jord
17 posts
Dec 28, 2005
6:32 AM
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ime thinking about building a kit box but the wife thinks its cruel to keep them in such a small dark place which has made me think she could be right.
does it have any effect on them.
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Alohazona
98 posts
Dec 28, 2005
8:59 AM
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I have both set ups,each have their pros and cons,so it comes down to personal choice.The more open or lighted kit compartment is nice because you can view the birds regular,lots of light for sunning,bathing,and room for alittle excercise,flying from perch to perch.When they come of age,they look to pair up and do what pigeons do,which can detract from their focus on flying/kitting and performing.
Kit boxes 4 ft square or less,is more my choice from the performance aspect,tight kitting,keeping the birds calm and rested between flys.A door to bring in light or darken can be incorporated as a tool to let the birds know its time to rock and ROLL.The more confined space is easier access to the birds for inspection,which you will need to do regularly in the development stages of your performing team.
Birds are bred to ROLL,how they are housed,and what you are looking for in performance and the maintenance of that is a personal choice.In my opinion both styles are good and neither is cruel......:-).....Aloha,Todd
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Norm_Knox
30 posts
Dec 28, 2005
10:40 AM
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Hey Jord,
I don’t think lightened or dark kit box matter too much. And it certainly is not cruel to keep them in a let’s say 4 ft by 4 ft kit box. They are made to be handled in such way but either way go for it man. Later
Norm
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ROLLERMAN
10 posts
Dec 28, 2005
12:38 PM
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i like to fly out of a dark kit box. for two reasons. one is that i believe they kit better. two is that it stops birds that are old enought to mate from mateing. when i open the door to my kit box them birds just about give enought time to get out of the way. with a lighted kit box your not going to tell me there is not a pair in the corner that will come out on its own
al
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Norm_Knox
32 posts
Dec 28, 2005
8:15 PM
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In my experience it doesn’t matter if it’s dark or lightened kit box (what ever works best for you). As far as mating, kit birds are on a diet and flying so there is not enough fat for a hen to produce an egg. Now it might mess them up with their flying if they are trying to mate because cocks can be too “horny” annoy the heck out of hen (follow her around and so on). Al might be right about some birds not wanting to come out in lightened kit box. Just my two cents. Later
Norm
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jord
18 posts
Dec 29, 2005
7:05 AM
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so when i build my kit box do the birds have to be in darkness all the time?
if so what about feeding and watering them?
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Alohazona
99 posts
Dec 29, 2005
9:00 AM
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I for one, do not darken 24/7,as stated in my earlier post,closing them up is a tool for me,I am under the belief it heips teamwork,especially kitting.So if out birds are a problem I'll try it dark for a few flys,till the stragglers get a handle on it.If the stragglers continue,they get moved to a different team and so forth.I also have block type perches[8 each] barging across the wire mesh on the large release door,the block type perch adds minimal weight to the door itself, plus the bird.I f a bird chooses more sunning,[which is important for yougbirds[vitamin D],they will knock somebody off a perch there,lol.
My choice when feeding,is a 2'by 2' galvanized pan,with a 1 inch lip to retain seed and doesn't trip the little guys to bad whon they are scampering for their grub,this is removed and replaced at feed time.
My waters for them are as simple as possible,being covered some how is key so they dont bathe in it.I change water once a day sometimes twice,the water should be as clean as your schedule allows.Hope this helps.....Aloha,Todd
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Bill C
18 posts
Dec 29, 2005
6:25 PM
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I have both kinds of kit boxes and I prefer the more open wire cage. Both will have hens lay eggs in them if fed too much and both have cock birds chasing hens around. I hear the cock in the darker kit boxes cooing just as my breeders do 30 feet away from the kit boxes. I have not seen a difference in birds kitting or any other advantage to dark cages, except maybe they come out more active the first two minutes. Even the darker kit box 4X4X4 has wire around the top for good ventilation and wire floors. The whole front opens as a large door with bob traps in the top and a small door in the lower part of the big door 4X4. THis small door in front allows me to feed and water with out opening the large door, so in foggy weather or strong wind, one does not slip out by accident.
I am going to modify the darker kit boxes so the can have a sun cage on the back of the kit box to sun bathe since they do need sunlight. I made most of my kit boxes dark because that is what everyone else was using. But I have been by a few others that the old timers did not have such a dark box. But they did have perches with out alot of roaming space? I know one older guy who knew Bill Pensom and his kit boxes are much larger than the average guys box.
I would suggest putting your bob traps close to the roof as I have found with a day cage that sits on the roof and goes over the side is easiest to use, plus it is easier for birds to just hop down to the trap door. I have some trap door in the middle of the cage and I wish I had put them closer to the roof since the birds will land on the roof before trapping in. Good luck. Bill
Last Edited by Bill C on Dec 29, 2005 6:25 PM
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