lucy

Thanks Norm! Number 2 has fledged this morning. Meet Buzz... a little version of his Daddy! Now we're just waiting for Cosmo...he doesn't want to leave home yet. I think something quite strange is happening, in the aviary I have two nesting boxes, because there are two adult pairs, however the other adult pair, have not 'paired' up, so the 2nd nest box is empty. The Mum of the current babies is spending a lot of time in the 2nd nest box...could she be starting her next clutch before her other babies have all fledged? Also, does the little yellow dot on the back of Buzz (and his Dad's) head mean anything?

My first baby has fledged....I have named her (i think her) "Baby"...because she's adorable and my first :-) Here are Mum's proud happy snaps :-) Here she is sitting outside the nest box teasing her brother/sister who still hasn't ventured out yet!! Here she is with the other hen in the aviary...she has the prettiest blue on her belly and on her back. Ooops... :-) So that's one out, two to go! I know she is cinnamon and that's why I think she is a 'she'. Is that correct? And she looks pied, but is she dominant or recessive? And would she be called a 'cremino'? She looks like a real mixed bag to me...that's why she's so cute!!

Mum yes - Dad no. Mum spends all her time eating, just so she can feed the chicks. Dad used to feed Mum in the begginning, but isn't so much anymore and I've never seen the Dad feed the chicks. Personally, I think she's the one doing all the work. But she's doing a good job, maybe he thinks he isn't required!!! Waiting for them to fledge is so frustrating...they nearly go, then stop...nearly go, then stop.....they are going to slip very soon I'm sure!

Sorry judges, I did not add the following details to the photo I just sent you. Lucy, South Australia, mugmole@iprimus.com.au Picture taken 18 Nov 2007. These babies haven't fledged yet, but are spending a lot of time with their heads poking out the nesting box. It's not very often you see brothers and sisters showing so much affection!

Wanted to share with you some happy family snaps I took this morning. All three bubs very happy and healthy...making lots of noise and demanding lots of food from their Mum!! They are 5 weeks old tomorrow...I think they will be out of the nest box any day now!! Too cute... Happy Family...except one baby who is hiding

I thought it was too good to be true!

Hi All, I'm sure I saw a photo somewhere on the forum of a Blue YF Type1....but it's wings were ALL Blue, the same colour as its body. It looked striking and I can't find the photo again, I don't think it was a member's budgie, I think it was a link to a web photo. Can you get an "all blue" budgie, with no black, grey or cinnamon markings on its wings? If so, what would it be called? Cheers, Lucy

Thanks Karen :-) At approx what age can you tell their sex by their cere's?

I have some more recent piccies...all the bubs are happy and healthy!! Baby 1...he/she not only looks like their Dad, but holds their head up tall and proud like he does too.... in other words...a little cocky ;-) Baby 2...my little Dominant Pied ;-) Cute! The yellow on its wings is so bright. Baby 3...is my favourite (ssshh, don't tell the others) The blue on its back is a lovely colour...problem is, it likes to bite! I think it might be a girl!!! Does anybody have any idea what sex these chicks are?

Thanks Norm! :-)

Hi Lucy, the albino is a blue based bird and the recessive pied split to lutino would also therefore be split for blue. Feathers. Surprisingly, I understand that explanation!! Thank you.

This is a photo of the other male in the aviary (with the hen that died). Does this explain anything? Or are you going to tell me that this hen might have laid an egg in the other hen's nestbox....:-) The plot thickens!!

Your right, it is in an aviary, but the other cock in the aviary was preoccupied with his hen (who died after these babies were born), so I would be very, very surprised if he was a father. The two pairs seemed to keep to themselves. What does 'heavy subfusion' mean? Which baby is definately a dominant pied? Is this situation a little strange? It wouldn't surprise me because I always seem to end up with animals which are a little 'different' :-)

Such cute babies and such a variety in one clutch! Where would the blue be coming from?

Well spotted, I've never noticed the slight green tinge to her belly!! So, I assume its possible for a non-lutino budgie to have red eyes? What would you call the Mum in this case? This is all so interesting, I can see why so many people enjoy breeding budgies!

At this stage, Baby 3 eyes do not look red. I assume, if they were red it would be quite obvious like the Mums. It will be very interesting to see how they come along!!

Ooops..I accidentally removed the photos with the links in my first post. So I will put them in this post.....with pics of the BABIES!! I had to take them out to clean their feet up so I took a baby snap of them all whilst I had them out. First, Mum & Dad again This is Baby 1, I think he/she is going to be a lot like their Daddy This is Baby 2, similar to Baby 1, but has more Yellow on its wings And finally, Baby 3...much paler shade of Yellow and appears to have very little black...could he/she be like their Mum? Is it normal that the older the babies get the less time the Mother spends in the nesting box? She seems to go in to feed them, but spends more time out of the box than in. The babies appear healthy though, so I'm very happy. :-)

Hi Karen, Thank you. Yes, I can see into the nest box and I check on the bubs all the time. It's just difficult to get into the aviary with the camera. Everything is going smoothly and the babies are getting their different colouring. It's interesting, Norm suggested that if the father is carry a lutino gene, one of the babies could be a lutino. Fingers crossed...I think one might be, because it looks a different colour to the other two.

Thanks Norm, I will definately put some pics up when they come out of the box. At this stage, the three babies do all look a little different, so it will be interesting to see!

Hi All, I am very new to budgie breeding! I started with two pairs in a communial avairy. Sadly, one of my hens died - i think of old age because she was given to me by a friend and looked quite old. My other three birds I purchased from local bird breeders. I purchased my cocks and hens from different breeders to make sure they weren't from the same parents. I am going to find a new hen for my lonely male soon. The other pair however, didn't waste anytime. She laid 6 eggs, 4 of which hatched. One of the babies did not last very long, so now I have three heathly babies. The babies are about 3 weeks old now. This is Mummy This is Daddy...isn't he handsome http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd187/mugmole/daddy.jpg I don't know what their parents looked like. So it will be interesting to see the colour of the babies. Already I can see all three babies have yellow on them, none of them seem to have red eyes like their Mum. Somebody may have an idea???? As you can see, I am very new to budgie breeding and I need to learn all the different terms for describing them! Unfortunately I can't get close enough to the breeding box with the camera to take photos of the babies, but when they venture out in a few weeks time I will post pictures of them. Photo changed to link as it exceeded the forum maximum size of 450 x 450 pixels. Feathers.