It is indeed a great thread; you seem to have a fair few species which are few and far between in public collections - as such it is always good to have someone flying the flag for these more obscure species. Would you ever consider expanding into terns?
hi, i have been offered terns last year as nice as they are i did not go for them as i dont think they would mix to well with the gulls in the set up i have , the gulls really fascinate me , just to point out the one legged herring i re realest a few months ago turned up today had 3 sprats and went on her way that realy does it for me knowing she/he is ok even with one leg cost me £40 at vet for the amputation worth every penny , just going back on the tern thing the Inca terns are something else they would prob mix ok with the grey gulls but most are in breeding programs in zoos ,
From what I have heard in the past, when considering all the gull species you keep the Grey Gull is actually one of the least-suitable to mix with Inca Terns - the sole reason the species is held by Paignton in the first place is that when the animals were originally housed at Living Coasts the gulls killed and attacked a lot of the breeding birds there, primarily the Inca and Common terns - thus requiring the animals to be moved elsewhere. I believe that the smaller gull species mix okay with Inca terns, however.
ok i wont mix with them then for sure i keep them with Brazilian teal ducks ok , i prob wont get Inca terns any how as i want to concentrate with gulls , cormorants and all my wildfowl ect , i cant keep everything even tho i would like to have to be realistic ,
I would probably rate this one of the most unusual threads to appear on Zoochat, and very interesting too.
Interesting that the Grey Gulls appear not to have been compatible with other species at Living Coasts. I understand that they share the Cottage Aviary at Paignton with Pakawan Peacock Pheasants and Lapwings, without molesting eggs, chicks or adult birds.
well spring is on way gulls are starting to get there summer colours now and getting more vocal day by day , i am very hopeful that 2014 could be a good year for them a good diet of fresh frozen sprats iv just filled x3 6ft freezers full of fresh sprats from our local fishermen at deal it has been a bumper year for sprats + herring as you all no gulls do have a very good appetite , we do feed them sea duck pellets, go cat complete , +dried meal worms and fresh maggots in spring to boost protein ,
A bit late to the scene, but my views reflect those of many of the earlier posters. Fantastic work with the gulls! They are really quite fascinating birds in their adaptability and resilience, and are quite smart too. It is quite sad how many think of them as winged rats, they really are a great family. But back on the main topic- good luck with your gulls! Hope you expand your collection and pick up the species you still want to obtain later on.
hi, and thanks , all going to plan i hope to expand with a few new species this year and breed a few here , i do get strange looks from people when i say i keep over 60 gulls it is quite funny in a way but when i show them my collection they are then fascinated that there are so many species of gull , most like the grey gulls and the grey headed but the herring gulls and lesser get a snarl as most do relate to them i do my best to promote them but some are just to ignorant but hay ho we like them all ,
we have 3pr black headed on eggs so far the rest look like they will follow very soon very exciting time of year , i picked up a herring gull in my garden today with a monster fishing lure hooked up in him he is so week god knows how long he has suffered with it ? i have removed it gave him a antibiotic jab and drench fed him its early days but looks a load better but i think the leg is a gonna it feels cold and no foot movement may have to have vet amputate later on but for now just knead to build up his strength, by the way one pr of black headed that have nested are both rescue birds with a wing missing from each i was told by a well known animal body in uk that they have no life after losing a wing well they look well happy to me with there 2 eggs il give them a few day and il get some new pics on here of them and this lure ,
A couple of years ago my partner and I saw a gull on a road sign on the sea front at Broadstairs, it had what i thought was a funny thick white feather sticking out of it's chest, as I was pondering what it could be, I looked back and realised it was a carrier bag hanging around it's neck. We decide to try and grab the bag and undo it, but just as I jumped up to grab the bag from behind the bird took off, and only just made it above water to the other side of the harbour. It haunts us still poor thing. I hope your has a happier ending Leigh, I enjoy your posts too.
hi thanks , i so hope so , i get a few rescue gulls from Ramsgate harbour luckily we have re released most of them now , i had a fulmar brought in a few weeks ago but it died next day i did a autopsy and found it had bin shot with a air gun pore thing they are a well nice birds ,il keep you posted how he does ,
sure is , the herring gull is doing well today and standing up be it only on one leg but also eating by its self today had 6 sprats , i did give it a syringe full of liquidised charnwood sea duck pellets to help him along ,
herring gull doing very well has leg movement now but no foot movement but uses it to walk ok ish , the pr of black headed both wing amputees now have 3 eggs and she is sitting well , grey gulls have made a scrape in sand and lined it with hay and grass ooo fingers crossed now , grey headed were mating today, nothing from black tailed as yet maybe a bit early for them but they are more vocal now , cormorants iv seen mating this week and passing each other sticks amazing behaviour to watch ,
My disabled herring gull, Miss G, is an 'indoor cat' since 2004, but I do walk my gull, as I share with her meeting other people and their dogs (Miss G likes dogs better than her fellow gulls which never seem to have respected her—she once was bitten by another herring gull when she was young). Gulls are NOT flying rats, they're flying kittens (they do meow), they're stubborn like kittens and can be as tame and gentle like kittens. Though, communication works better than with real kittens. We talk about anything—in human and in gull language. 20 years together this summer, Weoooow!
fantastic , we had kipper a herring gull we released last year return today for a few spats he had 4 sprats and a wash on our duck pond and went on his way , peggy did not look to impressed but she got hers after , its nice the breeding season has come to a close as we have had allot of rescue ones this year we have last one to release just a bit longer to build her wing strength ,
Yesterday I came in with my new BOSE mini-loudspeaker, and she started complaining with her "meow", assuming it was a camera. So I explained to her, "Look, it's a music thing...." MissG likes music, so she looked interested. When she was a baby (in the 90s), I listened a lot to Whitney Houston. So I plugged in my MP3-player and started Whitney's WHERE DO BROKEN HEARTS GO. MissG's reaction: "Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech!...." She stood in front of the little speaker (they have an amazing sound!) and wasn't done with her excited screeching, until the title ended! Like many humans, she is a Whitney fan, on account of childhood memories. I'm so fascinated.
