THIS season has something of déjà vu about it: as per last year, I have had a successful first round, with a similar number of chicks to last season, and several hens are already incubating their second-round clutches.

My cages are filling nicely, so much so that I have invested in some Italian-made collapsible wire cages. I hadn’t planned on doing this, but I have been badly let down by the supplier of glass-fibre cage fronts that I had ordered, and with the breeding season in full flow, my cage making had halted. The 2GR cages I have bought are well designed and, being approximately 2ft (60cm) long, are capable of accommodating a breeding pair or housing young birds.