FoxesFan4Ever

Hi all, This might be a daft question but would it be too late to start sitting in with my young birds? They don't listen to me at all and I am getting nowhere fast it seems. I tried to teach them to come to the whistle but then I lost the whistle and cant do it loud enough to make them hear me all the time. So I am thinking that sitting with them should tame them up a bit but ..is it too late? They are flying well and getting close to roaming so are they gonna be too old to respond? In short can you teach a young(ish) bird new tricks? Thanks for any and all advice.

Just to say thank you to Chris for all his help today. He originally came over to help me out with a rat problem, located the nest, killed mummy rat and 2 juniors, issued eviction orders to 3 others and wound up spending most of the rest of the day moving my loft to a whole new area of the garden. So now i have a loft, rat free, off the floor and safe for my birds to live in assuming they ever come home. So thanks Chris, there is no way I could have done it without you.

I watched it all the way through !!! Am I a veteran now?

Hi Chris, We can certainly talk about 1 of yours as well. All I want for now is a replacement for my few young uns..there will be room for at least another 18 ft i think.

Hi Razvan, I did consider it but I wouldn't know where to start and it's not like I have family near here to help out..so all in all easier just to buy one ..at least first one and then maybe I will be able to build next one by copying

Thank you very much

Hi all, Do any of the more well used loft makers have websites. I have been trying to do searches on them but nothing is coming up although I do know that in some cases the web address has sod all to do with the firm's name etc. I need a new loft in a hurry so all help would be appreciated. Thanks. Foxes Never Quit

Hi I am in Lincolnshire but have car ..will travel as the saying goes. Foxes Never Quit

Hi all, Today I found someone who sells red dari seeds or he used to. He has a fishing bait shop and for some reason he mixed all his dari which he says he has had for over 3 years with linseed with an aim of cooking it. (The things you see when you aint got a gun huh?) Anyway he sold me 2 litres for a pound so I took it as wild birds will eat it anyway but will linseed do my pigeons any harm? Like make them too fat or give em the squirts etc. I don't know the properties of the stuff apart from polishing wood so I would rather play safe than be called an idiot when my birds get ill. Thanks all Foxes Never Quit

Hi All, As title says I am now looking for a young Jack Russell,under 1 year old, either sex is fine as no intention of breeding them. Preferably an unwanted looking for a new home but must be good with people and other dogs and free would be awesome. Thanks for looking and for any and all help given. Foxes Never Quit.

Yes please Chris, I would like to take your ferret bedding off your hands if you still have any. I have been trying to call you since Friday and sent pms too but nothing working. See you soon i hope. And YB's look gr8

Just wondering..why anti freeze and not rat poison?

Because its just 2 odd sheets i had from somewhere which Ijust thought would help with the problem for now. I dont have enough to cover the whole floor..just the weak point for now.

Hi all, I had my first rat kill today. I didn't know they could get in but now it seems clear that this is where my birds are getting their injuries and not from cats or hawks as I first thought. Anyhow, as sad as it is at least now I know my enemy and I can fight it head on. I have located the small hole in the floor where I assume it/they got in. I have put a flat tray of rat poison through the hole and covered it with some sheets of metal for now until I am sure bait is going and then I will totally recover floor area with 9mm plywood. Is there anything else I can do? Thanks in advance for any and all advice. Foxes Never Quit

No barley, no maize. All they have at moment is Bucktons Young Bird mix which i don't believe contains either of those although I have got rid of the bag so I may be proved wrong...to the best of my knowledge the answer is no though.

Hi again, OK so this time it seems 1 of my young uns has a ruptured air sac. I wouldn't have known but have been told thats a definite by people who have seen it before. So I have been told to pop it with a needle. Well I didn't know how to do that and the guy who had seen it before in his own birds had his done by an old woman who used to live near him and he doesn't know how to do it anyway so I asked a guy who lives near me but who I dont really know to do it so I could see how it's done and know for the future. Well he came round and started popping this bird at the bottom of the puffed up bit and squeezing although 2 days later I can't see any difference so I am gonna try myself. So that is the background and the question is: is there a specific place I should stick the needle? I mean he stuck it in near the birds chest which I would have thought would be where the bird keeps his lungs and I was thinking maybe I should stick it in the bit that is actually puffed up and obviously not what could be a normal part of the bird? Any and all advice gratefully received so long as it isn't kill it cuz that's not gonna happen. Thanks all Foxes Never Quit

Thank you everybuddy!!

Hi there, OK, I saw a thread on this point a few days ago but I can't find it now. I am having trouble getting some of my birds back in after they have been let out. I have come up with a system which I hope will suit which is to let them out at 8am and then again at 4pm. Today is the first day I tried it, so I took food off them last night to keep em hungry so they would come back and after they had been out a while I went down with the food and whistled them in and 10 came. A hardcore section of 5 are still out there an hour later on neighbours roof pecking away at something I assume is grit. I don't doubt they will go in eventually but if hunger wont keep them under control what will and would 12 hrs without food make them hungry enough or could the others be coming in just because its cold or they are fed up etc? Thanks for any and all help. Foxes Never Quit

OK this is the dog bed I am using. Obviously the water can only come up as high as the front. However I can go for some litter trays and try those instead if thiisnt suitable. This is the first time I have tried to post a pic on here so forgive me if I screw it up please.

Hi there, With the weather being so hot yesterday I figured it might be a good day to get the birds to have a bit of a clean up seeing as I have been told they like a bath. I was using an old dog bed, one of the big vinyl ones with a lower front than back because I thought that would hold enough water but they wouldn't entertain it at all. I caught a couple of birds and showed them the water hoping the others would get the message but no joy. Is there a technique to getting them in the water or do I just have to wait for them to pick it up on their own? Thanks for all your help. Foxes Never Quit.

First of all a big thanks to all who gave advice on conditioning/trapping mixes. I can get hold of everything except Dari seeds although I have a feeling I might find it at local angling shop seeing as if I remember right fishermen use it as bait. Anyway..I digress. Red or white Dari seeds or doesn't it matter? Also how do I use a trapping mix? Might sound a stupid question but do I just leave it on ground for when they come in or on the trap or give it when all are back etc? Also one of my birds is missing. I think a cat might have had it or it might just have gone too far and got lost or something..no idea, will keep eye out for it and if and when it comes back..wooohooo pigeon pie !!!! Just kiddin Thanks for any and all advice. Foxes Never Quit.

Hi again, OK I have been advised that I should be giving my YB's a conditioning seed in the morning and I was told to buy some hemp seed and a few others and make my own. I have looked online to find some idea of what goes in these mixes but there is loads of different kinds and although I suspect that they are all going to have some benefit for the birds I was wondering if someone could possibly give me a list..maybe 4 or 5 types of seed to make a good mix up. I only have 15 babies so not at the stage yet where I need a 20k bag. Thanks for any and all help Foxes Never Quit

Thanks for all your advice everybuddy. I have taken the bird in question out of the loft and it is currently living in my kitchen in a basket. The other birds all seem fine still although I will be keeping a close eye on them. I will keep you informed cuz I knows you care. Thanks again, back soon. Foxes Never Quit

Hi, I have a young bird who is very light. Also it sits on the floor and puffs its feathers up around it a lot. It will run from me when I go to pick it up but it is far too easy to catch on the floor. I only have 1 loft and I am wondering whether he/she will affect the whole lot. I have put some Coxoid in the water yesterday so I hope that will do the trick. Is there anything else I can do for it. Should I shut it in a box on its own out of the way? It seems to have a little bit of go in it but nothing compared to how it should be. I got some new babies yesterday and I would hate to risk them for the sake of 1 sick bird but equally I don't want to have it necked if there is any chance that it can come back from this. Thanks for any and all advice Foxes Never Quit

Thank you very much chris. You are indeed a gent and I am looking forward to visiting next week.