**Liv**

Time to hunt for a dark green hen Maybe Troy Holmes will have one

Thats my fault.... i could for the life of me remember who the breeders were.... thats why i choose to hide out in the birdroom

I hope your baby is not a FD. Watch the shaft of the feathers... if there is always sheath in the lower part of the feather and it doesnt seem to get closer to the skin as the chick grows, then it's a FD. Time will tell. for now its looking like a super Recessive so fingers crossed its not a FD! The voice/chirp is high pitched too. The screech (when they are upset) is normal.

Congratulations!!

I wouldn't breed with her either... too old in my books. Can you post a photo of her?? A blue ring is 04, not 03. I would (and do, use) 04 cocks... but not hens.

The hen we have is actually a grey green... does that change anything here???

Sometimes a dryness around the cere can indicate the beginnings of scaly face. But if its scaly face, then its in the extremely early stages... I would put it down to his moult for now. When his moult has finished, check again and see if its getting better or worse.

I can be... Its also the time of the year. the days are getting longer, spring is in the air, and its quite normal for a boy to be randy. If you want the behaviour to stop, try giving him about 13-14 dark hours of sleep, and change his toys around. If the behaviour is not an issue for you, then its not unhealthy to leave it be. You can still change his cage around and give him some different toys to help take his mind off his "girlfriend"

Awww look at thoes cute chicks. i just want to make them woolly jumpers!!

Me too... 100% HEN

I agree with Dean... dont dilute it. It will only make it less effective. Anyway, hes only a chick and will moult out any bleached feathers in a few weeks :hap: Treating the wound and possible infection risks is more important at the moment.

Hello and welcome. its great to have you here :question:

I am very sorry for your loss :question: The aviary floor being wet is extremely dangerous to birds. Wet seed and husks in the floor and in the feeders grow bacteria and mould really quickly. Also wet droppings spread disease and parasites far more quickly than dry droppings. Rodent urine and droppings is also extremely harmful.

Normally huge droppings (with normal consistency) come when a hen is about to lay an egg or spends a great deal of time in the nest box. if the droppings are runny and smelly they have bacterial infection and need treatment.

I was browsing google today and i came across this site which shows the top 4 birds for each country... quite an impressive look at what the best birds from around the world look like all together! http://wbo.bestofbreeds.net/rosettes2007.htm

I hope the little guy makes it. I cant tell if the chick is FD either... but the tail feathers suggest it might be. The hen attacking it could be another sign. What are the other siblings like?

Thanks Dean, I did consider an autopsy... but there are no registered avian vets here in SA so it would be more a slice and dice for the vets curiosity, rather than anything really beneficial or educational coming from it, so he was buried under a bush soon after he died. If there is someone in SA (breeder or normal vet) who is skilled with avian autopsies i would love to know.

Thank you all... :thankyou: Yesterday i noticed some blood coming from his preen gland and today he had some blood around his eye.. There was also dry blood throughout this feathers. The blood was very red and thin and i feel he had a blood clotting issue or lack there of. He never thrived and gained weight like the other two... The two DF chicks are both doing well

Quilla died today He was the weaker of the three and the one requiring the daily crop feeding. He is at peace :thankyou:

What a really cool set up you have there!! Congratulations on all your eggs too. Looks like your birds are really enjoying their new home :rofl:

Thanks GB Thanks for your advice Daryl. Your input is much appreciated. its the cock that is DF YF We have decided to split the parents and breed with them next season and keep a record of the FD gene through the line. Thanks Dave, i feel sorry for them too. I have trimmed all their eyes today... the poor little things looked at me through all that feather as if they have never seen the world before.

Beautiful post GB and i completely agree with you

bummer... never mind... Thanks for looking into it for me

Welcome

Hello and welcome. I agree with Kaz. Colony breeding is hard as you get hens who want the boxes and will kill the chicks to get it. There are also many other complications related to colony breeding. Are you able to post photos of how you have your aviary set up?