renee

when do you start your breeding ren and before hand when do you start your routine medical i use to pair in feb put box in 18th around about eggs layed by start of march april hatch may out nest and have a second lot staggered to have chicks hatching june july out then another stager of birds august hatching sep out and again october hatching november out thats it that was with my pets i havent got a routine with my show birds as yet as im not sure when i should start them I start treating in December. So far my flock has had 1 full course of Fungilin (for Mega) and 1 full course of Turbosole (for Canker). Currently all aviary birds are on their second day of S76 (for Lice/Mites/and some Worms) which I do every month anyway. I'll give them a few days of Probiotics next and then re-do a Fungilin course. THEN I'll be pretty confident about drastically reducing the chances of residual Mega. Before the end of the month is up they'll get a second shorter course of Turbosole. You have to remember that I have had 3 hens diagnosed with low level Canker so everyone has to be treated as a precaution. Some time in February I'll commence the annual Doxy treatment ... I like to separate the hens at the beginning of April and pair up and put down to breed at the end of April when the Autumn rains begin. But it all really depends on when it starts to rain and who is in breeding condition ... The last hens to finish are the last to go down. Most chicks start hatching out in May.

Sounds like a good plan! I don't breed over summer and that is their rest time and time for me to implement a comprehensive maintenance medication routine. Six months rest is about right for me.

Just for starters: http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....showtopic=16778 http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....showtopic=13182 :emoticon112:

Ooooooh a Clearwing breeder! Yipeee! Welcome to the BBC :emoticon112: Feel free to post pictures and do a search for our Clearwing debates AND add your comments!!!

Hi Patti and Welcome to the BBC! :emoticon112: I would suggest you do some reading in the Breeding forums, there are plenty of topics that deal with the Dos and Don'ts of Budgie breeding. Don't feel too badly - this is your first time as a "breeder" and it can be challenging for the experienced as well. Sometimes baby chicks do not survive, it is more often due to an infection passed on by the mother hen or caught in the nest box. Further reading should help, please feel free to post more questions once you have had a look.

How many days old is this chick? It does look big. Nine days old :hug: I thought they got their down by this age? Not all of them - it depends on the variety!

Hi Alicia, I would take her to the vet asap and hopefully they will show you how to crop feed. You can get a crop needle at the vets or a pet store as well as some Budgie Handrearing Formula. You can also do a search for CROP FEEDING, there is an instructive topic on it and there may even be a video too. SEARCH function is Top Right of your screen, you can also look in Pinned topics on Breeding Tips and Help ... Best of Luck!

I am not so sorry, he was a wild bird and no doubt full of nasties as well as the fleas I saw. He was a bag of bones and obviously very dehydrated, who knows how long he had been out of the nest? We have had very hot weather lately .... he certainly drank up the 4 tablespoons of water I offered him ... I think he was just too far gone by the time I got him. Have spoken to the vet and should I be dumped on with any further wild birds he has agreed to take them off my hands. He has an interest in wildlife, so that is good. I prefer wild birds to be a pretty addition to my evening skyscape .... that is in the trees over the road.

Just had a check on the little one and I'm afraid he didn't make it through the night I guess he was just too malnourished when I got him and I gave him too big an initial feed? I subsequently learnt you are only supposed to feed a little at a time ... I hope he is happy in Bird Heaven.

All clothes are in the washing machine and I have had a very thorough shower! :hi: okay, good advice ~ Thank You

Well thanks for the quick reply :hi: He is not going anywhere near my budgies! He is in "quarantine" in the house for now.

I know that plastic nest boxes are popular in Europe because they are easy to clean and long-lasting but not sure how they would fare in the heat ...

There you go, I knew someone would know for sure! :hi: 24cm that sounds right!

Well I must be known as the "bird lady" around these parts as just over an hour ago I got a knock at the door and a complete stranger stood there holding a Magpie chick in his hands ... To my private horror he had decided that I was the best person to care for it ... Despite my protestations he was not taking no for an answer and politely but firmly (he was a gentleman) handed the chick over into my care. I reckon he's about 2 weeks or so old. Well I gave him some water and made up some budgie hand rearing mix and had a go at crop feeding it. From what I can see magpies don't seem to have crops, I suppose 'cause they are not seed eaters ... anyway he took 7mls okay. While I was attending to his immediate needs a nasty flea like creature crawled off him so next on my list was a dose of lice/mite/worms treatment. Now he is wrapped up in a tea towel in a cage in the house. I don't rate his chances due to my complete ignorance on magpie rearing but should he survive the night the vet is paying a house call tomorrow so I will see what he says. In the meantime, Does anyone have any tips for the short-term????!

Well National winners of certain dominant varieties do have an 'ideal' length ... can't remember off the top of my head ... maybe 22 inches? However, I heard via the water cooler that one of our top breeders has a picture of the Aussie standard bird and culls birds that do not meet it .... not sure how much truth there is in that But as Kaz says, as important as Length is, there are other qualities such as deportment, shoulders, backscull, feather quality, etc. that need to be considered too. :hi:

Hello and Welcome! It looks like Piki is an Opaline Sky Blue budgie .... I'm **** at sexing so I'll leave that for the 'experts'

Incubation time is a rough guestimate ... in fact it tends to be a little longer in winter and a tad shorter in summer as temperature plays a big part

I wasnt too happy about that either............wont encourage others to be offering birds next auction, will it ? I anticipate that the $5 fee for unsold birds will not be repeated next year ...

No Well this concerns me Kaz As you say you have bushland quite close around you and from what we have experienced already this summer in WA it looks like it may be the worst on record ... I did hear on the news or somewhere of someone throwing wet dunas over the aviaries to keep the smoke out and reduce embers attacks ....I guess that is what I would do ... I do have a few white wire cages but I wouldn't be able to fit all my birds in them ... this thread is really making me think about it ....

no...Air bubble does not mean infertile Oh well, the ones I've had with air bubbles have inevitably been infertile .... evidently not a conclusive sign though I should add that all eggs have an air sac that sits on the rounded end of the egg ... I'm talking about additional bubbles to this ....

We all start off with Pet types Finnie ... just that some of decided to make things more difficult for ourselves and have a go at Show types

Well they really look stunning Kaz and have loadsa potential. I hope they go onto develop length and shoulders! ... and of course they will be bang on the 18 months mark for National Selections next May ... Well and truly grown up by then!

It seems to be under control now Renee Well thank goodness for that!

Mine used to go to the Retirement Village, that is no more now and most of my breeder flock is very young (oldest cock birds are gold rungers, ie 2006 birds). The 'older' hens I will keep this year as foster mums. I currently have one cock bird (a recent gift) who is a dud and when the time comes and I am feeling resolute I will send him to God ... that is unless some one wants a deformed pet?

Oh My God! I hope the wind is blowing the smoke away from you. Be safe Kaz! Have you got an emergency plan for if they ask you to evacuate?