- May 22, 2008
- 5
- 0
- 7
My son has three Australian saddleback tumblers he got at an auction in Hillsdale, Michigan. We built them an eight sided dovecote that looks like a cupola on top of a platform that used to be a play yard swingset/slide tower when the kids were little (maybe five feet off the ground.)
They are healthy birds, and very pretty. He lets them out every morning to fly, and they come home in the evening to be shut in. Two seem to be a pair, though they never nested last summer (maybe too young.)
He'd like to find a mate for the third bird, and add a few more to his coop. We're in Northwest Ohio. Any ideas?
Also -- is there any chance the third bird will bring home a mate from the wild? It obviously wouldn't be a saddleback, but at least it wouldn't be lonely.
My husband and I have thought about adding some white homers to the mix, as well. Is there a way to hand raise those so you don't have to keep anyone captive?
My only concern is the hawk... we have coopers and red tailed hawks in the metroparks near our neighborhood and once in a while they come after my chickens or chase a pigeon. The really pick out the light colored ones. Still, my kid wouldn't want birds if they couldn't fly, and the chickens seem to know when to head under the bushes and hide. We haven't lost a chicken to a hawk in years.
Thanks in advance for any ideas!
They are healthy birds, and very pretty. He lets them out every morning to fly, and they come home in the evening to be shut in. Two seem to be a pair, though they never nested last summer (maybe too young.)
He'd like to find a mate for the third bird, and add a few more to his coop. We're in Northwest Ohio. Any ideas?
Also -- is there any chance the third bird will bring home a mate from the wild? It obviously wouldn't be a saddleback, but at least it wouldn't be lonely.
My husband and I have thought about adding some white homers to the mix, as well. Is there a way to hand raise those so you don't have to keep anyone captive?
My only concern is the hawk... we have coopers and red tailed hawks in the metroparks near our neighborhood and once in a while they come after my chickens or chase a pigeon. The really pick out the light colored ones. Still, my kid wouldn't want birds if they couldn't fly, and the chickens seem to know when to head under the bushes and hide. We haven't lost a chicken to a hawk in years.
Thanks in advance for any ideas!
