splat

I use newspaper in all my breeding cages with no problems at all, half the breeders I know use it too.

Looking Great Kaz, Heaps of breeding cages

They are gorgeous babies Bullet but I agree with the others the white one and the green at the back both look like they are being plucked. Keep a close eye on them and maybe take away the offender, if its the mother, they look old enough for the father to feed and if it's the dad take him out. When I leave my babies for the father to feed at that age I put them on the floor with a make shift nest box just with sides and top I have used large tins too not with sharp edges the ones that come with lids and I smash the bottom so it sits flat and it works a dream and with this can they can cuddle up in it and feel protected and warm and dad and see and hear them and so he feeds them.

I agrre with Kaz, I bought a big ladder a couple of years ago and found it a total waste of money.

How old are the chicks and are you using invermectin

Welcome Penny, Coco is gorgeous

Great Photos Liv and gorgeous babies too. like to see them when they get older.

That's a great idea Kaz, good luck with it all, when I live in Bendigo Halloween was a fairy big thing lots of kids would dress up and go out with their parents around our area.

I also have branches leading up to the main perches for the ones that have trouble flying and I have food and water etc on the floor but they sit on stands so they don't get dirt or Sand in them as 3 of my aviaries are sand based floors.

Really cool Kaz but I am already spooked, :bump:

Here's an article on the subject Artificial Insemination A lecture as given by Nigel Tonkin to the South East Branch of the Avicultural Society of South Australia. I was approached some 12 months ago to see if I would be interested in participating in this, your special night. The subject suggested was AI. I almost had to give an apology as I was also booked to travel at this time to Europe to judge in Switzerland, and Judge and talk on the Budgerigar scene in Australia in Sweden, and to enjoy the European hospitality. Unfortunately an illness prevented me from traveling so I guess you are stuck with me. There has been considerable discussion of late on the subject of Artificial Insemination in Avian species and in the main budgerigars. I am no expert on the subject but I do follow AI happenings with interest. I will be showing a few slides on the preparation of the bird through to collecting the semen, administering the semen to eventual chicks. I will also prepare a bird or two as a practical demonstration and hope like blazes that I have some luck in the collecting of some semen. In the United Kingdom, budgerigar fanciers are not permitted to use AI for reproduction in their hobby, this is the only country that I know with these restrictions - how they would enforce the rule is beyond me. I do not use AI but would if the need arose - the need may come around due to the damage of a Cock or Hen with 1 leg, thus making mating difficult. In endangered species, I would have no hesitation in using the AI process and I would encourage incubating the eggs and hand rearing of the chicks to re-establish numbers of that species. The Macquarie Encyclopaedia Dictionary gives the following meaning for Artificial Insemination, a method of inducing pregnancy by artificial introduction of viable sperm into the canal of the cervix, widely practised on cattle and horses for the purpose of selective breeding. If one was to re word this to suit our purposes, the following could be said a method of inducing fertility by the assisting with the introduction of viable sperm into the vent of an avian species for the purpose of selective breeding. Graham MeGuire, a budgerigar fancier from a Melbourne,Victoria suburb, has written articles and lectured on this subject over the last 2 years. I certainly do not wish to steal his thunder. He obtained a video from the USA on the subject and was very quick to perfect the art of extracting sperm from the cock and inserting into the hen with many positive results. I have visited Graham's establishment for the purpose of learning more on the subject. I also had a copy of the video sent to me from the USA, it is not very clear. A Dr John Pilkington of the United Kingdom has also put pen to paper on the subject, I will no doubt throughout the evening pass on some of the information these fine gentlemen have put into print. Reproduction The typical male reproductive cell, which is known as a sperm, is a motile (moving, or capable of moving spontaneously) cell with a head containing the nucleus and a whip - like tail with which it swims. The typical female reproductive cell, which is known as an egg or ovum, is a rounded cell many times larger than the sperm, and containing large amounts of cytoplasm surrounding the nucleus (Funk & Wagnell). The natural process among animals and plants by which new individuals are generated and the species perpetrated (The Macquarie Encyclopaedia Dictionary). Sperm Production Enhanced The ovoid testicles of avian males are situated deep in the back of the species and are located close to the kidneys. In the cooler months the testicles of a Budgerigar are about the size of a pinhead after the shortest day. As daylight hours increase, the size of the testicles increase gradually to the size of a pea, giving a better chance of producing quality sperm in quantity. I have read that it has been recorded in some species that a 350 fold plus increase in the testes size has occurred during the breeding season. AI - Assisted Insemination My view is that the system you are seeing tonight and the system that most fanciers talk on or write about could be called Assisted Insemination and not Artificial Insemination, although I guess one could not argue that the collection of semen is not artificial. We the fancier are not inserting tubes into the bird as in cows, horses, sheep and even turkeys and other species of poultry. We are just assisting the sperm via a tube to the cloaca of the female and from here nature takes over. The normal mating procedure is, after courting the male mounts the female, the cloaca of each join and actually turn inside out, semen is released and the sperm travel up to the ovary area. This sperm can remain 'active' for a long period of time. I have had a Cock bird die when egg one was laid by his mate and after the 7th egg was laid all were fertile, that is another 12 days later. In most Artificial Insemination procedures, the semen is collected, packed in mini or medium straws and stored in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of 196deg C. and then used on the selected 'client' at a later date. At this temperature, semen will last for years. Successful insemination have been performed with semen stored for over 20 years. Semen could be relocated from area to area within a country or to another country, with the budgerigar it is all over in 5 minutes or it is too late, thus I continue to suggest the procedure, we are talking about tonight is Assisted Insemination. Preparation for AI 1/. Pair required birds or an infertile Cock to a required Hen. 2/. Wait 8 - 10 days (Budgerigars) then remove all feathers from the vent area on both the Cock and Hen, including feeler feathers. 3/. Either wait for egg 1 to be laid or, 'guess' that an egg is due to be laid in a day or two and start the AI process. A good guide to readiness, is the Hens droppings become large and loose in appearance. Have at the ready a plain glass capillary tube (the tube must not be Heparin coated as Heparin is toxic to sperm), the tube is to be used only the once and then disposed of. 4/. Catch the Cock bird and hold in a way that exposes the vent area. Use a soft stroking motion drawing up from just under the vent. The tail is positioned dorsally, and with continued stroking, pressure is placed laterally on the cloaca to encourage ejaculation. If semen is not present after 6 -7 strokes, the Cock does not have semen readily available. This could mean 'not in season' or perhaps 'already ejaculated' prior to your attempted intervention. If there is semen present, let the capillary tube draw it in. If only one person present, the capillary tube needs to be held in the mouth for this process, either retain the tube in the teeth or put it down on a clean dry area. A modified massage technique is to simply apply pressure on both sides of the cloaca to empty the contents. 5/. Catch the Hen and hold her, exposing the vent, stroke under the vent area to encourage the release of all fecal material. It is suggested that a tissue be used to'mop'the vent area to ensure no faeces remains and in particular urates, which are even more toxic than the faeces to sperm. 6/. Add further pressure to the vent area to expose the moist pink fleshy internal of the exposed cloaca. 7/. Release the pressure and the 'suction action' of the vent will start and draw the sperm in. * With larger avian species, it is essential that 2 or 3 people are involved in the collection and dispersion process to give a chance of a successful result. Note: (a) From removal of the sperm from the cock bird to the insertion to the hen should not go any longer than 5 minutes as the sperm will harden and become glue like after this period and be of no value. ( If all the faeces has not been removed from the hen prior to insertion of the semen,the hen may go to the perch after release and defecate, thus wasting the exercise. ©If the cock defecates whilst semen collection is taking place,the exercise should be aborted at that point. AI: Advantages = (A) / Disadvantages = (D) * If a Cock or Hen has been injured AI and permanently disabled thus unable to mate, the procedure would be beneficial. (A) * If a Cock or Hen is deformed from infancy and this procedure is used, the possibility is that a 'deformed gene' could be spread through an aviary with mass production of that deformity. (D) * A quality Cock bird can be used to fertilise numbers of hens. (A) * The potential is there to 'spread' unwanted genes, inherit- ed bad traits. (D) * If a family trait is low fertility then this system will over time increase the infertility problem either naturally or by using AI. (D) * If used as a tool for saving endangered avian species. (A) Research - Not the Available Dollars In larger animals with commercial value, millions of dollars are spent on research into AI and, potential stud animals are tested for libido and perhaps milk production (cows) perhaps wool production (sheep) perhaps twin production (sheep) perhaps speed or staying power (horses). If there are failings in a particular family then the 'sire' may be culled and his close relatives further assessed for that failing. There is no such money available in the Avian Research bucket for such a programme (nor is there for any amount of other desirable/ required Avian research, mores the pity) nor will there ever be unless there is deemed by Government, a Commercial return at the end of the exercise.

WOW1 Lovely babies Kaz, you should be really happy with them.

Don't worry my young are doing the same. They are just practicing for the future, well that's what I tell myself

I think boy too, pretty bird

WOW! that's great Renee, you have done so well congratulations. When my son won heaps of trophies at his pony club meet a couple of them were perpetual ones but they gave him a smaller one to keep for ever with his details on it. That's what your club should do too. Well I thinks so anyway because if it was me i would like to keep something for the memory

Know I didn't see that and that is really scary, But the whole idea of the oil is the birds are not meant to eat it because of the taste, Some people use Vaseline which you would think that would be worse being petroleum

Name: Julie Pets: Buddy the Galah found him on the side of the road with a broken wing Favorite Color: any colour except orange Astrological Sign: Taurus Age: 50 young Weakness: Can't say no, but that's all good and my spelling is pretty lazy sometimes Strength: Honesty and a caring nature Favorite Animal: Horses, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel use to breed and show them years ago when I was married, sold them all when we separated it was too much to look after plus 4 sons. and of coarse my birds Favorite T.V. Show: Packed to the Rafters Live: in the Goulburn Valley How long have been a BBC member I don't know, over a year I think

Hi Neat, I agree with Liv, Try dad first and then if that doesn't work try spoon or syringe because to my horror not long ago I tried to save a young one about the same age with a crop and I don't know how I did it but I must put it down the wrong way and he died in my hands and mind you I have done heaps like that. Took me a while to get the courage up to do it again. You can try putting baby oil on the baby, some times the parent don't like the taste.

Nice aviary MB I wouldn't mind it here:), I am running out of space NEED more aviaries

Thanks guys, the cobalt spangle is a yellow face and only the slightest bleeding of yellow in the wings but its too small to show. BUT I have been striving for that wing marking for 2 years now as most of my spangles are opaling or cin and the wing markings are very light. But this year I am doing much beter.

The one that you say is pied doesn't have the pied mark on the back of the head, are you sure it is not a yellow face blue because the yellow can run right through and make the wings and head yellow or lemon.Just having a guessor it good be a yellow face sky blue pied

Did before Kaz and it is showing up, so I hope I did it right

Hi everyone Here is a few pics of some of my babies This lot is from nest 16, the parents are Dark Green Dom Pied male and sky blue hen, the 2 cobalt's are theirs and the dark green and they have a sky blue pied in nest 13 and the grey spangle belongs to another nest which is nest 8. This is nest 13, the parents are grey green male and grey green spangle hen, they had an grey green opaline cin hen which is in nest 8 and 4 grey greens, The pied belongs to nest 16 This nest is no 9, the parents are grey green male and grey green cin spangle hen, they had 3 babies a grey green spangle and a grey green cin spangle and a grey. Only the grey is in this nest and the other 2 are in nest 8. the yellow face white cin double factor spangle, the yellow face sky blue opaline and the cobalt cin spangle belong to nest 15. This is nest 4, the parents are yellow double factor spangle my winning bird and a cobalt hen, they had 4 babies This is nest 3 and the parents are a white double factor spangle male the brother to my winning bird and a cobalt hen, they had 3 babies. she has 2 babies from nest 4 This is nest 15, the parents are sky blue yellow face spangle male and cobalt spangle hen, they have 3 babies left in their nest but they had nine eggs and the whole lot hatched and I fostered them out. This is nest 8, all babies have been fostered in this is nest 5 the parents are grey green dom pied and mauve hen, they had grey green pied, cobalt pied, 2 cobalt's and Dark green. I hope you like will update with older pics soon

Maybe my baby is too old but here is a picture

Great buy, I agree with the others, I have my nest boxes on the side of my cages, we drill a hole in the wood then screw the nest box on up as high as they will go. I know most breeders have them on the front but my breeding room is not very wide so having them on the sides which gives me more room to move about without smashing into them which I nave done when some were on the front.