Breeding the Zebra Dove

A baby hatched on Merdeka Day (31st Aug 2009). This is an auspicious occassion. However only 1 hatched out of 2 eggs laid. Considered "anak tunggal" ? Like this I have a lot of "anak tunggal" to bring up hahaha!



This is a good sign as the doves managed to breed against all odds. Firstly, the location of the aviary is not suitable, cars are parked directly in front of the aviary. At night it can be disturbing to the birds and during day time it can be intimidating. Further aggravating the problem would be the frequent visits by the neighbourhood stray cats, 2 large intimidating dogs wandering freely at night and the low location of the nest which makes the baby and incubating parent "very exposed".

Development of SR

SR has become more hardworking at home. Am happy with his development. However still a bit shy at the Merbok field (only 2nd day, so can't blame him). Hope one day Suara Rakyat would "tekan" so that his voice would reveberate in the field hehehe! wishful thinking ;)

Chai Merbok

Today is the first time I go and "chai" merbok.
7 month old merbok that I obtained from Yusuf, a friend. B class.
Hang him at half pole and at the fringe of the field as advised by some old timers there. Tan, a fellow hobbyist said that he heard the merbok called once and was impressed. If it could maintain its voice, then I probably could compete him later on. As for me, I didn't actually hear him because I was busy chit chatting, observing other people's merboks and went off for breakfast. Was there about 10am and went back by 12.30pm.

Well, the purpose wasn't that actually (competing merboks), just want to blend in with their crowd...... then the Shamas could make a smoother transition to the adjoining field hehehe! Never good to isolate ourselves. We must move with the bigger crowd ;)

However something seems to be wrong with my camera phone. Pictures all turn out very dark. Must have been all the mishandling it is receiving. Have to brighten it with with some software.

This is my new pet - circled in red:


Scene at the other end of the field:

New Chai Place in Melaka

Manage to get 5 Shamas together to try out the Merbok field in Bukit Serindit.
Quite a nice place with plenty of trees to hang. So far no complaints yet. Have to get to know and speak to the Merbok president next week.



Besides the Shamas, also in attendance are 2 mata Putehs and 2 Terkukur (pikat).



I did take delivery of a competition Merbok yesterday night. Did not bring him out today. Waiting for him to get used to my place first before training him. Then there will be a lot of activities to take part in hehehe!

Ceh! after reviewing my post, I realised that the picture did not turn out well - too small. So below is a blow up of where we hang the Shamas.



The Mata Putehs:


Update:
Just got a great idea from a friend (Mr. John Yim) on how to jump start the Shama "chai" event.
This goes back to the 60's when Shama competition as we know it today was non existent.
Fellow hobbyists would be hanging out at the local coffee shop for a cuppa and of course hobbyists being hobbyists would inevitably get into a discussion about who has the better Shama. They would debate and eventually vote the winner who then get treated with "kaya" toast, half boiled egg and "kopi-o" or whatever they fancy. All debate and judgements are done with the utmost honesty and sincerity (sad to say we are losing these virtues nowadays).

So, this is what I will be brain storming with a few fellas over here to see how we could carry this out. What better place to do it than in Melaka that is well known for its historical legacy.

Draft:

1) Set a date - maybe the last Sunday of every month.
2) Get some gifts - cage cloth, cups, clocks, notepads, pens, cheap cages, breakfast.... anything that we fancy at the time.
3) Promote the scoring system that was laid out during the online competition (ahem! gotta move my butt to speed up the prizes for the winners :oops: thousand apologies)
4) Get the Shama "kaki" together for a picnic by the "Padang Merbok"
5) Then over breakfast, we vote each others' bird in or out and the winner gets the goodies (gifts la)
6) Winner gets to give a 5 minutes speech to thank the rest and highlight the good and bad points of his Shama.

of course then the issue...... in a small group, a Shama may be winning every month :shock:
then we could try another category......

7) Winner can also goes to the owner of a Shama that has improved itself vastly over others throughout the months.

note: at least one spectator from the Merbok crowd has moved forward to express interest to "chai" his Shama with us :D This is progress hehehe!

Meeting Wan & friends

Wan called about 5+ pm. Was loitering in Osman's house talking nonsense and gossipping. Actually wanted to find out his view of keeping the Red Jungle Fowl that has been interbred with our local chicken ;) Seems like it should be alright unless some nosy neighbours complains.

Prior to that was at Low's place to pass to him a male Merbok for him to breed from and return his metal cage. Will take it back from him after 2 clutches of chicks.
The Merbok involved:


Wan came with two friends. They were fascinated by the "Pentet". Finally passed to him the Tanau. One less worry for me when I go travelling.

Holding a Zebra Dove

Was bathing both my Zebra Doves this morning and came to realised that the technique of holding the birds are as important as any other tips and tricks that I have learned so far (as regards to feeding and care). With the correct technique, the birds become less alarmed and chances of injury or escape is minimised. Thanks to all that have taught me ;)