Just a suggestion to help new people

[BlackCobra]

I was thinking its a pity we don't have a Hints & tips/advice section in every section or bird type & then the mods could add bits & pieces that might be handy to new people, as some older articles hold good advice but how do we find it, unless we read nearly every article, Like I just added quail advice to a section about a quail being killed, in future would a new person find it or other peoples advice, sorry just thinking how to make easier if someones in trouble so can find info faster if needed or if only enough time to browse a bit, I have spent hours & hours looking through sections but I bet I have missed tons top ideas, like using drink bottle for light in sheds/aviaries/dog kennels ect or what is best advice for Airsac mite treatment, I still think people will browse through lots articles when they can.
To me it just be like how mods pin an article but it would be lots good advice concentrated into one pinned article, that way also people would be able to go to the threads to see what other advice was given.

[BlackCobra]

This is the post I ment about quails


Re: Dead Quail Graphic

Postby BlackCobra on Today, 01:08
This reply is a bit late but I just wanted to say, Just a few hints with quails, never add a new quail into an established quail setup, there territorial & will kill the new one, I never ever put just a pair in any aviary as the males are too horny & after a while the females head will be bald or worse, so I like to have 2-3 hens at least per cock, when I add new stock I throw all into a new aviary, that way there all in new territory & might be less aggressive, also keep an eye on how many eggs in a nest, I use to have a trio of king quails in all my aviaries, often there was too many eggs in the nest, the hen would pull all the eggs in on one side & push out an egg on the other side, that means that egg might die, then later she bring that egg in & push another one out, over time you could have a lot of dead eggs, I think it was around 9 eggs maximum I would leave under her, I would mark the eggs to know what batch she started with, a duck, quail, chook ect only sit for 18-21 days or what ever hatch time is, anyway, hens often go & collect eggs around the aviary & add them to her clutch, only the original batch will hatch, as once the first eggs hatch they wont go back to the nest, so any more resent eggs will just die, so toss any new eggs that she adds.
I also put tin or mouse wire around the sides of the aviary because baby king quails run right through into other aviaries & can be killed, also put some wire or something in the water dishes so babies don't drown.
I have still lost babies as some cant keep up with mum in a big aviary & just keep getting colder & die, so I put a box in the aviary on the floor with mum in it with the babies for a week or so.
I use to incubate tons of them also, when I was doing more intense breeding, I bred japs, kings, Californians, bobwhites, I had 2-3 incubators going all the time, then my health went down so I sold all I could, & gave my friend the incubators & brooders full of chicks.
I would feed all my baby quails turkey starter as it has higher protein.
I know a lot of this is common sense with the quails, but I did lose quite a few young over the years to different problems, so just trying to help new people.
We should have a hints & Tips section so people can put all there bits of wisdom they have learned over the years.
I just added this after someone said they keep just pairs,
Re: Dead Quail Graphic
Postby finchbreeder on Today, 10:33
Agree with most of BC's advice. But I have always kept pairs of King quail with no problems. An excellent rundown for new keepers BC.
LML
Thanks Finchbreader, I have had lots pair also but I just found as trios theres less wear & tear on the hens, some cocks are just relentless after hens.

[BlackCobra]

Also the mod will have to edit some info before he would put it in the Advice section, like if they used the quail advice I gave, you would edit out the parts I talked about how many I had ect & just keep what is advice only & maybe add his opinion also & then post it into other species section.
I'm just trying to make it a little easier for new people or someone just finding a sick bird & needs info right away, he can also ask the forum but that can take time, its like buying a book we often read the Index to find what we need rather than read the whole book.
I don't think it will take anything away from the forum as we all will still read it when we have time.

[NoisyMia]

As someone completely new to finches, I like this idea! I wonder if it would be less work for the moderators, though, if they just started a tips and tricks forum and then within that forum started several different threads that helped categorize the tips (e.g. diet, housing, breeding, etc.). Then the members could post to the appropriate thread with a tip they had, written in concise form.

[TomDeGraaff]

A repository forsimple and practical tips is one thing, but an advice list would be too cumbersome. After all, this whole forum is advice in some form or other.
I think the idea is sound but I fancy it's a fair bit of work. Also, who's advice is good and whose is - well - not so good? Which tip to list, whose not to list. Complicated me thinks
I find running a search works well. When I think of an issue or want information, I do that first, then ask here if I would like more help.

[BlackCobra]

As someone completely new to finches, I like this idea! I wonder if it would be less work for the moderators, though, if they just started a tips and tricks forum and then within that forum started several different threads that helped categorize the tips (e.g. diet, housing, breeding, etc.). Then the members could post to the appropriate thread with a tip they had, written in concise form.

This is why I said for moderators to do the list, so we are sure its good advice we have in there & also so its condensed, but I did mean to have a list in every category, like health & in each section for birds ect ect, you might get people that will write little info sheets on the subject just like I did with the quails, like someone might write about Moxidectin plus/Cydectin & dose & Baycox & dose rate & Glucodin ect ect & also what there for.
We can use the search part, but we do have to know what they are called before we look for them.
We will still have people asking what is wrong or what sex is this bird, I still think people will read old docs when they can.

[Mickp]

I for one would not like to see anything like this occur on the forum.
The purpose of this forum is to have the input of all members, not just those who are considered to be experts.
As bird keepers/breeders we have all had experiences that others could learn from.
Uraeginthus, made a good suggestion - do a search and when that doesn't help start a new topic in the most appropriate forum area.

[E Orix]

I have two comments,
One who in admin has the time to do it. Remember those running the Forum are just normal bird breeders willing to commit to
assisting others.If their work load gets too much they will just drift away.
Second point, why do we not use our name when posting, many people simply feel that they would be embarassed as their question my be
silly. So by having a Forum name they can ask their questions without being detected. This is why it is so successful,we don't want so called experts
answering every thing.The more opinions the better,simply read all and decide. You never stop learning about avian management and so many great ideas
come from begginers who have looked outside the circle.Our hobby is not black and white,we have so many grey areas which helps to make it interesting.

[maz]

A lot of the forums I'm on have pinned different threads that are questons which come up often, not written as pieces of advice (although some are) but rather just topics that seem to come up over and over, pinned doesn't mean they aren't open for comment but being pinned they are easy to find and it stops the same question being asked once a week....also means the info in those threads tend to evolve over time as more questions and answers are given until they become quite comprehensive (although sometime s a little too long)

[NoisyMia]

Good points, all.