**KAZ**

The hand raising or not topic will always have for and against. I am a believer also in a well handled, daily handled baby budgie that stays parent raised will be a well adjusted bonded to people type baby budgie. I only handraise birds ( parrots as well ) if the parents fail and I have to take over. One thing I do know is that parent s learn how to be parents if they raise their babies to fledging. I once bought some budgies from a breeder who was in the habit of removing the mothers from their nests when chicks were two weeks old and then letting the Dads finish raising the babies. What I found in using these hens was that once the chicks got to two weeks of age they thought their job was done and they stopped feeding the babies...each and every one of them. They had been taught that they only raised them for two weeks. I would feel very sad if some budgie parents didnt at least get to fully raise their babies as it does teach them parenting skills.

How did you apply it, and what size are the birds ? The drop of ivermectin is rated to dose an average 30 gram bird. Some people apply it using a cotton bud. In my opinion using a cotton bud means most of the dose stays in the cotton bud.

To clarify how I use spot on ivermectin and mite spray. If I find feather mites I use the spray...........only then. Spot on ivermectin I use for all incoming birds and for any I find in the aviary that develop scalyface. I will use spot on for any that are about to breed. I never use both at the same time. And I never need to do a second dose of ivermectin as a follow up over the weeks.

Reading material http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index.php?showtopic=18890

Post pictures of your breeding birds so we can assess for you if they are in actual breeding condition. Points to consider...... 1. make sure they are of age ( over 12 months for both sexes and under 4 yrs for females ) 2. In breeding condition....females cere light to medium brown when beginning, males full blue cere ). 3. make sure you have actual males and females together....believe it or not many a pink cered budgie has been mistaken for female when its a male. Not all males have blue ceres. Females who arent in breeding condition or are too you will have a cere with a good bit of blue on it. Some people think these birds are males but they are females. 4. make sure they arent moulting. they must be in the very best condition to breed. if sick or moulting you will have no success. 5. Be sure there is enough daylight where they are. If too dark they wont breed. 6. Make sure there is some noise going on. If too quiet ....they see quiet as a sign of danger and wont breed. if no other budgie chatter they can hear, play the radio for them 24/7. 7. Make sure there is no rodent activity making them stressed and sick. Welcome to our forum....make sure you introduce yourself in our NEW TO BBC forum

One or the other. Not both.

A forum member killed her canaries by using both mite spray and ivermectin. Its double dosing for the same thing. Not necessary. Try and remember that.

Hi Andrew and Welcome Great place to learn here and good to see your budgies

Make sure he gets lots of flying time and his cage isnt too crammed with perches and toys. Make sure there isnt oats in his seed mix.

You can also use spangles and dominant pieds in place of normals. Any cocks may be split for cinnamon and or opaline too..........you wont know till you breed them.

Check in some of my greywing breeding topics as there may be signs in those chicks you can look out for here's one http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index.php?showtopic=26390&view=findpost&p=352045&hl=greywing&fromsearch=1

You need to be looking at the tail feathers to check for greywing as it will be more evident there before the wings at this stage.

Excellent photos ....well done

Very very nice birds

Would be helpful if the pictures you are posting were larger

Most of those hens are not in condition.

I would go with eight but everyone has differing ideas. Its was just so heartbreaking for me to only having a small handful of pairs and nowhere to save chicks or eggs.

Hi and welcome Sweetcakes Best advice I can give is to not colony breed the budgies all in the aviary you have. Make it their fun place to be and fly and remove seperate pairs to breeding cages when you are ready to breed them. One pair to a cage, with their own nestbox and no other budgies to fight with. Theres a link in my signature on how to post pictures if you would like to try and put some photos up

I agree with everything Dave has said. Additionally I think a five year old should not be anywhere nestboxes are. Do you take your nestboxes out or are they always there ? The nestboxes force breeding whether its birds that are old enough ( over 12 months ) or not ( under 12 months ) and birds too old ( females past four years ). Best avian vet I can recommend is Tim Oldfield at Wattle Grove Dr Tim Oldfield BVSc MACVSc (Avian Health) Wattle Grove Veterinary Clinic 791 Welshpool Road, Wattle Grove WA 6107 Phone (08) 9453 6655 Dr Ray Butler BVSc MACVSc Avian & Pet Practitioner Risely Veterinary Clinic 789 Canning Highway, Applecross WA 6153 Phone (08) 9364 2288 ---------------------------------------------

When I was having to stop budgies breeding due to moving and went down to just a small handful of pairs that were still breeding, thats when all the trouble started. Thats when things went wrong with eggs and chicks and I had no backups to foster anything to. Valuable eggs from excellent birds had to be thrown away and chicks had to be euthenased as there was nowhere else they could go when any trouble arose. I will never let it get to just a handful again. You need more than four pairs breeding I think to backup what can go wrong and to have your fosters. Theres always the forum to offer your culls to.

Welcome Really good to have you here

Onwards and upwards Amy Great score

In most auctions its accepted practice that a seller will bid his bird up to his reserve price only and not beyond. Some do not follow those rules.

Give the father a chance to raise the chick. Many a father has successfully raised chicks from 2 weeks of age

I totally agree with GB