Paulh29

What an absolute cool bird is Bubblegum Karen, fantastic colour. I would not expect anything less from your birds, they are all great pics, keep them coming

3 to 4 weeks if I recall correctly. ****************************************************************** Here is one of my babies that fledged a week ago or so....she is a violet opaline greywing I believe. She has funny stripes on her body. The violet [probably won't show on here but she appears as a pretty lavender colour (like Yasmin) Wow...I love those stripy bits on the body, it really looks different....cool as

I bet you he's a happy boy with all those hens you've got for him to chase. With the seed, I mix up a 5kg bag in a bucket which has a lid. I put say a third of the seed in and then pour the oil in, when you start mixing it with your hand you can see as the seed becomes moist. Then I do the next third as before and so on, don't be to worried if it looks to oily or clumps together because after a couple of days it seeps into the seed and then becomes less oily. If I have a guess I probably pour in over a half a cup, some times more if the seed seems to dry. You end up with a slight oily hand, however you can feel the texture better with your hand other than a glove. Yes Una, I do know about Cod Liver oil, howeverif you use kilos and kilos of seed the Cod Liver oil works out to be to expensive. The olive oil does what you want it to do, that is moisture back into the seed with adding some protien and will help with egg laying. I find if you want extra Iodine I use a Iodene block. Thanks Una for your imput

Hi peoples, I was talking to a long time breeder (58 years) who origanly came from England. very experienced. He told me that the seed we buy here in Australia can be to dry, because of the vaiables of our weather. He suggested to mix Olive oil in with the seed to aliviate this problem, it helps alot with digestion while giving protien etc...one importent thing the oil does is assist big time with egg laying hens. I've been doing this for a while now, you can imediately see the differnce in seed texture, the birds seem pleased with it as well. What do we think.

It is a sinking feeling when you loose a bird. Keep on going with the other one you'll be right.

Cool bananas on your breeding set up I would just use something like a pedistal fan that ocelates.

Cute as buttons Karen.

Well CheekyChucky, after Bubbles came around today and leaving me with some good pointers, I would have to agree and say it is a hen.

Beautiful chicks Karen, buy the first photos I would have said greys as well. But with the blue coming thru I'm not sure, I would have to agree with you opalines. Maybe the youngest might be a grey. Hmmm

Well I'm no photo genius, but to me they look perfect and gives us a good look of the lovely birds you have.

I too have used wood shavings, however I have had more success in keeping them (especially their feet) by using corse saw dust. Works well for me.

If birds have any watery droppings, the first thing I would do is take all green food away and just feed dry seed, if this persists try somr oral anibiotics such as avicycline this may well do the tric. cheers

Thanks for that Nerwen, I guess i just keep an (eye) (Laughing out loud), and see what happens.

I don't think it is an injury, it doesn't weep at all and doesn't look sore. It's hard to see in the photo, it is just bald and there has been no new growth there at all. I can't think of any reason feathers around the eye won't grow back. I've never seen any blood or anything like that. Cheers Paul

Excellent piccies Karen, lovely colour and size. Cheers

Hi peoples, I have this baby which is about 5 weeks old. Ever since he/she started feathering up it has had a bald spot above the left eye. I've ruled out scaly face because there is no evidence anywhere on the body. The bird doesn't seem to be worried about it, however it doesn't look good. Ideas would be appreciated. Cheers Paul

Hi guys, the nest boxes are screwed to the side of breeding cabinet. The outer nest box measurements: 32cm long, 23cm wide and 19cm high. The inner nest boxes measure: 28cm long, 19cm wide and 17cm high. The divider measures: 9cm long, 16cm wide and 15cm high. I also use are block for removal and cleaning. I think it's great to share ideas, I'm learning all the time. Cheers Paul

Hi Daz and everyone, I found your topic on nest boxes quite interesting with some good ideas. I too have been experienting with nest boxes. I have progressed to this point with my boxes and are having good results. I intentionly made my boxes on the larger side, to give the hens more room to move when the chicks get older. This had its problems at first, mainly being the hens trying to keeps eggs and newly laid chicks warm enough. I then came up with the idea of a partition to make the boxes smaller to help the hens. Well this worked a treat and are having good success, also with the partition it has given me flexability. When the chicks get feathered up I remove the partition which frees ups more room in the boxes and has given the hens space when they lay again. It also provides more air to the birds. I have used an acrylic clear front with holes drilled in to create the air to circulate, this also makes it possible to view chicks with them falling out or the hens getting upset. I have wood fronts that slide in front of the acrylic covered boxes to give the the security that they need. I have been experimenting lately with the warm weather we have been having, by leaving the wood fronts off during the day. With holes in the acrylic fronts it allows the boxes to keep cooler during the warmer period, so far the hens have been happy with this and it gives me the oportunity to vies chicks and see how they are going without intruding. The boxes are attaches to the side of the breeding cabinets which have a hole in the side. The larger sides on the nest boxes allows the hens to be able get out easerly if I have to slide the inner nest boxes out for cleaning etc. Well it's all going fine so far, love to get your feed back. Cheers Paul http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e375/ultra777/000_0179.jpg

Hi nerwen, not at the moment I have mainly opaline and spangle hens and an albino hen and yellow face grey hen and they are all only around 9 months old, so I guess they would be to young to breed with anyway. Cheers nerwen and everyone for the imput, it's very much appreciated. Paul

Thanks for your Cheeta Cheers Paul

What a beautiful bird, absolutely love the colours. cheers

Wow,,thanks for that Lovely. What do you call the marks on his wings? Cheers Paul

Can someone identify type and colour with this boy. And what do you think I would get if I mated him with a Lutino. Cheers Paul

I find the females can get a bit annoyed with the babies, and I have had a couple of babies die after being attacked by the female. Thanks for that, that could be a good idea. Cheers Paul

Hi Karen my guess is: if the eyes are a boy....if the eyes are dark a girl. Well its only a guess Cheers Paul