[sweetrsue]

I have been working for a month with no power tools and no help to build an aviary for my little flock. I have two bonded pairs, a baby Whiteface (I'm pretty sure is male) and a wild boy Whiteface Pearl who still hasn't molted out his pearled feathers completely. I aquired a couple of whiteface hens hoping Auzzie (my Whiteface Pearl) would take a fancy to one of them. One of them is a Cinnamon Whiteface (Fawn) and the other a Cinnamon Whiteface Pearl (Harriet). The ideal pair would be Auzzie and Fawn. This way I would know the sex of the babies as soon as they started getting feathers but they had not met 'till yesterday. I put 6 of my 8 birds in the aviary and as soon as Auzzie got a look at Fawn I swear to you he looked her up and down. I get excited every time I see them hanging out together. This afternoon I could see that someone was grooming Auzzie! I couldn't see who it was because of where I was standing so I kind of crept up slowly as not to disturb anyone. When I got close enough that I could see who it was I was surprised to see that it was my 7 week old baby boy. Well it's not a pair bond but it's nice to see the baby forming an alliance with an adult male! One of the reasons I wanted to put him in there is to get guidence from the other birds. He almost seems to be ahead of the group in some respects. For the first time today (my birthday) I saw him drinking water. Yahoo! I'll be able to retire the spoon soon.

 

[Bea]

Do we get to see a photo of your aviary? How big is it?

 

[sweetrsue]

At present I have no way of putting photos on my computer except to scan them. All I have now is a camera phone. I will describe it as best I can. It is 9' X 4'. It tucks into a bay window and goes halfway into the dining room. I built it useing 6-36" screen doors and built the rest of the panles to match. I pulled the screen out of the doors and replaced it with 1/2" black poly coated hardware cloth. I filled it with toys and natural perches. One thing is like a double swing hanging from 4 chains from which I hang millet. The 6 birds that are in it appear to be happy and don't seem to feel confined. 4 of the I could not keep in cages because they screamed all day. It's nice to see them forming a little flock. 2 of them had never met the other 4 that are in there. Of that 4 there was a definite leader of the flock (Spot). He was always front and center whenever I was in their room tending to their needs. As if to say "This is my flock", "If you want to talk to them you have to go through me!" One of the funny things is that I put my baby in there that still requires a little hand feeding. I just go in with his food and pull up a little stool. The other birds watch with great interest while I feed the little guy. when he has had his fill I find that if I offer the spoon to Spot he will enjoy a few bites of formula. Then Sweet Pea (his mate) will jostle for position to get a few bites herself. Fawn will take a bit but not with the same gusto as Sweet Pea and Spot. It almost seems odd to me that now that I get in THEIR cage I seem closer to them than when they had free flight in their room. It wasn't a huge room so I guess that's why they don't feel confined. As soon as I am able I will post some pics.

 

[grannybird]

wow! sounds nice. Hope to see pictures soon.