**Liv**

It has helped.. the chick is able to toddle around a lot freer. The long flights are loose and really get in the way and throw the chicks off balance when walking around. The excessive flights also weigh the wings down and make them droop. Clipping the wings have made the wings sit more normally against the body. I am not clipping all their wings as i want to be able to see the differences. Clipping the wing may cause the chick to moult quicker and put more strain on its body, but it also may not make a difference... So will have to see which works better for them. Here is the three of them today - The one with the clipped wings (Shaggy) is in the middle.) 10 Days of feather growth.... from this to this...

Oh my... how different the breeding of budgies is over there in comparison to here in Australia.

Thank you all. They are adorable... These three are staying with me as i am trying to grasp a strong understanding of their dietry requirements and how to increase their life span and quality of life. Sadly i think Quilla will be the first to perish as he is the thinner of the three chicks and still requiring crop feeding each day. The two DF spangles are plump and doing well

Looking great!! I am so pleased you got greywings

Looks AWESOME Dave!!! i bet you are so happy with how its progressing! We will be painting our birdroom the same green... its a lovely colour!

Your have great looking chicks!

Hello and welcome! I agree with Birdluv... is he moulting?? do you see more lose feathers around his cage... or are there pin feathers coming through on his head?? He may have been very VERY attached to that toy... is it possible a new one (that is safer) be added?? Budgies to bond to objects and he may be feeling quite put out that his favorite possession was taken. Also remove any mirrors he may have in his cage.

Awesome birds Linda! I had my eye on the two grey green Spangles.... they are BEAUTIFUL!! great to see they traveled so well

I totally agree Chrysocome, Legs are so tiny on a bird, but to the bird they are just as big and painful as our own leg. Every caution should be taken to ensure they are not injured more in the removal of a ring. So pleased you got the ring off yourself. plastic rings are easier than the metal ones.

haha too cute!! I love how they are so small.

The parents have already had two rounds and are now resting... we plan to split the parents to different partners next season

Hello and welcome! Its great to have you here

The blood in the feather is only at the base... so clipping wont be a problem in that way. I think i will give it a go on one of the chicks and see if it will help with mobility The parents are from two different breeders and do not contain the same breeders rings. They are probably from the same blood lines. i know the lines of the father, but have hit a dead end with the hens bloodlines.

Hello and welcome, The manner in which your hen lays the eggs is quite normal. Hens lay every second day and once chicks start to hatch its common to have very little ones with larger ones. Some people foster the older chicks out to hens with chicks about the same age so the younger chicks have a better chance. I tend to watch the little ones closely and make sure they dont get buried under all the older chicks. A good mother wont not feed a new chick... and quite often the older chicks will make sure the youngest is fed.

Not in this photo Kaz. I have just started trimming the feathers between the cere and eye on Quilla as he has them growing into his eye *OUCH* Thank you Libby... he is a boy in those photos isn't he... should look more closely next time - but i still like Quilla... just dont tell him its a girls name Thank you Daz. I will be sad when they leave us, but we still have 4 healthy siblings that we plan to breed with I am considering clipping their wings... or trying with clipping one birds wings... as the long loose flights seem to be quite a hindrance to their movement and balance. Thoughts???

Cirrus... I like it!! Thanks Kaz! You are so clever at names

It may not heal in time... the longer the leg is restricted of blood flow the more nerve damage there will be. Amputation is a lot trickier than it sounds so i hope it doesn't come down to that.

Sounds good. look forward to the vets diagnosis tomorrow. it looks nasty from the photo... yellow in the skin is never good

Dont know... going by your signature... does it matter?? I would get her there first thing... get her in a hospital cage with a lamp, not perch (unless she stresses without it) and paper floor so she can rest her foot. put some iodine or other bird safe antiseptic on the wound. i use ionic silver as an antiseptic on my birds.

Hello and welcome! Its great to have you here. Both hens and cocks will chatter... some hens dont, but many hens do

Take her to a breeder or the vet. you can not cut off a ring that is dug into the leg like that as you will cause serious bleeding. the leg looks infected and i would rush her to the vet to have to ring removed and the wound inspected.

Update time.... And yes need names for these three dusters I love Quilla Kaz, Beautiful thank you... This is Quilla. Quilla is a live wire and bolts around the cage. She can even climb the bars of the cage a bit and i caught her perching on the regular perch this morning. However with all her energy, she is not sustaining her food intake enough and requiring crop feeding. This one still needs a name.. he is a beautiful soft cuddlepot and this one is Shaggy. Thanks Hills. These are the FD's full siblings from this season. There are 9 chicks in total and the outcomes are interesting. These two siblings are from different clutches, they both have watery eyes, loose flights and "slow" in the head. Neither bird flys well and they both tend to stay on the flight floor. Their as doapy as the feather dusters but their feathers are not over growing. She is sitting with her dad. These 4 siblings are perfectly fine. they have no feather, eye or intellect issues... And the YF grey Opaline hen is the final chick. the parents laid a further 4 eggs before i removed them from the cabinet... I have one that is showing fertile under a foster, but i tossed the others out before they coloured up.

Mine bath in the seed husks that collect in the corner of the aviary. I know what you mean by the water getting filthy on the floor of the aviary though. I have seen my quails drink drops of water before so i believe they will be able to use a bottle

Your initial photos have vanished??

Golden face and Australian Yellow Face are the same i believe.