renee

Mmmm, I am way more cautious when doing the Worm treatment. But you have a point, I will monitor closely.

Testing clear after this trip is actually a really good sign for the breeders mentioned here as the stress of travel from WA to Vic would surely cause the birds to beginning shedding any dormant disease. Yeah I know they are good, Hamish did all manner of tests on the birds I sent him and he is a vet student! .. but who knows if the birds I bought at auction this year are carriers or not? So again my motto is Better Safe than Sorry! ... We are in for a couple of days of hot weather ... I'm going to take your advice on board and give them some medicated water first thing in the morning (well actually I will get hubby to do it)

Look I am pretty confident that my flock is healthy BUT it only takes one bird to slip through the net ... and I would rather be safe than sorry.

About this time of the year almost all my breeder birds are out of the breeding cabinets and flying around in the large aviary - 75% of this year's chicks are in their own aviary too. Over the summer months I go through a check list of preventative medication treatment, it is not written in stone but always includes an extended stint of Doxy. So top of my list is my obsession with eradicating Megabacteria in my flock and this week all aviary birds are getting their 7 day treatment of Fungilin. I get the Fungilin from Rob Marshall's as I am a registered client and the dosage is 1ml/100mls water. It needs to be made up fresh every day. The tricky thing about treating 100+ budgies in an aviary is you don't know for sure that every bird has got its required dose, so I tend to do this course of Fungilin at least twice over the summer months. This time around I am withholding liquids from my birds all day and put out the medicated water between 5-8pm. This way I am more confident that the birds will go to the drinker 'cause they will be a bit thirsty. Now I know budgies can go for days without water but the odds are that with the warmer weather they will want to have a drink in the afternoon.

He, he, he MUCH BETTER!

Don't think much of Mum, can't you do better?

Yipee!

Just checked the ingredients, it says whey isolate - that's good, right?

Excellent news! I had some concerns about this point and am so glad the Muscle XL formula that I add to my soft food is whey protein based will not put an extra strain on my birds kidneys.

http://www.budgerigars.co.uk/general/tonkbfl.html cereal straw powdered limestone ( calcium) dicalcium phosphate ( mainly used as a dietary supplement in prepared breakfast cereals, dog treats, enriched flour, and noodle products. ) salt methionine http://www.vitaminstuff.com/methionine.html choline http://www.enc-online.org/factsheet/Choline.pdf vitamins trace minerals NO MOLASSES http://www.birdhealth.com.au/bird/budgie/feeding.html okay, I'm in! Where do you buy them from Kaz?

Alas, it is well deserved .... shes a beautiful violet hen shes no trouble at all i think i will call her renee ren for short Just wait till you get her into the nest box - mark my words!

Plus it's a bit of fun and opens up a whole new perspective of our hobby Hear, hear !

I think Heathrow, Renee and Daryl may have misunderstood my point. Read my post above Guys No, I've understood the initial premise of your post perfectly Just that as it has developed I have found certain comments more thought provoking and have chimed in when someone expressed a view I had been thinking. Great idea about feeding pellets as a supplement BUT I would prefer a local supply of molasses free version so I await with bated breath. The great (meat) protein debate is one I am very interested in. I acknowledge that I will have to take that step but am reluctant to do so .... in the meantime I look forward to all input on the subject as I determine exactly HOW I will give it to my birds.

I havn't contributed to the forum for some time, but i will for this topic. I totally support the above statement. For each breeder that is supplementing with very high protein levels, I could name the same amount of top show breeders who aren't. I know a top breeder, on a par with Cec Gearing who doesnt use any softfood or high protein additives. What he does use, are a wide range of fruit and vegatables to supplement his normal seed. I also think the debate, greatly underestimates the ability of breeders, to select and use correctly the very best bloodlines available. Like Daryl states feeding plays a part in the birds reaching ther potential ONLY. Meaning genetics has a far bigger role to play in becoming a TOP breeder. I too am following this thread with great interest. I concur with Daryl and Heathrow's statement above. I don't like the idea of feeding molasses to my birds but am really interested in the Small Bird pellets that Daryl has posted and look forward to Kaz's contribution tomorrow when she talks to the supplier of her pellets.

Well Dave, they are looking VERY good! I especially like the above chicks - WELL DONE on getting a DF White Spangle! You have beaten me to the count!

Kaz, please PIN this post! Well thank you very much Nubbly for the write up .... yes, it is true that I have partial amnesia .... but this post is a gem and anything I had forgotten has been included here :rofl:

Renee asked me today which of these two chicks had YOUR legring on it :rofl: But as we know Renee is too trusting ... :rofl:

Here is the photo taken on the day of the show of the greywing hen. She is still a baby and still has a bit of growing to do. And if memory serves me correct she also took out Best Novice UBC at Saturday's MBC Show!

151. When you promise to take 7 birds to the pet shop (to pay for guinea pigs, canaries and cat) but only manage to actually part with 4 152. But the very next day you happily acquire another 3 at the club auction 153. When preparing for said club auction and you have promised to take birds you spend the entire process muttering under your breath, "you're too good to go"! and are delighted when nobody wants to buy them

Test breeding is the only way to check for sex linked splits like inos.

Thank you very much Daryl for that very interesting expose. Food for thought indeed.

Well I'm back from the vets. Diagnosis: Yeast infection Meds: mixture of Amoxil and Nilstat Treatment: wait for crop to empty completely (ie. withhold food for 12 hours) then 4 drops direct to crop (crop needle) 3 times a day for 5 days. I am feeling a bit foolish 'cause my interpretation of vet speak is diagnosis Megabacteria, treatment Fungilin .... in fact the tiny bottle of meds I have just picked up has a remarkable resemblance to the larger bottle of Fungilin I have in my fridge .... You live and learn! :hmm:

:star: :bliss: IT'S FINISHED!!!!! :bliss: :star:

I have a hen with an enlarged crop and am taking her to the vet this afternoon (he is an avian vet specialist). I will let you know the results of his analysis.

Unfortunately, I don't have the room to buy any more birds until I get my large aviary up and running, but thank you for the offer. Renee is offering for you to bring the babies to her to be fostered...not trying to sell you budgies. Actually I am offering to "loan" you 2 experienced birds as currently my remaining pairs have chicks at the 2 1/2 week plus age. Sorry, but how can loaning two birds help with eggs that are already here ? The birds wouldnt surely just take over the rearing of chicks unless they were in breeding mode or on eggs themselves......and they wouldnt be doing that if they were moved or rehomed right now ............. Maybe I dont get what you mean Renee Well it seems pretty clear to me that the hen has no clue what she is doing and requires an experienced cock bird to show her the ropes - hence the "loan" of a sure-fire breeder cock bird. The same offer is available for the young cock bird: an experienced hen to help him through the first time. As for the eggs that are already here .... well the way things are going you are going to very lucky if that hen (bless her) is going to brood correctly or know what to do when the chicks hatch. I do have one pair still on eggs and by all means if a chick hatches in the next week you are welcome to bring the chick over asap BUT I cannot guarantee its survival as this hen in question is an unknown quantity as this is the first time I am breeding with her - she is not a maiden hen but a bought bird so I do not know her breeding habits.