I Got My New Birds Today - Thanks David

Well at 4 oclock today 2 cracking yb's arrived with the courier - these were the 2 offered to me by David when I requested some help getting started.
The birds are in absolutely first class condition and are now safely tucked up in their new home.
I just want to openly state how grateful I am to David, he's a real gent; a great ambassador to pigeon racing who embodies the generosity and wisdom that makes people like me feel both welcome and supported. David, I hope you do make it up to Blackpool next year as I'd really appreciate the opportunity to thank you in person. However, should I find myself in or near Leeds I will definately try to drop in. Once again thank you for the birds, the magazines and great advice. I look forward to conversing with and consulting you via the forum. Very best regards. Steve

hi steve, glad your happy with the ybs.......im happy they have gone to a good home, ive never used this courier before but he was very prompt collecting from me this morning.......once you start getting to know them im sure everything will start flooding back from when you kept them before and if you need any help im sure members will be glad to advise.

thanks steve.

well done david
are you all sorted bird wise now mate

Yes thank you Steve, I'm now getting to grips with feed, supplements and loft layout at the moment.

steve, dont know if youve given any thought to floor covering etc, in some of my compartments i have softlay horse bedding down which is like small pieces of wood....it doesnt blow around and i find it quite good stuff, in my ybs section i like to clean out every day and use a white floor dressing which smells nice and also absorbes wet/damp etc its verse laga (spelling?) columbine floor whitener and its not that expensive.....only thing to watch for is that you dont put too much down as this can blow about and make breathing harder/make them sneeze

At the moment I have a marine plywood base with a small amount of loose sharp sand, it's very dry at the moment but I guess there's potential for it to get damp if it rains and the wind blows directly at the window for any appreciable amount of time. I have been thinking about getting and making some kind of sliding opaque cover that can be pushed across and pulled back according to the weather.

With regards to the floor covering I was considering some kind of absorbant granules a bit like cat litter but was concerned that this might generate dust, I think I'll look at the availabilty of soft lay as this sounds ideal.

I will be cleaning regularly as well although at the moment the birds are a little jumpy, I'm not sure whether my being in the loft at the moment would help them get used to me or make them even more nervous of their new surroundings??

Do you have any suggestions for making your birds tamer?

sit in loft with them soon they will feed out of hand and fly to your shoulder

try the see through plastic i cant think of the proper name of it lol as for the floorin i find sharp GP sand is good for a time but dose get dusty after a while and its easy to sive through easybed that they use for horses is good and a lot of fanciers seem to like it hope this helps a little bit mate as steve 1952 has said sit in the loft with them and get them used to eating out your hands also now and again give the a couple of peanuts not to many though

peanuts will make your birds tamer , also sit in loft with them when you can and talk to them

hi steve, when you go in to feed them try get them used to the sound of feeding time ie shaking your tin or whatever you have the corn in......then every time they hear this they will know its feeding time, after a few days they will get to know you and while they are eating just sit quietly in the corner and soon enough they will start coming nearer to you and pecking at your shoes etc, as others suggested peanuts are good for taming them but for now id concentrate on them getting to know you and their new home............

Thanks gents, patience and peanuts seem to be key.

Regarding the peanuts firstly, would they take whole, half or do the need to be crushed/crumbled? Secondly, the advice not to give too many, is that because they're too high in a particular nutrient or because whilst enjoyable for the bird they're bad for them in the way say pork scratchings or crisps might be for us (- if you know what I mean).

hi steve, when first inroducing peanuts i always give smaller pieces eg half a peanut or even a quarter, bearing in mind they are only babies yet........some give whole but i think this is when they are a bit older, or maybe crush them in a blender to get them used to the taste........i think the general rule is approx 2 - 3 per bird as peanuts are high in protien and too much is harmful to pigeons, also give fresh.......i get the red skin ones for human consumption from asda and store them in an airtight container as they quickly get mould on them.....ken (friendslofts) can tell you more about this.

I've just put a few in a blender and managed to get a fairly coarse blend with chunks in (well my wife did actually) so will see how they get on with that tomorrow.

are they eating and getting to know you a bit yet steve? they were eating and drinking normally here but they were fed in the nestboxes with their parents so will need to learn different method of feeding now ......but will be ok fairly soon,

They didn't seem to have worked out the circular feeders when i checked at about 7pm so I put a bit of loose food down and left some water in an open pot - I'm sure their natural inquisitiveness and hunger will help them as I'll be leaving the feeders in all day also I'll be using the tips to settle them from tomorrow evening and over the weekend.