**Liv**

Thank you Chrystal feather, that sounds liike really interesting stuff and i willl look into it. :rofl: WOW kaz, do you think mine are heading for that look?? or are there different levels of FD??? can they have shorter feathers or will it just get worse as they get older???

Yes i will be keeping these little ones as comfortable and healthy for as long as possible they are so soft and cuddly. :rofl: It will break my heart when they pass... but for now I want to learn as much as i can about them

Great words of wisdome there. I believe it to be a recessive gene, which means that both parents are split to it. It appears i have 3 dusters in this nest. here they are.... (they are rather sweet)

*gulp*

Your babies are beautiful Kaz, They will do well!! I love the way they perch so well for you.

Parents are Robbie and Renee Some siblings, i don't have photos of them all

thanks Dean and Korsp, I am going to keep and eye on this chick and i will keep taking photos as a progression to the condition if it is in fact a feather duster. This may turn into a educational thread

okay, Thanks Kaz

Yeah.. the other photos dont really show it... but that one does. So what does that mean.. for the chick, its syblings and the parents??? This chick has 8 siblings.

a real bummer

That is really interesting about the charcoal. I dont use it either, but its interesting to know that it may not be all that safe.

I don't know.. i have never heard of raspberry vinegar.

Is this chick turning into a.. ummm... *gulp* feather duster???? The feathers on this chick are longer than any others I have seen and the flights are heavy and loose. Looks very scruffy and i cant see its eyes unless i lift its feathers up. Will these feathers keep growing longer and longer

The father of that chick is not the actual dad. Its a DF dominant pied hen and being that its not opaline, it cant be from that cock. same with the second round. its quite normal for hens to mate with many cocks when colony breeding.

Thanks for that info Renee. It looks good. Mine don't get mineral supplements, so this pair must be missing something the others are not. she will eat an entire cuttle bone in a day or two too.... I will get some Minerals for her and see how it helps. the chicks are not stunted at all, but she is starting to look tired. I might take her out and let the cock finish.

Thank you GB and ghazzigh, your comments are much appreciated. It is interesting about the box being too hot, i hadn't thought of that. They are in an uninsulated breeding room so the temperatures are between about 10 - 19 degrees over 24 hours. She is mostly still in the box, so it may be a heat thing. The hen has a pretty good diet, however that doent rule out a deficiency in something. I will keep a close eye on them

Lovely looking little chicks. I hope the little sickly one makes it.

I have bred all different sized budgies with no issues. The main thing is a large cock bird mounting a significantly small hen may have trouble holding balance and a small cock bird over a large hen may not be able to reach his vent to hers - but they are in extreme cases

He is still a boy. He looks a little out of breeding condition, that is all. Nothing to worry about. He's a very handsome recessive pied too

Sounds like a plan. Mouseproofing is very hard. I wouldn't like to try mouseproof our garage either Your breeding room is going to be awesome!

That is a lovely pair. they are still very young. only about 4 months old or so. They have some more growing and maturing to do, and should be ready to breed around the new year They look very VERY similar. is it possible they are brother and sister???

Why don't you breed in your garage and use the new aviary as a second flight???

Hi there Tam Sounds like Coco and Kimba have bonded. its normal for budgies to bond closly to one another. There is nothing wrong with them bonding and it wont lead to any breeding if they dont have a place to nest. Budgies have been known to hunt out places in the home to nest in so be careful she doesnt start looking outside the cage. For now i wouldn't worry.

She has 6 chicks - three of her own and 3 fosters. I can not foster these chicks as she is my foster There is no smell associated with the dampness and the chicks are all clean. I keep thinking she is deliberately wetting the nest - she did it with her first clutch as well, but i thought it was a leak in the shed roof at first - she is in a totally new location this time so its not a leak Thanks GB, The dietary imbalance sounds interesting - i wonder what it would be?? She has lots of shavings in her nest too. I love your idea for keeping the concave dry.

Hello and welcome! Its great to have you here