Hamish

You will be able to tell if the crop has anything in it. If it is empty it will just be pink all the way down its neck and will be uniform size down the neck.If it has been fed, you will see a bulge of clearer skin with white crop milk on the insde of it. It'll be located about 5mm from its beak in a new born chick. It is a very stark contrast so you should be able to tell by looking.This chicks a bit older but this is what it looks like. http://www.parrotmaniauk.com/files/2_days.3.JPG

Yeah it is, the pair that produced that bird were living in an aviary, 7 cockatiels and a galah. All the rest of the cockateils were paired up so the last two decided to pair up too. It was a total accident but I heard rumors that the lady sold the pair for $30,000 AUD. No idea if that is legit or not but it's pretty amazing none the less.

GB I think you will find when breeding show birds things are very different. I remember feeling the same when I moved from breeding a truck load of pet birds, to breeding three show chicks in my first season as a show breeder. The game that you are now playing is a totally different one, it is almost as if you are breeding a different species, that's how different the two types of birds are from each other; in every way. Fertility, size, health problems, feather problems, activity levels. Everything is different and it takes a bit of getting used to. Keep your head up, it takes time to learn the ropes and get a feel for the way that works for you. You'll have to adapt your own style and systems, and those sort of things don't happen over night. As far as our breeding season is concerned, we can only have one round at the moment because of changing leases and moving out to Gatton for university next year, so that is dissapointing because the birds are rearing to go now and the ones from the first round are laying again for second round so we have had to break pairs up. We had 5 cages down, and have bred 18 chicks, we had a few die young but since then nothing major. I would say that with new birds and a new setup I am happy with the start to the Australian breeding program. Hopefully early next year we will get a few more rounds out of them for the coming season.

Is pop related to snap and crackle!? I am surprised that a pied came from two normals?

Yeah they do have strokes, some lost function in their legs, some one leg, some can't fly anymore. I guess it is much the same as humans and the symptoms depend a lot on the severity. As far as recovery is concerned; if the bird is not too damaged and still relatively young and/or mobile, they generally are pretty adaptable to new situations. Plenty of them get around fine without the use of their legs or a wing, just use their beak and the appendages they do have. The important thing is to ensure they have food and water in a place where their new movement capacity allows them to reach.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news sailorwolf but we most certainly do have french moult in New Zealand. Recently the Auckland zoo was trying to establish a colony of budgies at the zoo, did serological testing on a hundred birds, all of which came back positive for PBFD. I had french moult in my aviary in New Zealand in 2007, haven't had it since but I have been to many breeders houses at home with runners all over the floor. So I think New Zealand has it just as bad as Australia. Interestingly I was listening to a lecture about veterinary treatment of wildlife recently, the Veterinarian talked about treating lorikeets which came in as runners (ie. they had french moult). At the moment they are euthenaised, but he said that there has been research that has come out recently suggesting that french moult and PBFD are endemic in the wild bird populations, and the recovered birds will just be carriers like everyone else, so, long term, I think they were looking at keeping the runners and rehabing the ones that were lucky enough to recover from the virus and ultimately release them. Interesting approach, and interesting that it is endemic. I would be interested in running some tests on the budgies at my place just for curiosity sake.

yeah I have heard the only real way to stop french moult heading through your nests of chicks is to stop breeding completely to break the cycle of the virus. In saying that, people do breed with french moult recoverees, apparently if they grow their flights back they are then immune to the virus and pass on that immunity to their offspring. To be fair though, very little is actually known about the virus I believe. Maybe one day someone will research it and find a cure

I am glad to see you have the same problem as we do when the chicks decide the ring doesn't quite fit yet and they leave it behind in the box

haha sorry, meant to write GREY WINGS!!!

haha if only we had a garage! I'd have somewhere to park my car so the bats and wild birds stopped pooing on it! But yeah, next year hopefully we will have some more space and a better setup because we will be living out further! Thanks for the thoughts about the birds, GB that is a cinnamon spangle cock that we bought at the same auction where Kaz picked up most of the clear wings. He was a bargin but we just don't know who to put him to at the moment! The thought is at the moment we will try for some double factors because we need to try and get rid of the cinnamon wing markings, and double factors would benefit from having the cinnamon. But yeah, not too sure yet!

Hi guys, I created a photobucket account, uploaded some photographs so hopefully I'll be able to post some on here for you to look at! I know Renee has been wanting to see our setup for a while so I have attached a photo of it! I know it doesn't have a safety door on the breeding room, and I know it's small and simple but it is the best we can do whilst renting in the city and trying to become vets at the same time! So yeah, basically, we bought an aviary, moved the safety divider into the middle of the flight and turned one end into a breeding room. We have 5 cages with pairs down, but have room for 8. Decided that 5 would be just fine whilst trying to give them the care they deserve. In total we probably had about 30 eggs laid in the first round, 25 were full and we currently have 18 chicks in the nests. Not outstanding results but for our first breeding season in Australia we are pretty happy. The early nests are not outstanding chicks but some of the younger ones look as though they might feather up okay ... fingers crossed!! Random nest of fosters, chick nearest us is from a George cock and a Ganzer hen, might not be too bad. It's siblings are all in another nest but are pretty boring at this stage so we will photograph them later! These three chicks are from the Daughter of Dave Ganzers national champion dominant pied cock put to a pretty average Ganzer hen, so not expecting anything great, but we will wait and see!! A nest of grey x albino that was supposed to give us albino split cocks ... Their sibling Split lutino chick Sibling The humble abode with my flatmate and breeding partner working away. Notice the fan to help with airflow on the still days! Next year we will be getting an extractor put in the back wall of each area and hopefully extending when we move out to Gatton for uni!! The spares! Now that I know how to do it and how long it takes, I will wait till after exams before uploading more photos! Hopefully by then we will have some nicely feathered babies to share!

Yeah nice job GB, they look great. It always seems like they take ages to feather when you are excited for them to grow up and get big!! That eldest opaline looks to have a nice blow on him! Nice job

Which lines are your birds from in toowoomba? You've done well for yourself!

I'm glad I'm not starting out breeding grey wings Kaz I think you might sweep the floor in a few years if you keep breeding birds like this!! Keep it up

Nice set up Shannon. Your budgie kingdom has expanded very quickly!! Nice work though, looks as though you have some great birds

Sorry to hear that Kaz, you and Ken are in my thoughts.

It sounds to me like you have done a good job, normally budgies are pretty hardy little things so he should be fine. If you are going to have birds of prey around your place though I would suggest trying to get hold of some more bird netting or avairy wire and double netting your aviary. That will stop future attacks, or stop attackee's actually getting hold of the birds anyway. Bugalugs should be fine without one toe, it is not uncommon to see birds missing toes when they get them stuck on something or caught through the wire like yours was! Keep us updated but it sounds like you have things under control.

good job Dave, sounds like your getting on with things well. This round maybe try and pair some more normal cock birds with normal hens. This way you will hopefully fix your opaline city problem!! The difficult thing is that some of the visually normal cocks will be split opaline too so regardless of how hard you try, the darn things pop out anyway! As far as your split opaline cock bird goes, if he is put to a normal hen. Opaline is sex linked so the hens that are produced are going to be opaline, or normals, any cocks that are produced are going to be normals/opaline, the same as their dad, or normals. I think that is correct anyway, correct me if I am wrong! Be sure to post pics of the new pairs.

Splat, I have only had random three week deaths once in my aviary in New Zealand. All chicks were dying with full crops and no obvious signs of illness at all, except for the fact that the nestmates were squashing them once they were dead. At first I thought nothing of it, passed it off as bad luck, but then thought, why would full chicks with nothing outwardly wrong be dying at three weeks? That year, I had 18 out of 30 chicks I bred turn out with french moult. So I did some research, and one of the things I learnt was that often chicks that are infected with french moult, either survive through that period and as they grow older drop their flight feathers, or, if they are weaker and not able to push through that period, they die. I am not going to come out and say that's what it is because I don't really know any of the history or anything, but it will be something you can keep an eye on. How many remaining chicks have you got in that nest? We can wait and see if this whacky theory of mine is correct when they fledge ... I would say the chances of me being correct are very slim, but at least it is something to explore regarding your chick survival. Alternatively it could be that the parents just haven't really clicked genetically and their chicks are just weaker and more susceptible to the diseases and things floating around the aviary? Finally, last piece of advice, get someone to help you with the cull. Get a friend who knows budgies and do it over a couple of weekends. There is nothing worse than making impulsive culling decisions and thinking back in a months time and wondering what could have been! It is better to be cautious and keep the peace whilst remaining happy rather than culling things you don't want to and resenting the fact you had to cull! Keep your head up though buddy, breeding animals is like that, good seasons, bad seasons, it is all part of the fun and the heartache that makes us love this hobby so much :angel: All the best!

nice job :angel: Thanks for posting photos, you seem to have had a successful first season! Is this the only pair you bred? I like the dark factor birds a lot!

someone once told me that if you have a big chick thats ring doesn't quite fit, put the leg in cold water, this contracts the skin and makes the leg a bit smaller, if it still doesn't work, apparently vodka works a treat. Something to ponder anyway ... I have never tried it but it might help you get those rings on!?

I like the bird, I agree with Nubbly, double factors are the way to go, his opalesence will reduce suffusion in the double factors wing markings. Put him to either a double or single factor spangle and you'll go well with him Good luck!!

Good stuff Dave, you are doing a great job and your thread makes for very interesting reading!! I am looking forward to seeing what your dark green cock produces, he is a lovely looking bird! All the best

You need to get them something called "chick starter crumble" most pet shops have it because it is what you feed to day old chickens. You just put this on the floor of his cage where you are keeping him. A couple of things to think about at this stage: 1. He has a heat lamp that he can sit under when he is cold, and move away from when he is hot. 2. Plenty of starter crumble and seed (millet or canary seed is ideal as it is very small) and water available at all times but baby quails sometimes have trouble drinking. Put some marbels in the lid of a jam jar and fill the base with water. This encourages them to drink when they peck at the shiny marbels, and the marbels also mean they do not drown in the water as they sometimes tend to do! 3. As he gets older, his wings will grow and he will start to jump. If he has a solid lid on his container its a good idea to change this to some sort of softer bird netting or something because I have had babies that jumped and smashed so hard into the roof that they break their necks and wings. Those are a few things I can think of off the top of my head. They are pretty hardly little things, good luck and keep us posted As a side note, I never had trouble with the babies being attacked by the budgies, maybe I was just lucky!

They are looking fantastic splat!! Got to be happy with them ehh! that opaline spangle sky hen is something I wouldn't mind in my aviary! Keep up the good work!