Fantail Uncaged??

[laughingdog]

ive even heard of fantails killed in the night and during day, but rats, shrews, least weasels, etc. cats and peregrines are like stealth ninja. if your birds are white, even worse as fantails and rollers, especially white, are the most tempting and attracting of attention of raptors and all predators in general, but make best droppers, and most common for both. maybe let them raise at least two to four batches, and breed those babies of theirs to something else to make garden fantails to fly (even ferals, homers or rollers). i have one Capuchin and one fantail mix female, both white, and they attract the attention of the hawks since letting out like crazy. luckily i have male other performing types that take up and distract the hawks, confusing them seeming more than anything, that and they go behind a clear pane and the hawks just whack into it and dont come back more than a second time each. also now i have by advice only let them out in afternoon to preferably evening, as a lot less to no hawks still hunting (though a couple owls now).

 

[cochinGurl]

I would say only let then out sometimes, and ONLY for shot periods of time supervised.

 

[gunnarwordon]

I let my Fantails fly around the house actually. They are the most fragile and docile of my pigeons. (Tumblers, Fantails, Owls, Modenas). And the most vulnerable to attackers. They should only be allowed uncaged outdoors when supervised. They are also my slowest pigeons. I wouldn't give them the freedom I give my ET's.

 

[laughingdog]

can a pure american fantail even fly really? as with those necks and such, id think theyd be less agile, and a lot more fragile than my jacobins.

 

[Brookside7]

We had a fantail for a long time. It was a complete pet. If properly taken care of and has bonded with you, I highly doubt it will take off. Mine never did and never offered to. It also rarely flew around. It was completely content to sit on my head when I was outside or to sit on top of the large window that was overlooking our porch. HOWEVER, what I learned from my fantail (very bulky beautiful boy) is that they aren't the quickest to take flight if something is after them (dog, cat, etc.) So, while they will stick around, they do need protection. From my experience, they are excellent pets. Mine loved attention.

 

[gunnarwordon]

My American Fantail CAN fly- but she is horrible at it. She is always falling and crash-landing. She is terrible. She has learned to relax her neck lately. She only puffs out when stressed.