Feathers

The cage Kaz found is the best of all three. As Bea said the cage 2 is no good at all. I am slightly biased though as I have the one Kaz pointed out. :hap: Feathers.

Hi Dave, yellow face is a dominant trait, but as only one parent carries it only 50% of their bubs will inherit yellow face. Maybe this is the non YF 50% and their next round may be the yellow face half :hap: Feathers.

Same. The bird above is anything but dilute. It wouldn't surprise me that it is on the same allele as clearwing/dilute etc. as it has an obvious effect on the depth of wing pattern colour. As I said in another post the gene is more than likely recessive, so breeding would be as per any other recessive. The description of suffused just seems to take in more than just a dilute bird however. Feathers.

Good to hear. You will find on this board that a lot of budgies that we hear about regularly or that have pictures posted become BBC budgies. They feel like an extension of our own budgie families and we become quite attached to them. After having gone through this journey with Sara, she has become a BBC adopted budgie. Feathers.

Hi Tal, unless they find a place where they feel it is safe to nest it is very unlikely that they will breed. I have had plenty of budgies who have mated but not laid any eggs as they didn't have a nest box. I wouldn't stress about it at all :hap: Feathers.

I'd be pairing to a good green normal with a good frontal rise. From that photo she looks like a nice hen. Feathers.

A hen requires vitamin D in order to be able to effectively uptake any source of calcium. Vitamin D is absorbed naturally through the sun or by use, mainly in breeding rooms of cod liver oil. However too much calcium or vitamin D can cause toxicity problems. A hen can get the calcium she requires from any source that you supply, cuttlefish, egg shells or liquid calcium as long as they also have the required level of vitamin D. One of the problems with some owners converting to an all pellet diet is that it provides too high a dose of calcium. Testing has found that a Pellets only & Poultry food diet caused an increase in calcium deposits in the kidneys which caused renal failure & death. When switched to a mixed seed diet the deaths stopped. As is always recommended in the FAQ's on this site, all budgies need a healthy diet which includes 30% seed, 30% pellets, 30% fresh foods and 10% treats such as honey sticks, millet etc. Their water should be changed daily to avoid build up of bacteria and they should always have access to a cuttlefish bone (or calcium bell or block) and an iodine block. This gives budgerigars access to all of their daily needs. When breeding however it has been found to be beneficial to add extra calcium for the hens needs. Many breeders will give soaked seed (seed mixed with a little cod liver oil - left to soak for 24 hours) and liquid calcium. Feathers.

The breeding continues to go well. The new pairs are settling in well. Dekota, one of my favourite and prettiest baby budgies in my original birds is up to egg number 5: This is one of the nests that are too high for me to see into, so Dekota always obliges when I take a photo tocheck the nest. She just moves to the backof the box for me Feathers

I don't think the name would have been a problem as it was reported in the newspapers and the above was a quote from there. Feathers.

The typo is my fault, not Elly's. I was the proof reader. Thanks for pointing it out. Feathers.

Gorgeous, as usual, Nharvi. She is such a little sweetie Feathers.

That is the worst thing I have read about our beautiful, loving and playful companions that I have seen for a while. How awful. How many people are going to buy these birds, after reading that article, and go buy 'an ornamental' bird, shove it in a cage and ignore it, except for when they get around to changing food and water. I would be writing to ******* to complain and educate them a little. Feathers.

Hi there, it is lovely to have you and softcheeks here with us at the BBC forum. Have fun looking around the site, which is packed with great information. Feathers.

Thanks for the reply. I should have checked in the ANBC "The Standard" before asking. The Suffused Yellow is a variety that is covered under OSV (Other Standard Variety). The description of which follows: Description of Suffused Yellow/White A suffused bird should have their back, rump, breast flanks and underparts in the yellow birds suffused in the green series by light, dark or olive green and the white birds suffused with skyblue, cobalt, mauve or violet. This suffusion may vary in intensity up to 30% of the normal body colour depth. In grey yellow/grey white the back, rump, breast flanks and underparts are to be a grey yellow (mustard) in the green series and pale grey in the blue series. Grey yellows and whites must be free from any shade of green or blue suffusion. MARKINGS: Suffused ground color (modified with grey in Grey Yellow/Grey White) is the optimum. Faint markings are found on their cheeks, back of head, neck and wings. EYES: Black with a white iris ring. PRIMARY FLIGHTS: Yellow/White to very pale grey. Grey white to pale grey in Grey Yellow/Grey White. YELLOW - LIGHT (suffused): has white suffused pale blue to violet cheek patches and a yellowish white to pale blue tail feather. YELLOW - DARK (suffused): has white suffused pale blue to violet cheek patches and a yellowish white to pale blue tail feather, but darker in proportion to YELLOW-LIGHT. YELLOW - OLIVE (suffused): has white suffused pale blue to violet cheek patches and a yellowish white to pale blue tail feather, but darker in proportion to YELLOW-LIGHT and YELLOW-DARK. GREY YELLOW (mustard): has pale grey cheek patches and a grey white to pale grey tail feather. WHITE - SKY (suffused): has white suffused pale blue to violet cheek patches and a bluish white to pale blue tail feather. WHITE -COBALT (suffused): has white suffused pale blue to violet cheek patches and a bluish white to pale blue tail feather, but darker in proportion to WHITE-SKY. WHITE - MAUVE (suffused): has white suffused pale blue to violet cheek patches and a bluish white to pale blue tail feather, but darker in proportion to WHITE-SKY and WHITE-COBALT. WHITE - VIOLET (suffused): has white suffused pale blue to violet cheek patches and a bluish white to pale blue tail feather, but darker in proportion to WHITE-SKY, WHITE-COBALT and WHITE_MAUVE. GREY WHITE (mustard): has pale grey cheek patches and a grey white to pale grey tail feather. NOTE 1: Visible opaline characteristics are not permissible, nor (with the exception of GREY-YELLOW/GREY-WHITE) is the intrusion of the colour grey in the body colour. NOTE 2: There are light, Dark, Medium and Dark shades of GREY-YELLOW and GREY-WHITE. The shade of body colour and cheek patch may vary accordingly. Phew, that's some variety. Feathers. Edit: Elly, just for you I have added this information and photo to Members Rare Budgies: http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....showtopic=12592 Amy and Eric Can you possibly get another photo of your Suffused budgies that clearly show the colour of the cheek patches and wing detail?

This is a Suffused Dark Yellow Budgie, owned by our forum members Amy and Eric (AAEBudgie) Description of Suffused Yellow/White A suffused bird should have their back, rump, breast flanks and underparts in the yellow birds suffused in the green series by light, dark or olive green and the white birds suffused with skyblue, cobalt, mauc=ve or violet. This suffusion may vary in intensity up to 30% of the normal body colour depth. In grey yellow/grey white the back, rump, breast flanks and underparts are to be a grey yellow (mustard) in the green series and pale grey in the blue series. Grey yellows and whites must be free from any shade of green or blue suffusion. MARKINGS: Suffused ground color (modified with grey in Grey Yellow?Grey White) is the optimum. Faint markings are found on their cheeks, back of head, neck and wings. EYES: Black with a white iris ring. PRIMARY FLIGHTS: Yellow/White to very pale grey. Grey white to pale grey in Grey Yello/Grey White. YELLOW - LIGHT (suffused): has white suffused pale blue to violet cheek patches and a yellowish white to pale blue tail feather. YELLOW - Dark (suffused): has white suffused pale blue to violet cheek patches and a yellowish white to pale blue tail feather, but darker in proportion to YELLOW-LIGHT. YELLOW - Olive (suffused): has white suffused pale blue to violet cheek patches and a yellowish white to pale blue tail feather, but darker in proportion to YELLOW-LIGHT and YELLOW-DARK. GREY YELLOW (mustard): has pale grey cheek patches and a grey white to pale grey tail feather. WHITE - SKY (suffused): has white suffused pale blue to violet cheek patches and a bluish white to pale blue tail feather. WHITE -COBALT (suffused): has white suffused pale blue to violet cheek patches and a bluish white to pale blue tail feather, but darker in proportion to WHITE-SKY. WHITE - MAUVE (suffused): has white suffused pale blue to violet cheek patches and a bluish white to pale blue tail feather, but darker in proportion to WHITE-SKY and WHITE-COBALT. WHITE - VIOLET (suffused): has white suffused pale blue to violet cheek patches and a bluish white to pale blue tail feather, but darker in proportion to WHITE-SKY, WHITE-COBALT and WHITE_MAUVE. GREY WHITE (mustard): has pale grey cheek patches and a grey white to pale grey tail feather. NOTE 1: Visible opaline characteristics are not permissible, nor (with the exception of GREY-YELLOW/GREY-WHITE) is the intrusion of the colour grey in the body colour. NOTE 2: There are light, Dark, Medium and Dark shades of GREY-YELLOW and GREY-WHITE. The shade of body colour and cheek patch may vary accordingly. Feathers

Absolutely fantastic Bea. I have absolutely no doubt you will be so much happier with the new ones. I love mine. Well done for not dropping the issue and putting the pressure on. Feathers.

Hi Dave, I also use a flexi torch I marked the eggs in the first two nests using pencil and only touched the eggs after washing my hands. I haven't bothered since then. I mark all the details of dates eggs laid and number etc on a breeding chart: If I had to foster an egg or a chick I would try to make sure it went into the nest of another pair that you could easily identify the foster. i.e. a green foster into a blue nest. Feathers.

Dave, they are all looking absolutely wonderful, and not a splayed leg in sight. I am sure you would be able to tell if there will a splayed leg in there. You still managed to get a little pink bum in the photo for me, thanks for that As for handling the bubs, I have been handling mine from the day they were born. Not being brilliantly mobile I can't always get a good look in the nest boxes. A couple of the high nests I actually have to take a photo by holding the camera over my head to see what is happening in the nest. Feathers.

Hi Mandy, welcome to the BBC forum. I use the tunneling method a lot and find that it is very successful. Both of my budgies that come out on my finger enjoy tunneling. It is also a very good method to use if you have a lot of birds. Everyone is different. I have found that most budgies, even if they are not tame, calm quickly using the tunelling method. I would suggest though, that if you have had such quick success in teaching Yummy to step up that you should continue with this until you are able to get him to step up and bring him out of the cage. Once he is at that stage you could use tunneling more as a game as this will make him even more comfortable with your hands. Feathers.

Actually, up until now her name has been HKS 06 065 Cinders seems popular, so Cinders and Graye it is for the first pair. As no one has given any names for the second pair I will go with Skyler and Rangi. Thanks guys, Feathers.

OMG, I read that and thought NO!! But I see others have beaten me to it. Budgies NEED seed in their diet as well as pellets, and plenty of fresh vegies/leaves/grasses etc. Feathers.

Hi there Amy & Eric, you have a few really lovely birds there. The birds that you have called suffused yellow are they Black Eyed Self birds? Here is a description: http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....showtopic=15223 Feathers.

Two new pairs went in this morning. The YF Grey (which I will name Graye from Elly's suggestions above with a Cinnamon Skyblue hen(name required). The second pair to go in are both sky violets. I am going to convert this cage for breeding: By putting in a thin piece of plywood I can separate the top and bottom sections of the cage, which I will then cut in half by using a wire divider like I did with my other flight cages. This will then give me another 4 breeding cages. Feathers.

Hello there, lovely to have a poster from Pakistan. It sounds like she may have scaley face mites. I am assuming that you are not talking about the normal brown crusty cere hens get when they are in breeding condition. Have a look at the link that I have given below. The picture shows quite a bad case of scaley face mites, but it shows you the types of holes they can make, especially on the sides of the mouth in that picture. http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/faqs/i...d=36&artlang=en You need to get a good mite treatment, the best solution for scaley face is ivermectin, which can treat the condition very quickly. If you cannot get ivermectin from a vet then I would suggest using a feather lice and mite spray that you should be able to get at a pet supply store and also treat the area using baby oil. Rub the oil on her cere and also on her legs, which can also be affected by these mites. Be careful to not block the nostril with the oil though. It may take some time to fix the problem, so continue with the oil until you are sure they are gone. Hope this helps, Feathers.

HI Michelle, in general the clear door is used if you have a hen that plucks her chicks. While she is laying I would leave the black door on and wait until the chicks are hatched before considering using the clear door. If you used it now she may stop laying (Bud, enough already) or even stop sitting on the eggs if she feels her nestbox is no longer a safe place. Feathers.