The natural Approach to successful aviary management
advice. These birds have been colonized for most of their adult lives and have
shared any bacteria they may have, so the risk of bacterial infection from
consuming feces from another bird is very minimal. Our birds are fed morning and
evening at feeding stations appx 4 feet off of the floor, but fresh dandelion and
asstd other greens are scattered on the aviary floor 2-3 times per week. It is not
uncommon to see up to 30 birds descend on a generous pile of greens and
reduce this pile to dust in a matter of an hour. In the summer, large shallow pans
of water are on the ground for bathing purposes as well as misters and misting
shelves for birds to bathe.
Our birds were collected over a two year period and arrived at different times
from all over the country. During the first year together as a colony, there was
quite a bit of arguing. Males would vie for a certain hen's attention. Food trays,
water bowls and choice space on the many grapevine branches were each more
than enough reason for an argument to begin. When nestboxes were installed
(some two months later), the fighting escalated even more. There were few
injuries, yet an occasional bitten cere or bloodied foot did require some medical
attention. This went on for a short time and everything seemed to settle down
after awhile.
When the first round of breeding was over, I noticed that arguing seemed to
start all over again. This is because some pairs had "given in" to the more
dominant pair for the first round of chicks in a particularly popular nestbox, but
when the time came that the chicks were removed, the empty box became prime
real estate again. Now, as time and seasons have passed, it is apparent that
there is a sharing aspect to the most popular nestboxes. One pair will often wait
for their ideal box and allow another more aggressive pair to use it first. When the
box becomes vacant, the waiting pair is allowed their chance to raise a family.
Under certain circumstances it may be necessary to "pre-bond" a pair before
their eventual release into the main colony (such as a pair that has been proven
to produce outstanding offspring). This is easily done if the pair has successfully
raised a clutch in the past. If pre-bonding is the goal, the chosen pair is flighted
into a large cage that has been affixed to the south side of the aviary and
is visually opened to the main flight. The pair is kept in this separate flight where
the main flock is allowed to observe them and they, the main flight. The pair may
even be provided a nestbox and allowed to breed/raise a clutch in this temporary
home. After 30-45 days, this pair can be allowed to join the main flock and will
(under most circumstances) remain together as a pair.
Now that
