Word to the wise!

[supadave]

Make sure that you secure the latch on your cage after tending to your birds!!!!!!!! I fed my birds last night and forgot to secure the latch. I have one of those spring loaded hook and eyes. Found 11 out of 23 that escaped but also found one dead and several small piles of feathers! Not a good sign. Has anyone had this experience and if so do the birds that survive return in the evening?

 

[lagpmgdsls]

know where I can some of those sprong loaded hooks? I have looked everwhere and can't find them.

Soory about your birds!

 

[shelleyd2008]

Well, I haven't lost that many, but I did have my trio of pharaohs get out. The male and one of the females was inside the barn, but the other female was nowhere to be found. 2-3 months later my dad's dog brought her to the house. She had survived in the wild that long!
A lot of people have had that happen, sometimes they come back, and sometimes they don't. It's a keep your fingers crossed type of thing

Good luck finding your birds.

 

[supadave]

I found the hooks at Lowes but i've seen them at wal-mart. They work well but u just have to remeber to latch them!!!!!

Maybe i'll get a few back this afternoon, who knows!

 

[shelleyd2008]

Are these coturnix quail? I don't really think it matters. Anyway, take one of your birds and put it in a cage by itself so it calls. That might help bring the others back.

 

[onthespot]

I did that with my youngest chick grow-out cage last week!!!

I was thinking of splitting the group or choosing keepers or what have you. Mine does not have a spring clip. Mine is much more hillbilly than that. It is about a foot tall, maybe two feet deep and four feet long, set up on bricks on a table with newspaper under it. I made it myself in about an hour from a large piece of cheapo hardware cloth and some J-clamps. I cut two one-foot-square flaps in the top so I could just easily lift out the waterer and feeders and the babies couldn't jump out until they got a little bigger (or so I thought.) Well, instead of making proper doors for the holes on the top where I had the wire flaps, I just laid extra wire doors from doggy crates over the flaps on the top when I was not around, and lay a three foot particle board shelf on top of that to hold it down and give them shade and keep wild bird droppings out of their food and water. Well, I forgot to put my "state of the art" containment system into place after changing the water one day last week and about a half hour later I noticed the shelf was not on top of the cage and ran over there and about half my chicks had culled themselves by abandoning ship. There were little blood smudges here and there on the porch and some very happy poodles looking for more "treats" to present themselves. I lost probably seven copper black marans, four barred olive eggers and some black clean legged marans. Lesson learned! Sorry for your loss as well. It just stinks. I knew there was ZERO chance of any of mine making it more than about ten seconds once the dogs realized what was up.

 

[silentrunning]

supadave, The one good thing is that you will most likely never do that again. I think we have all lost birds the same way, but once it happens you become very vigilant.

Doug

 

[supadave]

they were coturnix, some a&ms, which aren't exactly the most camouflage! I'll try putting one alone and see what happens
ONTHESPOT: sounds like had a much greater loss than me, I only lost a few quail! The most expensive cage in the world still won't work if you forget to close the door!!! hahahahaha
Lesson learned. and yes, I will be much more vigilant that for sure! I've already checked my cages 3 times today!!!

Thanks everyone