Feathers

The third photo of Rainbow's shows a bird going into breeding condition. I put a bird with a very crusty cere into a breeding cabinet with a cock and she half killed the poor thing Examples of changing ceres going into breeding condition: This bird's cere is still very light, but she normally has a whiteblue cere when out of condition, within 2 weeks she was in condition: Feathers.

Excellent Norm, I like the way you have put them together. It really comes down to a personal preference thing and you will always have someone else saying that they would have done it another way. Treating the birds when you first get them is the way to go. It is so much easier if they get treated for everything your other birds have been treated for previously, so they are all in the same boat. Mine get ivermectin, worming and a dose of coccivet while in quarantine. Feathers.

Hi Misso, welcome to the BBC forum. This site is jam packed with information and really great forum members who are willing to share their stories, knowledge or experience with us all. Have you started to read through our FAQ section yet?: http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/faqs/ There are seven categories to read through and members are encouraged to share any knowledge they may have by adding to the FAQ's. I look forward to seeing some photos of your birds and aviaries. Feathers.

I love the pics of chicks with their tail feathers looking like this, it is so pretty. Mine are nearing that stage :ausb: Great photos again, Dave. And I think you were right about the little one getting a complex about bum shots, in these photos he looked like he was trying to squeeze in and under the rest again Feathers.

Dave, it is looking great in there. I need some natural vegatation for my birds too, but the bleedin' council has trimmed all the peppermint street trees in the area, and being in a wheelchair, they are all way too high overhead for me to reach now :ausb: Feathers. ps: before the birds I would whinge if they needed to be trimmed

Budgies like rain and water, it stimulates them into breeding as it normally signifies the end of a drought and time to increase the flock Congratulations :ausb: Feathers

It sure does, he looks so gorgeous. It is so great to capture these moments in amongst all the angst where he is able to be so happy and carefree. You all continue to be in my thoughts and prayers and we are still sending as much positive energy as we can your way. Feathers.

Can I play? I guess not, huh. It helps if you don't know the answers or have them at your fingertips. Feathers

This is very true and why we have such stringent import laws and quarantine in the state. We are currently battling cane toads that are heading to the border via the N.T. So far, none have made it, but it is becoming an expensive fight that we hope to win. Perth is the most isolated capital City in the world, and that suits us just fine Feathers.

anywhere you can buy food, laundry detergents etc.

There are breeder who have organised themselves this way. A couple of them are getting together to start growing white millet as well. Feathers.

Hi all, firstly, Paul, check the price of the 10kg where you get the seed. A couple of local stores here charge $11 or $12 for 5kg, but only $17 or $19 for 10kg. WA seed has always been more expensive than the seed available elsewhere, so the way I see it, you guys are finally catching up to us That is because all seed that comes into WA has to be irradiated so that it can't sprout, so obviously no one wants a dead seed so WA has to grow their own. We have such stringent import laws for anything organic even from within our own country that we really are more like our own nation. Secession movements have surfaced several times in Western Australia. A 1933 referendum for secession from the Federation of Australia passed with a two-thirds majority. The referendum had to be ratified by the British Parliament, which declined to act, on the grounds that it would contravene the Australian Constitution. The more I think about secession, the more I agree that it would be the best thing for WA. It would lead to massive growth as we are a major contributor to Federal wealth and over 50% of export dollars are a result of our oil, mineral and diamond rich regions in the top half of our state. Yet despite this contribution to our Federal wealth we get very little in budget returns due to our lower population. So, back on the subject, our seed prices have not changed as we are not at all affected by the eastern states drought and most of our seed stock is grown in the lower 1/3 of the state which has been operating with the same water conditions for years. Maybe I should go into politics one day Feathers.

They are really lovely looking budgies, Pete and Bess. Squeek is pretty cute too Feathers.

Very true, Norm, I have always said that this is a community of like minded people who all gather to share their interest, experiences and knowledge of all things budgerigar. I love the crazy people too Feathers.

I'd go with the crushed biscuit Feathers.

That is a really nice looking young budgie. Well done on selecting such a cutie Feathers.

Hi Tal, I have never come across an over zealous feeder, so I have no advice about that. Hens being the bitchier of the two though I would assume normally they would let the cock know, in no uncertain terms, that it didn't want any more. As for red mites affecting feather growth, they could do, but it probably wouldn't be the mites themselves doing the damage. Red mites attack at night, sucking the blood of the bird, during the day they breed in the corners, crevices and cracks in the cage. The birds get restless and depressed as they can't get any sleep and will scratch themselves on perches or anywhere they can. The scratching would be the cause of feather abnormalities. Do you have birds with red mites? This is normally transfered if you have a cage that is open to the sky and the mites comes from wild birds. Feathers.

Hi Marlon, I'd agree, I got worried about it as soon as I saw the honey component. The idea of these soft foods is to give the birds an easy to digest soft food that is healthy and nutritious that supplies vital vitamins and minerals the adults birds need and for the chicks when they arrive. That recipe would make a great treat once a month or so with about 1/3 teaspoon of honey at the VERY most. It will take time, but if you offer a good soft food every day they will start to eat it, especially once they have chicks to feed too. Feathers.

Hi Norm, as bad as it was, at least it was contained in the breeding cabinets. Best to lose a couple of chicks than an aviary full of birds. Very lucky you had psittacossis treatment too as you cannot buy the treatment now without having a confirmed case diagnosed by a vet :budgiedance: It is the one disease I was unable to treat my birds for before I started breeding. Now you need to get this lot healthy and make sure the breeding cabinets are totally disinfected. Thank you so much for sharing this experience too, as many of us here can learn from it. Feathers.

Totally contageous, Norm. I wasn't going to get too involved in 'the breeding thing' until after I moved into a new house, hopefully sometime in the next 15 months, but that obviously isn't working. That room has now been totally over-run by birds and my outdoor aviary has been expanding too. The problem with budgies is that they are just so addictive and have the most amazing personalities. I think if my daughter had bought home a canary, we would still just have a canary. :budgiedance: Feathers.

That is a good idea. I would never attempt it without having seen it for myself. Feathers.

It wasn't too bad, my wheelchairs were on wheels and so was the big cage Nathan helped at the beginning of the week to put up the new double cage I made as we had to put it under an existing one so the nest boxes weren't too much higher. He also had to put the hospital cage up for me, but other than that it was all rollings things, easy peasy Mind you, I should have taken you up on the wire cutting the other day ... Feathers

I was just wondering why they put a budgie on the front of a flour packet... very strange Feathers.

Sara is a really beautiful budgie, she certainly is a big part of the family, by the looks of it. Feathers.

For the last 2 months one room in my house has been serving a dual purpose, breeding room and wheelchair room. It has been working really well apart from having to keep my wheelchairs covered so they didn't end up totally covered in feathers, seed and dust. This happy arrangement finished today. My bedroom until now has housed a multi-purpose large cage and has been home to my special needs birds, who enjoyed having several sessions throughout the day calling to the breeding room birds. As I am going to change one of my large cages into 4 up breeding cages I needed more space in the breeding room and therefore my chairs had to go. The easiest solution was to move the cages in my room into the breeding room and use the extra space in the bedroom to put my wheelchairs. This is what the breeding room now contains: 3 breeding cages, show cage, holding cage and breeding room equipment Large multi-purpose cage, hospital cage and special needs birds cage The special needs kids will still spend a lot of their time with me 4 x double breeding cages, 2 stacked per shelf Currently 11 breeding cages in use with plans to create more in the next couple of weeks. Feathers.