Rainbow

Hard to tell at that age. I would guess male, but I'm basing that on the shape of the cere and the shape of the head because in some pictures the cere looks pink all over, in others I can't tell if it is lighter due to the flash or not. Good pictures.

Nerwen, those are fantastic! I love the names too, but must admit I think Berry will be the cutest...with a name like that how can she not be?

Oh too funny!!!! My birds were watching it too, started by chirping back to Apple, then when Apple kept saying "whatcha doin', whatcha doin'" they got big eyes and started the "ack ack ack" noise, then when he started beeping they all freaked out and flew around the room screeching. LOL, it was so funny! I've never seen my birds watch the screen so intently before. Apple is a character, I'll bet he keeps you laughing all the time!

I disagree about your methods of determining age, especially the age of the male. He has bars running all the way down to the cere. Those are lost at the first molt, which occurs around 16 weeks of age. That would make him under 4 months old. The cere begins to change around 4-8 weeks of age, so the fact it is blue only makes him at least 2 months old. The hen could have a chocolate brown cere at 5-6 months of age - the darkness of the brown is due strictly to hormone levels. The iris ring is not a reliable age indicator either. Some of my hens had them turning light at 5 months, and I currently have 2 birds at 2 years whose iris rings are not very dark at all. My reasoning about the age of the male was due strictly to the bars running all the way to the cere. I do agree with you about the looks of the birds though, beautiful colors! **Edit** Now that I look at the pictures again, I'd say the hen isn't very old either because she looks like she still has "baby spots" in her necklace. Many babies don't have spots at all until their first molt, and those that do often have them in irregular patterns, or too many spots. After a 2nd or 3rd molt they settle in. It's possible she just has small irregularly placed spots and is fully adult, but I'd guess she was under a year also.

Daz, the tail feathers and flights are white...like a clearflight (pied). Does that add something else into the equation? He seems to have a small green feather on his head too.

Sorry, the pics were too large so I had to make them into links. The male looks too young to breed, but you should end up with green babies if you bred two birds of these colors.

I believe that one of the members is going to take notes and forward them to me so that I can put them up on the Web site. You are a star!

Nice. Wish I could go to the next meeting to hear about colors...Daz will you take notes for me?

My birds eat sprouts every day. They love them. For a little information, go to www.sproutpeople.com for information. I've ordered sprouts from them before, and also get sprout mix from a local bird fair. The best way to avoid them going "off" is to shake as much water out as possible once they have finished soaking. I soak mine for about 24 hours, then rinse 2 or 3 times per day for another day or so, then feed them. I use a strainer/sieve and mixing bowl, and it works great.

Hello godsdrummer209, and welcome. I've got to say though, it took several re-reads on my part to understand what you were trying to say. Please don't use shortcuts, as it makes it so hard to understand. It's also in the rules and regs here. I agree sometimes it's a tossup as to what sex you have. This isn't very light, but in these pictures there is only one male - the rest are baby girls - all about 6 weeks old. Can you guess the male?

I agree, great pics! Your birds are so pretty. That does look like a great cage - what are the dimensions?

That was so funny Bea! Especially the head-butt part! Mine ignore mirrors. To them it's just another bird to sit next to, LOL.

I'd say dilute, but not greywing. The wings need to be darker to be greywing and the body color needs to be deeper. Here is greywing: If anything, maybe a poor clearwing.

Maybe if they see him eating it they will be more likely to try it.

Good luck with the pellet conversion. It might take longer than two weeks to get them to eat them. Which brand are you using?

Yeah, I read the article. I just didn't agree with it. I think that budgie they used in the picture had other issues - did you notice how misshapen her beak was? Hormones won't cause that. My hen has only had her cere scraped once. When it overgrows it tends to grow out from the bottom and she seems to be able to wear it off herself. On occasion I will begin to notice it and then one day it looks normal. I think she must be naturally scraping off a little bit at a time when she wipes her beak after eating. It is not chronic - I've really only noticed it maybe two or three times and it is not a huge overgrowth. She had a completely brown wrinkled cere at 5 months too, none of the other baby girls did that early so I think she has always produced a bit more estrogen anyway. Her cere has never lightened up or been smooth since and she is two now. I know my birds are healthy as I have had confirmation from the vets they are in outstanding condition, even with being a little pudgy. They don't get any hormonal treatments at all.

I agree. It does give them that "baby budgie" look doesn't it?

Hypertrophy of the cere is not caused by mites. It is due to hormones. I have a hen that sometimes gets it. The first time I took her to the vets, the vet just scraped off a few layers and said she was fine, it was due to hormones. Glad your birds are in good health, Buuzbee.

That makes sense, and it explains my two greywing twins. Thanks. I go with type 2 for Napoleon. If you look at the first picture, the feathers over the tail are green. The only way to get green on a blue bird is type 2. Very interesting thread!

I would have said olive. Nice bird, Hommer.

Ah yes, I remember that hen from an earlier post. She is lovely. Congratulations on the eggs. Will you post baby pictures? Your birds are beautiful.

Maybe it is there but very hard to see? Two of my dominant pieds are also about 2 years old and you have to look very very hard to find the iris. Their eyes remind me of a very young budgie - the ring is more a lighter shade of black than a heavier shade of grey. You only really see it when they pin their eyes. It is easier to see the iris on my DF dominant pied than it is on my two violets. I'll try to do some research on the subject, but there is probably not much out there. Your bird looks like one of mine. (center back of my signature)

That bird is male??? If the cere is normally dark blue on that bird, you really need to see an avian vet. I don't want to alarm you unecessarily, but a brown cere on a male bird normally occurs because there are other internal issues going on. The brown color of the cere is due to estrogen levels, which if they are high in a male bird, means something is amiss.

Is he tame at all? If you are going to do it yourself, the first few times it will probably be a two person job - one to hold the bird and one to clip. I use regular nail clippers on mine. It might be easier to hold your bird in a washcloth, with a corner folded over his head so he doesn't see you. I find it easiest to hold your bird with the thumb and 1st finger on each side of the head, and the rest of the hand lightly cupped around them with your palm at his back. Don't compress the chest as they can suffocate this way since they don't breathe like we do. Then have the second person gently take each toe and just snip off the point of the toenail - not much at all if you can't see the quick. If they are really long, it make take several tries over the space of a week or so to get them short enough if they are very overgrown. Several small trims are safer than one huge clip. If you do cut a nail too close, apply pressure with the washcloth first, then put some flour or styptic powder on the nail to help the blood clot. Don't let him go until you are sure the bleeding has stopped, talk to him and apologize :hap: otherwise if he starts to bleed in the cage you will have to catch him again and repeat the process with pressure and powder, plus blood will stain your wooden perches if it is not cleaned off right away - trust me on that one. Just be real careful, because if you hurt him, the next time you have to catch him to trim the nails, he will be extra squirmy and afraid of being held. Do you have different sized and textured perches in his cage to wear down the nails naturally? I know some bird's nails just grow fast, but my oldest hen is 4 and I have only had to trim her nails maybe three times ever. The rest of my birds are two, and some have never had a nail trim. If you are nervous about it at all, I'd wait until you can get to the vet to have them do it. If you wait, ask them to show you how to do it properly so you are a bit more comfortable. Some people never do it themselves, so do whichever you feel is safest for your bird.

What a beautiful ring. Congratulations again! Obviously Richard has no idea what he's getting into with all these birds....keep adding while you still can... Want more males??? I know where you can get a few, and you won't even have to tame them...