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The Original All Roller Talk Discussion Board Archive >
How late is too late?
How late is too late?
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Fr.mike
83 posts
Mar 08, 2006
5:34 PM
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I am just finishing my kit boxes I have about another week before I am finished--I could do it in one day but work issues prevent me from finishing--My first round is already flying to perches in breading loft--How long do I have before it is detremental to the progress of the birds? What i mean is will it hurt the new birds to be in the breeding loft for another week or so or will it retard there progress--I really dont have a choise but just wanted to know?
thanks Mike
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Tony Chavarria
Site Publisher
513 posts
Mar 08, 2006
6:05 PM
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Hey Mike, obviously it is best to get them on the wing sooner rather than later, but a healthy youngster should take to the air with minimal trouble dispite the additional week.
However, you can start the settling process now, if you can, expose them to the outside by putting them in a wire cage so they can see the backyard. Do this everyday until you are ready to actually release them.
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FLY ON! Tony Chavarria
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Fr.mike
84 posts
Mar 08, 2006
6:18 PM
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Thanks Tony -There is one Ruby in their Its the only one that has not flown to the perch but its about a week and half behind the others so I am doing all I can to get the kit boxes together.
mike
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Velo99
247 posts
Mar 09, 2006
4:58 AM
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Mike.
Mine are 5 weeks now and I put them out in the cage all day.If you have the walls up on your box you can start training them to the box by feeding them in the box. After that trap training is easy.
In answer to your question, it won`t hurt but it won`t help either. Read the posts on weaning and trap training and see if there is anything you can start to do in your situation. It helps to get started before they can fly very well.
Good luck bro.
YITS
Kenny H
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Shaun
300 posts
Mar 09, 2006
10:05 AM
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Mike, I thought you might be interested in hearing what happened to me when I let nature take its course with youngsters taking to the air. I had a growing kit last year and had to add individual squeakers as the months progressed. I was intrigued to see the difference between what happened with one young bird compared to another, as and when it was added to the kit. I didn't bother with the cage and instead let the birds fly up to the loft top when they were ready - being English, I have big, open doors for trapping, so the youngsters get used to flying in and out, long before they take off properly.
Because I don't have a particular hawk problem and I'm able to be with the birds when this first training happens, I could just observe. Anyhow, at about 5 weeks old, youngsters would gain the strength to fly out of the door to the loft top, then just sit there, watching the flying kit doing its stuff. When the kit came down, these individuals would then trap back into the loft with them. So far, so good.
Where the difference lay is the point at which each youngster decided it was time to go up and join the others. The earliest was just over 5 weeks old - still a baby. The latest was 9 weeks. That's without me interfering at all and just seeing what would happen. I've now beaten that record as I've got one at the minute which has flapped about a bit, but hasn't yet gone up for a proper fly. This bird is 10 weeks old and it had better get its arse into gear soon!
It's worth mentioning that when I started, I'd heard the various schools of thought about flagging youngsters up, when they're all sitting around, not having properly flown, waiting for one to go for it so the rest can follow. Well, on one side of this debate, we have those which say let nature take it's course; they'll go up when they're good and ready. The other side says once the birds get to 8 or 9 weeks old, they're getting strong. If you leave it too long, they could go up and away, then get lost.
Well, at one particular point last year, I had 6 birds, all a couple of months old. They were trapping well, fluttering nicely around the garden, but none had really gone for it. So, eventually I got fed up and let my natural impatience decide matters - I flagged them up; they were all over the place. After a couple of minutes, all 6 birds had disappeared over the roof tops and I stood there in dismay, thinking I'd blown it (that and about $300). That afternoon, I walked up and down the garden (in between actually trying to earn a living), and a bit later was delighted to see one of the youngsters in a nearby tree, which came down and trapped in when I shook the corn tin (needless to say, I'd kept them very hungry). Then, another bird came over from a roof top. By nightfall, all but one had returned - how they found their way back I don't know. I was still upset to have lost just one of the six. Nevertheless, looking back, the alternative was to have let them sit on the loft, possibly for much longer, getting stronger with each passing day. So, with hindsight, I think I did the right thing.
Shaun
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Velo99
250 posts
Mar 09, 2006
4:48 PM
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Shaun ,
I take mine across the yard and let them fly 10-15 yards back to the box. After a couple of rounds of this I will take them out into "the field" behind my house. I open the swinging gate so they can see the box. When they take off it is usually to the fence they go. Sit there a minute and then a flap onto the roof and a quick walk to the other end of the house. A swoop onto the landing board,sometimes a leisurely groom on the roof of the kitbox. A quick trap,and some lunch. Total distance 100 feet or so. From there to the cage for the afternoon and then a repeat performance that evening.
I want them to know when the door flaps open it is time to go and fly. So far so good.When I whistled at them this evening they were hanging off the cage door.They are prime and ready in about another week to make the big flight around the `hood
YITS
Kenny H
Last Edited by Velo99 on Mar 09, 2006 4:49 PM
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