Daryl

Got mine yesterday too (thanks Daz) and re-rung 3 chicks. I don't mind the new date as it fits in with my breeding plans. I'm just uncertain what to do with these chicks just rung for shows next year. They're not 2009 young birds (red ring) and they're probably not developed enough to compete against adult (or old birds). So I could have birds almost 9 months old that are ineligible to be shown at the National. I think the ring issue date will eventually evolve back to 1st July but will change to allow birds up to 2 years old to be shown as young birds (ie, if this were the case now, then 2009 and 2010 rung birds would be eligible for the Nats in Rocky). It's pretty stupid if I have to wait a year to show the birds I've just rung yesterday as young birds.

I haven't used it but years ago when I bred budgerigars in a colder climate I would add Cod Liver Oil to the seed throughout the entire breeding season. So parents and chicks consumed it. Can't really see any obvious problem with chicks receiving a regurgitated feed mix from their parents containing Breeding Aid. In fact I'd think the babies' growth would benefit from the higher fat levels found in this product. Like nubbly, I don't use Soluvet and further, I'm not a big fan of putting anything in the water when they're breeding. With offering budgies a range of foodstuffs they can choose what they require. With additives to the water they have no choice as they must drink the water. The quantity of water consumption (and hence vitamins derived from the water) can increase markedly during the feeding of chicks. Better stop there, getting off topic

Dave, that Pied Opaline Grey Green hen is going to be VERY nice . Well done.

Easy to say in hindsight Kaz but Omelette is probably worth to you 10 times what you paid for her. She's really set up your stud, now and for the future.

I don't think he has his spots yet macka. They still look like the baby feathers to me.

Nice. Really like his cap.

That's the Clearwing breeder coming out in you nubbly :happy-dancing:

It's been mentioned in another thread the importance of bloodlines when selecting breeding stock. The reason people buy birds from a breeder like Henry is that even if you buy a lesser bird then a breeder of his status will generally only be using superior birds to breed from. Therefore the chances are that a lesser bird from him will breed above itself. However he has quality in numbers and also releases birds of obvious visual quality for auction. Remembering that he just won two 1sts, two 3rds and other minor placings at the Nationals in Burnie, I think he might be trading on more than just his name :happy-dancing:

Sorry to hear that Liv :thankyou: He certainly was a lovely looking bird.

Look forward to seeing them as the young White above is very nice. I bet you're looking forward to the day they introduce a class for DEC at National level as you'll be well on the way to gobbling them up :rofl:

Probably a Spangle Sky Blue. A patch on the back of the head in the Spangle variety is fairly common so maybe he's not split for Recessive Pied. Might be Greywing as SJW mentioned as his body colour is fairly light for a Sky.

I agree with PT here, don't get too hung up on "getting the Lacewing pairings right". All the hens look useful and with the (lack of) quality of Lacewings I've seen around just pair them how you see fit to improve the quality of your birds. In general for improving the quality of the Lacewing variety you want to get the dark factor into your yellow series (ie Dark or Olive Green, or Grey Greens carrying one or two Dark factors) as a darker yellow is preferred. However, the white series birds are best bred with no dark factors (ie using Light Green or Sky Blue) to reduce the appearance of body suffusion. Both Yellow and White Lacewings benefit from the use of the Grey Factor (be it Grey or Grey Green) in reducing the effect of sheen. In your case none of the hens appear to carry any dark factors, so just pair for quality and to get some Lacewings if that's what you're after. Also, I reckon the Spangle Grey hen is ready to breed now as in her 4th picture she appears to be displaying (head feathers ruffled, tail feathers slightly spread and upright appearance) to some other bird.

Hi Liv, My take on this is, as mentioned earlier, I believe it is the result of a recessive gene for Feather Duster (FD): ie it is carried by both parents. I don't believe it has anything to do with "getting near breeding winners" but it may be the budgie equivalent of Down's Syndrome. Being a recessive gene it operates like the familiar pairing together of two green/blues in that you expect: 25% pure green, 50% green/blue, and 25% blue. In the case of pairing two normal looking birds split to the FD gene you'd expect: 25% normal birds free of FD gene, 50% normal looking birds split for FD, and 25% FD's. This of course poses the question: what to do with the parents (who carry the FD gene) and whether to breed from the siblings (who have a 67% chance of carrying the FD gene)? As I'm not the owner of the birds it's easy for me to advise not to use any of the birds to breed from. If they were mine I'd have to make that decision too. If you breed the parents and siblings to your own birds which most likely do not carry the FD gene then you won't breed any FD's in the short term. But you will spread the gene in a hidden form so that it is likely to show up again in the future. Then again you may be lucky in that the siblings you use to breed are of the 33% group that are not carrying the FD gene. Tough call. I wouldn't be too concerned with trying to work out the ancestry of the parents as I don't believe the FD gene is discriminatory of breeder status. It's just one of those things that happens and can be present in any stud. Apart from this, the range of colours you have bred from this pair is absolutely beautiful. Which one of the parents is the Double Factor Yellow Face? Daryl

Related to this, I also found by accident that a bucket half filled with water and a few handfuls of swept up husks etc sprinkled on top makes an excellent mouse trap! Especially if you provide the mice with an easy path to climb into the bucket.

Based on your showing at Burnie I reckon there's a better than even money chance you're going to Rocky PT

It isnt all about visual as long as you know the backgrounds. What do you think of this pairing ? Pretty ordinary right ? Produced this chick and I think he is doing okay for barely 6 months old. This baby was bought at an auction at 8-12 weeks old. I was told by the breeder to specifically buy it for what the breeder knew to be excellent bloodlines. Noone else recognised its potential and I bought it for $20 ! She is the mother to this one so its not all about VISUAL stuff. I agree. Otherwise we would never expect something as simple as getting a Blue from two Greens. In the first pair, I think the cock has plenty of qualities and looks pretty damn nice! But in an earlier picture he doesn't look as good as that. In the picture above the hen looks very ordinary, but it is only one picture. I don't know what she looks like in real life. But she is obviously carrying the right genes even if possibly not showing them. I think you are progressing very well with your birds Kaz, I can see a big improvement over last year's chicks. And I think a lot of it comes down to understanding your birds. Well done.

Thanks for posting the pics Kaz. Gee, the grey sibling is about what I would have expected from that pair. Both parents have a bit of something but neither is outstanding in any way. However young "Thundra" is a ripper. Congratulations!

okay thanks. I remember the Blue hen (mother) now, you got her very young at an Auction a while ago. Looks like the parents have just "clicked" to get the young Blue.

Kaz, I reckon the Grey is going to be a very nice bird. Also, is there any chance of posting pics of the parents of the Blue above, also very nice. Apologies if you already have somewhere in here.

Thanks everyone. I don't mind his feather also, although he could do with a touch more feather length. Funnily enough the main reason I bought him was to add size as he's a long, solid bird. However his feather direction is also fairly good. The hen is a nice style and well bred with reasonable feather too but not overly big. Both birds have bred successfully before so hopefully they can continue that trend at my place!

I managed to pick up two: A Cinnamon Light Green hen from Alan Kent and a Grey Green cock from L&F Percy. I took these pictures when they arrived home with me. Pretty happy with them, but of course now that the Pine Rivers catalog is out there's just got to be something in there that I NEED to buy I took one look at the Spangle Opaline Sky and thought 2 things: 1. Wow 2. There's no way he's gunna be in my price range :rip: Magnificent bird and one you could definitely use as a foundation cock.

The only downside of this auction is that it will be a LOOOOOONG day. Bidding starts at 9 but probably won't conclude before 4PM with a break for lunch. No need to stay for the duration though.

Going? Only Swine Flu will keep me away! Can't wait

Can't wait to see this one after the moult, it's gunna be a beauty!

Did anyone get along to this yesterday? If so, what sort of prices did the birds fetch, particularly the birds pictured in the catalogue?