Dave_McMinn

great looking youngsters Kaz. I know you say she is mean and a biter, but I love Nasty. I always like the ones with more "character"

Well, it looks like Caesar and his hen have 5 eggs, and a sixth one is going to be layed any minute now. Dumb and Kestral seem to be stuck on 3 eggs. Luthor and his lute were slow starters but they are now up to 5 eggs as well. Twitch and his lady friend were moved from the cage they were in, to a newer cage, more room, better box, and although they preen and feed each other, there appears to be no action. I am going to swap his lady friend out and put in a grey hen (as shown below) I am also thinking of pair up some other birds. Not sure of the pairings. My birds are listed at the beginning of this thread. Any thoughts? I thought maybe Dumber with either my Double factor white spangle, or I might put him with a grey cinnamon wing hen jester might be good to go with the white DF spangle. That way, I am not putting a grey cock with a grey hen. I need more greens. Might look for some green hens at an auction at the weekend.

Currently Kaz has one open flight. I think you would be better having one open flight, not separated by gender. If you do want to separate, you are much better off having a kindy flight and an adults flight.

the picture of her when she was young does NOT indicate she was opaline. She cannot change with age, as it is a mutation she has or does not have at birth, she cannot acquire it. It is possible that she has what is called opalescance. There is where the colour bleeds into the wings a little, however she she has the bar on her head. She is not a true opaline. If she was a show bird, opalescnce would be seen as a major fault I am assuming. That is all I can guess based upon your description. If you can take a snapshot in the future, it might give us a greater understanding and enable far more scholarly minds than mine to assist you.

That is a big mistake there Kaz - Any chick lost is a tragedy, but it is good to see that another one of Omelette's is okay.

Look at that wonderful long mask and big beautiful spots. A wonderful addition to an aviary. A beautiful hen.

Isn't dilute recessive? Doesn't this mean you have to have to get the dilute gene from each parent to have a dilute youngster? What is the difference between a greywing and a dilute? Do greywings not dilute the body colour? How can you tell this is a dilute and not a greywing?

I love that the little one already has her financial security in mind - LOL. Thanks for taking on board MY suggestion - - I think the coin is a fantastic idea.

Interesting. They are definitely grey aren't they?!?!? At first when you told me I was thinking that maybe he/she was a grey opaline spangle, with the grey of the body colour bleeding through to the wing pattern, yet this little one does not look opaline to me. I look forward to seeing him/her, *** all of them, when they have feathered up more. I know you have purchased dearer birds, but Omelette is the best bird you have ever owned.

I disagree with Macka - I would keep them seperated in seperate cages in ssperate rooms, where there is no draft blowing through. I would wash my hands after handling a bird, regardless. I think Pearce is right in regard to clothes and the seed box.

when it rains it pours doesn't it?!?!?!?!?! Sorry to hear that the bad luck has passed between species. Hopefully it ends here

I am so sorry to read this Kaz. I wish I could do something to help. I am so sorry. As I told you the other day, you, Ken and your birds are in my prayers.

No, my lute girl i bought off Cec Gearing. Unfortunately Renee that little one did not travel well. I probably should not have taken one so young. She is no longer with us. It is exciting Liv, very exciting.

that is what I am going to have to do Renee. Twitch is ready to go, he just needs another hen. I might pair him with a good grey I have. Well, the good news is that I just checked the nestboxes before going to bed, and there are 3 eggs in with caesar and his girl, 3 eggs with Dumb and his girl, and the first egg with my green opaline male/lute, who I am now called Luthor, and his lute partner. Very exciting.

Well, twitch and his girl have shown no signs of breeding. he is mating more with the cage front. I might move them into a better breeding cage, and put another pair or two down to breed. Things look promising with all the other 3 pairs.

Boo is also opaline. That is why the blue colouring is on the wing pattern rather than the normal black.

All the chicks should be longer in length, though it is not 100 guaranteed. It is like if you had one tall parent and one short parent. You could get the height from one parent.

You know what, there is no cure for PBFD. If the vet says it is, then she has to be put down. i do not want to put my flock at risk. She was a free bird from a breeder. Only one choice, and i am going to do it now.

honestly not sure. what should i do with her? That is the big question

This bird has begin to lose feathers, originating out from under her wing. When a green bird lifts its wing, you can see the white downy feathers. On this bird, it sits is wings flat against her body, and the downy patch has grown, so it visible now, not just under her wing, but around on her front as well.

Well, one of my new birds was a gift, and here we are, a month later, and we can all see why. My hen, has french moult. She had dropped her flights, but as time has progressed she has lost some of her top (coloured) layer of feathers, exposing her white downy feathers. I have enver had a bird with French Moult before, so my questions are as follows: 1) If she was to join the aviary, would she expose others to French Moult? 2) She would pass it along to young, so should she never breed? 3) Is she worth keeping? I know that some people think that a bird that has no flights and cannot fly and is constantly losing feathers is "special", I am not sure I think like that. Any help here will be appreciated. I have read some other tpics of French Moult on here, but they never really answered questions in a way that really put my mind at ease.

I have done that Matt. I use a bird bath for the seed. Birds have to fly down to it, and then fly back up to perches. No other animals can get to it. I had hanging water dispensers, and the birds would get in there to swim, but a lot of droppings also ended up in there. This means that birds had greater potential to get sick. I have swapped to the water dispensers that hang on the side of the aviary, that have the ball bearings and the birds get the water out. It is a lot better, and less illness occurs because of this. in summer I also use one of these containers so the birds have an available bath

I would leave him with his mum, wait a week or so, then splint the legs. Keep the calcium up at the moment through water and/or soft food, but when you put the splint on, leave him in the nest with a splint. If he has the splint on for 2 weeks, he will be fine. Make sure the splint binds the legs but does nto overhand either side very much.

So the best layed plans often go astray. My pairs have changed a bit, due to readiness of birds and general judgements on well being. Four pairs down at the moment. Pair 1 - Caesar and an opaline, cobalt blue spangle They have their first egg. Pair 2 - Dumb and Kestral They have their first egg. Pair 3 - Green Opaline/Lute with Lute Hen Pair 4 - Twitch with Grey Green Opaline Hen

honestly, yes. I would think of what his favouite food is, then put it just out of reach of his beak, and kind of coax him off your finger onto the flat surface. Leave some of his favourite out on the flat surface. He will go there eventually. Is there any reason why he HAS to sit on a flat surface?