Fr.mike
75 posts
Feb 25, 2006
5:01 PM
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OK--its my first year and I have Little ones in the nest--most are getting there flights.Most of the pairs are on there second round and the previous rounds are starting to get with parents in the second round nest.I must add that it has been really cold some times 20 degres or less so I have been reluctant to take them out but I am not sure? any help would apprecated.
thanks mike
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Bluesman
Pigeon Fancier
676 posts
Feb 25, 2006
5:38 PM
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Mike.When my young get tail feathers 1 inch long I remove them from the nest and put them on the Loft floor.When they are fully feathered out under their wings or they start flying up to the lower nest boxes(30")I move them out to the kit box where I keep feed & water to them all the time for a week or so untill they are eating good then I start their training.I never watch the days but it is probably 30 couple days when they are moved to the kit box.Then they are in their training cage for 10 days or so untill they are able to fly some when I first release them if they want to.If it is real cold I will wait for several days for a warmer day to move them into a kit box.Hope this helps. David
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Vibey
11 posts
Feb 25, 2006
6:32 PM
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Hi Bluesman...Do you do this with all of your young birds ?
put them to the floor when tail feathers reach an inch or so long ?, and do you provide any type of cover or leaner boards for them to hide under in case they are bullied?
Do you feel this adds to the overall strength of the birds because they are getting more excercise. I guess it would also help them to learn to wean faster as well being on the floor and watching all the others feed and drink. Cool.
Happy breeding man .
Vibey
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glenn
11 posts
Feb 25, 2006
6:40 PM
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I have a Rabbit Hutch in my stock loft, when the young are 18 to 22 days old I put them in the cage with an older hen until they learn to eat & drink water. When they can take care of themseleves I put a group of them in the kit box and start traing them. I have never raise any young where it get's really cold, so I can't help you on that part.
glenn
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fhtfire
345 posts
Feb 25, 2006
7:51 PM
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I pull my squeekers out of the nest when they start to get feathers in the wing pit....I put them on the loft floor. I never measured the tail feathers..I just lift up there wing and when they start feathering I put them on the floor. My floor is all wire...so I lay a little 24X12 piece of tin on the floor in a corner..so they have something to stand on. When I feed the breeders in the morning...I will throw a small amount of wheat..Like a table spoon...on the tin...the squeeks start pecking at it almost instantly. I usually do not put a place for the birds to hide...because I usually time it so that I have 6-10 squeeks on the floor at a time....so the cocks do not pick on them..because the cocks are usually feeding at the time...so they feed everything..and the fathers protect the little youngsters. I never really had a problem with a cock messing with them. The squeeks usually huddle up together. You know..united we stand..LOL!
I move them to the kit box,as soon as I see them really picking at the wheat that I throw on the tin. When they start eating a little on there own....then I will move them to the kit box...They will usually not eat on the first day...or just pick a little...but the second day...they eat like crazy!! The first three or four days...they get all they can eat. If they are in with a young bird team...I will release the team and then feed the squeeks while the team is flying. When they are done...they sit on there perches and watch every bird trap....then the whistle...then the feed. They sit on the perches and learn!!I kid you not..I have never used a training cage to trap train a bird. After they eat for 4 days...and then when the young team is flying...I will put the feed tray down...then I will let them eat for about 5 seconds...then I will pull them out and put them on the landing board....as soon as the first one goes through...they all do. I do this for 3 days and that is it..then they go on top of the kit box...and they usually trap themselves. I will get one or two out of about 20 that will hang on the cage...All I do is pick them off the front of the cage and hold them about a foot from the trap and they fly to the landing board and trap.
ANyway..a little more info
rock and ROLL
Paul
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Tony Chavarria
Site Publisher
499 posts
Feb 25, 2006
9:08 PM
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Mike, pull them out to wean no later than 5 weeks after they hatch. Wait too long, the youngsters will have more trouble learning to eat on their own, if so, you will find that you need to put them back in with the original pair to eat/drink and then pull them out again and then repeat this a couple times before they get a real clue and start to feed themselves completely.
I should mention I use individual breeding pens, they young birds cannot leave on their own.
In an open loft, the young birds will often fly out of the nest box on their own and begin to mimic the pecking done by the older birds and so will wean faster.
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FLY ON! Tony Chavarria
Last Edited by Tony Chavarria on Feb 25, 2006 9:22 PM
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upcd
157 posts
Feb 25, 2006
9:17 PM
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I beleive in a natural weaning. I leave them with thier parents until they are weaned and eating on thier own. Then they can begin do what they were bred for rolling.
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Bluesman
Pigeon Fancier
677 posts
Feb 26, 2006
5:17 AM
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Vibey. Yes I do this with all my young.No I don't provide any cover.Like Paul said They just all get together and when I feed they see their parents and come runnin to be fed and will follow the parents around to the feeders and waterers.And with having 80 + other breeders feeding around them they soon learn what to do.
Yes I think it makes them a lot stronger and will take to wing better when I release them.
As for the training cage if I didn,t use one the hawks would have all of them picked off or scared witless before they ever took wing.
Everyone has to find what methods in raising rollers works for them.Every area is different and some things just won,t work for everyone.
Another thing I highly reccomend is havong wire floors in the kit boxes.I finally got all my floors changed over last year.And the best type I found was the 1" expanded metal.Really easy to keep clean.Other types of wire works but this is the best I have found.David
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Velo99
232 posts
Feb 26, 2006
5:38 AM
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I put mine on the floor at 3 weeks. During the third week there are several activities I engage in with the squeaks. I start trap training them with a ramp into the kitbox. Just run em up. Show em where all the stuff is ie... water bottle,feed trays and perches.I also put them in the cage for an hour or two so they can see the kit operate. Get a box to tote em around in. Handling the squeaks a lot at this point is a good thing. Makes em not afraid of you. Takes a few minutes a day.
Back in the breeder box start dipping the beak ,and watching for them to peck seed. I put my squeaks down by the feeder in the breeder box. It doesn`t take long for them to realise where the feed is coming from. Usually by the end of week three they will be wandering around pecking at the floor like a chicken. They are ready.
Week four they are ready to go into the kitbox. They can fly clumsily to the box from about 5 feet.After a week of "kitbox prep training" I am confident they will be fine. I set a few v perches right on the wire so they can get used to sitting them. They can just get up on a low perch but I give then other options. I need for them to be comfortable in the kitbox for a week or so til they settle in.
Week five more trap training and roof sitting.Usually by the end of week five they are making short loops around the kit box. Flying up about three feet and landing again. Testing the wings out.
By the end of week six I `ll take them across the fence and toss them; make em fly 20 yards or so. After that they usually take wing pretty well.
Good Luck and Good Flying!!
Hey Paul,the pair was feeding all 5 chicks on ther floor this last round. Ol Meanie is sitting again. Super pair, thanks again.
YITS
Kenny H
Last Edited by Velo99 on Feb 26, 2006 5:53 AM
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Swamp Fox
23 posts
Feb 26, 2006
6:17 AM
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Kenny, I do mine the exact same way you do. When I was in the hobby a few years back, I did the same things you do and it seems to work very well. Now that I am back in the hobby I am resuming the way I did it before. The main thing I believe you can do is make sure they learn to drink water. I dip their beaks in the waterer and set them next to it so they learn where it is. Even if they don't drink they feel it on their beak and tongue and nine times out of ten you won't have to do it again. Watch their eyes closely. If they are slowly blinking their eyes they are very thirsty. If this happens put their beaks in the water and nearly 100% of the time they will take a big drink and from then on they should be fine. I believe in handling the young in the nest and as you wean them. That way they are less afraid of you when you handle them or move them to other pens or breeding pen. I usually place a hen in with the young ones in the weaning pen and they will learn from her. If you use a passive hen, she won't mess with the young ones. Never put a cock bird in with the young ones because he will peck the feathers off their heads. Many times the feathers won't grow back because he has damaged the head so severely. I wean when the feathers start to finish out under the wings. This way I don't have to keep up with the age of the baby. I would never leave the young ones on the kit box roof without a training cage until they are trapping in readily because more times than not before they learn to trap in quickly the hawks will pick them off one by one off the roof top.
Marion
Last Edited by Swamp Fox on Feb 26, 2006 6:18 AM
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Velo99
235 posts
Feb 26, 2006
1:13 PM
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Swamp,
Since I have a kit this year I don`t think I need a trainer hen. I used one last season to good use. So far so good this season. I have some other things I want to try this season training wise. See if it makes any difference. The one month age differencce is the killer. By next month I should hit a 12 squeak round. That will be nice.
YITS and Good Luck
KennyH
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Velo99
283 posts
Mar 20, 2006
2:27 PM
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This will save me the trouble of retyping.
Try the archives newbies. If you see something interesting reply and it will bring it back to the front.
yits
KennyH
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Santandercol
70 posts
May 21, 2006
10:12 PM
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Swamp Fox,
If you have so many hawks around,how can you ever train a kit to fly in competition?With my new kit of birds I've been hit 3 out of 4 flights by Coopers and Merlins.The birds get so spooked,they don't want to roll,just get back to the box.The youngest bird I have in the kit is 8 weeks and he won't leave the roof yet.
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Kellinos
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Swamp Fox
69 posts
May 23, 2006
10:08 PM
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Kellinos,
I have only seen one or two hawks since April in my area (Georgia). They are more prevalent from about October to early April. The ones I saw only passed over and did not bother the birds. I use the training cage to keep them on the kit box top and to protect them from preds while I am away from the area. I only use it for three or four days. By then they are accustomed to the surroundings and will readily trap (keeping them hungry of course). Once they are trapping without the training cage, the main challenge is over.
Marion
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SlipSpur
60 posts
May 24, 2006
9:06 PM
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I just let the parents wean the young'uns... when I see the parents chasing them around trying ta peck they're heads off... they go to the kit box... works for me.
Mark
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