Birdroom Report June 2001

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This year I have rebuild my birdroom. The birdroom is about 4,5 m (long) x 2,2 m (high) x 2,5 m (deep). There is a walk-in-flight of about 2,5 m (long) x 2,2 m (high) x 1,2 m (deep) to keep the hens indoors during the winter and to keep youngsters in it during the breeding period. I have 6 breeding cages, 120 cm x 40 cm x 40 cm each (pic 1). Each cage is dividable, but I don't use them. This year I breed with four pairs of Fife Fancy and two pairs of Raza Espanola.

The walk-in-flight has a double feeder (pic 2) at the wall and a one liter water fontain hanging on the ceiling (pic 3). The walls are painted with a green colour, the ceiling with a blue colour and the bottom is filled with brownish river sand. I use different types of perches. First: "Social perches" from a tree we call "Flieder" (Syringa vulgaris). Second:  "Private Perches" made of plastic. I believe that this colouration and the commbination of social and private perches has a good influence on the "mental" behaviour of the birds. It's a kind of colour therapy for birds ;-)

I use normal recording cards (pic 4) to get an overview over the particular pairs and their chicks.

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Pictures 5 to 10 shows this year youngsters of Fife Fancy. The six days old chicks at pic 5 are all black white. The yellow coloured Fife at pic 6 is about 25 days old, but it has the well rounded body of a real champ . Pic 7 to 10 shows different 35 days old Fifes. Especially the black white variegated with the white spot under the beak looks quite good. Please pay attention on the colouration of pic 9. The ceiling is blue and the wall is green. The colour I use is called "Latex". It is easy to clean and doesn't contain toxic elements. The yellow coloured Fife on pic 10 shows a little melanin spot just over the beak. It is a so called "ticked bird". In Germany it is a variogated bird. The back is not as round as it should be, but the bird is only 35 days old, so be patient, Frank! 

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And last, but not least: my quails. These pictures are shot at the outdoor aviary. I keep a trio of Bobwhites and a pair of Harlequin Quails together in my outdoor aviary of about 4,5 m x 2,5 m x 2,0 m. In one corner, the Harlequin hen has a clutch of six eggs. After 18 day four chicks were hatched. The picture of the chicks was shot about one hour after they hatched. Cuuuuute!!!!!