Feathers

Neat, most definitely... I wouldn't like my babies hatching in an area where I don't know the history. I always treat mine for mites first and then disinfect them ready to go! Feathers.

A hen that doesn't want to know and a cock that is over zealous can lead to the cock literally being hen picked to death, too! In light of this information... ignore my post Hey Jimmy, we love your advice! And you are right... the chances of a hen laying an egg in the aviary if there is no nestbox is slim. Feathers.

Neat, It more than likely came in with the nestbox then. I wouldn't trust that you got it all.. especially eggs. Treat it again after 6 -8 days and then again 6 - 8 days... just to be sure. Make sure you get in every nook and cranny. It won't harm the budgies. Feathers.

Daz, so as not to confuse this greywing/dilute thread, can the above posts about DEC vs BES be split to a new topic? I know there is a thread explaining the genetic and visual differences, but I can't find it at the moment. As I can't edit my previous posts here, again, is my DILUTE spangle, Oh-Oh and my GREYWING, curio.. Feathers

I'll be looking forward to seeing the pics of your work, Maesie, I think you've done bl@#$y well too! Feathers.

I love Charley playing that video was so funny.... Kazumi was clammering in the front corner of his cage trying to talk back. Isn't it funny, that even though Charley was "talking" Kazumi still recognised him as a budgie. Kazumi chatters all day too Feathers.

Hi Kaz, Best of luck with the next round.... I seemed to have had my flexi torch 'misplaced' for me while I was away. It certainly isn't where it belongs, so I haven't candled any of mine lately either. Yours are a gorgeous pair and you've never had fertility issues with birds from that breerder... Feathers.

Hiya Neat, hey, watch out. If you have had a nest with red mites I hope you are still treating their surrounds for it. They only attack at night and during the day they hide in cracks and crevices around the aviary. Nasty little things that you normally get from wild birds, especially if you have a mesh top that the wild birds can land on. That chick looks like it is going really well though, congrats! Feathers.

Elly, you have to be so careful, you don't want merlin to clash and you certainly don't want him to just blend into the background either.. I'm with Kaz... I hope you put a lot of thought into it as I am getting addicted to all the great photos that you are taking with your new camera lately! Feathers.

A hen that doesn't want to know and a cock that is over zealous can lead to the cock literally being hen picked to death, too! Feathers.

So Maesie, it's been a few hours.. has your masterpiece of work set yet? Feathers.

Never mind, probably more to come. I hope George and Amira have taken the loss well ... Feathers.

Hiya Indz, Sorry to say, but it is still hard to say whether Zues is a boy or girl... it is just not clear enough. Zues definitely has a form of ring around the nares, but is it a white rings or just a slighty lighter colour to the rest? If the rings are white, you have a baby hen, if not, then in all probability it is male. Confused yet? :glare: Either way Zues is a pretty little YF type 2 skyblue and Dotti is a very pretty opaline(?) grey hen. Feathers.

Tam, your favourite picture is awesome !! :glare: I'm going for boy, as I said in the other post. The cere colour is very even. It could be confusing in some photos when the cere is front on, as it looks like it is lighter around the nares. This is why it is best to have a variety of photos like you have done. Sometimes you just never really know with some until they go into breeding condition. I have had 2 that I kept changing my mind on until there was no doubt. Feathers.

Hi Tam, canola oil is fine, being a bit thinner than the others you may just need to apply a little a couple of times a day. I have one that is the same :glare: Feathers.

Thanks all, It looks like he is appreciating the warmth and he has eaten some millet in the hospital cage. He has had a cuddle... It seems likely that he is suffering from a brain injury, whether that be a knock on the head, a stroke or a tumour, I couldn't say, obviously. He seems to have right side weakness. I will keep an eye on him as I don't want him to be suffering. If it looks like he is going to have a low quality of life I would rather have him put down than allow him to suffer. I think he might be a fighter because he has just completely surprised me. I turned around while typing this to have a look at him and he is eating a normal seed mix, rather than the millet now. [shakes head] Just goes to show, you never can tell with these little guys. Maybe the 15 minutes he spent down the front of my top helped! :glare: This morning I gave him a very slim chance of surviving.. maybe he is going to prove me wrong, wouldn't that be good... Feathers.

Karthik, I admire you for trying to find the very best mix of seeds that you can. You will have the happiest budgies in the country. Feathers.

Hey there, I give my seed in the hanging green/white self feeders, which I find works fantastic!! My birds drop their husks mainly onto the floor and whenever I top up the feeders I do a manual scoop out all the way around too, to remove the really fine seed dust. I don't really have any wastage as every evening most of the population in my aviary is wandering around on the floor picking over the husks looking for leftover seed. Then once a week I sweep out the husks. In my breeding cages I use the jar self feeders, which work great for me as I have never (touch wood) had a moth problem with any seed I have bought. Same deal with them, every couple of days I tip them sideways, which empties the bottom section removing any fine dust build up. Feathers. ps: oh, I too had a flat feeder that I made from the base of an old pedestal fan. I used to use it mainly for veggies etc, until my son burnt the plastic top of it :glare: Feathers

Hi Tam, it is really hard to say, if you have a mite spray it wouldn't hurt to put a little on or even use some olive oil or baby oil on the cere. As for sex, going by those pictures, I'd say a boy who loves carrots! :glare: Feathers.

Throwback, no eye rolling here, it is a treatment I use too. I am unsure of if it is still happens, but Australia used to ship HUGE quantities of red cordial to third world countries to help with their diarrhea and gut problems. 2 months and $800.00 dollars later you'd try anything, really, wouldn't you? By the way, VERY expensive vet, Vicky, even as far as avian vets go! Feathers.

Hi Nancy, I agree with everything that has already been said. As to whether to keep them in one cage or two, that's entirely up to you. After quarantine they could be kept in just one cage together. But, if you decided to have two cages maybe they could spend out of cage time together when you let them out for a fly. Like Rainbow I had up to 10 budgies inside at one stage and they would interact with each other and me and it was so lovely watching them play. Feathers.

Kaz, I really hope it is one of theirs.... now we wait to find out. :glare: Feathers.

Hello, I took a few photos this weeks of my birdies eating their vegies. This week they have had corn, which they absolutely LOVE. Upper Floor Broccoli, Lower Floor Corn and Carrot!!! YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! First one into carrot or corn is always Bean, a green clearwing from Paul H. Second in line is usually Graye, my YF grey boy... and, wherever there is carrot there is another of Paul H's birds, the YF blue at the back aptly named Karitz because he normally has an orange stained face First into the upper floor is Daddy, he loves his Broccoli. Then comes along my stupid, but beautiful, dilute violet clearwing baby budgie who not only checked out the veggies, but wanted to know if the chain was tasty too! "Hey, you.. ceramic budgie... do you talk?" Ceramic budgie: "You guys talking to me?" And what do you get left with?? Not a lot of this..... and not a lot of that, either... Feathers.

thk, I think that not only is it okay to keep them apart, but you are probably right. Charlie would start to just speak "budgie" again. When I had a bird in the hospital cage last week Kazumi starting chattering to him instead of to me and it took a couple of days before he started speaking "human" again. Kazumi has about 4 phrases down pat now.... it is like once he found out he had the first one right "pretty boy, Kazumi" he just wants to learn more and more. Feathers.

Hi BBC'ers, I headed out to the aviary this morning as per usual and spied what looked suspiciously like a hen, sitting in the corner, trying hard to look like she wasn't really sitting on an egg, In The Aviary! :parrot: Where there should NOT be a hen sitting on an egg! :ygbudgie: In The Aviary! :excl: But it wasn't, it was this guy: :hap: He is a gorgeous Bob Levy bred opaline, and he was sitting on the floor in the sort of position a hen on eggs would sit. So I went in and picked him up and bought him inside to put him in the hospital cage (where the above photo was taken). Checking him over there was no signs of ill health other than total weakness and the occasional twitch Obviously there has been some catastophic occurance sometime in the night, whether that be stroke, heart attack, I have no idea. So, at this stage, unless he shows signs of wanting to fight back I am just going to supply him with the basics, a heat source, and a dignified death - if that how he wants it to go. I'll just keep an eye on him during the day. I would really just like to cuddle him, but I can't keep him as warm as the hospital cage, so I'm putting his needs above what I need, for now... Feathers.