Abstract
History
R ing-necked Parakeets and Raunchy Rats were my specialty a few years ago. The story goes like this. During the late 1960s and early '70s, I served a five year avicultural apprenticeship with the great Dave West. My wife and I lived on his ranch near Hacienda Heights, California, while he lived at his home in nearby Montebello. Dave came to the ranch every day after taking care of his birds at home. At the ranch I was his factotum/general gopher and I helped in the daily care of his large collection. In return, was able to learn from the best while getting paid in birds to enhance my own collection.
The Ringnecks
Nowadays, when looking at Bastiaan's book, it is almost impossible to believe that while I was working for Dave West there were just three or four mutation colors in Ringnecks. I recall the blue, of course, the lutino, the "blue-green," and, eventually, the albino.
At that time there were just three "Mutation Masters" that I am aware of - Dave West (who received his blue Ringnecks from the Duke of Bedford, himself), Rae Anderson, and Gordon Hayes, the latter two gentlemen still breathing, if barely (just kidding, guys).
Dave was seriously dedicated to developing and promoting mutation parrots. We were working on the Ringnecks, of course, as well as Alexandrines and Peach-faced Lovebirds. The flagship species was the Indian Ringneck but, given time, Peach-faced lovebirds became very important also. It must be said the the lovebird King was then and is still the venerable Lee Horton with his Chief-of-Staff, Roland Dubuc.
The point of this little history lesson is to establish that I was, indeed, involved with mutation Ringnecks in the old days - otherwise, the title of this story would not ring true. My job, though, was to follow the three Masters about, sweeping up after them as they met to discuss the various virtues of the mutations. Don't ask me any avicultural secrets, though, I didn't understand them then and don't now.
The Rats
Now, dear friends, comes the part I remember very well. I, myself, was the Rat Master. In order to visualize the circumstances, it is necessary to understand the construction of the main aviary complex at Dave West's bird ranch.
The complex was nothing more than four banks of flights arranged in a huge square like the walls of a fort. The backs of the flights were the outer walls (solid plywood) while the fronts opened on to a great quadrangle inside the fort. I don't recall precisely, but I believe there were about 12 flights to each side of the great square with each flight being four feet wide and generally eight feet long. At least one of the banks had flights twelve feet long. All the flights were eight feet high. The entrance into the "fort" was a door and hallway that otherwise would have been a flight.
Each flight was made of 2 X 2 wooden framing lined with 1 X 1 welded wire. There were solid plywood dividers between each flight (covered by the weld wire to prevent chewing). The top of the flights were covered with weld wire above which were 2 X 4 stringers supporting a plywood roof covered on top with asphalt roofing material.
In effect, we had 4 X 8 foot
flight cages (all four sides and the top) with plywood dividers between them. The floors were dirt.
Are you beginning to smell trouble?
This complex was built a couple of years before I arrived. It was not really an aviary complex at all. It was, in fact, the Ritz Carlton of all Rat Hotels.
The ground floor was indeed, ground. Rats LOVE ground. They constructed the most amazing series of connecting tunnels and nests. Their homes were rent-free. Every rat called his relatives to come to paradise - and they did.
Keep in mind, dear reader, that hanging on the wire wall of each flight was a large square tin "bowl" into which we place the daily mixture of chopped veggies sprinkled with vitamin powder. On wire racks also attached to the wire walls were the seed bowls containing the finest mixture of nutritious seeds money could buy. Each flight contained a water crock (also fortified with vitamins) changed daily.
Not a bird in the world ate better. Nor did a Rat.
Believe me, friends, Dave West raised the healthiest and largest rats on the continent. Every Rat could do 100 pushups. They had but to sally forth from their cozy holes, clamber up the very convenient wire and, voila, breakfast is served. A nice selection of seeds for starters with a bite of lush veggies to top it off. Then suck down the invigorating cool water and head back to the old hole to make some more babies. Ahh, for the life of Dave's Rats.
Remember, now, that this Rat Ritz had a freeway system by which each Rat could travel anywhere it chose. Most of the travel was done thusly: The rat would leave its hole in the ground, clamber up the wire wall, slip through the wire ceiling mesh to run about on top of this wire highway. The stringers that supported the solid roof had gaps in them to aid air circulation and, as it turned out, to allow the rats free access to the entire complex.