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The Original All Roller Talk Discussion Board Archive >
Newcomer question #1
Newcomer question #1
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1
Double D
77 posts
Nov 12, 2005
4:24 PM
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Keep in mind that my birds are 3/12 and 4 1/2 months old.
Background: When I first got my birds a few weeks ago I wanted to make sure they would be strong and healthy and wanted them to feel as little stress as possible after spending a day in a shipping box and being introduced into a new home so I filled their feed bins and kept them full the last few weeks, letting them eat all they wanted.
Now, in an effort to tame them as well as bond with them, (I know, it sounds mushy, but I want us to be a team) I pulled their feed bins out of the cages and started a process of getting them used to eating out of my hand over the last two days. With the exception of a couple really reluctant birds, they are all eating very well out of my hand. The reluctant birds will feed out of a dish held in my hand. I also took their grit away from them because I was concerned that without having food available all the time, they might pick at the grit to satisfy their hunger.
Question: Normally I will always keep grit available for breeders but do you keep grit available at all times for kit birds? Will they eat it as food if they are hungry?
Thanks guys,
Darin
Last Edited by Double D on Nov 12, 2005 4:39 PM
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motherlodelofts
483 posts
Nov 12, 2005
4:27 PM
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Darin I grit my kitbirds once a week and that is plenty.
Scott
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fhtfire
251 posts
Nov 12, 2005
10:28 PM
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Darin,
I just throw a handfull of grit up on top of the kit box. They seem to land and then pick at the grit for a second and then trap. They seem to pick at the grit if they need it.
rock and ROLL
Paul
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Shaun
201 posts
Nov 12, 2005
11:18 PM
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Hi, Darin. I tried bonding with my birds in the early stages, but they just didn't want to know. I recall posting something to this effect and the answers led me to believe it's the family of birds you're working with, which largely dictates how tame they can become. I have two main families and they're pretty wild. I don't mean mad, stary eyes or anything - just, they hate to be picked up and will flap all over the place if I go near them. This is a pain in an open loft, but much easier to control in a smaller environment, where you can get at them without them being able to fly away. I've also noticed that the offspring all start off being really tame, but about 6-7 weeks old, they become just like the older ones. I've sort of proved the point to myself in that I obtained four more squeakers from a different family a few weeks ago. They're much calmer and much easier to pick off the perch.
As for grit, I experimented with the different types. I leave it there permananently and I've never seen any bird use it as a substitute for food - rather they tend to take it after a feed. The first grit I used was very course, like gravel. They barely touched that. I swapped it for crushed oyster shell and that's by far their favourite. Certainly it's much appreciated by breeding birds - high in calcium; good for egg formation.
Recently, my pet supplier brought me the wrong stuff. So, instead of the oyster shell, he came with a very fine mixed grit. The birds have picked at it, but not as much as the very fine oyster shell. I've left this new fine grit in the loft as well.
So, there you are, Sir. How do you like your grit: - course, medium or fine?
Oh, and they can be really messy with the stuff, but it's dirt cheap, so I don't really care that they flick it here, there and everywhere.
Shaun
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