R&t's Breeding Journal

[renee 0]

I have always set rings aside for cages , so when I recorded them they are in order but this year I haven't they are all over the place. And I hate having things everywhere.

 

Yeah I hear you Splat

 

 

 

For the most part I can focus when required and enjoy the odd "light bulb" moment but then again I do have absolute scatter-brained moments where everything goes a bit haywire

 

 

I have found that at those times I put things down and can't find them, I get all mixed up and most importantly I lose my rings!!!

 

 

SO, I figured that if I worked everything ahead of ringing and allocated rings per nest then I just might have less hassles.

[renee 0]

I don't know about you guys but at this stage (rapidly approaching D-Day) my pairings fall into 4 categories -

 

There are the nests I am happy with

 

The nests I'm okay with - I suppose

 

The nests I'm disappointed with - but remain hopeful about

 

and then there's that select group that give me the shits ... And this afternoon I dealt with 2 major pains in the buts

 

 

Top of the list is the best daughter to my Super Albino - she has fantastic feather and I really want chicks from her. I had put her to a Split Albino Grey Normal cock ( I have referred to him as the curiosity) and all up she laid 5 clear eggs. He was the culprit who insisted on incubating the eggs too. So I chucked him into the Holding Cabinet and replaced him with a Back-up DF Grey Normal cock.

 

BUT it has been a disaster He has shown scant interest in her and she spends all her time in the nest box .... and yes, I did close up the nest box for a few days to give them an opportunity to bond but finally I have had to accept that this pairing is not working.

 

So I decided that what she really needs is an experienced cock bird (the other 2 are Maidens) to grab her by the scruff of the neck, jump on her and then promptly escort her to the nest box!

 

There is only one breeder I know who produces cocks like these and fortunately I have in my possession just one of them. Who else but a lovely Gary Armstrong 09 Sky Blue Normal.

 

Obviously not my first choice as I prefer to pair DF Greys to my Albino line but in hindsight my wonderful plan to breed these DF Greys (but not use them last year - that was a mistake) is producing very mixed results. He had been a bit crook with a dodgy eye so missed the initial pairing and selection date but he has since come good and I have had him on stand-by.

 

I can already tell that it will be a good pairing as as soon as I popped him into the Breeder Cabinet she started flirting with him. FINGERS CROSSED!!!!

 

 

The other pair is just a headache. The trick is trying to find the right hen for my Wayne Retzlaff Cobalt cock. Yes, he is a bit short in the body but I really like his head and mask. The first hen, a lovely 11 Sky Blue, you may recall shat all over her eggs so I replaced her with another 11 Cobalt hen but she is the one that put a great gaping hole in her egg the other day.

 

Such un-mortherly behaviour I am prepared to work around in a Super hen like Medusa but today I have decided I have neither the time nor inclination to faff around so close to D-Day. So she is gone and has been replaced by the 11 Cobalt hen who was initially down to Magic.

 

Only time will tell.

Edited September 9, 2011 by renee

[renee 0]

Just a quick update to keep abreast of the goings on ....

 

Good news and some Bad news.

 

The good news is my Greygreen Dommie Pied hen (daughter to JK Granddadie) is on 3 eggs and 1 is definitely fertile

 

The bad news is that I had my first Dead In Shell to the Violet split Opaline cock bird AND I am pretty sure 2 eggs were scrambled this morning when I checked on the Green hen ....

 

 

And I just can't find that chick that hatched out yesterday to the Green hen, the one I marked with a felt pen on its head and little claws ... it has got to be somewhere and I can't believe the markings would have disappeared. I am sure I popped it into the nest of the Cobalt cock and Sky hen last night and then transferred both chicks that hatched yesterday this morning into the Lute nest .... VERY careless of me to lose it.

[Pride 0]

Im so sorry about the DIS renee lets hope there are no more like this.

[GenericBlue 0]

marker does come off i use nail polish on the little toes works a treat if you dont want to lose a buby

[renee 0]

marker does come off

 

But overnight?

 

i use nail polish on the little toes works a treat if you dont want to lose a buby

 

That's a really good tip Thank You GB! I'll be doing that in future

[**KAZ** 0]

I once used marker and it too came off overnight

[renee 0]

Im so sorry about the DIS renee lets hope there are no more like this.

 

Mmmmm. Afraid not. I had a good look at the Sky DP & Green hen nest this arvo. 1 possible egg still viable, 3 completely addled only days from hatching. It appears that the cock bird did in fact scramble those eggs when I checked on the hen feeding the foster chick at dawn

 

I made the tough decision to transfer the egg and split that pair - the hen was right out of condition and has gone into the Holding Cage. A real shame as they were a lovely pairing, at least I have one chick from them in the Lute nest .... well I'm assuming I do, I'll know for sure in a couple of weeks when it feathers up. I have given him yet another Cobalt hen that was in the Holding Cage.

 

Just as well I bred enough of them last year!

 

Another tough decision ... I have split up my 3rd DF White pairing and retired the hen to the Holding Cage and gathered up the 3 Grey Spangle cocks at my disposal and popped in the 2 hens I got from Gary Armstrong as back ups. No one has fallen in lust yet .... I will give them 48rhs and see what then.

 

 

 

I don't know what is going on in the Violet split Opaline & Sky hen nest .... one chick .... one DIS ... 6 more eggs to hatch but no action.

 

 

But 3 chicks did arrive today

 

A second to the LightGreen Spangle & Greygreen hen. A first to the Grandson Grey Dommie Pied & JK Cobalt hen and another first to the son of Medusa, 11 Green split Recessive Pied and 08 RP hen.

[Taylor 0]

What does addled mean?

Why do you trim vent feathers and should I?

I'm not a super serious budgie breeder but I am serious.

[renee 0]

What does addled mean?

 

Taylor Addled is the term used to describe when a Fertile Egg Dies .... it can be due to nutritional deficiencies or physical damage - such as in the case I was describing the cock bird was in the nest box and got startled and scattered the eggs so that they scrambled and the little chickies inside died.

 

 

 

Why do you trim vent feathers and should I?

 

Show Budgies have a lot more feather than the Pet Shop bird and as a result their long feathers at the base of the tail around the vent can obstruct the cock bird's sperm reaching the vent of the hen and result in lots of clear eggs.

 

I just pull them out ... many Breeders prefer to use scissors and trim them.

 

Before taking any course of action I would inspect all your bird's vents and decide whether the feathers are thick and long enough to get in the way of successful mating.

Edited September 10, 2011 by renee

[Taylor 0]

Thanks, none of my budgies have long vent feathers, except for my grey normal cock inside but he is old and I'm not gonna breed him.

 

I found out on this forum that he is worth thousands and his chicks easily worth hundreds!

I can't believe I got him for free!

[**KAZ** 0]

 

I found out on this forum that he is worth thousands and his chicks easily worth hundreds!

I can't believe I got him for free!

 

 

please explain

[Taylor 0]

My budgie, peppa, I got in 04 when I was 6 yrs old. We got him from a guy named Vince, but I can't remember his last name?.?.

 

Anyway, he gave pep to me for free and in my breeding journal on this forum, I think Splat was saying how good quality he was and others agreed. Apparently, according to my avian vet Dr Colin Walker, he could be worth up to or over thousands, his chicks would have been hundreds.

 

But pep is old now, 7, and his girl isn't as good of quality.

 

I hope that explains things Kaz.

[renee 0]

Yay another 3 chicks have arrived!

 

 

 

A 4th to the Cobalt & Sky hen .... 4 down and 4 more to go!

 

A second to Violet split Opaline boy and his Sky hen.

 

and a surprise - A one and only to an 08 DF Grey and 11 Albino hen. I have fostered this last chick to the Cobalt & Sky nest for now. It will be Grey split Albino. I am hoping that pair will go down again with a better fertility rate this time. Their stats for this round were 6 eggs - 1 Addled - 1 Fertile.

 

 

Tomorrow is Full Moon and I have heard around the place that chicks born at this time are somehow especially big and beautiful .... Here's hoping that is true!

[Taylor 0]

I hope they are big chicks too,!

 

With the cobalt and sky hen mentioned above, why do you say 4 more to go.

 

Or is that just a random guess, or how many they produced last clutch?

[renee 0]

With the cobalt and sky hen mentioned above, why do you say 4 more to go.

 

Or is that just a random guess, or how many they produced last clutch?

 

 

No nothing random about it She laid 8 eggs with 100% fertility. 4 have hatched and 4 more to hatch

 

 

[Taylor 0]

Oh sorry, I thought you meant she had laid 4 eggs

and I'm like "how does she know she's gonna lay 4 more" but yes that makes sense.

 

How long after being layed do they hatch?

When the first egg hatches, how long till the others?

[renee 0]

How long after being layed do they hatch?

 

21 days give or take .... but that is from when the hen starts incubating and the weather also plays a part in it - hot weather less and cooler weather more.

 

 

When the first egg hatches, how long till the others?

 

Well I always thought it was every other day for eggs laid every second day and that is assuming all eggs are fertile ... but then I have this Cobalt & Sky nest now in which the first 4 eggs have hatched out every 24 hours ....

 

SO I guess what I am saying is IT DEPENDS!!!!

 

I mean it really all hinges on fertility and whether they get addled or not and hatch successfully.

[Taylor 0]

Thanks

[renee 0]

Thanks

 

Awwww shucks it is 18 days from go to whoa Taylor !!! Don't know what I was thinking

[**KAZ** 0]

Its actually 18-21 days depending on when the hen began to incubate.

[renee 0]

Okay so it is now End of Week 4 and time to do a stat report, focussing on the Clear Nests

 

So, in alphabetical order -

 

 

ALBINOS

Super Albino to 11 DF Daughter: Laid 3 - 1 Fertile - added 1 Fertile - 2 Clear - 2 Addled early on. Nest Change.

Albino to 11 DF Albino: Laid 8 - 1 Fertile - 3 Addled early on - 4 Clear - Fostered Egg. Nest Change.

11 DF Albino to 08 Albino: Laid 7 - 1 Addled - 6 Clear. Nest Change.

Splits

08 Grey split to 11 DF Albino: Laid 5 - All Clear. Change Cock.

08 DF Grey to 11 DF Albino: Laid 4 - 2 Funny air bubbles - 2 Clear. Nest Change.

08 DF Grey to 11 DF Albino: Laid 6 - 1 Addled early on - 4 Clear - 1 Hatched.

 

 

DOMMIE PIED GREENS

08 JK GreyGreen to 08 JK Grey: Laid 3 - 1 Broken - Stopped laying - All Clear. Nest Change.

09 Grey to 09 GreyGreen: Laid 5 - 1 funny air bubbles - The rest Clear. Nest Change.

 

DOUBLE FACTOR WHITE SPANGLES

DF White Spangle to 11 Daughter - Laid 8 - All Clear - Nest Change.

11 Grey Spangle to Grey Spangle - Laid 6 - All Clear - Split pairing.

 

 

DOUBLE FACTOR YELLOW SPANGLES

09 DF Yellow to cousin 10 DF Yellow - Laid 5 - 1 Addled early on - 3 bubbles in eggs - 1 Clear. Nest Change. COCK IN NEST.

Super GDA DF Yellow to LGreen Spangle - Laid 6 - 1 bubbles in egg - The rest Clear - Nest Change.

 

 

 

GREEN LINE

11 Green to 11 Green: Laid 6 - All Clear. Nest Change.

10 Green to 11 Green: Laid 5 - All Clear. Nest Change.

 

 

RECESSIVE PIEDS

Splits

08 JL Green (sweet talker) to 11 RP: Laid 4. All Clear. Nest Change.

10 RP (sweet talker) to 09 Green: Laid 4 - 2 Addled early on - 1 Clear - 1 Fertile (for now). COCK IN NEST.

09 Grey split RP to 11 RP: Laid 6 - 3 or 4 Addled - The rest Clear. Nest Change.

 

 

VIOLETS

11 Violet to 08 JK Cobalt: Laid 6 - 4 Addled - 2 Clear. Nest Change. COCK IN NEST.

 

I should add that there is some discrepancy in the fertile egg count as quite often I thought an egg was turning fertile only to count it as addled a few days later....

 

TOTAL EGGS CHUCKED TO DATE: 114

 

Its actually 18-21 days depending on when the hen began to incubate.

 

There you go! I've always thought of it as 21 days from the date the first egg is lain .... but then I checked with The Challenge and it clearly states 18 days .... but then again I don't pay too much attention to the date eggs are laid any way!!!!

Edited September 11, 2011 by renee

[renee 0]

And on a more positive note End of Week 4 Chick Report -

 

In alphabetical order:

 

Albino

Sat Grey split Albino - Amazing long feather. Fostered to Sky hen nest. Painted with nail varnish ... she picks it off

 

Blues - Cobalt / Sky

Wed Good feather. Fostered to Lute hen nest.

Thurs Good feather. Fostered to Lute hen nest.

Fri Good feather. Fostered to Lute hen nest.

Sat Good feather.

 

Dommie Pied/Normal Green split Blue

Thur Fostered to Lute nest.

Dommie Pied Greys split Blue

Sat Very pink.

Sun Very pink.

 

Lutes

Mon Green split Lute split Cinnamon?

 

Recessive Pieds

Sat Green split RP

 

Sky Violets split Opaline?

Thur Good Feather.

Fri DIS

Sat Good Feather.

Sun DIS

 

Spangles / DF?

Fri Very pink.

Sat Very pink.

 

So 14 chicks so far.

 

2 DIS in the Violet split Opaline nest ... not sure what's going on there ... both chicks just looked like the couldn't pip through, the yolk sac almost entirely absorbed.

 

Other than that I am happy that all hatched chicks have been fed well and at this point I can't see any issues - TOUCH WOOD.

[renee 0]

4 more chickies arrived today!

 

A third to the DP Grey nest (assisted), a third to the LG Spangle, a second to the Green/RP nest (assisted) and a first to the Grey Spangle nest. She is the daughter to my Super DF White boy, any way she hadn't fed it yet so I popped it into the Sky nest and swapped it for one of the chicks there - not for long, I'll check on her in a few hours and probably swap then back again.

 

 

I'm a bit concerned about a few more nests ... I'd like to see chicks hatch soon in them. Also that Violet split Opaline nest .... I wanted 6 chicks from him and currently only have 2 .... I'm thinking that 'cause it is a top nest quite close to the roof it will be receiving more heat than other nests. So this morning I popped the remaining eggs into my mouth to moisten. Yes, I'm sure you think that is disgusting! And I did think of following PJI's advice and spraying the hen instead - but this was quicker and less stress on the hen.

 

Also I am worried about the Lute nest with her chick and 4 fosters. They looked way too pale for my liking. I have seen this before and to my understanding it is an indication of the hen passing on something (viral infection?) to the chicks which affects their liver. So I gave them all some extra virgin Olive Oil, they did colour up after that, and a 3mls solution of Lincospectin to the hen direct to the crop as well as putting it in the drinker.

 

In the past I found the most effective way of overcoming this was to foster the chicks out till they were almost 3 weeks as this seems to affect them most at the 6-10 day mark BUT while I can conceivably do that with the foster chicks I think maybe her chick is too big to be accepted. A dilemma. I will have to monitor and wait and see.

 

 

 

Moving on .... Today is my first Stat report on a chick.

 

He is now 7 days old and weighs 13g.(before rings were put on)

 

Photo taken after Olive Oil to the beak.

The hen is nibbling the down of these chicks.

 

Here are his parents ... not a good photo and they look a bit scraggily but I think she's a better bird than him.

Edited September 12, 2011 by renee

[renee 0]

Not a good day today.

 

 

 

I had a close look at the Cobalt Dommie Pied nest I have been expecting chicks from and found a DIS plus 2 Addled eggs. Still 3 eggs left but I will be surprised if I get any chicks at all now.

 

Same story in the Cobalt/Sky hen nest .... 4 eggs left but 3 look Addled now.

 

In fact same story, same story, same story ...

 

 

Then I checked on the Lute nest and found one of the chickies dead. Hard to tell whether it was one of the Sky/Cobalt or the Sky DP's chick. Any way that made up my mind and I have fostered the remaining 4 chicks. The eldest that I rung yesterday went into the Violet split Opaline nest. Fingers crossed for that one.

 

As I was emptying the Lute nest I checked a dodgy egg and was just about to call it DIS when it peeped at me. Turns out it was just shy of hatching so I popped it in with the Grey DP nest as his JK Cobalt hen is very experienced.

 

The Lute hen got another 3mls Lincospectin and she will stay on that for another 5 days as well as in the drinker.

 

I am concerned about my chickies not growing as much as I would like, specifically those chicks I fostered today. I am assuming it is 'cause of the Lute hen. Any way I hope they do well in their new nests and put in a growth spurt.

 

 

The Spring wild grass has arrived and I am busy plucking the tips and giving clumps of it into the nest boxes of hens feeding chicks.