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COPYRIGHT 2002
Anthony Olszewski
A LIVING MURAL
My first bout of serious bird keeping began with pigeons. These
Birds were kept in an eight foot square shed. The horrible New Jersey
weather, arctic cold half the year and hellishly hot the other half, did
not bother the birds, but made it extremely unpleasant to observe them.
Also, there was no market for the progeny. Since I was in college, and
thus short of funds, my bird hobby had to be self supporting.
The solution was to switch to canaries and budgerigars. These
birds could be kept indoors, where the climate might also be
domesticated. Pet shops, other breeders, and even the general public kept
these birds in demand. From the proceeds of my breeding room, I was able
to buy additional stock, feed, and supplies.
All the books and all the local breeders stressed that indoor
flights, the bigger the better, were an absolute necessity. The rationale
behind this was that the more room that the birds had to exercise, the
fitter they would be for the breeding season. I constructed a series of
aviaries and flight cages, some up to ten feet long. My birds were going
To be ready for the Olympics!
As is usually the case, experience proved Folk wisdom to have no
basis in fact. The birds in the large flight cages spent most of their
time sitting in one spot. A move to another perch required a pitched
battle with whoever had staked the original claim. On trying to return to
home base, they might have to squabble with a bird that had moved in right
behind them. A few feathered racketeers would try to monopolize the food
or the water dishes. These sources of stress and other pecking order
pressures would become too much for the low men on the totem pole, often
The best birds. They would rapidly decline. They had to be placed in
individual cages to recover. Occasional losses would still occur.
With
The commencement of breeding activity, all birds would be paired up in
small cages. Time was spent catching every bird. The whole flock had to
adjust to a new environment. This was an additional stress at a time that
it was least wanted.
Eventually all birds were kept in individual breeding units. The
Birds actually got more exercise flying back and forth in the small cages.
Budgies could be kept one pair to a cage. Breeding was regulated by
Removing the nest box. Canaries were all kept in individual cages. The
cock was placed in with the hen to mate and was moved after twenty-four
hours. One male might be used with up to fourteen hens. A whole nest of
newly weaned young would be kept together. As they matured, if they were
to be retained for my breeding program, they were set up in private cages.
The rest were sold.
After several years of raising these birds, I decided to branch
out to finches. Lady Gouldians, star finches, zebras, and societies, were
set up one pair to a canary double breeding cage. The Lady Gouldians did
not breed at all. The stars produced innumerable eggs but failed to
incubate any of them. Only the zebras and societies produced a few
young. Paradoxically, the smaller, but more active birds, were not able
to exercise in a cage. At this point, nearly my whole bird collection was
lost in a
burglary. Several years later I had the opportunity to visit one of my
customers. In a Manhattan apartment
(It would be redundant to add small!) she raised Lady Gouldians by the
dozens in a planted indoor aviary measuring about six foot square.
I wanted to try a similar set up. The window of my shop was about
ten feet long and nearly seven feet tall. This space was partitioned off
from the rest of the store. Full-spectrum lights were installed. Large palms and
ficus plants took up nearly the whole interior. Thin manzanita branches
were placed in a top corner and in one spot on the aviary floor. The
window, at night, might get as low as forty degrees. A heat lamp was
Focused on the top manzanita branches. The heat lamp was used at night
and during the day, if it was very cold. The lighst were on sixteen
hours a day. Food, water, and baths were all placed under the heat lamp.
Water for drinking was given by means of a gravity bottle. Nests, both
woven and wooden boxes, were placed high up, but not under the heat lamp.
The nests and the top branches were actually higher than the top glass of
the window and thus out of view of the pedestrian traffic.
About a dozen immature Lady Gouldians were added. At first they
were extremely frightened and spent all their time hiding in the top
perches. As they acclimated they would examine their new home when no one
was in front of the window. If someone approached, or if a car rode by,
they would return to the haven at the top. At night the interior of my
window aviary would be brightly illuminated, but the birds
would not be able to see outside, because of the darkness and the glare on
the glass. As far as the Lady Gouldians were concerned the whole threat
of the outside world simply disappeared at sun down. They would then flit
about the entire space, ignoring the small crowds that would gather to
observe them. As they came into adult color, the birds made a tremendous
display.
A local breeder sold me a number of immature Java rice finches and
African weavers. I was advised to not place them in with the Gouldians.
I was told that they might possibly kill the smaller birds and that they
would certainly destroy the plants. Another aviary was built. This one
ran along one wall of the inside of the store and was eight feet long,
four feet wide and seven feet tall.
The Java rice birds quickly matured and went to nest. Standard
wooden budgie nest boxes were used. They produced many healthy babies.
The African weavers turned out to be mostly males. Even with the few
hens, none paired up or showed any interest in nesting. The Lady
Gouldians nested without hesitation in their planted space. The parents
fed their nests of shrieking chicks with great zeal. Unfortunately, most
of the Lady Gouldian chicks were lost when they left the nest. They were
unable to find food or water in the large flight. Because of the dense
vegetation, it was very difficult to catch any of the fledglings without
disturbing the entire colony.
The Lady Gouldians were fed a vitamin enriched finch mix. The Java
Rice birds and the weavers were given both vitamin enriched finch mix and
vitamin enriched parakeet mix. Gouldians and Javas were given as much
chopped egg, nestling food mix as they would eat. The Javas also took
Mealworms and fresh corn on the cob. Fresh greens and sprouts were given
to all birds daily. Vitamins were used in the water bottles.
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Summer is a paradox for the aviculturist. We buy birds and equipment,
read innumerable magazines and books, hope and dream, all in anticipation
of the breeding season. But, come memorial day, the beach and mountains
beckon. Our precious birds become an afterthought, if not a nuisance.
breeding birds require more attention. Now, if the birds are to go to
nest, diet is of absolute importance. The canary fancier has an added
complication. Breeding ends in June-July and is immediately followed by
the molt. We must constantly assess exactly how much time and energy we
are willing and able to devote to aviculture. A few lucky ones have
neighbors who are also afflicted with "birds on the brain". This makes it
possible to vacation. If this is not the case, even well meaning friends
and relatives can wipe out a valuable collection.
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