Originally Posted by
Mel1959
How long was the red in the release cage? If she’s only 4 1/2 months old she’s just barely older than the recommended release age. I think the older the better for release. I’m not sure if reds mature faster than grays or not, hopefully someone who’s raised one will chime in.
If you just took in a 2 week old and a 4 week old then you have several months before you will need the release cage for them. I don’t put my guys out in the release cage till 14+ weeks old. And then I let them be in the release cage anywhere from 2-4 weeks. Because I have a very large release cage I have actually let them be in there for longer than 4 weeks.
Because I wanted my releases to stay around what I found that has worked well for me is to provide two wooden nest boxes inside the release cage and let them get used to them and get their smell on them. Then when I release I move one of the boxes up into a nearby tree. This way they have an automatic home in the trees and also a safe box to sleep in if they choose to return to the RC at night. It’s very common for new releases to return to the release cage to sleep for awhile, some longer than others. I wouldn’t boot her out and I’d definitely continue to feed her by placing food in the release cage. Some need more support than others. IMO she’s still pretty young.