OLDE TYMER: Conversation With Gene Hall

Abstract

Clio Poulykya: When did you begin to have an interest in exotic birds?

Gene Hall: I cannot really remember a time when birds were not a part of my life. My mother always had at least one pair of canaries and when I was seven, I was given my first pair of birds - Jungle Fowl. There has been no time since then when, either as a hobby or as a business, birds have not taken a major part of my attention.

For five years in the 1940s racing pigeons and show pigeons were a major interest. Modenas were - and still are - a special favorite.

A curiosity about hookbills was sparked by the 1947 movie Bill 'n Coo whose stars were a pair of Peach-faced Lovebirds with a supporting cast of thousands (of lovebirds and budgies).

Some searching turned up what was probably the most elderly pair of Black-masked Lovebirds that Anaheim, California had to offer.

Not realizing at that time that working with birds could be anything but a hobby, the need to earn a living made non-avicultural pursuits a necessity for the next 18 years. In 1969, a full time job was available at Magnolia Bird Farm in Anaheim, CA. I decided then that working with birds was more important than a management position which had no relationship of aviculture. My family and I were living in a residential area which made keeping any quantity of birds, especially the larger species, impossible.

The next opportunity which appeared was a job opening at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park in Escondido, California to work with gorillas. After getting that job, work as a backup keeper in the bird department was added. I was with the zoo only one year when I decided that it would he possible to turn an avocation into what I had always hoped it would he - a vocation. I began to look for a suitable location for a commercial aviary.

C.P.: Why did you stay in the San Diego/ Anaheim area once you could relocate wherever you chose?

G.H.: Well, I'm a member of that rare species - a fellow California born and bred, with local family ties going back several generations. Naturally, I looked in the area I know and finally found an old poultry farm, which was no longer in use. It still had numerous buildings including a 70-year-old barn. This barn became the centerpiece of the office, display and breeding complex named Fortune Glen Aviaries.

Of course, there was much remodeling to be done before the facility could be opened. We - my family and I - moved to the property but for the first year and a half, I still worked at the Magnolia Bird Farm. Without the co-operation and assistance of my family, Fortune Glen would have had great difficulty in coming to life. My daughter, Amy, in her late teens at the time, was particularly involved in the business. The business soon grew to fill all of the buildings that made up the old farm. Plantings were added to create a more suitable background for the varied assortment of birds. Eventually there were softbills, waterfowl, hookbills and pheasants on site. Budgies were raised in quantity, with 2,000 producing pairs.

C.P.: Please tell me about your avavries.

 G.H.: Although all the old strucures were used, they needed modifi:ations to fit their new tenants. 3reeding pens all had floors of decornoosed granite that was periodically ·enewed by adding a new layer. ,kylighted display pens were cement Ioored. These were scrubbed and disnfected daily. The degree of care with sanitation made Fortune Glen one of he only California aviaries that could ship birds during the time of the Newcastle problems (1973). This was only for a short period of time when :he Newcastle problems were at their worst,

All pens had a drip system to provide a steady supply of fresh water. vletal feeding shelves were removed 'or cleaning. Screened doors at opposite ends of the display area insured an exchange of air. Due to the diversity of species housed, there were a dozen different diets prepared daily. Feeding alone required eight man-hours per ::lay. All feed was offered on a free choice basis.

Away from the display area were the old poultry houses, long and narrow, with uncovered "alleys" between the houses. Some of these alleys I had covered and screened. The space was densely planted.

Those areas were used as flights for small birds (finches, doves, Australian King Parrots and Neopbemas), and as safety areas for the poultry houses whose doors opened into the screened alleys. In other open spaces (between the buildings), four-foot fences were erected to join the buildings to create waterfowl pens. These areas were crossfenced to provide security for smaller or less aggressive waterfowl. Each area had a shallow pond dug into the adobe soil. Plantings were added for privacy. All waterfowl were pinioned so the simple fencing made secure pens.

The old poultry house, if suited for flights, held Australian and Asiatic species. Larger (pole barn) spaces 80 feet x 80 feet were used for conures and Amazons. Housing here was in suspended "California" cages. All nest boxes were cleaned annually but were never seasonally closed or removed.

 

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