* Posted by cindy_john (My Page) on Tue, Apr 20, 10 at 10:49 I was so happy to have initially found this forum and hear from all of you, most have been so helpful and nice. However, I come back a few days later to update you all and see someone says I'm a troll and another tells me to move to a high rise building...how nasty is that! To those 2 or 3 people: please do not come to my garden on the days I am spraying, I will more than likely take one look at you and think you are nasty insects and take appropriate action. Wow, so everyone who doesn't agree with you using dangerous chemicals to "kill nasty bugs" is a nasty bug and should be elminated?! Nice!! And I stand by my high rise suggestion, anyone who wants to kill all bugs "because they are terrified of them" and has no concept of beneficials and no desire to learn, is a gardening menace.

Darn, I figured as much. Yes, there are only three that really matter. Two are around the property line and one is actually on a neighbor's lot. Not a big problem as we take care of their property for them anyway, and they aren't overly attached to the trees. We already told them one might need to come out because of a pole replacement, and also what the "hackers" had done and that it might lead to removal of more than one. However...because one definately isn't ours and the other two are marginal, I don't know that I want to put a lot of $$ into the spot if they do have to come out, since there's always the possibility that they could sell and the buyers would just remove whatever we planted anyway. Property lines out here can be a little fuzzy, and we have conflicting reports of exactly where ours is (by a few feet)-we don't have a fence or anything where it could be much of an issue outside of these trees. I might just toss a bunch of wildflower seed in if we have to remove them and leave it at that, and wait to see how big of an impact it would really make wind and noise wise.

I also have a portion of my vinyl coated fencing material left over, however it is not as rigid as remesh. Won't it bend under the weight of the plant and tomatoes? Another concern is that if cut the openings bigger I won't be able to get a clean flush cut. When someone goes to stick their hand in, they may get a nice gash. Or is there a trick to this? Can't speak to your vinyl fencing as I'm not familiar with it so it could be too flexible. But no, regular galvanized, welded wire fencing won't bend under the weight. These cages in the pic are 8-10 years old now with no problems. But like all tall cages they do still require a stake to keep the wind from laying them over when they reach full growth. I just hadn't staked the cages in the pic yet. I drive a 3' spade-end metal stake along side each cage and strap tie the cage to it in a couple of places. As to the cuts, you just leave a 1/2-3/4" tag end when you cut and bend them back with pliers or channel locks. Gives you a nice smooth finish to the opening. You can also use a powdered hand grinder which cuts and grinds down the rough end at the same time. Dave

How large is the flight cage? What some sellers refer to as a flight cage is really just a larger, regular cage. If it's truly large, say around 4x4x6', then a group of lovebirds can easily be kept in it. I've raised lovebirds and a flock will get along very well if the enclosure is large enough for the number of birds in it. What you don't want to do in introduce a new bird into an established flock.............that usually means death for the newcomer. My guess is the injury is from something in the cage. Under the beak is an area that is rarely bitten during a fight. Is the injury on the neck or just underneath the beak? I'd first check the cage for any loose wire or hanging toys with hooks or clasps that he could have caught his beak on. For now, I'd keep his cage near the larger cage so that he's still part of the group. Maybe this weekend, when you can watch them carefully, introduce him back into the group and keep an eye on them. If there's no sign of aggression from the others, he should do fine. IMO, if the cage is large enough for 5 birds then there's no reason not to leave them together. I'd also either remove all nestboxes or put up 2 more for the youngsters to sleep in. Sexing can now be easily done by sending in a couple of freshly pulled feathers from the bird's back. The cost is $25............the more birds you have sexed, the less it costs.