Dave_McMinn

That will be my new policy - one clutch, so make it a good one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is pretty rough at the moment but a level is not really needed. The conrete is meant to be perfectly level, the dirt does not have to be perfect. The conrete will not reach the top of the wood. The conrete will be level, fear not.

New photo update

A new photo update. All the formwork is down, area is cleaned out, ready to go. Extra soil is used to top dress the lawn I will be glad to move the aviary from where it currently sits to its original home. There is an update inside the aviary here

I had a bird collapse in the kindy cage once, whilst I was standing there. I bought it inside, put in a small cage, sat it on some paper towel in the cage. I gave it a spray with some water, and the paper towel absorbed some water so it was laying on a cool surface. I made sure there was a fan in the room, keeping the air cool, but not blowing on the bird directly. This bird has only ever had the one heat fit, if it was that, and is a brilliant looking bird. One of my best bred. A grey opaline cock if you are wondering - there is a picture of him in my new aviary shots (wattle flights) today.

I am guessing you are watching them from afar, where they cannot see you. One thing you do not want is to be constantly in their vision, or you will distract them from the very thing you want them to do - breed. Do you have multiple pairs breeding? My own recent breeding experience shoudl highlight the need to have multiple breeding pairs at the same stage so fostering can occur in some situations where it is required.

I think: Bird 1 - Violet Spangle Cock Bird 2 - Sky blue recessive pied hen Bird 3 - Sky blue opaline spangle cock Bird 4 - YF2 sky blue spangle cock

I am not sure whether there are any hard and fast rules as to how many clutches they have - be it 1, 2 or even 3. It comes down to breeding conditions in your breeding room and the breeding condition of your birds. :sadsorry: I did not say there were any hard and fast rules. I just observed that with some pairs that were great with their first clutch, there were a few issues with their second. Another little one died in the nestbox today. I checked the last survivor and there is food in its crop, so it has bee fed. Just interesting to see what will happen. I know that sounds harsh, and I am yet to master crop feeding, but if the birds come into this life and get an infection early, chances are they are not going to either fully mature to be a good bird, or they are always going to carry an infection. I know it sounds harsh, and I have treated the water with Triple C to give the birds a chance, but if this little one dies, and I think it will given what happened to its siblings, I will remove the nest box, treat the pair in there for whatever they might have, then return them to the aviary. There are no signs of any mites. I think that the infection has come from Mum.

Excellent explanation Nubbly

The conrete slab is ordered for Thursday, meant to get here at 1pm. I have to do the formwork before then, but that should not be a problem. Once the slab is done, I will move the aviary back say saturday, and then the birds back in it that afternoon, all should be good by next week. I do look forward to getting my paved area back outside my kitchen window. I will take more pics when I have completed the form work.

I have to say that Sydney weather is usually good. We do nto get the cold nights that much, nor the really hot days. Occassionally we have a really hot day, but 35-36 degrees it usually it. one day a summer it will get above 40, but that is unusual.

different hen. This is an albino hen that produced two lovely chicks in her first clutch. Breeding Pair Previous chicks One thing I have noticed is that all my pairs have had a more stressful time in their second clutch of breeding. Kiwi and Twitch had 4 in their first clutch, and only 2, one who had leg deformitites and had ot be euthenased in the second clutch. Dark Green Cock and GreyGreen Hen had 3 in their first clutch and only 1 in their second. Dumber(RIP) and his DF hen only had one clutch due to his death. Latte and Earl had 2 big strong boys in their first clutch and 2 smaller hens in their second clutch (smaller due to being hens I think) Now this pair. Maybe they are only meant to have one clutch, simple as that. General rule for my birds, not all.

wow, you guys are doing it tough. Does this weather happen every year? When I was over there last summer it was 42-44 degrees. Is this a normal thing for Perth?

Times like these you need to be topping up with crop feed with some triple c in the formula. Have you ever crop fed ? Yet to crop feed. They are so tiny, i would hate to try

When i came back from Perth, I was very hesitant about introducing bird. I had lost one before I left perth, one died when i got back, and one was showing signs of illness. I treated them all with doxy for about a month, then canker treatment for 10 days. After about 40 days i suppose, i put the goods one in with my flock. There was one hen who was still sick, and so she remained isolated. She was constantly being sick, regurgitating her food, cough and it was flying everywhere, plus the pooey bum, thin. I took her to the vet, and she was not showing any signs of canker, no signs of any illness actually. They thought it might be metal poisoning, but that proved inconclusive. Now, she was a very good bird, one I purchased from a good breeder over there, but she had obviously caught something off the birds that ended up dying. After about 7 weeks, with no determined illness, but all the signs, she was euthanased. The autopsy was carried out, and strangely enough, the results showed no major abnormalities. It was hard to determine what was wrong with her, but it appeared she would never recover, and thus why she was euthanased. Sometimes, it appears there are things that may occur with our birds, infections, that we are not aware of what they are or what causes them. I believe this was one of those cases. Remember when they test, they look for elements they know. They cannot test for something they do not know about. I do understand, to a degree what you are going thru and I hope, for your sake and the birds sake, that it all works out in the end.

would you not look a lot more obvious walking across a yard?

Well, the three eldest are gone, and the two young ones are not looking the best. It is funny, as they do not appear to have a full crop. No fosters available at the moment, just have to try to ride it out and hope the Triple C in the water helps.

Fran, I really dislike your willingness to introduce logical options to the debate - they often seem to make my own points appear convoluted and non-sensical. Please desist from this tactic. You agreement to this is greatly appreciated. Keep trying! Maybe with persistence you'll grind away and she will relent - one day! I take my inspiration from that fantastic children' story the little engine that could.....I think I can, I think I can.....

I wish there was something I could say to help you. I know how bad it is going through this.

you can vote either way, but my vote is for neither. Woe is me.

No visible signs of red mites. I have added triple c to their water They really do appear to have gone down hill fast. Another baby died, so the nest of 5 is down to 3, with one looking shakey.

There has to be an infection in the nestbox, probably stemming from the hen. In the last few days, the little ones have gone from being bright pink little things, to a pasty pink. This morning I found the eldest one dead, looking very pale. I am concerned that the hen is passing some infection on. What can i do? What can I put in her food/water to help?

I have just stacked them out of the way at the moment. I am not sure what I will do with them yet.

Fran, I think I can help you overcome the problem of beating them on the bench - it was an idea I had when they were just hatched - send them as travel partners with Quiche to me in Sydney. That way, they cannot beat you, everyone wins. okay, maybe not Kaz, but everyone else. What do you think Fran? Kaz? Me? "Oh yes, that is brilliant!!!!" Good, we all agree. Look forward to seeing them soon.

Looking good GB, well done.