Lost bird, not sure how???

[Big T]

I have six white birds. I put a numbered band on their feet to tell them apart. 13 and 15 are mates and were sitting on eggs. I left one in the loft but released the other five a half mile from the house then went to work. Checking with the wife from work at noon, five were trapped in the loft. At 3pm four were in the loft and one on my roof. When I got home the nest was on the floor of the loft with the eggs broken and 15 is missing.

My birds cannot get out of the trap as far as I know. Will a mate push a nest out of a box if the other mate does not come back or has a possible neighborhood cat came into my trap and got the one sitting on the nest? I used the 45 degree angle trap so the cat could get back out.

I wish I made note of which mate I took out this morning but I did not. I am also unsure if one of the birds learned to climb out of my trap.

The other birds do not seem distress and even flew out of the loft when I let them out this afternoon. All came back at dusk.

I will not be opening the trap except when I am home in the afternoon untill my problem is solved.

[Charis]

As a common rule, it's never a good idea to let birds out that are expected to do nest duty.
As far as the nest being destroyed, does any other kind of critter have access to your loft...snakes...rats...weasel, etc?

[Big T]

As far as the nest being destroyed, does any other kind of critter have access to your loft...snakes...rats...weasel, etc?

I know we have possums, and raccoons which come out at night. But I have a black lab that is usually outside during the day and she is good at keeping everything away from the loft. Today my wife had her in the house. I do know there are some neighborhood cats and hawks around during the day.

[Big T]

As a common rule, it's never a good idea to let birds out that are expected to do nest duty.

Good rule, I will not forget it after today. Thanks.

[LokotaLoft]

well its hard to say that something got into your loft an did that cuz I do have some birds that have kicked nest bowls off their shelf while fighting but thats why most people use a nest box front to make it easier for the cock to protect the nest box .. and Im not sure but Im thinking your saying you use a drop type trap not bobs so it is possible that your bird got back out thru it cuz I did have this one bird once that could work her way out thru not only a drop trap but thru bobs as well so some can do it so its not uncommon to happen ..I called my hudini bird spybot cuz she was from another planet lol hope your bird comes home ,hate when that happens

[Big T]

kicked nest bowls off their shelf while fighting but thats why most people use a nest box front to make it easier for the cock to protect the nest box .. and Im not sure but Im thinking your saying you use a drop type trap not bobs

That could be it, because the nest fronts have be cut. I will put them together this weekend and install but the nest boxes are open at this point in time. I also built a drop type trap. This is why I'm not sure which bird I lost, the one on the nest or the one I released. But I did learn a new rule today so this will not happen again.

[LokotaLoft]

yeah nest fronts do help alot cuz the males only have to block the entrance way into their box and the nest bowl has no chance of flying out , but eggs could still be broken if another cock make s his way in .. but as far as the drop trap yes its very possible for some birds to figure a way out of them if the angle isnt deep enuf for them to get back out thru this one site shows a way to make it a lil harder for them to get a grip of the low end of the drop hope it helps
http://www.racingbirds.com/acces5.html

[Grim]

Are there any excess feathers in the loft or outside? If it was a predator I am sure there would be some feathers.

[george simon]

HI BIG T, Here is how I see it,when you took out the birds in the morning #15 the cock was in that group #13 the hen was still sitting the nest at that time. After you released the 5 birds and you left for work the 5 were attacked by a predator that predator got #15. #13 the hen had to fight off one of your other cock birds this is how the nest and eggs were broken. ...GEORGE

[Big T]

After watching them today, George is right. #15 was the cock and is now gone. #14 is another cock that was flirting with #12. #15 made #12 behave, now that he is gone #12 is becoming a real pain. I put the nest back up in the box only to have #12 push it back out. He has become a real bully to all the other birds. #15 was bigger but kept to his mate and protected her. #12 is now chasing her around just to pick on her and the other two young birds. He doesn't even spend much time with his own mate. If he keeps this up he will find out that I am meaner. I might tie his legs together because he is going around and picking fights even with the other birds trying to stay away from him. I'll give him until after the weekend to settle down.

[Big T]

Are there any excess feathers in the loft or outside?

Hi Grim. No, I walk all around the yard looking for feathers. Even went back into the woods behind the house and covered a 100 foot radius from the loft. Seeing how the birds acted today, I am 90% sure George is right.