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Hi everyone, meet Kevin: My wife works at a wildlife sanctuary and someone brought in a magpie that for reasons I'm not sure on, was hand reared as a chick and had imprinted, subsequently rewilding attempts had failed. The sanctuary also tried to release and rewild him but he just hung around the place for a week trying to land on people. As is usual with such cases the question was asked of all staff if they knew of anyone that could provide a suitable home for Kevin as they'd named him, so the wife rang me knowing I loving love corvids and asked what I thought. Here's what I thought:  I thought time to build an aviary! Gravel traps for the inside    Basic 4 legged frame up  A doorway!  The door  Door fitted, snug enough  Roofing  Then it snowed, which was helpful because it indicated the roof needed another support beam:   Gravel down  Indoor catch for the door  More mesh up    Made a roosting enclosure to go up high   More mesh to enclose the top  First revision of the roost box in place but it had some modifications later to give more room and a place to perch:    ...and back into place Sundays while building I'd been going to the sanctuary to spend time with him so he can get to know me. Video shot with him perched about arm's length away at eye level: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/845446578281512961/1053502475207974942/VID-20221113-WA0001.mp4 Aviary almost complete and the weather getting colder, we went and brought him home!   Just gorgeous. He settles in that spot and watches me while at my desk The following morning I was an idiot, forgetting about an open window and... Escaped! I was beside myself and thought I'd already hosed this up and lost him, then I hear a familiar call...  Just chillin on the garden fence, no big deal (bear in mind this is less than 24 hours moving here) So I get my Wile E. Coyote on...  I hear more calls and discover there's a couple of local wild magpies taking interest in him and he doesn't like it much, hiding under things in the garden. I go back out and....he flies to me and settles on a fence right behind me! I grab the cat food I put in the ACME Magpie Trapper and take it up to him...  and grab him while distracted by tasty things. I got severely told off for this lol https://i.imgur.com/usCd21Q.mp4 I was soon forgiven however...  ...fast asleep after a big and busy day! It's a bit warmer today so we're going to finish putting perches and obstacles into the main aviary and let him stretch his wings. I'm absolutely smitten with him already and thought it'd be a good thing to share 
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Dec 17, 2022 13:49
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 10:31 |
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I love King Kev.
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Dec 17, 2022 16:38
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Hello, I also love Kevin.
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Dec 17, 2022 17:36
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Update: He's now in the aviary He hasn't quite figured the roost box out yet but he settled here after dark (night mode camera kicks rear end) 
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Dec 17, 2022 18:37
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Where's the 24/7 kevcam livestream Ninpo
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Dec 17, 2022 18:38
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pik_d posted:Where's the 24/7 kevcam livestream Ninpo After payday!!
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Dec 17, 2022 18:41
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NinpoEspiritoSanto posted:After payday!! Get paid faster op.
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Dec 17, 2022 21:20
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Big Black Dick posted:Get paid faster op. I plan to build a completely wireless camera for the aviary. I have a spare older Raspberry Pi kicking around that'll fit this and these fit in the battery compartment of that case. Should be a battery swap every couple of days at worst since it'll go into standby at night.
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Dec 18, 2022 01:35
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Posting in support of Kevin and future posts about OP teaching Kevin to speak ominous phrases in Latin
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Dec 18, 2022 03:48
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Kev's first morning in the aviary is going great! Playing with the ice I tipped out of his water bowl: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/457159102007607300/1053997014813245440/4_5834808711947751299.mp4 https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/457159102007607300/1053997092298838036/4_5834808711947751300.mp4 https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/457159102007607300/1054000531275776001/4_5834808711947751303.mp4 Bath time! https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/457159102007607300/1053998600843173979/4_5834808711947751302.mp4 Enjoying his catfood and mealworm breakfast 
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Dec 18, 2022 12:47
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After sleeping on top of it last night he's figured out his roost box  He stayed in there while I swapped the heat pad out of the roof above him too! Also more progress with trust, he stayed on the ground and quite playful when I went into the aviary this afternoon https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/972828585704456212/1054068311949836318/4_5834780476832747261.mp4 https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/972828585704456212/1054068384544866384/4_5834780476832747262.mp4
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Dec 18, 2022 17:44
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NinpoEspiritoSanto posted:After sleeping on top of it last night he's figured out his roost box Vvv yay! I suspected you would already be on that, but wanted to share my enthusiasm. B33rChiller fucked around with this message at 18:54 on Dec 19, 2022 |
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Dec 19, 2022 06:38
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B33rChiller posted:This is great. Can I suggest when you are at the point of doing improvements, to add some enrichment / stuff to mess around with for him? Branches, leaf piles, shiny treasures in complicated containers, treat kongs, fountains, maybe a nintendo, I don't know, I'm just spitballing here. Yep we're still adding stuff, not seen in photos/videos really are the different height perches hung up including a big section of a trunk from a conifer tree. Want to get him some marbles as well. One thing I want to do is make something that opens when he drops a marble or piece of gravel into a thing and have mealworms inside.
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Dec 19, 2022 11:42
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 Thursday. I brought him home on Thursday. 
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Dec 20, 2022 19:20
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Magpies are really cool, I'd love to have a magpie friend. As long as it doesn't make that noise too much.
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Dec 20, 2022 20:29
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NinpoEspiritoSanto posted:
Awww, he likes you already
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Dec 20, 2022 22:50
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nielsm posted:Magpies are really cool, I'd love to have a magpie friend. Turns out in hindsight he makes that rapid fire noise when he's unsure of what's going on so a few weeks back it was "who the gently caress is this sitting in my house?" He now only does that call if local wild magpies are hanging around or one of the cats is being too interested. Not sure if that's a general magpie thing or something he discovered gets someone's attention and then bad thing goes away but there's a definite pattern. He is so so loving cool. He's clear with his comfort and boundaries and me just working with that seems to have built a lot of trust in a short time. Tonight I was in the aviary making improvements as one of the cats got into the aviary to steal his food, squeezed through a gap small enough it removed a poo poo load of fur. Cat food and mealworms is attractive to cats too! So we spent some time stitching up any small gaps with stainless steel wire and after him just milling around me while I worked he took himself off to bed long before I was done working in his space. I've always been an animal guy, I adore my dogs and cats but there's something very different and special about a wild animal trusting you.
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Dec 21, 2022 03:53
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Magpies are so cool! I used to follow Sophie the Magpie on twitter before she passed away this year  I've been infatuated with magpies ever since, and corvids in generalAll hail King Kev
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Dec 21, 2022 22:30
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Happy Landfill posted:Magpies are so cool! I used to follow Sophie the Magpie on twitter before she passed away this year This whole endeavour started because I loving love corvids. There's a Raven called Rav at the sanctuary, permanent resident as he can't fly very well after an injury. He's very vocal and friendly, his house is about 50 metres from where I usually park up when I go there and he has a different call for each person he recognises and if he knows you and you go over he comes down to the ground and preens and shows off his beak (shoves it through the mesh for you to touch) I seem to be having good success in just doing my thing, encouraging Kevin but letting him come to me rather than trying to force things, I very occasionally go for a tickle which he'll either tolerate or if he backs off I leave it. He happily spends time really up close to me when I go in and he's responsive to his name and a couple of other calls. The tap tap click click is something I'm working on so I can build trust for him to go in a carrier or a cage, for vet visits or to come inside when it's proper cold out. It's chilly tonight so I went out to pop a warming pad into his roost spot. It's one people use for rabbit hutches and stuff, quite mild warming but lasts for a good 5-6 hours.   He likes to go inside the box during the day to dry off after a bath but at night he really likes to be on top. I pop the pad in underneath the cardboard. He stays up there while I do it rather than fleeing. Because of his preference to roost up top I've got some thick clear vinyl I'm going to enclose the corner with up there to give him more of a wind break. The hanging branch perch I put in there that he's not seemed interested in at first has now started to get some use so I'll get some more pics of the inside of the aviary tomorrow, focusing on him with the photos and videos hasn't shown the example of the stuff he's got at his disposal. I've always had pets and I absolutely adore my dogs and cats but this experience so far has been incredibly surreal and rewarding. Having a wild bird trust you is an incredible experience, playing together with toys and poo poo is something I never dreamed of happening. If wild magpies are hanging around (they are interested in him and the space he has, he quite happily struts up and down and eats food when they're watching or perched on top of his aviary) or the cats are near he has a call to let me know he's not sure. The wild 'pies scarper as soon as I stick my head out of the window. The contrast is remarkable.
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Dec 22, 2022 03:10
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Corvids are so smart, it's crazy. I think animal sapience is more common than we realize, and some corvids could be considered sapient I love that Kevin shows off his home and his stuff to the other magpies. Hot doggin' little rascal
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Dec 22, 2022 04:23
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One thing that really struck me about Sophie the Magpie on twitter...I have never seen a bird mug for the camera the way she did, and he handler was so good at getting great pics of her. Hope he stays warm this winter 
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Dec 22, 2022 07:26
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Happy Landfill posted:One thing that really struck me about Sophie the Magpie on twitter...I have never seen a bird mug for the camera the way she did, and he handler was so good at getting great pics of her. He will, I put the vinyl up around where he roosts today so it's enclosed and the heating pad stays warm for a number of hours. If it's going to be a proper cold snap I'll get him into the cage and bring him inside at night. Brit pies are pretty hardy to the usual weather here as long as they can find shelter. Speaking of mugging for the camera look who found the kev kam https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/457159102007607300/1055525285438701628/4_5848258509409357324.mp4
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Dec 22, 2022 21:51
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Kevin is adorable, it's cute to see he's adjusting so well and so quickly to his new home. I will also stand by magpies as being the prettiest of the corvids.
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Dec 24, 2022 05:00
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https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/457159102007607300/1055921358279815269/12-14-32.mp4 A nice interaction with him after I'd cleaned the aviary out yesterday and took a heat pad out to dry off the box that covers his roost box. You can't tell from the footage but it's raining like a motherfucker. I've since fixed the pinkishness of the footage. It's because I went with a camera suitable for night vision use as well so it doesn't have an IR light filter.
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Dec 24, 2022 11:35
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Had a lovely day with him in the aviary today https://ninpo.qap.la/kevin/feather-toy.mp4 https://ninpo.qap.la/kevin/video_2022-12-24_15-56-15-30fps-0-65.mp4 https://ninpo.qap.la/kevin/video_2022-12-24_15-56-15-30fps-125-255.mp4 NinpoEspiritoSanto fucked around with this message at 01:16 on Dec 25, 2022 |
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Dec 24, 2022 17:08
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He's so adorably blue!
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Dec 24, 2022 17:18
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Omg, I can't get over how cute he is when he's playing with your shoe. I love that insistent little tapping with his beak
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Dec 24, 2022 17:39
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Powerful Katrinka posted:Omg, I can't get over how cute he is when he's playing with your shoe. I love that insistent little tapping with his beak He's so clever. If he wants the treat I am offering but doesn't want to do the thing I am trying to get him to do or he isn't sure what I want him to do he goes around the back of the stool I sit on and pecks my arse lol
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Dec 24, 2022 18:46
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Here he is enjoying a nice egg in these trying times https://ninpo.qap.la/kevin/video_2022-12-25_00-17-24.mp4 NinpoEspiritoSanto fucked around with this message at 01:18 on Dec 25, 2022 |
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Dec 24, 2022 18:56
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Did you switch video encodings? I can't play any videos after the pink one. 
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Dec 24, 2022 20:39
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ChickenOfTomorrow posted:Did you switch video encodings? I can't play any videos after the pink one. Not intentionally, all should be h264. Plays OK for me on desktop and on phone, not sure what could be wrong
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Dec 24, 2022 20:48
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no worries, found the problem: webp
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Dec 24, 2022 23:16
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Yeah, they're not loading properly using Firefox, which should support webp natively. I'll have to dick around with this to get my Kevin fix.
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Dec 25, 2022 00:41
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Kevin!!  He’s wonderful.
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Dec 25, 2022 00:49
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ChickenOfTomorrow posted:no worries, found the problem: webp Oh Discord must have converted them when I uploaded them there, it's an easy way to share and get links. They must webp over a certain size I guess. Let me know if I need to rehost but I won't use that method in the future I'll use imgur or something. e: I rehosted and edited the links, hopefully that's resolved it for you. NinpoEspiritoSanto fucked around with this message at 01:19 on Dec 25, 2022 |
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Dec 25, 2022 01:05
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His tail feathers were really tatty when we first got him they're starting to look more befitting now Other things of note today, he's definitely fed well enough because he's started hiding food all over the aviary. I know this because he started showing me the places he'd hidden it under the stones on the floor! He's started to let me touch his beak as you can see in one of the videos. He actually initiated it by pushing his beak between my fingers and opening it to get me to drop one of the puzzle blocks. Since then he'll often let me stroke his beak or gently grip it between my fingers and he responds in kind by gently pecking or grabbing a finger. He's also gently nibbled around the edges of my fingernails and preened the cuff of my hoodie: https://ninpo.qap.la/kevin/video_2022-12-25_00-27-24.mp4 NinpoEspiritoSanto fucked around with this message at 01:29 on Dec 25, 2022 |
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Dec 25, 2022 01:21
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He is so loving cool I could weep
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Dec 25, 2022 01:30
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Birds bothering you with their beak is like humans holding hands
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Dec 25, 2022 02:33
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Eejit posted:Birds bothering you with their beak is like humans holding hands Yeah I gather it's their exploratory device and him preening me is huge trust I've been so lucky so far. His body language is so clear and expressive it seems easy mode to build trust with him. He's so playful it owns. We spent 10 minutes just moving rocks from one gap in the gravel tray to another. He'd pick a rock and move it, I'd move it back, repeat then he'd pick another one. The egg he has in the video posted earlier he struggled to break with his beak so he picked up a large piece of gravel and tried. I helped by making a crack with the same stone he tried with and he did the rest. Him unearthing his stashes of food and either eating them or moving to another one felt so special. I've always liked birds but never aspired to have one as a pet of the usual variety (budgies, parrots etc) as I'm more of a dog person. I've always loved corvids though just because of how loving smart they are, having one as a friend has been more than I could have imagined. I can't believe I've potentially 20+ years of this experience. Just... 
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Dec 25, 2022 02:40
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kev is great
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Dec 25, 2022 07:58
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