Clearing out

[E Orix]

I am not sure if we are heading for a long cold winter or it has been a great breading season for our local Silver Eyes(white eyes to some) but this year my annual aviary invasion by them is earlier and far more looking for an easy winter location.
These birds work all of my large flight looking for a seam in the wire so they can riggle inside. Once one gets in it calls it's mates and so on. In the end
I am over run by free loaders. When thee numbers build up out comes the trap cage and they are caught up and released some 30kms away. I need to
do this, if I release them in my backyard they just about beat me getting back in. I have proved this by ringing some a few years ago and they were all back within hours.
This mornings catch is 32 with more to get, no wonder my bird cake is disappearing. It is quite musical when I release a lot because they spread out amongst the trees then all start to call each other. I much prefer them outside than in my aviary. A few years ago I left some in and they bred, building their dainty hanging nests but massive live food feeders to their chicks.

[COUNTRY CAPITAL]

e-orix i think this post belongs in the "i confess" section!
i realise that you have enormous aviaries and some wire sag happens over the years....just hope that they dont show your prized inmates the revolving door!!
our hobby can still throw up a new challenge or two, thanks for sharing!
good to hear that some of the wild birds have had a successful year as well, makes a change from ferals like indian myna stories.

[E Orix]

It's highly unlikely anything getting out. The gaps are small and birds just can't fly up and out.
We have closed anything reasonably small and Sparrows can't get in because of their size.
I had a successful catch up yesterday and there are around 30+ sitting in my bird room ready for relocation ,
hopefully there are only a couple more to catch.
I use one of the 10 section wire traps made by Les Milton and I simply put a piece of cake and a half Orange and sit back and wait.
Must admit I do catch a few that are not supposed to be caught though.
At least my bird cake won't disappear as it has been.

[COUNTRY CAPITAL]

sorry e-orix, didnt mean to sound critical.
some would worry that the wild birds would introduce disease, worms etc to your birds.
your years of experience certainly proves otherwise.

[E Orix]

I didn't take it as being critical.
One thing that you mention, fear of wild birds passing on diseases. With due respect to Myzo and Danny, I have NEVER worried about wild birds passing on anything.
I have had open flights, dirt floors open water dishes ,ponds etc and so on for nearly 50 years and I still have no proof of wild birds infecting mine.
For years wild trapped birds were purchased and released into our collection without problems to my knowledge. That aside everyone has the right to have an opinion. My opinion is that too many people over medicate and many over crowd. I do neither maybe that is why I have few problems or maybe I am very lucky. Many people cosset their birds and I feel it softens them, all my birds have access to very large, wind protected DRY shelters. Considering the amount of Finches I have my losses are very small indeed. Gouldians are outside and breeding, I must admit that they look a million dollars on the sunny days and 5 cent birds when it is cold and wet but that's Gouldians
After all the above , no I don't worry about outside birds unless they are preditors.

[Ripley]

Hello All,

It's nice too think that the birds are still about, wanting to get ito your aviaries...Where I am, the damn Myner Birds have destroyed all smaller birds.

I'm after a few pairs of silvereyes to set up a colony!!!

Cheers
Ripley

[Myzomela]

I didn't take it as being critical.
With due respect to Myzo and Danny, I have NEVER worried about wild birds passing on anything.
I have had open flights, dirt floors open water dishes ,ponds etc and so on for nearly 50 years and I still have no proof of wild birds infecting mine.
For years wild trapped birds were purchased and released into our collection without problems to my knowledge. That aside everyone has the right to have an opinion.

Well, you knew I would have to bite didn't you EOrix! So CRUNCH!!

With due respect to your undoubted expertise and experience, I would have to disagree and say that you have been lucky- or perhaps the large size of your aviaries and relatively low stocking rate may help?

I have countless examples of wild birds visiting open-roofed aviaries causing alarming losses.
Most are parrot-related because most finch breeders simply don't bother taking their dead birds for post mortems.

Many rare King parrot mutations have died after wild birds have visited their aviaries. The cause? A protozoan parasite called Spironucleus which kills many wild juvenile king parrots every autumn when the young birds congregate.

A 30 yr old captive cockatoo contracting and dying from beak and feather disease after its owner decided it would be fine to feed it with the wild cockatoos, some of which were suffering from the disease.

Recurring deaths in a lorikeet aviary from the bacterium Yersinia- commonly carried by rodents and European Blackbirds. The deaths only stopped after the aviary roof was covered, stopping the local blackbirds from landing on and defaecating in the aviary.

And there are many more examples. Who really knows with finches, but what I do know is that once we started looking into why finches were dying in aviaries we discovered lots of different diseases, many of which had not been recorded previously.

My point is that if we start investigating then we might be surprised at what we might find. Isn't it great that the wild red-brows come and visit our aviaries? But they also visit the aviaries down the road, the chook pens etc etc, then come back to your aviaries.

That is not a risk I am prepared to take. Imagine the consequences if there was an outbreak of Avian Influenza in a neighbouring chicken flock?

My biggest fear is not what our captive birds will get from the wild birds, but what the wild birds will catch from our birds!

[Myzomela]

. My opinion is that too many people over medicate and many over crowd. I do neither maybe that is why I have few problems or maybe I am very lucky.

I totally agree. We definitely have an over-reliance on drugs to make up for shortfalls in our management! Harsh but true!

Now I'm ducking for cover...

[vettepilot_6]

Now I'm ducking for cover...

Don't know about over medicating but mostly I try heat before anything else...most times it works thats why I have to finish my hospital cage (just in case )

[COUNTRY CAPITAL]

hard to argue with myzo....damn!
as he states, not many finches are ever autopsied, so who really knows?
low stocking rates seem to be a common trait with successful breeders....but all those parrot examples myzo quoted probably came from 1 pair aviaries, as is the norm with them.

i too think you can "soften" our birds through over-medication so i am on e-orix's side with this one.

sorry to take your post off-track....once those microscope-toting fincho's chime in it all goes to @%*!....just kidding!