CSUS Pigeon Lab

Bird 55

2007-09-13T20:59:00.002-07:00

Will post a picture soon!

Bird 55
Gender: Unknown
Birth Date: May 13 or May 14, 2007
Preferred Partner: Unknown

Bird 55 has a special number. He is the first bird that I have recycled a number for (knowingly!). I met Bird 55 Senior when I was first introduced to the lab. He helped out with a thesis comparing the learning efficiency of mass trials vs. distributed trials. He was a very gentle bird, much as Bird 37 is. He and Bird 53 liked to hang around with each other. Bird 55 Sr. passed away during the winter between 2006 and 2007. Here is the only picture I have of him:
Wish he hadn't just pooped! Anyway, before the new birds were introduced into our lab, Bird 55 Sr. was one of our biggest. He was usually 100 grams or so heavier than many of the rest of the birds. But his most obvious quality was his calmness. He didn't back away from my hands and didn't shake when I picked him up. I think this is a testament to the students who have worked with him in the past and I hope your bird will be just as comfortable with you.

This quality is why I passed on his number. When Bird 55 Jr. was about a week old, his parents began leaving the nest more and more, and I began handling him and his sibling (Bird 65) to get them used to it. Bird 55 Jr. was so relaxed in my hands. He cuddled into my palm and let me carry him all over the place. Usually the young birds are very nervous and try to back up (I guess they don't realize that there is just as big of a fall from the other side of my hand!) Now that he is grown up, and hasn't been handled regularly for the past two months, he is a little more nervous around people. But treat him gently, and I think you will see that calm disposition come back out.

Bird 47

2007-09-13T15:37:00.000-07:00

Bird 47
Gender: Unknown
Birth date: May 12, 2007
Preferred Partner: Unknown

Bird 47 joins the ranks of Grey (50) and Mustache (45) in being the only birds with coloration other than white in the lab. She is the sibling of Bird 46 and they are the younger siblings of Mustache and Bird 35. All are offspring of Isis (25) and Bird 20. I'll leave it to you to get to know her and name her...

Our Space

2007-05-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

The new science building has just been built and we have not been allocated a space in it. However, they want to tear down our building. So, I don't know where the lab will eventually end up. In my dreams we get our own little building not much bigger than what we have, but designed with much better ventilation and natural light. Ideally it could even have an "outside" area where the birds could live while they are not in experiments and where the ground has microorganisms that will break down their droppings. That area would also have little ledges for them sit on and large dog water bowls for them to nest in. In the most perfect world, there would even be plants in there so that they can choose natural items to build their nests with.
I have lots of little and big dreams for the lab, but this post is about what we have right now.

Here are two pictures of the outside of the lab. In the first you can see the Science Building in the background and in the other one you can see the greenhouse next to it.
I would show you the other side, but it is just a concrete wall. No windows; no ventilation.

The building is divided into three rooms. The door that you can see in the first picture belongs to the biology department. The other two rooms are ours. The first one is the operant chamber room where all our studies are conducted, and the other is the home cage room where the birds live.

We have four fully functioning operant chambers and a fifth one that will work with a modified interface panel (the black flat thing with the holes standing next to each chamber), but is missing a projector on the inside wall.

Here's the view from the other side. On the far counter you can see the scale we use to weigh the birds and keep them healthy. You can also see we have plenty of chairs. Unfortunately we have spiders, including black widows, that love the dark nooks and crannies of them and therefore I refuse to sit on them without long jeans on. Another of my dreams is to have white plastic chairs that are easily cleaned of all spiders. Stackable would be nice too so that they take up less space.

One of the best things about the design of the lab is the floor and walls. The floor is smooth concrete. The operant chamber floor is painted but the home cage floor is not and both have a slight slope down to a drain in the middle of the room. The walls are smooth tile for about two thirds of the way up, then it is painted cinder blocks. These make cleaning easy! Both rooms also have a sink for easy access to fresh water for the birds, and there is a faucet and hose outside so that the cages can be cleaned regularly.

Here is what the home cage room looks like when the birds are free to roam around. About half of them still prefer to hang out in cages, but they can fly around whenever they want. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of exciting things for them to look at or play with, but those are a part of my dream for our new space...

Video Links

2007-05-13T22:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a great mini-documentary of B. F. Skinner with some operant conditioning:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mm5FGrQEyBY

This is a nice little chain training accomplished by a class at Minnesota State University:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=XpbBgxvVJeM

This is another nice clip of B. F. Skinner talking about Schedules of Reinforcement and his ideas about Freewill with some more pigeon training:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=I_ctJqjlrHA

Here is a clicker training video from Karen Pryor - a wonderful demonstration of using positive reinforcement to teach an abused mule to enter a shower stall. She has many other great videos at her website - clickertraining.com.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCtrtbdXkVw&mode=related&search=

Here is B. F. Skinner's final appearance discussing his views of behaviorism and cognitive psychology:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8jtgkqB3DIA

Another New Bird!

2007-05-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

Bird 64 has hatched her first successful egg! And I think that her second will have hatched by the time I go in tomorrow. It is the tiniest one I have caught a glimpse of. Here's the best picture I could get without disturbing them too much.

Links to Video from Our Lab

2007-05-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

You can train your bird to sit on your arm (rather than grab it or make it ride in the pitcher). Here is a bird who is in mid-training. Bird 37 gets food at three points along the trip:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=fA54oLZy03U

When pigeons drink, unlike many other kinds of birds, they suck water. They use their beaks like straws:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qZi6uNJ9bUI

Young Mustache (2 month old Bird 45) is not very well established in the pecking order and here negotiates joining the chow line:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwZcc9z1AvU

Here is a "day in the life of..." video.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=MMAHxTU5u_g

New Birds

2007-05-12T22:44:00.000-07:00

Two new birds have hatched today. They belong to Birds 25 and 20. I tried to take a few pictures of them but none turned out to well. Here are the best ones. One of them looks like something may be wrong (see the red spot), but he was alive and moving around this evening.

May 21, 2007
The bird I was worried about is fine. They are big enough now that I feel comfortable picking them up and I have checked both of them and neither appears to even have a scar. Here is a picture of Dad (Bird 20) and the kids!

Ezra Allen's Thesis (Conditioned Reinforcement)

2007-04-22T08:24:00.002-07:00

Title:
Date: Spring 2007

Description:

Which Birds Participated: Birds 51,53,57, and 62

Link to final document: (not available yet)
Or check it out from the library: (not available yet)

Guidelines for Care of the Lab

2007-04-22T08:22:00.000-07:00

Here are some tips for keeping the lab in good working order:
For EAB lab students:

Don't move the 500g weight on the scale (it should be on the outside notch)

Clean the table of all your birds droppings after shaping sessions.

Replace the butcher paper in the operant chamber if there are more than a few droppings on it.

Check the level of the food in the hopper. If you can't feel it, fill it.

Always give your bird fresh water (don't just fill the cup up)

Last person of the day turn off all equipment - especially the operant chamber fans.

Consider 80% of free-feeding weight the absolute minimum. Most of the birds will work fine around 90%.

If you have emptied the food pitcher, refill it for the next student team. If you have emptied the can, refill it with a new bag. If you have opened the last bag, email Dr. Potter at wpotter@csustan.edu and let Dr Hesse know that food is low.

Also email Dr. Potter or Dr. Hesse if any supplies such as hand soap, paper towels, garbage bags, rubber gloves, or surgical masks are about to run out.

Behavior Analysis Links

2007-04-22T08:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some links you can use to learn more about Behavior Analysis:

Dr. Hesse's class website:
http://psyc.csustan.edu/bhesse/

The Psychology Department at CSUS:
http://web.csustan.edu/Catalog/Colleges/HumanHealthSciences/DepartmentsPrograms/Psychology/index.html

Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
http://seab.envmed.rochester.edu/jaba/

Journal of Experimental Behavior Analysis
http://seab.envmed.rochester.edu/jeab/

Behavior Analysis Certification Board
http://www.bacb.com/

California Association for Behavior Analysis
http://calaba.org/

Association for Behavior Analysis International
http://www.abainternational.org/

Florida Association for Behavior Analysis
http://fabaworld.org/

The B.F. Skinner Foundation
http://bfskinner.org/

The Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies
http://behavior.org/

Pigeon Links

2007-04-22T08:20:00.000-07:00

Here are some links to sites that will teach you more about pigeons:

This is a site on Pigeon Courtship. See Bird 60 for a little info about our birds and this site for general info: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/publications/birdscope/Winter2001/courtship.html

Here is a very nice website with a wide variety of information about pigeons from Prof. Dr. Daniel Haag-Wackernagel, a biology professor from Switzerland:
http://pages.unibas.ch/dbmw/medbiol/haag_6.html

Here's just a sweet picture and story!
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=65876&in_page_id=34

Here are descriptions of different breeds of pigeons:
http://ilil.essortment.com/pigeonsbreeds_rjrb.htm

Sorry! Broken link. This website helps you understand bird illnesses. If your bird develops any odd symptoms, tell Dr. Hesse, then check here for more information: http://www.chevita.com/tauben/e-index3.html

Sorry! Broken link. This is an operant lab design from the Institute of Zoology (Vienna). I would love to see something more like this for our birds:
http://www.univie.ac.at/zoologie/theo/Pigeon.html

This is a slide show of some loft designs. These are birds that are raised for hobby or show.

Breeders Lofts

Bird 62

2007-04-19T22:31:00.000-07:00

Bird 62
Gender: Female
Birth date: Unknown (from older group)
Preferred Partner: Unknown

Bird 63

2007-04-19T22:24:00.000-07:00

Bird 63
Gender: Female
Birth date: Unknown (from newer group)
Preferred Partner: Unknown (gets along well with Bird 20)

Bird 99

2007-04-18T08:18:00.000-07:00

Bird 99
Gender: Unknown
Birth date: Unknown (from newer group)
Preferred Partner: Unknown

Bird 99 is the newest addition to the Second-Order team. His number is 66 upside-down. He was the only bird who had not already been assigned a number from the new group of birds so when he was selected to work on this project, he was given a special number chosen just for him!

Bird 20

2007-04-17T17:59:00.000-07:00

Bird 20
Gender: Male
Birth date: Unknown (from newer group)
Preferred Partner: Isis (Bird 25) (also gets along well with birds 57 and 63)

Bird 20 played the field for a little while. He preferred Bird 57 for a few weeks, then moved on to Bird 63 briefly, before settling down with Isis. Now they have successfully hatched four little pigeons, and would have hatched many more if I had not slowed them down. He is the adoptive father if not also the biological father of Bird 35 and Mustache (Bird 45) and two more little ones born on May 12 (Birds 46 and 47).

Bird 20 has not been shaped as a part of the PSYC 4725 class yet, but he has helped out in the earning of a master's degree.

Bird 52

2007-04-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

Bird 52
Gender: Female
Birth date: Unknown (from newer group)
Preferred Partner: Unknown

Bird 52 has had the honor of being our "poster bird." She is featured as the College Educated Bird to the right.

She is a loner bird. I have seen her mate with several males, but never spends any time with them. She actually prefers to hang out in this cage. The door is always open so she can go anywhere, but she doesn't much. Sometimes she sits on the door. It is flattened now and looks very comfortable for her. I guess it won't be a hard transition for her to move back in when class starts up or when she is chosen for a thesis.

Bird 60

2007-04-16T21:20:00.000-07:00

Bird 60 "Blanca"
Gender: Female
Birth date: Unknown (from older group)
Preferred Partner: Grey (Bird 50)

When the birds are loose, it is a common sight to see them mating. If I stay in the room for more than about five minutes, I become a fixture and they stop paying attention to me and go about their business.

The first step that I see in their mating is a sort of half growl/half coo that is very loud and rhythmic. At first I thought only the females did it, but I have seen males do it now. Then the male may follow the female around for a little while. When she stands still he will stand up tall and fluff his neck feathers. He will also fan his tail feathers and lower them to the ground while coo/grunting more softly than before. At some point, the female puts her beak inside the male's open beak. It's called "billing" and it seems like the equivalent of kissing to me, but there may be some other function to it that I don't know about yet. I have seen birds bill and then not mate. But, generally, after billing a few times, the female will take a few more steps and then sit down. The male hops onto her back and you know the rest of the story. Its all very quick.

I mention this in Blanca's entry because I saw her and Grey mating today. They are fairly active maters, but I rarely see Blanca with an egg - despite building a few very nice nests like the one above. I wonder if she is getting too old to produce eggs.

Bird 57

2007-04-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

Bird 57
Gender: Female
Birth date: Unknown (from older group)
Preferred Partner: Unknown (gets along well with Birds 58 and 64)

I know hardly anything about bird 57, so I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you about something I just learned recently as I watched the new hatchlings grow. Maybe you already know, but a few of you may be in my boat. I know the pigeons can hear. So I know they have ears. But I didn't know where they were. I think I sort of assumed they were somewhere behind their eyes like ours are. Not so. If you look at Bird 57, you will see a dark spot just below her eye. It is dark because there are very few feathers there, and there are very few feathers there because that is her ear! (see Bird 45 - the third picture down for the best shot of bare baby ears)

Other interesting things I have learned about their bodies...

They, unlike many other birds, drink their water by using their beak like a straw and sucking up the water.

Blood runs into the shaft of each feather up to a certain point. If the shaft breaks, the pigeon will pull out the entire feather. If it doesn't pull the feather, the blood will not clot and the bird will bleed to death. (If this ever happens to your bird, you can pull out the damaged feather by pulling it sharply from the base. There may be a lot of blood involved, so wear surgical gloves to protect both you and the bird - located in the drawer beside the sink. If you are unsure and your bird seems to be handling it fine, let it take care of the problem.)

How they digest food. Dr. Hesse mentioned this in our class (so sorry if it is redundant) - Pigeons have a body part called a crop that is in their throat. When the bird eats, food collects in it. Then the bird contracts the crop to grind the food (see more about eating in Bird 51's entry) before it passes on for more digestion.

Every bird has a cere (Bird 57's is very small but take a peek at Birds 37, 49 and 50) which is a small piece of skin at the base of their beaks that opens/closes and protects their air passages. The word cere is derived from the Latin word for wax because the skin is somewhat waxy.

Our birds are not true albinos, but they are close. To be true albinos, they would have pink eyes. Our birds have normal eyes and can see as well as wild non-albino pigeons. Recently it has also become clear that a few color genes have come into our lab and our newer birds have some brown mixed into their white.

Bird 56

2007-04-16T08:28:00.000-07:00

Bird 56
Gender: Unknown
Birth date: Unknown (from older group)
Preferred Partner: Unknown

Bird 56 is a part of the Second-Order study. My favorite thing about Bird 56 is that he dives into the pitcher to get weighed. He is in one of the top cages that opens from the bottom and so I place the pitcher at the 'door' and he flies in so fast I wonder how he doesn't bonk his beak on the bottom of the pitcher.

He can be a little slow to catch on to things, but he eventually figures it out, so could be a nice challenge for a brave student.

Bird 35

2007-04-15T15:55:00.000-07:00

Bird 35
Gender: Unknown (suspect Male)
Birth date: March 30, 2007
Preferred Partner: Sweetie (Bird 59) They hung out briefly towards the end of the summer.

Bird 35 was just recently born to Isis (Bird 25) and Bird 20. He is sibling to Mustache (Bird 45), and Birds 46 and 47 are younger siblings.

It is interesting to watch their personalities and notice how different they are at such a young age. At first, Mustache seemed to protect Bird 35, but Bird 35 is not shy (despite the cute hiding of his face from the camera below!) and doesn't seem to need any protection. The first day I put them on the ground to walk around, I really didn't expect them to actually walk around (based on the fact that 73 and 74 did not at the same size). But 35 took off! Even in the picture above, he did not sit still. I placed him on the mat you can see in the background and he waddled over to the sheet he is sitting on.

These two pictures of him in my hand were taken the day before. He is almost two weeks old here.

Bird 53

2007-04-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

Bird 53
Gender: Female
Birth date: Unknown (from older group)
Preferred Partner: Bird 51

Bird 53 is a sweet bird and usually fairly gentle and tolerant. (Again, sorry for the blurriness.) She has been around for quite a while and seen her fair share of master's theses and PSYC 4725 students.

She tended to be a loner for some time after the birds were released within the home cage room. For a time she and Bird 20 were spending a lot of time together. Bird 20 now has a strong preference for Isis (Bird 25). And Bird 53 has a stronger preference for Bird 51 after they spent time together in Dr. Hesse's son's science class. Some of the birds are "loners" because, I believe, there are more females than males - a common occurrence in psychology!

Bird 72

2007-04-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

Bird 72
Gender: Male
Birth date: Unknown (from newer group)
Preferred Partner: Bird 71

Bird 72 is the father of Birds 73 and 74 and here he is sitting on two more eggs. The birds from the newer group seem to be younger/healthier and producing more little ones.

In this picture you can see the newspaper I shred for them. Some of them use it to build nests and the others prefer bare cages. At first I put out the strips as stimulating material (the home cage room is pretty bare). But they don't often just play with it. It is usually nesting material.

He and Bird 71 have a very strong preference for one another. There are about five couples like this that I have observed (some of the birds are in experiments though, so partners may be inaccessible to each other and my observation). As I look back over my first notes from January, when I let them out of their cages, my very first ones included that 71 and 72 were a pair. It is rare to see them apart from each other. Here is a recent common sight of them together in their chosen nesting spot.

Bird 71

2007-04-15T09:54:00.000-07:00

Bird 71
Gender: Female
Birth date: Unknown (from newer group)
Preferred Partner: Bird 72

Sorry this picture is so blurry. See Bird 72 for a less blurry picture.

Another way you can tell the difference between the newer birds and the older birds at a glance (beside darker red feet, beaks, and skin around the eyes) is that they have a bright yellow tag on them. These are from their previous owners and we don't use those numbers to identify them. Here you can see Bird 71's on her left leg.

Bird 71 and 72 are confusing me. They are a couple and they both spend equal time on their eggs, but I can't quite tell which is the mother and which is the father. For now, my best guess is that Bird 71 is the female. I'll fix this if I realize differently.

She is the mother of Birds 73 and 74, and two as yet unhatched eggs. She is very protective of them (as of course is Bird 71) when I take them out of their cage and let them walk around on the ground. She flies down and watches them and guards them if necessary. She will even protect Birds 35 and 45 if they are near her little guys.

Bird 71 has participated in one master's thesis so far in the Fall of 06.

Bird 50

2007-04-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

Bird 50 "Grey"
Gender: Male
Birth date: Unknown (from older group)
Preferred Partner: Blanca (Bird 60)

Until Mustache (Bird 45) hatched a few weeks ago, Grey was unique in our lab. He was the only bird with a few gray feathers. He is also one of the few birds with a more developed cere (see also Birds 37 and 49). See the pictures below for his gray tail feathers, the small spot on the back of his head, and his cere.

Grey is very familiar with the shaping exercise for PSYC 4725. He was brought in as an example for the class I took and he did so well, that none of our groups was allowed to choose him! It could have just been that he had worked with those particular materials before, or that Dr. Hesse is the master shaper, but either way, he has experience and may be a good choice for those of you saying, "What's shaping?"

Here is a picture of Blanca and Grey hanging out together as they so often do.

Bird 61

2007-04-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

Bird 61
Gender: suspect Male
Birth date: Unknown (from older group)
Preferred Partner: Unknown (see note below)

Bird 61 is one of the Second-order birds. They all have their own things. Bird 61's thing is being very aggressive. If you put your hand anywhere near his water or food dish, he will poke his head out and try to bite you. It took him a while to learn to jump into the pitcher to be weighed because he would bite the edge of it and flap at it. (He still does sometimes.)

When the birds bite, they do not break your skin. They may leave red marks that go away fairly quickly, and they go for the sensitive areas like the small web between fingers, so it can be annoying, but their beaks are not strong enough to draw blood.

Their claws are another story. They may scratch you in an attempt to free themselves from your hold. I don't believe they have ever caused any sort of gash, but they will leave marks like you would get from brushing by a thorny bush - nothing serious.

So, if this hasn't scared you off, and you like your bird with a little "personality," Bird 61 may be your bird!

A little note about possible partners. Bird 61 has been placed in a cage with two open cages next to it. Bird 59 (whose preferred partner, Bird 51, is less accessible since he is participating in a masters thesis project) frequently goes to sit in one of the cages next to him. All of the birds listed as preferred partners are free. It is possible these are second choices to ones who are still in experiments and therefore cannot roam freely. But I feel it is still important to list birds that get along well so that they may be placed beside each other or in pairs when they are not being trained to do something. They need their own cages when their food is controlled or else they will get aggressive with each other.

Bird 45

2007-04-13T14:06:00.000-07:00

Bird 45 "Mustache"
Gender: Unknown
Birth date: March 30, 2007
Preferred Partner: Unknown

Mustache is about two weeks old in this picture. His parents are Isis (Bird 25) and Bird 20 (I believe. His dark spots make me wonder if he might be Grey's, but Isis has another young one with brown feathers as well). Either way, Bird 20 is his adoptive father.

Bird 35 is his sibling. They were born together at the end of March 2007. Bird 35 has no dark feathers.

Here you can see Mustache's dark skin before any feathers appeared. You can also see it if you look closely at the picture on the beginning of the blog entry.

As with Birds 73 and 74, Mustache seems to be the protector of his sibling - though not to the same degree. Take a peek below at how fast they change! (From April 5, 2007 to April 11, 2007)

Bird 73

2007-04-13T13:18:00.000-07:00

Bird 73
Gender: suspect Female
Birth date: March 23, 2007
Died: January 3, 2008
Preferred Partner: Unknown

Bird 73 is the older sibling (by one day) of bird 74. Still she takes her role in the family very seriously. She is always protecting the little one. In the picture at the bottom you can see a common sight - Bird 73 in front of Bird 74 who is huddling. Bird 73 is commonly flapping, snapping with her beak, and/or puffing up to look bigger.

This picture was taken when Bird 73 was just under three weeks old. Take a peek at how fast they change! This next picture was taken only one week earlier. The large difference in feathers and leg strength is obvious, but what may not be so obvious is the difference in size. The day I took the most recent picture I set her down on the floor to walk around a little and I actually lost track of her when I turned away for a minute. She blends in and moves around so well now!

Bird 73 (obviously) has not been in any experiments or been shaped for class yet. She could be a challenge. Select her (or any of the other newborns) if you feel your shaping skills are a cut above.

Bird 40

2007-04-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

Bird 40 "Gimpy"
Gender: Unknown
Birth date: Unknown (from older group)
Preferred Partner: Bird 49

This is Gimpy. His name has stuck over the years because of his misshapen foot. I believe the story was that it got hurt when he was very young and didn't heal correctly. He is fine now though. He walks with a very slight limp and otherwise doesn't seem to be affected by it.

Here are Gimpy and Bird 49. They are almost always together and are easy to spot in the crowd as they both have green id bands.

Bird 51

2007-04-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

Bird 51
Gender: Male
Birth date: Unknown (from the older group)
Preferred Partner: Sweetie (Bird 59) or more recently, Bird 53. He and Bird 53 spent a lot of time together in Dr. Hesse's son's science class.

Bird 51 quickly assumed the role of "leader of the pack" when the birds were let loose in their home cage room in January 2007. All of the birds chose territory and defended it from intruders. Bird 51 and Sweetie chose the highest perch in the room and never lost control of it.

He is one of the larger birds in the flock and has a very impressive display with his short neck feathers when he is about to mate. The birds will mate with each other's partners or other singles, but then return to the company of their preferred partner. I have seen Bird 51 mate with at least three other birds besides Sweetie, but he always spends his time with her and will only protect her.

As Bird 51 is from the older group, he has been involved in many projects over the years for both the PSYC 4725 class and master's theses. One student who shaped him for class shared her story.

"We had the toughest time trying to name him. He was so funny!! He was really easy to shape- I mean he would do everything we tried to have him do but he would not do it without grunting!! It was the funniest thing! So we finally decided on the name PIA to stand for "pain in the ass" LOL :)"

Traditionally, each pair of students each year has been able to rename their birds. Only one name, according to Dr. Hesse, has lasted and that is Gimpy's (Bird 40's).

On the right, Bird 51 is eating out of my hand. All of the birds (except the babies) will do it, and some of them will do it even when they are free-feeding - for instance, Birds 37, 49, and Sweetie (Bird 59) have all voluntarily eaten from my hand when they had free access to other sources of food.

Pigeons in the wild eat seeds, but our pigeons eat a formulated pellet. Otherwise we would have to provide them with sand to grind the seed in their crop. Dr. Potter has researched the most appropriate balance of nutrients for our birds' needs and has selected a low protein pellet (birds need more protein if they are more active). Occasionally the specific pellet formula he selected is not available and a very similar one is bought. If this happens you may see changes in your bird's droppings, but they will return to normal within a few days.

(Note: if you see drastic changes in your bird's droppings and the food has not been changed or if the bird looses more than 30 grams in one day, please contact Dr. Hesse as your bird may be sick. Our birds have a lot of protection from outside germs, but they can still get sick. And they are very good at hiding their illness. I have some experience with one type of bacterial infection. The symptoms were - from most noticeable to least - diarrhea (uncommon for birds), excessive fluffing of feathers (to stay warm), and decreased activity/lethargy. If your bird has these, please let Dr. Hesse know as this bacterial infection is curable, but may lead to death if not treated. BTW - this applies to all birds, not Bird 51 specifically.)

And finally, here are examples of Bird 51's feathers growing in after having been trimmed for a project in Dr. Hesse's son's first grade science class.

He won't be able to fly up to that high perch again until they all come back!

Talk about an awkward phase as your hair grows out... Here he has one full tail feather over an inch longer than the trimmed ones!

Bird 25

2007-04-13T10:28:00.000-07:00

Bird 25 "Isis"
Gender: Female
Birth date: Unknown (from newer group)
Preferred Partner: Bird 20

Isis is the mother of Bird 35 and Mustache (Bird 45) and two new little guys who were just born on May 12th (Birds 46 and 47). She also would have hatched many more eggs had I not removed her warm spots. She had the honor of being the first picture on the blog (see the beginning of the blog entry). In this picture she is fluffed up because I have just taken her off of her young ones to take their picture. Listen closely and you can hear her growling! Her wing is even poised for a flap in my direction!

Here is another picture of her. She is the one in the sink. Bird 20 is guarding her from the ledge. Unfortunately, she is sitting on an egg. I had to move it - the sink is just not an appropriate place for a nest. I took her over to a cage with the egg (careful not to get my scent all over it by using a clean towel) but I don't think she recognized it as hers.

Her most distinguishing feature is her eyes. She has dark red skin in an almond shape around her eyes, that always make her look like she has just "put her face on."

Isis, being of the new group, has not been a part of the PSYC 4725 projects yet. She helped earn someone a master's degree already though!

Bird 25 is named after Isis, one of the most important female Egyptian deities. "Isis was the protectress of motherhood, healer of the sick, and protectress of women. She also rules magick. Sick with grief concerning the murder of her husband Osiris by his brother Set, Isis reconstructed and reanimated his corpse long enough for it to impregnate her with their only son Horus" according to crystalinks.com. Our Isis has successfully hatched four babes this Spring and is one of the best mothers in the flock.

I leave you with a picture of her first set of little ones just about a week old. This is the picture responsible for the fluffiness above.

Bird 49

2007-04-12T18:09:00.000-07:00

Bird 49
Gender: suspect Male
Birth date: Unknown (from older group)
Preferred Partner: Gimpy (Bird 40)
Passed Away: Late August 2007

This is Bird 49. He hangs around with bird 40 the majority of the time, but I have never seen them mate.

Bird 49 has the second most developed cere of all our birds along with Grey (Bird 50) (take a peek at Bird 37's). He also may have a vision problem or even blindness in his left eye.

Bird 49 is friendly and fearless towards me. The birds have been loose in the home cage room for months now and only Bird 49 will confidently approach me when I have food in my hand. The rest will follow his lead, but are very nervous and hop back at the slightest movement or noise.

Bird 58

2007-04-12T17:54:00.000-07:00

Bird 58
Gender: Male
Birth date: Unknown (from the older group)
Preferred Partner: Bird 64

The pigeons are very good about taking turns sitting on the eggs. I caught Bird 58 taking his turn today on bird 64's egg.

I don't know much about this bird either. I am glad that he has lead the way in socializing with the newer group of birds. If this egg hatches and survives, it will be the first with a parent from both groups (so far the four newborns are all descendants of the new group).

The pigeons have been laying eggs in pairs. Bird 58 and 64 had two but one has been rejected or accidentally rolled out of the nest. This is a picture of it in my hand so that you can see how small they are. I would estimate they are about half the size of chicken eggs.

Update! Birds 58 and 64 have successfully hatched two young pigeons! See Bird 64's post for a picture of the pair at a week old. They are Birds 55 and 65.

Bird 28

2007-04-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

This is bird 28. Like bird 37, she has been involved in the Second-Order study for as long as I have worked in the lab. So her statistics will be just as sparse.

Bird 28
Gender: Unknown
Birth date: Unknown (from older group)
Preferred Partner: Unknown

Bird 28 is a very nervous bird. Many of the birds will shake when they are separated from the others, for instance, when they are sitting on the table in front of a student with a clicker, but she shakes longer and harder than all the rest.

The birds are placed head and feet first into a pitcher in order to weigh them. Most of the birds will walk out backwards if you place the pitcher on its side on a surface. Bird 28 has never learned to do that. She will turn herself around so that her head and tail both emerge at the same time. If you look closely at the picture to the right, you can see her head poking out and just below her head is the tip of her tail. She sort of pops out and then starts fluttering around. The fastest way to calm her is simply to put the door on the chamber.

Bird 28 is the first bird I handled during my orientation to the lab. Her wings had been trimmed so that she could not fly. Then Dr. Potter let her loose and had me catch her. It seemed very easy, but after seeing many other students chase other birds for up to 20 minutes, I think I just accidentally chanced upon the easiest way to catch them. She walked over to a corner and I put my arms out wide and then quickly grabbed her before she could escape. Dr. Hesse can catch them flying through the air! I am only a grasshopper.

One story that I felt very bad about at the time was the second time I had to catch her. She is not very big, so it is not as hard for me to keep my hands around her wings while I carry her, but it took me a few days to figure out where on her body to hold her. On this day, I held her too close to her tail. She lifted her wings and got them loose, but I still had ahold of the lower part of her body. I should have just let her go, but I tried to hold on to her. I didn't think I was holding tight, because I didn't want to hurt her, but at one point she had wiggled to the point where I no longer was holding her body - only her tail feathers. Then they all fell out in my hand and she was loose. I put those feathers down, and then it was easy to catch her by cornering her. I felt bad about her tail for weeks afterward. She was not hurt, but she looked funny with a bare rear end until new feathers grew in.

I tell my embarrassing story so that you will not hang on to your bird. It is easier to re-catch than to re-gain a hold when their wings are loose. I have learned one trick though. If you can put their back against your chest, they can't flap and you can guide their wings back down and get a better grip. (Beware you will get their white mark on your clothes - but then you shouldn't wear your nice clothes in the lab anyway.) Of course with some birds, you will never need these tricks because they will gladly hop into the pitcher with a few pellets in it. Bird 28 will not. I have never known her to voluntarily hop into the pitcher. But she has other good qualities. She is a good learner and a fast performer (once she stops shivering!). And of course - she is very cute!

Here is a picture of her sitting in my hand. She is one of the smaller birds, as I have mentioned, and I have learned how to hold her wings with just one hand, as I am in this picture.

Bird 37

2007-04-11T12:09:00.000-07:00

Bird 37 would not hold still to have her picture taken!

This is ironic because she is usually very calm, and of all the birds in the lab, will let me pick her up with no fight. Today, was a little different.

Unfortunately, I don't know the bird's gender. I tend to call it 'her' because of her gentle nature. So I will continue to speak of her in the feminine until I know for sure. Also, unfortunately, I do not know her preferred partner. Here are her sparse statistics.

Bird 37
Gender: Unknown
Birth date: Unknown (from older group)
Preferred Partner: Unknown

The reason I don't know many of these statistics is that she has been involved in the Second-Order study for the entire time I have worked in the lab. I'll talk more about that study a little later. When the birds are in studies, they are kept in individual cages. This means that they cannot mate and mating has been the main way I have determined gender. Also, they have a controlled amount of food which I believe is not enough for them to produce eggs.

Bird 37's most striking feature is her cere. A cere is the growth of skin at the base of the beak. Some breeds of pigeon have been bred for this characteristic. Ours just have normal ones. But bird 37's is the most well developed. I have tried to research this to see if it is perhaps a gender indicator (maybe males have bigger ones to attract females?), but I have had no luck yet, and further, the other birds don't seem to follow that pattern. But I did manage to get one mostly not blurry picture that shows her cere close up so that you can see how well developed it is.

Bird 64

2007-04-05T22:57:00.000-07:00

This is bird 64. I don't have a lot of intimate knowledge about her, but I got this really cute picture of her just hanging out in one of the old cages. It's a little difficult to tell from the angle, but the door is open and she can easily get in and out. (She looks like she is caught escaping from the same cage in the picture below.)

Here is what I know about her:
Bird: 64
Gender: Female
Birth date: Unknown (she is from the newer group)
Preferred partner: Bird 58

I do know that she just had an unsuccessful attempt at hatching two eggs. Both eggs cracked but she continued to sit on them for several more days. I don't want the lab to be overrun with new hatchlings, but I sort of hope she can produce a successful offspring with 58 because they are from different flocks. I hear the older birds were becoming very inbred.

Update! Birds 64 and 58 have successfully hatched two little pigeons! Birds 55 and 65 were born in May 2007.

Bird 74

2007-04-05T08:43:00.000-07:00

Bird 74
Gender: Unknown
Birth date: March 24, 2007
Preferred Partner: Unknown

This is bird 74 at about a week and a half old. I am unsure of its gender (as I am for all the newborns) so I will refer to it as 'he' until the determination has been made.

Bird 74 is the younger sibling of bird 73 (by only one day - I believe). Their parents are birds 71 and 72. They hatched in mid-to-late March 2007.

When bird 74 was just a few days old, I found him on the floor. Their nest was up on the top shelf of the cages, I cannot tell if he was hurt in the fall, but his left opposing toe could have been hurt as he wasn't moving it properly up to a week later. He seems fine though. He can walk around very well. Both the birds stand and walk on the lower part of their legs - I assume their leg muscles cannot keep up with their rapid growth pattern.

Also upon seeing him on the floor, I worried that his mother had rejected him. Though he was shivering on the floor, he had a good amount of body heat and was moving around as if he was alright. So I hoped it had all been an accident and I wrapped him in a washcloth for warmth and placed him back inside the cage where Mom was protecting and nurturing her young. I also turned down the air conditioner as it blows cold air directly onto their position and turned the cage so that the solid wall blocked the air when it did turn on. Then I hoped... It took over a day, but eventually, Bird 74 was back under Mom instead of in a blanket at the edge of the cage.

I like this picture, which was also taken at just under two weeks old, because he looks like a weird combination of ostrich, porcupine, and frog. You can also make out the fine yellow hairs he was born with around his head and chest. Its so interesting to come in everyday and see how much they have changed. He is a little scared here as I have taken him out of his nest (It is important to acclimate him to human touch - unfortunately I only have about ten minutes a day). He has risen up so that he is standing on only his feet, but he is very unstable and after the picture was taken, he lowered back down so that he was standing on the entire lower part of his limbs.

I almost forgot to mention the adorable "peeps" they make! They sound like little chicks! But where ever you hear a peeping little pigeon, you are sure to hear a growling mother close-by.

Bird 59

2007-04-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

Bird 59
Gender: Female
Birth date: Unknown (from older group)
Preferred Partner: Bird 51 (or possibly Bird 61)

This is Sweetie. I wanted to start her page first because she is one of the most special to me. She is a small delicate looking bird compared to most of the others. She has a very slender beak and a thin frame, but she is not unhealthy. I first met her while she was participating in a study by Mike Wilson about the differences in learning a task during one large block of time or during several small blocks. She was very fast and almost always the first bird done with her task.

She worked on Mike's thesis during the summer of 2005 and then I asked to work with her during the fall of 2005 when I took PSYC 4725: EAB lab. I had a great time working with her and have recommended her to other students going through the class for her temperament and her speed in learning.

There are two groups of birds in the lab right now (as I see it - I have been a part of the lab for two years now). One group was there when I first came and one group was just purchased late summer of 2006. Sweetie is one of the older group. The older group have lighter colored feet - almost more orange than red, and their eyes do not have any red skin around them - its more of a very pale pink skin. I believe they are also slightly smaller birds overall.

Last fall, Sweetie began plucking the feathers on her chest as did one other bird who did it to a greater degree. I watched them closely for any signs of mites or other irritants, and watched their droppings and overall appearance for signs of sickness, but found none. I concluded and still believe that it is a sign of stress for her (and probably the other bird as well - he passed away, but I believe the cause is unrelated to the plucking; if the numbers were assigned in order, he would have been an old bird (he was Bird 23 - the smallest number) and likely died of old age).

After the birds were no longer being used for the EAB lab and they were no longer in any experiments, I let them loose inside their cage room. At that point Sweetie's feathers began growing back in and there were less signs of plucking, though I believe she still did occasionally. Then recently, her partner was taken from the room for an outside project (Bird 51 helped teach Dr. Hesse's son's first grade class about shaping and discrimination). She began plucking again. He was gone for a little less than a month, but as soon as he returned, her feathers started filling in again. In the picture at the top, the bare spot is just detectable about an inch below her eye and to her right. I think her plucking is due to the stress of loneliness for her preferred companion. He is currently in an individual cage because he is participating in a thesis experiment, so she can visit him when she wants.

The Beginning of CSUS's Pigeon Lab Blog

2007-04-03T22:48:00.000-07:00

Within the past two weeks, four young pigeons have hatched in our lab. They have re-inspired my interest in creating a history of our lab for future students to read at their leisure, and use for research purposes.

So, here is a picture I took today to start things off! This is one of the new parents: Isis (Bird 25). The father is likely either bird 50 or bird 20 or each fathered one. I have caught bird 20 sitting on the hatchlings, but one of the young ones has dark spots as only bird 50 does. Isis is sitting on 2 four-day-old hatchlings, one of whose behind is peaking out under her beak (Mustache).

The babies are born with fine yellow hairs. Their feather quills start growing in quickly. The two other newborns are a week and a half old and their feathers are filling out nicely - but for a few days they looked like porcupines! Their size increases rapidly also. Mom stops sitting on them after about a week because they are so big. After she began leaving them alone, I began picking them up, taking them over to the sink for a bath, and letting them walk around on the floor for a few minutes to help get them used to being handled by people. I think this baby and its sibling will be that big by this weekend.