R&t's Breeding Journal

[renee 0]

Well horror of horrors, the last Chick Report I did was on October 11th and that was End of Week 8

 

So that would make today's End of Week 11

Now that I have figured out who is who I will continue to do it by NEST and with Photos!!!

SWBC 030 Normal Green Dommie Pied split Lute possibly split Cinnamon

R&T 609 Normal Greygreen Dommie Pied split Lute possibly split Cinnamon

 

 

LightGreen Spangle split Opaline & GreyGreen Spangle

SWBC 021 Normal Green

SWBC 022 Opaline LightGreen

SWBC 023 Normal Green

 

Violet split Opaline & Normal Sky hen

SWBC 025 Normal Sky

R&T 606 Opaline Sky

Green split RP (Medusa's son) & Recessive Pied Cinnamon hen

SWBC 031 Green RP Cinnamon

 

 

SWBC 032 Green RP Cinnamon<

Cobalt& Cobalt carrying Violet

SWBC 040 Normal Cobalt

Recessive Pied & Cinnamon Recessive Pied (Medusa)

R&T 608 Cinnamon Recessive Pied

Grey Dommie Pied & Cobalt hen

R&T 602 Normal Cobalt

R&T 605 Normal Cobalt

R&T 612 Normal Cobalt

R&T 613 Cobalt Dommie Pied<

Grey Spangle & Cinnamon Grey Spangle hen

R&T 601 Normal Grey

R&T 603 Cobalt Spangle

R&T 604 Grey Spangle

R&T 611 Normal Grey

R&T 614 Normal Cobalt

DF Yellow Spangle & GreyGreen Spangle hen

R&T 615 DF Yellow Spangle

Funny toes DF Yellow Spangle

R&T 616 DF Yellow Spangle

 

 

R&T 620 DF Yellow Spangle

Lute split Blue & Lute split Blue

R&T 617 Lutino split Blue

 

 

R&T 618 Albino

Cobalt & Normal Green hen

SWBC 037 Normal Blue

Recessive Pied & Cinnamon Recessive Pied

R&T 619 Cinnamon Recessive Pied

Cobalt Dommie Pied split Opaline & Green hen

 

R&T 621 Opaline Sky Dommie Pied

R&T 622 Normal Green split Blue

R&T 623 Normal Cobalt

R&T 624 Normal Cobalt

 

R&T 625 Normal Sky

 

R&T 626 Light Green Dommie Pied

 

 

 

Normal Grey split Recessive Pied & Recessive Pied hen

R&T 632 Normal GreyGreen split Recessive Pied

R&T 633 Normal GreyGreen split Recessive Pied

Albino & Albino hen

R&T 627 DF Albino

R&T 628 DF Albino

R&T 653 DF Albino

R&T 655 DF Albino

R&T 656 DF Albino

Violet & Cobalt Normal carrying Violet hen

SWBC 038 Normal Violet

Sky Dommie Pied & Normal Cobalt hen

R&T 654 Normal Cobalt

 

 

 

Cobalt Dommie Pied & Sky hen

R&T 651Sky Dommie Pied

 

R&T 652 Normal Cobalt

 

R&T 656 Dommie Pied, possibly Cobalt

 

22/10

 

23/10

 

25/10

 

 

Cobalt & Normal Green hen reprised

26/10

 

28/10

 

30/10

Edited October 31, 2011 by renee

[renee 0]

Okay time for today's update.

 

First of all apologies for yesterday's Chick Update - I had real hassles trying to get the formatting right and in the many attempts at editing I managed to delete a couple of chicks ...

 

 

So not much news today. In good news the 2 Green boys (Medusa's son and a Green split Blue) I pulled from the aviary last week are doing well and last night were the first to the Soft Food dishes to tuck in. This is the last day for the adult's 5 day Moxi T treatment and I am going to give them 2 days of Probiotics next. Really I'd like to give them some Moulting Aid but I know that it is always recommended to give your birds a couple of days of probiotics after a meds regime as that is a good way to re-establish healthy Ph levels in the crop (well so I've been advised). So I am going to do things by the book.

 

 

It is quite warm today so most birds are on the bottom of the Breeder Cabinets so it is not the best conditions to determine who is panting and who isn't but needless to say no signs of further nest infection at this stage. Fingers Crossed.

 

I have however, decided to send the 2 toed DF Yellow to God this afternoon, it is by far the worst affected with feather loss off its body and I know it will never recover. So RIP you featherless mutant.

 

I am trying really hard to contain this French Mould outbreak. I have established a quarantine cordon and have been meticulous about hoovering up. The only nest with continued feather loss is the DF Yellow nest and I hoover up all feathers inside the Breeder Cabinet daily as well.

 

It is common practice to close down your Breeding season with the outbreak of French Moult and I had already done that before I had confirmation last week.

 

 

Magic's 3 fosters have been jumping out of the nest box several times a day for the past 4 days and today I got sick of it and closed up the nest box and fledged them. Ideally I would've liked them to stay in for another 5 days but they have had other ideas.

 

Next to fledge are the 4 in the Grey Normal and Recessive Pied nest, hopefully they can stay inside for another week. Actually while I am talking about them- I have managed to breed my 3rd least favourite variety: bloody Greygreens!!! The Grey Normal cock bird has a definite ticking (small white patch) on the back of his head and therefor I was hoping he was split Recessive Pied which is why I put him to a rather nice Rec Pied hen .... well he may be split but instead he has given me 2 Normal Greygreens, one of them looks alright (as far as Greygreens go) so I am not toooooo disappointed.

[fordmob 0]

Some nice birds there, I like the cobalt, is he the one that has splayed legs?

[renee 0]

I like the cobalt, is he the one that has splayed legs?

 

No, actually that one couldn't perch then which is why his little legs are so far apart - he is the one that has dropped his flights and tail .... from the Grey Spangle nest.

 

In the previous post I put up a photo of the Normal Cobalt that recovered from splayed legs.

 

They are both quite nice.

Edited November 1, 2011 by renee

[splat 0]

Some nice chicks there Renee. I had french moult last and it took over. It ruins a breeding season.

 

My bird room is insulated and I thought it was getting to hot so I am finishing up.

But the other day when it was thirty out side it was only 32 inside the bird room so I was fairly happy with that

and we haven't done the veranda yet. But since then I put a bit of shade cloth on the door and window and i have it so it can roll up on nice days and roll down in the afternoon heat. It has drop the temperture by 2 degrees. But I am still finishing up.

[renee 0]

Some nice chicks there Renee. I had french moult last and it took over. It ruins a breeding season.

 

My bird room is insulated and I thought it was getting to hot so I am finishing up.

But the other day when it was thirty out side it was only 32 inside the bird room so I was fairly happy with that

and we haven't done the veranda yet. But since then I put a bit of shade cloth on the door and window and i have it so it can roll up on nice days and roll down in the afternoon heat. It has drop the temperture by 2 degrees. But I am still finishing up.

 

Well I cannot tell you how pissed off I am about this. I mean it is just not supposed to happen after one round, well I thought. Evidently there is a lot more going on but I am not going to speculate until I have received further advice and got a positive test result.

 

Since I adjusted the timer on the lights the temperature in the Garage/Breeding Room is infinitely cooler. Tomorrow is set to be 32C (I think) so I will pop a thermometer in there just to see how hot it gets. I think the shade cloth my hubby erected is also helping.

 

I plan on insulating next year before having another go. Yes, I know you would think that I would be ready to throw in the towel, but I am not. This is my first BAD breeding season and I know everyone gets them so I am more interested in getting my bird's health right.

[renee 0]

Well it was mighty warm today. I missed the evening's forecast so I don't know exactly how hot it was but the Breeding Room got to 34C yet there was no signs of heat stress so that's good.

 

My little Normal Cobalts, the one with no flights or tail and the one that self-corrected from splayed legs, are still looking under the weather and not feeding properly so this evening I crop fed them a mixture of Doxy and hand rearing mix. While I was at it I gave some to the DF Yellow with suffusion and its siblings in the DF Yellow nest. I think I will keep at it till I am confident they are out of the woods.

 

In the meantime here are some photos of the nests that are due to fledge soon, good news insofar that there is no evidence of weak feathers

 

Normal Grey and Recessive Pied hen nest

Here we have 2 Normal Greygreens split Rec Pied and 2 Fosters- a DF Albino and a LightGreen Dommie Pied

 

 

Sky Dommie Pied & Normal Cobalt nest

Here we have 4 Fosters- Sky Dommie Pied, Normal Cobalt, DF Albino and Normal Cobalt

 

 

DF Albino Maidens nest

Here we have 2 DF Albinos and 2 Fosters- Normal Violet and a Dommie Pied, it looks Grey at this stage

[Finnie 0]

 

I plan on insulating next year before having another go. Yes, I know you would think that I would be ready to throw in the towel, but I am not. This is my first BAD breeding season and I know everyone gets them so I am more interested in getting my bird's health right.

 

Good for you, Renee! With all you are learning and the measures you are taking, next year is BOUND to be better.

[fordmob 0]

I get excited when I see chicks with a brow like the grey green on the left. I make a note on the breeding card when I get one like that. Failing some major fault they are always keepers.

 

Do you suspect an infection in your birds? Doxy will have no effect on a virus and will do more harm than good.

[renee 0]

Good for you, Renee! With all you are learning and the measures you are taking, next year is BOUND to be better.

 

Thank you Finnie

 

I get excited when I see chicks with a brow like the grey green on the left. I make a note on the breeding card when I get one like that. Failing some major fault they are always keepers.

 

Yes he does look nice In spite of being Greygreen! But no matter, the important thing is he is split Recessive Pied and I need to improve their width of brow and facial features so it bodes well. Their Mother hen is particularly nice so hopefully I should be able to breed well next year.

 

Do you suspect an infection in your birds? Doxy will have no effect on a virus and will do more harm than good.

 

Dan I don't suspect a French Moult virus infection in some nests, I know I have it.

 

I do not think for a moment that the Doxy will cure it, I was advised that a one week course will boost the birds immune system.

 

However, if you have a better idea, Please share - I am all ears!

[renee 0]

Well it's a lovely cool day today which I so much prefer to the 30C+ days.

 

This morning I took the hard decision to send another chick to God. It is chick number 6 to the Cobalt Dommie Pied and Sky hen.

 

Here it is -

I rung its 2 siblings today (just managed to get the rings on) and although there is only 2 days between them it looks like it is a week younger than the other 2. The crucial factor was that it was dehydrated and panting really hard so I decided I just was not going to wait around to see if it developed French Moult or not. I then did a complete nest change- though it's debatable whether that will help. Now it is a matter of waiting and seeing whether the 2 siblings develop French Moult or not.

 

 

In other news I have come to the inevitable conclusion that my bird's immune system is seriously impaired and have received advice to put them all on a cocktail of Doxy and Turbosole for 7 days. The adults in the Breeding Room did get a couple of days of Turbolsole a fortnight ago but I have since learnt that I had got the dosis rates wrong ... any way I know what to do now and it is good timing because they have all completed 2 days of Probiotic.

 

After this they are all going into the aviary and will get a month of good food, eucalyptus branches and I am hoping they will recover. I am finding it very difficult 'cause I am not losing birds and apart from the panting they don't look sick. But all the indications are that they are not well.

[fordmob 0]

 

Dan I don't suspect a French Moult virus infection in some nests, I know I have it.

 

I do not think for a moment that the Doxy will cure it, I was advised that a one week course will boost the birds immune system.

 

However, if you have a better idea, Please share - I am all ears!

 

okay. I am no vet but everything I have read and been told by vets is the opposite to this.

 

1: A broad spectrum antibiotic kills bacteria, even good bacteria which is why it is recommeneded that after you treat a bird with pro-biotics after a course of antibiotics. Antibiotics will weaken a birds immunity. That is why the use of antibiotics is recommended to be done sparingly.

 

2: Antibiotics is only useful for treating a bacterial infection, what causes french moult is thought widely by avian vets to be a virus not a bacterial infection.

 

As for what can be done, I have had french moult many years ago but it wasn't widespread. I got it in about 10%-20% of chicks. I know of several people who have had every chick come out with FM. The only thing you can do in situations like this is stop breeding. This has happened to one of our very experienced (40 years plus) breeders in our club this season. he has tried everything to contain it and you could eat of his birdroom floor. If you are just getting a few with FM then maybe you just have to wear them as acceptable losses. In short there is very little you can do except contain the offending nests and maybe spray them with a virucidal spray, offer fresh air and hope for the best.

 

Don't take my word for anything, you can read several articles on FM that have been published by various vets. I will try to find them and post some links.

 

NB: Apparently there is a vaccine that has been developed for the main virus that causes FM however it is not commercially viable

 

 

http://www.bcv.asn.au/French.html

 

Many people use Virkon S as a viricidal cleaner but this is cheaper and pretty safe from what I understand.

 

http://www.ebay.com....49#ht_500wt_922

Edited November 3, 2011 by **KAZ**

[renee 0]

okay. I am no vet but everything I have read and been told by vets is the opposite to this.

 

1: A broad spectrum antibiotic kills bacteria, even good bacteria which is why it is recommeneded that after you treat a bird with pro-biotics after a course of antibiotics. Antibiotics will weaken a birds immunity. That is why the use of antibiotics is recommended to be done sparingly.

 

2: Antibiotics is only useful for treating a bacterial infection, what causes french moult is thought widely by avian vets to be a virus not a bacterial infection.

 

As for what can be done, I have had french moult many years ago but it wasn't widespread. I got it in about 10%-20% of chicks. I know of several people who have had every chick come out with FM. The only thing you can do in situations like this is stop breeding. This has happened to one of our very experienced (40 years plus) breeders in our club this season. he has tried everything to contain it and you could eat of his birdroom floor. If you are just getting a few with FM then maybe you just have to wear them as acceptable losses. In short there is very little you can do except contain the offending nests and maybe spray them with a virucidal spray, offer fresh air and hope for the best.

 

Don't take my word for anything, you can read several articles on FM that have been published by various vets. I will try to find them and post some links.

 

Thank you very much for that Dan.

 

The French Moult in itself is a concern but taken in conjunction with 40% Clear Egg Nets/Infertility PLUS High Incidence of Addled Eggs PLUS Some Dead In Shell and NOW French Moult after ONE ROUND ...... well that spells out Polyoma Virus to me. But there is no test I know of (and does a bird have to die for it to be tested?) and there is NO CURE.

 

 

I keep on reading and re-reading Marshall's description (pages 368-377 of the Budgerigar Book for those interested) and the key thing I take from it is that it compromises your bird's immune system.

 

Now because I have a some birds drop weight as well as the gaping and panting I am going to give them the Doxy + Turbolsole cocktail for 7 days and then let be. Not for a moment do I think that will affect the French Moult outbreak, it is not for that.

[renee 0]

Another beautiful balmy day today.

 

 

No real news today. It is Day 2 of the Doxy + Turbolsole treatment and there are no further signs of infected nests at this stage.

 

I managed to get in a couple of photos of the 2 eldest chicks to the Cobalt Dommie Pied and Green hen. There were 3 in this nest that fledged late last week, you may remember that they were below the other 2 French Moult nests and I moved all 5 to another Breeder Cabinet. The chickies are feeding really well and I am very happy with them.

 

Here are a couple of photos of 2 of them -

 

Normal Cobalt

 

Opaline Sky Dommie Pied

 

 

No photos of the little Normal Green split Blue - he has found his wings and not for the life of me could I not get him to perch long enough on my finger for a snap!

Edited November 4, 2011 by renee

[Taylor 0]

Isn't 63g a bit heavy? I dunno, it's just my exhibition size 8 yr old male is just over 50g.

 

Or is that just baby fat?

[renee 0]

Isn't 63g a bit heavy? I dunno, it's just my exhibition size 8 yr old male is just over 50g.

 

Or is that just baby fat?

 

Hey Taylor, I suppose you are referring to the weight of the Normal Greens from the LightGreen Spangle nest?

 

I don't know if 63grams is a bit heavy but I do know that those chicks were exceptionally big and I expect them to go on to be super adults

[renee 0]

Another exceptionally mild day today!

 

 

 

My hubby has been foraging for branches and has returned with 2 types of eucalyptus branches for the outside aviary and Breeder Cabinets

Sadly it has been a couple of weeks since they had fresh branches what with other stuff going on but I look forward to getting back into the routine of giving all birds branches at least once a week.

 

 

Yesterday I was a bit concerned about the 3 chickies in the Normal Cobalt and Normal Green hen nest - it looked like the hen was nibbling the little one's down and I was worried that either she was going to Feather Pluck them (tricky as I don't have anywhere really to foster them to) OR she was removing their down 'cause they are infected with French Moult ....

 

But this morning I had another good look at them and it seems like they are growing down after all

 

 

Medusa's son is under the weather again. Very underweight and sooky. I made up a mixture of the cocktail of meds in the drinker and hand rearing mix and gave him about 5mls last night. He is back on the perch this morning but I will have to keep an eye on him.

[renee 0]

Another lovely cool day today, I think the forecast is for 24C!

 

However, I am only too aware that this unseasonal wet spell will shortly draw to a close and we will be in for those dreaded 30C+ days soon.

 

With that in mind my hubby cleared out the "baby aviary" yesterday afternoon. This aviary rests on pavers that we have cemented between the gaps. A few years ago now we laid garden lime down, about an inch thick, and then covered with sand - not just any sand but the kind playgrounds use for kiddie sand pits. From time to time we rake up the worst but every year we do a complete clean.

 

Here you can see he has removed about 3-4 centimeters

 

This week I'll order a trailer of fresh sand and we will lay it next week end.

 

 

I am always mindful about letting rain splash offs into the aviary and for this reason we have lined the sides with hard plastic

We remove them in the summer when it doesn't rain to allow more air flow.

 

Here's the side view to the aviary.

 

It was the first aviary we built and if I could go back and do it again I would make it 40cm higher, it is currently 1.8m and because of its position does get quite hot, which is why we have installed a sprinkler system on the roof for 35C+ days.

 

My Mum has gallantly offered to sweep the roof inside and remove any spiders. She lives overseas and I do believe she has forgotten the array of venomous spiders that inhabit the average back yard here in Australia .... I am in no mood to remind her - rather she than me!

 

 

In budgie news the little Normal Cobalt, the one that had splayed legs, the one I have been fussing about .... yes, him - he had a poopy bum this morning. For the life of me I cannot understand it. He has been on doxy + turbosole and hand rearing mix every evening now for 3 days and I would have thought he would never have a poopy bum but he did. So I plucked his bum feathers out and will monitor him. The other 2 chicks he is with from the DF Recessive Pied nest, the DF Rec Pied and DF Yellow are both doing fine .... but not this one. He also seems to do a lot of pretending to eat seed but I can tell he isn't - just rolling it around in its mouth.

Edited November 6, 2011 by renee

[renee 0]

Well it is Sunday so it is time for the End of Week Chick update - only it isn't 'cause there have been no more hatchings since the 30th October!

 

There are 2 eggs in the Normal Cobalt and Green hen nest yet they don't look addled at all so I haven't cracked them open to have a look .... but I will, eventually.

 

 

All chicks are now rung with the sole exception of the little last hatchling and I am happy to report that so far all looks good: no evidence of French Moult, no Feather Plucking, no Hens sitting tight and squashing chicks .... yes it is all too good to believe so Fingers Crossed it stays that way!!!

 

 

Today I fledged the Normal Grey and Recessive Pied nest and moved all 6 to the second kindie cage I have set up below the main one. This one comprises 2 Breeder Cabinets without the divider and currently houses 6 parents and 10 chicks. The 4 chicks from the Grey Normal nest were crammed into an ice cream container within the nest box cavity and for reasons that escape me they refused to come out, well actually that is not quite true - last week the little DF Albino foster did come out a couple of times and was pecked for his trouble, no blood but you could see that one of the parents had taken out some feathers from the back of its head. Well maybe that is why they resolutely refused to fledge ... I dunno. Anyway they are all out now and already one of them was giving the soft food a go while the others were tucking into the millet sprays and calling for Mum to feed them.

 

 

In other news I have moved all French Moult affected chicks together in one Breeder Cabinet. The 2 DF Yellow chicks are bigger than the Normal Cobalt and its sibling the Normal Grey so they were the ones that got moved. As anticipated there was a lot of posturing and the Normal Cobalt was particularly aggressive but the DF Yellows are holding their ground. I expect they'll be best friends by morning.

 

The Normal Grey shows no signs of infection but I have kept it with its sibling 'cause I didn't want to run the risk of it infecting other chicks. As for the other 3, all have dropped flights and tails and the Normal Cobalt looks the worse as he also lost some body feathers, however, having said that, I am most confident about his recovery as his wing feathers are coming back healthy as too his tail. The jury is out where the other 2 are concerned.

 

 

And I really should have mentioned it more often, or at all, but the chicks in the kindie cage - all 25 of them or so, are doing just fine. They are active, chirpy, eat everything and look extremely happy and healthy.

[renee 0]

.... And the cool weather CONTINUES! Perth has just recorded the wettest Spring in 18 years and while some people are complaining I just can't get enough of the low temperatures!!!!

 

 

I am half way through the meds program and today I can safely say I am seeing a change in the birds behavior. For one thing all birds are noisier and most are more active.

 

 

No real budgie news. The eldest foster, the Normal Cobalt from the Sky Dommie Pied and Cobalt hen is jumping out of the nest, and I keep popping it right back in. I have noticed that it is interested in the soft food and seed but I would rather fledge the whole nest of 4 chicks on the week end that way I can block up the nest at the same time.

 

 

The featherless friends are still in a Mexican Stand Off so I have had to place the food strategically so all can have a nibble. Little Blue is still by far the biggest bully and I have seen him nipping over to the "yellow side" and biting the smaller of the DFs.

 

Here is a 'seemingly peaceful' shot of all 4 tucking in

 

 

Also I though I'd get another photo of that DF Recessive Pied I had such high hopes for. Well I think my initial appraisal is correct and today I popped him into a Show Cage and managed to get a half decent shot of him ... well by my standards

 

He looks like he has a crooked tail and I am hoping that is not a permanent feature. But any way not bad for just 6 weeks old

[renee 0]

It is hard to believe but today was 22C and tomorrow is going to be 22C and in fact it is basically going to stay that way for another week with temperatures rising to just 27C next Tuesday AND it is going to be wet .... I can't believe my luck!

 

At some point I did hear a report that temperatures were going to be above average leading into Summer - well I am so glad that is not happening!

 

 

Again no real Budgie news as everything is going very well - Yipee!

 

 

I would like to see a bit more activity from the adults I have kept back before releasing into the aviary but then they have been cooped up since August so maybe they are just bored.

 

 

In the meantime here are some more photos of the main characters from previous posts -

 

Little Bully Blue

 

No he is NOT a Dominant Pied, that is his down from where I have removed weak body feathers

 

Here are his little tail feathers beginning to emerge

 

 

And here is Sooky Boy Blue who recovered from splayed legs

I sometimes wonder if his mother was trying to squash him 'cause he has a genetic weakness or something? I mean she has not dome the same with the next 3 chicks to hatch ... Any way I have decided to let hunger be his motivator and have stopped crop feeding him so only time will tell. I feel wretched about taking this action but I need to let him start feeding and not rely on me.

 

 

And finally here is a photo of the eldest of the DF Albinos, he has a lovely blow which I have not captured in this photo ...

 

 

I reckon I get better photos when they perch on my finger however, they do reach the stage where they just fly away so I have to pop them into a Show Cage...

[renee 0]

All good in BudgieLand!

 

 

This morning I was very heartened to see all 3 chicks from the DF Recessive Pied nest sitting happily on the top perch: the DF Recessive Pied (who on close inspection may be another of those dark Cinnamons ... hard to tell 'cause he has so little markings), the DF Yellow Spangle with pale green suffusion and little Sooky Blue.

 

So I promptly moved all 3 into the larger Kindie Cage with the older baby budgies. They are the closest in age and I want them to integrate ahead of moving them all into the outside Baby Aviary.

 

Well what a kerfuffle that was. Suddenly the Rec Pied was surrounded by a gang of 4-5 chicks with menacing intent and they then chased him all over the cage! From time to time they'd corner him and have a little pecking spat. It is just as well he is a nice sized baby and could hold his own. The same was going on with DF Spangle who dealt with the threats by puffing himself up as big as he could! Fortunately no one seemed to notice Sooky Blue (there are plenty of normal Blues in there and I think he blended in)

 

I decided that distraction was the was to go so I crammed millet sprays and more broccoli in and soon everyone was too busy to fight any more ...

 

 

In other news I have checked the forecast for Friday/Saturday and the chance of showers is 10%. This is important 'cause I want to order sand for the Baby Aviary and the last thing we need is for it to get wet at all.

 

The plan is to top up the aviary on Saturday and release the first lot of babies into it on Sunday morning.

 

My supplier didn't seem to have the sand I ordered last time and gave me a choice of 3: Builders sand, something else and Lawn sand. Apparently Builder's sand has the highest concentration of Clay content while Lawn sand has the lowest. I ordered Lawn sand and it cost me $17 per scoop.

Edited November 9, 2011 by renee

[renee 0]

Well I am at my wits end with Sooky Blue.

 

I have resolutely refused to give him an evening crop feed for 2 nights and this morning he was on the top perch with his nest friends and I was very pleased. So I transferred him to the Kindie Cage this morning.

 

But then during the evening soft food & hulled oats top ups he came right up to the wire front and every which way I went he followed - looking at me expectantly. It was heart-wrenching. And then when I turned away he trotted over to the seed dish and made the most pathetic attempt I have ever seen of trying to eat. It is quite obvious that he has not YET figured out how to crack seed- so he eats the seed, rolls them around in his mouth and then tilts his little head backwards and tries to swallow them.

 

Well that was the final straw for me and I rushed back inside to prepare a nourishing dinner for him. As I suspected his crop was completely empty.

 

I have checked his mouth and there doesn't seem to be any physical reason for him not to crack his seed.

 

He is 6 weeks old.

 

Would any one like to venture a guess as to when he will begin to eat properly?

 

Has anyone had a similar experience?

 

What did you do?

Edited November 9, 2011 by renee

[renee 0]

Well another good day in BudgieLand!

 

 

Sooky Blue (who I have now decided is probably a hen) seemed quite content in the Kindie Cage so she is not getting a crop feed tonight.

 

 

All other birds are fine. The 7 days medication regime is over now and tonight I started all birds on 2 days of Probiotics. Then I am planning on giving the adults Moulting Aid as they are in a heavy moult right now.

 

 

So any way here are some more happy snaps -

 

 

Random Kindie Cage shots:

 

 

 

 

The little DF Yellow with green suffusion in the Kindie Cage

 

 

 

The little Greygreen split Rec Pied

 

I am not really keen on this one or its sibling, I think they look like bean bags and hope they grow into something better

 

 

An update photo of the Cobalt Spangle that I have decided is also Cinnamon

 

[renee 0]

I really do not sing the praises of my husband often enough.

 

He finished work a couple of hours earlier than usual today and I think its fair to say that most men on a Friday afternoon would put their feet up, crack a beer and switch to the Sports channel.

 

Instead he decided to top up the Baby's aviary with the sand that was delivered earlier today so they could go in tomorrow.

 

 

Now if I was to do it I would plonk the buckets full of sand down in regular intervals and rake it over ... but he is a perfectionist.

 

 

So he uses a leveling stick

 

 

 

And smooths it out by hand

 

 

Doesn't it look wonderful!