Other mistake: At the end of Goin' Courtin', Daniel says "fighting and trapping" in the wrong order. You can just hear him if you listen very carefully but it is really obvious if you watch his mouth. (00:36:55)
Continuity mistake: When the boys are getting their fingernails inspected before the barn raising, all of them (except Gideon) have their trousers tucked inside their boots. When they arrive in the wagon Gideon's are now tucked in, but when he gets out to follow Alice, they are untucked. Benjamin's trousers are also untucked when they begin to dance. (00:37:10 - 00:38:35)
Continuity mistake: During the dance, When Frank and Milly bow/curtsy to each other, the brothers can be seen behind them. Ephraim is standing a little further back than the rest but when Milly runs to push Gideon and Daniel, he is standing much further and is leaning on a tree. (00:41:25)
Continuity mistake: During the dance, when Milly pushes Gideon and Daniel to dance, the camera cuts to Liza and Martha holding out their dresses. Behind Liza, you can see Ruth standing right beside one of the town boys, but when the camera zooms out, Alice is standing between them, holding both their hands. (00:41:30)
Continuity mistake: Near the beginning of the dance, Ephraim, Frank and Caleb dance with Alice Sarah and Ruth. The camera cuts to the town boys (who begin to dance) and Alice can be seen standing behind Gideon, Sarah near the edge of the screen with Ephraim and Ruth is up to dance again. There was less than a second for them to get where they are. (00:41:45)
Continuity mistake: After Gideon's axe jumping, he, Caleb and Daniel begin to dance. Ephraim and Ruth can be seen standing by the house on the very far left of the screen, but disappear in the zoomed out shot. When it is zoomed out, Dorcas can be seen standing with some of the town boys. Suddenly the rest of the brothers (and their partners) dance in after appearing from nowhere. (00:43:30)
Continuity mistake: During the dance, when Frank is doing no-hand-cartwheels, Martha can be seen standing at the end of the saw horse, however when Frank jumps off, she is standing between Alice and Sarah with no time to get there. (00:45:00)
Continuity mistake: Just before the men split into teams to raise the barn, one of the townspeople give a speech saying that Henry is thankful to everyone. Just before he says this, Henry is bending over to stop Annabel from running away. When the camera zooms in on Henry, he is suddenly standing upright. (00:45:40)
Continuity mistake: During the barn raising fight, Benjamin punches a man, who falls and knocks a long, wooden beam over, so that it sits diagonally from the 'roof'. Later the beam is kicked and begins to fall and the shot switches to Adam fighting. The beam is suddenly gone and the man he is fighting falls into the wall. When Adam ducks, as a man flies over him, the board can be seen on the floor. The board falls in less than a second, which is impossibly fast. (00:49:25)
Continuity mistake: During the barn raising fight, Frank (red shirt) and Ephrahim (blueish/greenish shirt) squash a man inside a collapsible ladder. When they push it shut, a horizontal board, that is used to stop it collapsing, breaks off. When the man runs to tell them to 'stop the fight', the ladder is repaired (there is only one ladder in the room), and stays this way till the end of the fight. (00:49:35)
Continuity mistake: During the barn raising fight, a large hole is made in the wall opposite the door, by four men falling through it. When Ephrahim, Adam and Daniel push men out of the door using a long piece of wood, the hole is gone. In the next shot, it is back. (00:49:45)
Continuity mistake: During the barn raising fight, when the man who tells the boys to 'stop the fight' is thrown out the door, you can see Gideon (blue shirt) fighting inside, behind him. In the next shot, Gideon is fighting on the 'roof' with Frank (red shirt). In the next shot, when Adam (green shirt), Ephrahim (blueish/greenish shirt) and Daniel (purple shirt) are pushing people out the door, Gideon can be seen behind them, at the very edge of the screen, on the left. (00:49:50)
Audio problem: At the end of "June Bride", all the brides stick their heads out of the window and you see them mouth 'all at', but you don't hear their voices until the camera shows the house, the snow melting and animals appearing etc. (Only in DVD version) (01:23:35)
Continuity mistake: In the barn dance scene Gideon is doing flips on the sawhorse. His shirt becomes untucked and then retucked between flips.
Continuity mistake: In the scene when all the brothers are downstairs waiting when Millie is upstairs having her baby, the brother Ephraim stays in the background, but it is obviously a stand-in and not the same actor.
Revealing mistake: In "Wonderful, Wonderful Day" there are live birds flying on the set, but they were confused by the backdrop and several crash into it. (The director acknowledges this in a documentary.)
Revealing mistake: In the scene where Milly is singing Wonderful Day and the bird come flying past her, their shadow falls on the "hills" behind them.
Continuity mistake: When the boys are taking the girls around to see the animals and singing the Spring, Spring, Spring song, it is obviously Spring with all of the trees in bloom. In the town, however, they are just getting over winter as there is still snow on the ground.
Continuity mistake: During June Bride, the grey box at the end of the bed (that Martha sits on) changes design, height and position.
Revealing mistake: During winter at the cabin, several of the kidnapped girls are doing chores. As they are about to go back inside the cabin, the long icicles hanging on the porch eaves can be seen swinging loosely when they should be frozen in place.
Answer: Yes it is true. They did this to prevent the birds from flying into the backdrops and becoming injured or killed.