Norm

I definitely think Jimmy hit the nail on the head, those lips would never be free from sugar & yucky sticky stuff from all the cakes & donuts, that passed their way. I don’t blame the G/F from keeping well away…no wonder he’s sleeping on the sofa, she probably can’t stand the slip, slop slurp of those lips as they suck cake even during the night. he he he!!! Poor Budgie I guess it didn’t have a chance or choice in the matter… "I kissed an angel"...pity the poor Budgie wasn't that lucky...

Congratulations GRANNY…I remember Midori when she was a chickie…do you know if Beau is split for Opaline at all? Good luck.

Yeah Pale Ale has certainly changed, been a big colour change, you might be right it might have been some infection, as it looks like it got over it, you would think if it was genetic it wouldn’t have change so much. Best of luck Dave, they're all looking good.

I'm glad to hear the good news...let's hope he keeps on keeping good.

Yes I agree I think she is a Yellow Face Opaline Cinnamon Violet.

Liv...If that Pied is the bird your taking about it has more than scaly mite it also has some beak problem. It must not be a young bird as that beak has grown & already been cut, I would suggest that it’s beak would be a continuing problem, it even could be beak & feather disease, something you certainly don’t want to bring home to your flock. I know many of you feel you need to help birds, but in my opinion bringing home sick or un normal birds is a problem, better stick with healthy ones, they will give you enough problems themselves.

It’s a bit tricky Neat…I was waiting for some others to have a stab at it…is it completely White on the breast. It looks sort of Recessive Pied to me often they have most of their colour on their rump. Could be a Dark Eyed Clear with heavy suffusion on the rump although they are supposed to be completely White.

No Maesie I don't go for the burial thing any more, just dispose of them so that the dog or other wild things wont get them.

The Budgie Taj Mahal.

No one likes loosing birds, it always hurts, but I have been keeping birds since I was 7 years old & used to cry & carry out burial rites etc, but at about 9 years of age I thought to myself if your going to keep birds some are going to die & in those days there weren't any bird vets to help, you better get used to it or give up. So I always do my best for them, but once their dead there's no way they are coming back, I just get on with the ones that are alive knowing that even with losses you can have improvements & win in the end. And of course hopefully your birds will get stronger with each generation. It's unreal to think that you can keep birds without losses. Certainly if you have a red mite infection you will loose birds, especially in warm weather, alway keep an eye out for them, so they don't build up, to where they can cause damage. Even in a nest of chicks each bird is an individual, even though related each one is genetically different some survive some don’t. Like Kaz says often with no apparent reason. It can be a disease or genetic fault; even with disease some die others live.

Looks female to me, but a larger picture would comfirm.

Great job Kaz, going to be a few bird in there [looks large].

Sounds like you have already done what I would usually do. If I put a pair together & they have infertile eggs, I will often let them have another try. And if that fails, if they are special in some way I will give them a rest in the aviary, then pair them with a proven mate that has already proved they can produce fertile eggs, with another bird. Another thing that has worked in some cases, was if a pairs first eggs were infertile instead of just taking the eggs away & leaving them to go down again, which I often found took ages, I have given them some foster chicks & after that they seem to go down quicker. After trying them a few times especially after mating with a proven mate, if they are not special to you in some way, I would give up on them & either retire them or get rid of them. That’s why I find you get plenty of duds from pet shops.

Calm down girls no fighting...(Laughing out loud)... smile..

Yeah the Blue series ones have almost White breasts a lot lighter than their Dad, but they may moult out Darker later. There are some Dominant Pieds among them also, as Mum is Dominant Pied.

Don’t worry Libby you’ll get some more… it was a pretty good batch only one egg didn’t hatch. Before I bought the hen Fallow I only had the one bird, this Dad who is a Blue Fallow, at first I tried breeding him with one hen that just wouldn’t breed then I changed him to another & his fertility has been real good. I have quite a few split birds that I can pick from now when the young ones get old enough to breed. Thanks for your opinion Sunnie on my other Fallow who I want to mate soon as I get a cabinet for him. From a distance & in the aviary I though he looked like a hen, but from that picture he looks like a cock to me too. Thanks for your thoughts Jimmy, just as well I'm some distance from Melbourne & hopfully my birds are safe...I only have two Lacewings & I don't think the cock is any good either.

Some quality looking chicks there Kaz, that's one way to keep the little buggers still for a camera shot…squeeze a bit more & their eyes will pop…(Laughing out loud)…

Thanks guys for your kind wishes. A couple of pictures of a nest of my first batch of Fallow chicks one with flash & one without. And another nest of Opalines I think they are called Violet Greens.

How: I Googled looking for Budgie forums just a bit over one year ago. Why: To find others to share my experiences with breeding & looking after Budgies. Now: Enjoy helping others & discussing problems & other thoughts with fellow Budgie nuts. Who do I have now: Approximately around 300 Budgie…about 20 Cockatiels…about 30 Canaries…about 40 Fischer’s Lovebirds & 8 Gouldian Finches…not one with a name. A dog [Tida] A sheep & a horse [igy]. Liv…why did you do that, you know he wont use the money in a sensible way [buying Budgies] & will just waste it on more cake.

Comon Nicknack…behave!!!

Best of luck Aly, I hope he makes it...like someone else asked how old is he?

That’s difficult Derek, I think they are just a colour intensifier a bit like Violet & Grey, they darken the colours, but what I think is if you look at the pictures on here you will see that the feathers on their breasts seem to vary more, whereas most other colours the feathers are basically the same colour. You get darker feathers & then lighter ones on the same bird.

Don’t worry Neat you wont be the only one, they are not really that much different, it’s really subtle, but it’s just interesting that it’s a new mutation. I have only seen them in a few colours & hope to breed them into other colours to see the effect. Just interesting I think.

Next time I have a blood test I will ask to confirm if that’s what I had, but there’s nothing they can do for it, just rest, a little excise & good food. I hate getting blood tests, but I’m sure it wont be long before they want to take some, they do it all the time these days…yes frustrating & a bugger not being able to do all you want…but seem to be starting to feel better.

Just a foot note to this post…it took me a long time to think of it, as my legs & joints have been giving me trouble for almost two months, I was putting it down to old age, giving up coffee, doing some work on a floor…but the coin has just dropped maybe I have Ross River Fever Virus from the mosquitoes, as they have been real bad this year with all the rain we have been getting. The only way I could be sure would be to have a blood test, I got tested a few years ago as it’s quite common here, but I hadn’t had it at that time, but I had, had Barmah Forest Fever which is similar. At least you can recover from that whereas it’s hard to recover from old age…(Laughing out loud).