Dave_McMinn

Your talk on AI? Ah, now I know who this is. I too learnt a lot from that talk. Very interesting. I was the annoying large guy that didn't really want to have a feel - LOL Some great looking birds.

sorry to hear that you lost that one kaz. You have lost a few like that. Any theories? I suppose the heat can throw off their incubation time.

well done. A great step forward. No matter how much we are proud of you, you should be even more proud of yourself. An Amazing achievement to start a course at your age. the more years we are out of school, the tougher it is to further educate ourselves - institution wise. Well done.

what, no photo?

Another update. Birds are doing well. In regard to quarantine, they did 2 weeks on doxy treatment, are currently doing 5 days of probiotic treatment. I am going to camp for 3 days on Wenesday, so they will get normal water with no additives then. After that, when I come home, they will get wormed and lice treatment.

girl say about 3-4 months old

red eyes mean that you have a fallow.

Everybody has their different ideas. I often spray my birds and they appear to enjoy it, so I am happy to continue to do it. There is a difference between spraying and drowning.

as promised, here are some pics of my anti-heat set-up Some shots of the aviary - note the shadecloth on the front, the shade umbrella over the top, and the hose going up to the roof, where the water is turned on and cools down the aviary When the water runs down the roof, it can be seen opn the outside through the clear plastic. If you look carefully at the first picture, you can see it. If you don't believe me, what do you think the birds are watching in the second picture? When the water runs down the roof, there is some spray at the front, wetting the shadecloth, and there is also a point on one wall where water leaks in, the birds quite like it. All up, they are staying cool. My quarantine birds in cages in the garage are great. Double drick, concrete floor, only morning sun, they have possible the best room in the house.

The weather in NSW is going to go nuts this weekend. In that regard waht are you doing to keep your birds cool? I have put a sprinkler hose on my aviary roof (outside of course), upside down so when turned on, it runs down the roof, cooling the roof. I have used one of those big shade umbrellas to partially cover the roof of the aviary. I have put shadecloth over the front to reduce direct sunlight in the mid afternoon. Water is at a low level, so the birds can access it when they are down low. Ice cubes are frozen, so they can go in the drinking water of the birds. All is in readiness for the predicted 42 degrees today and 44 degrees tomorrow. I will take some photos later today. Here are some do's and don't's a lot of people were told by Nigel Tonkin WATER DO water in the early part of the day - I try to around 6 - 7 a.m. and then again later in the evening - I try around 7.30 - 8.30 p.m (I have lights on timers so the birds can see until 11 p.m. and the light commence again at 5 a.m. in this weather - if not already light). Do add ice to the water to keep it cool for a longer part of the day DO check the water later in the day - early evening to ensure all containers have water DO change the water daily TWICE if you can DO use OPEN trays, glass or enamel - not galvanised. I am not one for upturned bottles as they DO NOT ALLOW all of the birds access to the drinking water when they need it, only permits one at a time v's a flock situation DO NOT add vitamins as these can 'go off' DO add aviclens or similar to the water DO NOT spray the birds in the aviary during the day as this increases humidity and puts more stress on the birds AIRFLOW and AVIARY ACTIVITY If able, have fans on to creat air movement. Air-conditioning can be dangerous as if at 20 degrees and the power goes off, then major issues with a potential + 20 degrees jump in temp over a short period of time Get in to the aviaries early and get out and stay out to prevent disturbance of the birds Let the birds attempt to control their own day without interruption once you have fed, watered and turned on any items you might use Insulate if you are able, but only when cool Shade cloth is good to take some of the heat off the aviary GREENS None to be given, unless in the early morning or late p.m and it can be consumed totally in a short period of time SOFTFOODS and SOAKED / SPROUTED SEED I ceased the add ins once warmed up I feed Sprouts 25% of normal in the early hours of the morning and now a similar amount when I rewater the birds in the evening. Can be a treat if done properly, can be a disaster if overdone and or seeds are not thoroughly rinsed. CHECKING BIRDS Check both in the a.m. and p.m for issues - I have just found a hen with a clogged bum, normal looking faeces, but because some of our birds have longer feather around the vent, there can be times when the faeces attach and then a blockage and then potential death. As I stated at the outset, fanciers might not agree with what I present above and that is okay as long as we are all aware of the need to use best practice in preventing disasters with our livestock then I will be happy One can only trust that this weather might get lost soon Have a great day Cheers Nigel T Nigel Tonkin (BCSA President) So there we have. Preparation is the key, but if there is poor or no preparation, it is not too late to make out little friends more comfortable.

Anthracite - black budgie - only found overseas

so you will get all cinnamon wing DF greys?

If the Dad is split cinnamon, then the hens and cocks have a 50% chance of being cinnamon - I think

A DF can only throw spangles, so you pretty much have this Hen Cock SN x SS Result SS or SN meaning that 50% will be DF spangles, and 50% will be spangles. Pearce is right about the cinnamon as well. The cocks will be split, but the hens will be unaffected by it.

I bought myself 2 showcages the other day, as you can see above. The first of many show cages I am thinking. Anyway, now i can get some pics in these show cages, my pics should be a little better.

I am not that close to Penrith, shame really, as I was going to say that you are most welcome to drop into my place, much like I have gone to your place, when you are down here.

I took some more photos. A photo does not always do a bird justice. Anyway, here was the little October born spangle from the Cec Gearing originally, then underneath some later photos Then Now The little hen renee gave me Then Now Some of the other birds

Good stuff Deb. Where abouts in sydney are they?

No Sailorwolf. I can get in enough trouble on here for what I say on my own. Unfortunately that is the way you interpreted what I said. A simple mistake easily made. Not what I meant at all, just your interpretation.

I do realise this SailorWolf. If you are a believer in pure evolutionary theory, we all descend from bacteria that were on earth that survive the period we term "Snowball earth", where there earth was completely covered by ice of approximately 3 million years. It $ these bacteria we descen from, as although other bacteria exited before snowball earth, a lot fo these were wiped out by the lack of sunlight and severe low temperatures.

What is the story with the messy face on the hen in the last picture?

Well, it has been a while since i wrote anything in this thread or updated the info in here. It is 4th February, so the birds are on day 14 of Doxy treatment. If you read back through this thread, or if you remember, i had puchased birds from many places, and one place was a pet shop. I purchased 3 birds from there - a mauve opaline hen, a grey opaline cock and a cinnamon wing sky blue cock. The hen and the cock both came from the same breeder. Anyway, the hen seemed stressed once she was taken back to kaz's place, and we ended up seperating her from the other birds. She proceeded to go downhill fast. Her symptoms were a pooey bum, up-chucking, and then eventually after a day or two, she died. I had bought the other 2 home with me and they were in quarantine. The sky blue bird was fine, with no visible signs of distress, however yesterday I noticed the grey cock was sitting on the bottom of hsi cage, fluffed up. I took him out of that cage, and into a hospital cage, with a lamp on him. I came home today from work to find him dead. I looked him over and he he same signs as the hen, pooey bum, and he obviously had been throwing up. Now, they come from the same breeder, so my line of thinking is that this is where this disease strain comes from. Nothing had changed in the last few days, so it is interesting this just appeared. The though was could he have been allergic to the doxy treatment, but the fact that his sister had died that same way makes me think that there is something more there. I have checked all the other birds, and there is no sign of illness. It is sad, but in a way, I am glad this appeared now, rather than later. I am glad whatever thsi was flared now, rather when he had gone into the aviary. Personally this is the problem when you get birds without knowing the definitive source of the birds. All my other birds are going well. My little spangle hen I purchased off Cec Gearing has really come along. She is thickened up, is bigger all over, and it learning to do the whole buffy head thing. I will take some more pics on the weekend.

Bush budgies are tiny. Show budgies are twice the size. They look completely different. You seem a little confused on this point. I think the point was being made to get more perches in your aviary.

Once more showing a link to reptiles

As a high school teacher, a year coordinator, I agree with this so much. I have seen this said before. It is so true