So far all manage to get in, but its annoying.
Aww! Sweeties!! Here's my three. There a little bit shy and are now all on the bottom.
Three little beauties!
They will be flying soon and you will be able to spot your fav at a glance with those white flights.
If you have a settling cage around your bob trap i think i would start training them to come in thru the wires and they get a bit of a look around from there. Are they flying enough to get to the settling cage on their own if you open the bob trap? I would put mine in the cage by hand before feeding and see if they could find their way in - you have to be patient but they will do it. It helps if they are eating on their own. Anyway, after you know they can get in thru the trap, maybe after a week of practice, you can remove the cage and let them explore. My first 3 were almost 2 months old. They just explored the nearby roof and practiced very short flights on the roof itself for at least the first 2 weeks. They are only now this week really taking some good loops around the area but not out of sight for more than a minute or so.
Thanks. They have only just all ended up on the floor! I haven't seen then try for flight yet but they do have an impressive wingspan! The top of the loft can be completely sectioned off where the bobs and cage is. I'll leave them to start trying to fly then I can put them together on the top and open and close the bobwires and see how it goes.If you have a settling cage around your bob trap i think i would start training them to come in thru the wires and they get a bit of a look around from there. Are they flying enough to get to the settling cage on their own if you open the bob trap? I would put mine in the cage by hand before feeding and see if they could find their way in - you have to be patient but they will do it. It helps if they are eating on their own. Anyway, after you know they can get in thru the trap, maybe after a week of practice, you can remove the cage and let them explore. My first 3 were almost 2 months old. They just explored the nearby roof and practiced very short flights on the roof itself for at least the first 2 weeks. They are only now this week really taking some good loops around the area but not out of sight for more than a minute or so.
I have removed the settling cage altogether and now even the 4 week olds are free to go. They have been up to the roof but no further. I have observed the some are ready sooner than others.
Hope this helps.
You can start trap training them any time. I begin field training my young birds at anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks.
Thats exactly right. That wing flapping on tip toe they do that i call flying practice or helicoptering is what you see first. I find it amusing, they break into this at random moments in the loft. One thing to keep in mind is how much they learn by observing other birds. I find if i put a small seed dish in the nest box and a small drinker from about 2 weeks of age, the parents eat and drink and the babies see them do it. The babies try to imitate the parents and play with the seeds at first. They spill a lot but learn to eat quickly. Given this opportunity some of mine wean themselves by 4 weeks. Your nest boxes are smaller and may not fit but perhaps you can place the feeder where the babies can watch the adults eat. I sometimes put out 2 feeders so the timid ones get to eat without a problem at first.
