheet about their great training and performance!

I am going to be ordering boost from England as I do not know of a US source.




Biodecken also has a product to improve singing called "Jingle". Which I did not have the opportunity to try but another breeder did try it and got excellent results too. Hopefully their product line will be available soon from Ricardo Sanchez. As soon as available, I will post it on the blog.

Houdini Brags: "It Doesn't Take Much To Outsmart Big Bird!"

Yesterday, Big Bird was bragging about outsmarting me, she even posted it on the blog, but first thing this morning as she barely started opened the door, out I flew!!

Maybe a sweet song will fool her!

Big Birds problems have just begun!!

Out Smarting Houdini

I make a habit of taming my birds and training them to stay in their cage when the door is open. Everyday when I add the special food in their small dish, I leave the door open while I take the dish out, fill and return and then close the door.

This works well as I only have to open the cage door once instead of twice. I have about 200 plus birds in roughly 70 cages and day after day I leave the door open and none escape. Even if I forget to close the door well and it falls open, everyone stays in their cage till hours later I notice it.

Today, I was smugly congratulating myself on how much easier it makes life to have birds stay in their cages rather than having to chase birds who escape while I am feeding. (As a matter of pride, I catch birds by hand and do not use a net.)

Once last week and again today, Houdini, a German Roller Male, quickly darted out of his cage and flew around the room. Well what a sight, we moving quickly around the room while Houdini does not even let me get close.

Around dusk, I still had not caught Houdini even though I had tried several times during the day. His cage door remained open and he ignored any treats I put inside. So I thought I might be able to outsmart him by placing a perch through the bars to the outside making it real tempting to fly in. Similar to putting an inside perch near an outside bath to encourage a bird to investigate the bath.

After dark, I went in the aviary to find Houdini as once it is dark, I can walk right over and catch him. Houdini took the bait and was sleeping inside his cage!!

Handy Dandy Poop Scraper

In spite of a large flight cage all to himself, this Border prefers a high perch in the corner. He flies back and forth but spends the majority of sitting and pooping in the right corner.

Recognize the bird? Yes, it is a current photo of that molting Border pictured with lots of pin feathers on its head a few weeks ago. His head is filling out nicely now!

Under his favorite perch, droppings are building up!

No problem, if you have a dry wall plastic scraper! It is thin and flexible and so easy to use.

This set of three sizes is only $2.27 at Lowe's in the lumber section and is a must have in my aviary!