Dave_McMinn

Pale ale is actually doing very well. he looks less pale, if that is possible. Maybe it is because he is about half covered now with those fluffy down feathers. He has really improved a lot. I actually look at him now and wonder, where before I thought he was definitely not going to make it. None of the birds that died had reached the fluffy down stage, they were all pretty much still skin and bones. I look tody at the eldest in Tralia and Nibblers box and I think he will be a spangle. His 2 middle tail feathers look white. As for the next eldest, I am thinking not a spangle. Colour combinations in there will be interesting though, I think there will be many blues. Dad is blue and Mum is either split to blue or is a yellow faced blue, so maybe all the young will be blue. A nice yellow face type II spangle would be good. All growing up fast in Sebby and Cheese's box. I am going to have to put a container down soon fof the jumpers. Had 2 different ones so far. There is also a regular clean out of that nestbox going on. Not sure who is doing it, but if it is Sebby, she will be removed as I do not want her to breed again.

Hi and welcome.

I read this post before, but did not comment due to time. I agree with what many people have said - great idea, well done. I have always wondered about those indoor budgies and their droppings. At least this catches them. I am assuming that everyone who has indoor budgies is just content on cleaning up accident all around the house?

I am attached to every chick that is born. The survival of an animal is far more important to me than the genes they carry. Losing a small pet type blue bird is as tragic to me as losing a violet male fallow chick of show size. Every deeath, no matter the bird, hurts. i am sure it is that way for most people. If it is not, then maybe they should not be breeding birds. Maybe they are the so-called Bird mill breeders.

You are right, it does knock you down a bit. I suppose as a breeder you have to get used to it, but it is not something that is easy to do.

Thank you. It is tough to lose one little one, but to lose 4 now. Worse still is that thsi one is now from a different nestbox. before I thought it oculd have bene a parental issue. Now I do not know.

I know the spangle has clear tail feathers, I was asking if anyone could tell from the picture I posted. I cannot tell if this one had a broken neck. french Moult - not that I am aware of. Like I said, I am nto sure why, I just know tht I am very sad about it all.

I am not sure I will ever breed budgies again. This time, I have had 4 younsters die in different nest boxes, and pale ale is hanging in there and could go at any moment. One has now died in Tralia and Nibbler's nestbox. This is killing ME. I have no explanation on why this one has gone downhill so suddenly. all was good yesterday. There is no apparent reason. Last year, all young survived. Now, 4 have gone before they have even fleged. I cannot pick another dead baby out of a nestbox. Yet again, there was food in this one's crop. No signs of illness, there is no reason that it would not be fed. Mum and dad have not neglected any of the others. It is not the eldest, so we can rule out that once it reaches a certain age it cannot survive due to some type of genetic defect in the nestbox. We should be able to rule out infection, one would think that all the others would be partial to it. There is no apparent reason why it did not survive. If you can make any sense of it, please let me know. picture is below. Circles youngster is not longer with us.

Punter is still inside in the hospital cage. I came home today and cleaned his pooey bum. he has a lot of poo stuck to it, which is funny, as before I bought him inside, he had none. he was lethargic, but he had a clean bum. Now, he seems less lethargic, but has a dirty bum. Here is the video I took of him. My camera does not have sound, soyou will simply need to make noises like a budgie running on paper and some chirping sounds as you watch it. http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p125/dm...nt=P1010005.flv

I am sure Neat. I gave him a day to see if it was just that, sleeping. he was still like that today so I got him out of the aviary. Clean bum, but I checked some poos he did in the hospital cage and they are green and a bit runny.

Well done Maesie, looks 1000 times better. I am proud of you. Well done.

One of my birds was sitting with hid head tucked behind him and all fluffed up in the avairy, so i thought he should get a day or two in the hospital cage. So i bought him inside, and he has demosntrated that he is perhaps the greatest actor known to man, or bird. Outside he was all fluffed up and lethargic, inside he is full of energy. His poo is a little green and a bit runny, so he will stay inside with a lamp and some calcivet in his water for a couple of days, but if someone walked in now, you would never know he is not well. I have some pics below, and a video which really demosntrates his activeness, but damn photobucket is having issues uploading movies at the moment. Freezes halfway everytime. I will get the vid up as soon as possible, til then, the pics will have to do. he is only sitting on the ground as he is a little afraid of the camera. He perches all the time, and when not perching, he $ running up and down the front of the cage, looking for a way out.

thanks for the info Norm. i love the middle one of your opalines at the front. the white fluff means she is the equivalent of a budgie lion, mane and all.

How is he today?

funny - I was reading this justifying how I could have it, then i remembered where I live. I am going to move rural!!!!

Thanks Norm. Hard to tell at the moment as the pin feather are so small, but in a couple of days it should be clearer. If the little one does survive, no, i will not breed with it. If it is a new mutation, I will call it a pale ale budgie. nice ring to it. I am going to give a few of these away I think. Maybe to some of the people on here as well as family and friends, not that the people on here are not friends, just people in the REAL world - (Laughing out loud). Thanks Maesie The bowl shots worked out well. They found it a little slippery, and I had locked the dogs out in case of escape attempts actually being successful.

I asked this in another thread Norm, but I forget which one it was. the BES - where did that come from? How is it different to a DEC? Can you tell before you breed if it is a BES, DEC or DF Spangle? By the way, they all look very good. The brightness in their colours is amazing. Dave

Great feeders. I am going to see if I can steal that idea and find some like that. If not, I will make some.

True to my wrod here are the pics as promised. First Sebby and Cheese's nest. I am not as good as Kaz, so i waited til they were older to sex. This my take on things. Eldest is male, all the rest are female. If you can tell by the pics, please let me know what you think. Eldest 2nd Middle 2nd Youngest Youngest Group Angel and Hugo Journeyman is the eldest. He looks out of place in this nestbox as he has no white, being a yellow faced blue. Oldest hatchling is beginning to featherup. Pale chick is hanging in there. We will see how he goes from here. Tralia and Nibbler Slow starters, but today their 6th youngester hatched. He is being kept warm by his siblings in this pile. I had move them aside to see him. he is little, but healthy. i have never bred a spangle before, so I do not know what they look like young. I am thinking that the oldest is going to be a blue spangle, judging by the white pin feather aound his/her rump. Am I right? Eldest Piles - in the last photo you can see the little bum of the 6th chick sticking out at the top of the pile.

Great birds Kaz. Easy when you look at these pics to see the difference between young show birds and more pet type birds

I actually have some I think. I can attach them now right? Since they are split, that should be easy. It is funny, remember when you told me to make sure I had handraising formula, and I looked in my tubs, and I had some. Same thing with the split rings, they are int he tubs, multiple colours actually along with the little metla thin to put them on with - (Laughing out loud) I would have made an awesome boy scout - always prepared.

There are exceptions to rules Norm, and I suppose that is where the grey area comes in. The Tasmanian Devil is a great example. In nature, they have developed a cancerous, tumour like growth that is wiping out the population. We need to intervene there. I suppose the difference is saving one or saving a species. okay, cleaned things this morning, and the story goes like this. Sebby and Cheese - I put some Millet int he nest box and the babies are learning to chew on that. I removed the old twig the demolished and put a new one in there. All look good, no more escape attempts and the littlest ones are really feathering up well now. Need to make sure that I can clearly distinguish between the 3 pieds. If only I joined a club I could have rings - (Laughing out loud). Hugo and Angel - The journeyman is not going to be a normal blue, but rather a yellow faced blue. Too early to tell if he will be a type 1 or 2 yet, but I am guessing 2 as there is some yellow on his tail and wings. The eldest of this clutch is beginning to feather up and appears to be going well, as does the middle child. The youngest, the pale ale, is hanging in there. We will see how he goes. He is growing the little pin feathers and he has a full crop, so wait and see I suppose. Tralia and Nibbler - well the slow starters are definitely making up for lost time. The oldest is feathering up now, and he looks like he might be a blue spangle. I have no blue spangles, so that would be nice. The others are all too young to tell, so we must wait. I put some new shavings in each nest box, which meant locking mum's out and lifting the little ones out. Forgot my camera, but such is life. The good thing was that in this nestbox there are now 5 young, all with full crops. The littlest must have only been born yesterday, but it has been well fed already. Overall, all looks good. Might get some more pics tomorrow.

sounds to melike you are doing everything right maesie. If you lived closer, i would have offered to come help, but melbourne is about, hmmm,880 kms's from my house.

Thanks Norm, and I do agree with you 1%. I remember the post that you made on here, probably about amonth ago or longer, abotu how you thought that we shoudl let nature take it's course. I read that and I have to say i was relieved. It is one of those things that i was thinking, but did nto have the courage to say, or even admit to myself. I felt a bit like - no one else is saying it, am I not being as responsible as I shoudl be? I do eveything I can for my pets and i will give them every opportunity, but i do agree that if they ae sick and feeble looking, pumping them full of meds to help them at this age is not right. I agree with the theory "we are better off without them". Thank you as always for affirming my thoughts, by simply offering your own. I have lost it now, I am replying to my own posts. My little pale bub is hanging in there. Hope springs eternal.

Had my first nestbox escapee today. Put the little one back in, all good now. This was my escapee. Who me? No way........