Pet magpie - tame hacking

[nod 285]

:icon_eek: :icon_eek: aint that hmm what do you calll it :hmm: :hmm: not cosha ??? keep it between friends mate

 

You are right, legally any caught vermin should be culled. But if any sad f****r wants to try and prosecute me for not killing a caught magpie based on this, then that is fine with me. Who hasn’t seen a wildlife programme on TV where they aren’t releasing foxes, grey squirrels and other pests? I don’t feel obligated to follow laws that are daft.

 

Just because they are vermin there is no law saying you have to kill them, except grey squirrel and mink. all others can be legally released with the land owners consent

[waidmann 105]

my next door neighbor had a jackdor he called him jacob ( he could say his nameand a few " choice" words)

he stayed for two years ( roosted on his window sill!!!!) then buggered off...............................................onlyto come back the next spring!

after that year he was gone i'm afraid.

 

a magpie would be a very good idea!

mating season...... take your bird to any hedgerow and wait untill the resident birds come along........................ not sure its legal though!!!!

 

waidmannsheil!!

[waidmann 105]

:icon_eek: :icon_eek: aint that hmm what do you calll it :hmm: :hmm: not cosha ??? keep it between friends mate

 

You are right, legally any caught vermin should be culled. But if any sad f****r wants to try and prosecute me for not killing a caught magpie based on this, then that is fine with me. Who hasn’t seen a wildlife programme on TV where they aren’t releasing foxes, grey squirrels and other pests? I don’t feel obligated to follow laws that are daft.

 

Just because they are vermin there is no law saying you have to kill them, except grey squirrel and mink. all others can be legally released with the land owners consent

 

 

rabbits, rats,foxes etc should not be released by law mate

[nod 285]

:icon_eek: :icon_eek: aint that hmm what do you calll it :hmm: :hmm: not cosha ??? keep it between friends mate

 

You are right, legally any caught vermin should be culled. But if any sad f****r wants to try and prosecute me for not killing a caught magpie based on this, then that is fine with me. Who hasn’t seen a wildlife programme on TV where they aren’t releasing foxes, grey squirrels and other pests? I don’t feel obligated to follow laws that are daft.

 

Just because they are vermin there is no law saying you have to kill them, except grey squirrel and mink. all others can be legally released with the land owners consent

 

 

rabbits, rats,foxes etc should not be released by law mate

 

show me the section please to prove me wrong

[Ratreeper 441]

:icon_eek: :icon_eek: aint that hmm what do you calll it :hmm: :hmm: not cosha ??? keep it between friends mate

 

You are right, legally any caught vermin should be culled. But if any sad f****r wants to try and prosecute me for not killing a caught magpie based on this, then that is fine with me. Who hasn’t seen a wildlife programme on TV where they aren’t releasing foxes, grey squirrels and other pests? I don’t feel obligated to follow laws that are daft.

 

Just because they are vermin there is no law saying you have to kill them, except grey squirrel and mink. all others can be legally released with the land owners consent

 

 

rabbits, rats,foxes etc should not be released by law mate

 

show me the section please to prove me wrong

 

That is my understanding as well, I thought anything caught in a trap that is classed as vermin (rabbits, squirrels etc) cannot be released back in to the wild. Any non-indigenous would fall under this too but I can't find a link right now so I might be wrong. But if it is legal or not I don't see anyone kicking up a fuss, or that the penalty for raising a corvid is particularly harsh.

 

Thanks for the great replies, I am optimistic about this the only hurdle is convincing the mrs...but I would rather have a magpie and a pissed off girlfriend than no magpie (being the great person that I am).

 

The part about blocking the hole to his own bird box was interesting, it has given me the idea to design a sliding door in the bird house too. Maybe I can commission someone one here to build me a box on a stick (like a pigeon house) with just one entrance, with a sliding balsa wood door. Partly to keep it warm but also so it can shut other birds/cats out just in case, because they might try and mob it if they notice it acting oddly.

 

Does anyone have any experience of taking a bird out of its own territory? Are they reluctant to leave or do they follow you anywhere? I was wondering if it would be possible to bring it to work and let it hang around outside, then taking it home in the evening? Just a thought, as there are so many problems with this.

[jasper65 6]

That is my understanding as well, I thought anything caught in a trap that is classed as vermin (rabbits, squirrels etc) cannot be released back in to the wild. Any non-indigenous would fall under this too but I can't find a link right now so I might be wrong. But if it is legal or not I don't see anyone kicking up a fuss, or that the penalty for raising a corvid is particularly harsh.

 

Thanks for the great replies, I am optimistic about this the only hurdle is convincing the mrs...but I would rather have a magpie and a pissed off girlfriend than no magpie (being the great person that I am).

 

The part about blocking the hole to his own bird box was interesting, it has given me the idea to design a sliding door in the bird house too. Maybe I can commission someone one here to build me a box on a stick (like a pigeon house) with just one entrance, with a sliding balsa wood door. Partly to keep it warm but also so it can shut other birds/cats out just in case, because they might try and mob it if they notice it acting oddly.

 

Does anyone have any experience of taking a bird out of its own territory? Are they reluctant to leave or do they follow you anywhere? I was wondering if it would be possible to bring it to work and let it hang around outside, then taking it home in the evening? Just a thought, as there are so many problems with this.

 

My jackdaw would follow me anywhere as long as I was sighted or in range of a call. I couldn't go out on my push bike without him/them following me, anywhere I biked around the old council estate we lives the bird wouldn't be far behind flying from roof to roof and back down to me again , at the end of the day I'm sure the birds get to know the routes in the area and remembers them as territory in their flying viscinity.

 

I lost mine for a few days one time and searched high and low for him around the area but nothing, I came home from school and he had gone. the bad thing is he would sit outside the front and the kids who used to walk to the chippy dinner times would throw him chips, I'm pretty sure he was grabbed.

 

most people knew I had Jackdaws and a older lad at the school told me he had seen a tame one on the roofs of a place called south Lynn, this was a good couple of miles away but I biked the back roads and met up with this lad. long behold there was the jackdaw on a house roof with some kids in the street trying to coax him down while he was pulling clumps of moss out of the gutterings, I swear to you hand on heart I called him and down he come and landed on my shoulder, I finally got him on my hand but he was a bit spooky from probably being chased before so I grabbed him and put him in my old Harrigton jacket until I got away from the busy roads to a old disused railway line taking me home.

 

when I reached the rail line I let him go again and he followd me home back to his little house in the garden, this was basicaly a house with wooden bars at the window and flap that could be lifted to let him in or out, outside the hut was a T bar post he could fly onto when he come out of his house.

 

I'm sure somone grabbed that bird as he never went far, but it proves when he was out of his comfort zone he couldn't find his way back like a homeing/racing pigeon and lacked the homing instincts? basically the bird was lost....

[123456 146]

Very interesting thread- I can tell you how pigeons are taught where they live and this may or may not help.

 

When the birds are young you put a wire door on the loft, this turn the loft into an aviary almost, they are then able to see they surroundings.

 

Before I forget, from the minute the birds are weened whilst being fed an almost cue is used, now I don't know what they use around the country but in plymouth it is either "come on, come on, come on then" or a sports whistle. This allows them to be called in by pretty much anyone.

 

So now they have seen the outside the next stage is to put them in a crate on the garden so they can see even more, a crate is a wooden frame with wire on all sides but the floor so the birds can see there surrounding. Now once they've been on the garden for a while the crate is put so just the door is inside the loft and they are called in, obviously feeding as you do so.

 

The next stage is to have the crate on the garden, a few feet from the door so that they walk out the crate and jump into the loft whilst food is being chucked in and your calling.

 

After you have done this BUT it must before before the birds can properly fly. You open the loft and call the birds out onto the garden but using only a small amount of food so they are still hungry. After they have been flipping about for a while you then chuck the corn into the loft calling so they return back into the loft.

 

This progresses as the birds get older, as they start to fly they will start to roam, always returning when called for food.

 

Each faze is done for a few days as with any form of training and gradually progresses til they are flying properly and then you start to train them for races but that is irrelevant to what you want.

 

Now regarding breeding and pairing in regard to coming home, the birds are paired up in a natural system. They choose there box in the loft and that is kept for the full season. You can force pairs to be together but again that's irrellevant if your only keeping corvids. So once the birds are paired they will obviously have eggs, babies and have a bond with there partner. All pigeons fly home for these 3 reasons and food. Each bird is different, some fly better depending on what's happening - for example I can remember a hen of my dads that would fly very well when her young where around 10 days old. But basically they come home because no matter how far away they have a good reason to do so.

 

Widowhood - now this system is more relavant to cocks and not a system my dad has flown but principly the cock is taken from the hen and allowed to see her just before he goes away and only comes into contact with her when he comes home.

 

I may be wrong but principally I'd imagine if you were to have a pair and start them as I said I believe they would start to stay around. If you were then to get them to pair in there box they would stay for the young, another aption would be to keep the hen locked away but allow the cock access he should stay for the hen.

 

Hope this is some kind of help and sorry for such a long post.

[North east finest 105]

i no a lad that had a crow and it was tame as anything when you finished a fag it would grab it and put it out under its wing reading this thread has got me wanting 1, ive reared young ducklings off my old mans caravan site he used to own i was only about 12 they used to follow me everywere even when i went swiming in the river

[chook1 184]

:icon_eek: :icon_eek: aint that hmm what do you calll it :hmm: :hmm: not cosha ??? keep it between friends mate

 

You are right, legally any caught vermin should be culled. But if any sad f****r wants to try and prosecute me for not killing a caught magpie based on this, then that is fine with me. Who hasn’t seen a wildlife programme on TV where they aren’t releasing foxes, grey squirrels and other pests? I don’t feel obligated to follow laws that are daft.

 

Just because they are vermin there is no law saying you have to kill them, except grey squirrel and mink. all others can be legally released with the land owners consent

 

 

rabbits, rats,foxes etc should not be released by law mate

 

show me the section please to prove me wrong

 

 

You have to have a license to release non native like the grey squirrel or the muntjac,

but native ones can be released without problems.

 

.

Under Section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act the release of non-indigenous species is prohibited without a licence from Natural England (Welsh Assembly Government in Wales, or Scottish Natural Heritage in Scotland). Non indigenous species are defined by the Act as

(a) is of a kind which is not ordinarily resident in and is not a regular visitor to Great Britain in a wild state; or

( is included in Part I of Schedule 9

[Ratreeper 441]

Thanks again for the replies, some useful stuff being said so far.

 

I don't think you can treat a corvid the same as a pigeon, as corvids are too clever for such things but it is still useful stuff. So from this and other advice I will definitely try and get an unrelated pair and can implement the pigeon training method when needed. One example being if I am away from home, I can keep one of the pair in an aviary whilst the other explores the area but it will dissipate any anxiety it might bugger off, if it has its mate to stick around for. But the general method I want to use would be not to use food for training, I don't want them to associate me as the food provider and start screaming or approaching other people for food (and get nicked like jasper's which is a concern). But I will leave food for them to find and try and find increasingly more ingenius puzzles for them to crack before they get it on some days. The end goal being to have a method where they can get the food but other birds/animals can't. Like having food in a large tube (longer than a cats reach) and they need to pull the string to get it. I am also interested in trying to teach them to find their own food and be somewhat self-sufficient.

 

So if people can spread the word it would be great, I need someone who can build me a magpie house and I have a good idea of what I want but not much idea of what it would cost. I also would need help getting a pair of magpies the same age, but unrelated. I will be keeping an eye out for nests over the next couple of months.

[123456 146]

Make sure they have become a pair first mate and the problem you may get is that if you raise them together they may think they are siblings, whether this would stop them pairing I don't know.