renee

When you look at a budgie straight on the outline of feathers appears to nip in at eye level so it looks like a key hole as opposed to being round faced.

Oh I don't know .... he even looks pretty good in the blue container .... I'd have picked him there and then as a keeper. Just noticed he has the key hole effect - drats! :fear HOW are we going to cut that out???? Doesn't it seem most of our best birds have it?

YES PLEASE I am SO there! And I am free this week end, was planning on going over to Kaz's any way to help ... can I be so bold as to suggest we all meet up?!!!!

okay, Here is another "surprise" .... Is it a YF? Your guess is just as good as mine This one comes out of a pairing of 2 Alder birds I bought earlier in the year when Carl did his cull. Now I was hoping for a DF White Spangle as both parents are Grey Spangles .... and this is what I got (no complaints about the bird though, I am VERY fond of it!) As soon as it feathered up it was a beautiful sea green, don't know if the photo does it justice but it is a VERY pretty bird.

Now THAT's what I'm talking about! Show cage training for him!!!

The reason I have taken the wait and see approach is simple, it is my way of saying "whatever!" I will repeat myself, I thought it was a Dark Green Normal but then I was approached separately on the day by 2 Open breeders who were convinced that She was a Aussie YF. As one of them actually intentionally breeds the blighters I believed what I was told. In addition someone recently took home what I thought was a Normal Green but they were convinced that it was a Golden Face ... So I will put my hand up and say "Yes, I find this subject confusing and do not think I can identify these birds easily". And when you are told that they are a Non Standard Variety you tend to think that breeding them is a bit iffy 'cause you are always encouraged to breed Standard Varieties.

Well you are a legend for taking the time to explain it- Thank You! In all honesty I got lost 1/2 way through the 3rd paragraph when you are explaining the outcomes.. but no matter, just a case of reading and re-reading it till the penny drops. :raincloud: But I really like that you explained the dominance sequence of that allele - I WILL remember that! But my big question is, What happens when you pair up the Aussie Mutant II with a Single Factor or even Double Factor YF????

Your Cobalt looks like a Show budgie! Very nice set up! :raincloud:

You must have missed this question ? Alder x Kobilanski mix, The Violet Pied hen is a Kobilanski bird and the cock is the son of my original Alder Aus Mutant II bird, he looks Green Normal but maybe he isn't really. When I grabbed the UBC on Sunday I thought it was a Normal Dark Green but then 2 separate people approached me and said SHE was a YF Aussie Mutant II. :raincloud: Rubbish! As a UBC, Aussie YF's (even mutant 2) look to be yellow faced blue and it's not until they moult out that they show that strong yellow suffusion in their body colour. Your girl had not even come anywhere near breaking cap yet!!!! She is definitely a dark green NOT a YF blue. Just because a dark green shows some blue on rump and vent area DOES NOT meant it's a freaking YF. THIS is what happens when stupid judges put in stupid rules about a variety such as the Aussie yf having to be put into the NSV/NSC class. It goes completely pear shaped and people see Aussie YF lurking in every bloody variety!!!!!!! It's a damn YF why not just penalise it for heavy suffusion like every other state in Australia (Gina finishes her little rant!!!!!). Oh, just seen your rant Gina! :raincloud: I DO like it when you say it like you see it :raincloud: Well you are right about this variety being even more confusing because of the Rules at Show. I will repeat myself, I DON'T know, completely stumps me, have no idea, etc. I will have to wait and see! :raincloud:

No, I didn't explain it properly GB.What I was told is that if I were to breed her to a Blue some of the chicks would be Golden Faces Blue :raincloud: okay, here are some siblings. If you look carefully you can see a slight yellow suffusion, I believe that is key. :raincloud: This one nipped me, so purely on that basis I say it is a SHE :raincloud: This one has a better mask but not much on top

You must have missed this question ? Alder x Kobilanski mix, The Violet Pied hen is a Kobilanski bird and the cock is the son of my original Alder Aus Mutant II bird, he looks Green Normal but maybe he isn't really. When I grabbed the UBC on Sunday I thought it was a Normal Dark Green but then 2 separate people approached me and said SHE was a YF Aussie Mutant II. :raincloud: A mystery bird then eh :raincloud: Not really. She has to grow up and go through a moult first, then everything should become clearer. :raincloud: As for the YF Aussie Mutant II thing, well I do know I have a few but I haven't taken too much notice of them. That will now change with this little one, I will pay more attention as she matures. One tip I picked up is that if you breed these birds back to Blue series they chuck Golden Faces .... hahahaha, I KNEW there was a reason I kept these birds (apart from the fact that I like their shape), I just hadn't figured out how to use them! :raincloud:

You must have missed this question ? Alder x Kobilanski mix, The Violet Pied hen is a Kobilanski bird and the cock is the son of my original Alder Aus Mutant II bird, he looks Green Normal but maybe he isn't really. When I grabbed the UBC on Sunday I thought it was a Normal Dark Green but then 2 separate people approached me and said SHE was a YF Aussie Mutant II. :raincloud:

Just seen on the online news that SA is facing a Catastrophic Fire Risk tomorrow ... to quote: South Australia is bracing for catastrophic bushfire conditions ahead of more extreme heat on Wednesday. Temperatures throughout the state are predicted to reach the low 40s in some areas, with Adelaide forecast to have a top of 39C. Similar conditions will follow on Thursday, with Adelaide's maximum expected to reach 41C. The forecast prompted authorities to issue a bushfire warning of "catastrophic" conditions in the Flinders and north-western pastoral districts - the first time the term has been used. New bushfire advice systems have been adopted for this summer, with "catastrophic" rated above "extreme" and "severe". The catastrophic category rates the risk as similar to those conditions prevalent on Victoria's Black Saturday bushfires last year. Just want all you South Australians to know that I am thinking of you and wishing lots of Luck in surviving the forecast weather. especially for you Liv.

Funny you should mention Feather quality, just the other day I was asking Cec Gearing on how to achieve this and he said Meat Protein! Now as you know I have always shied away from this even though so many feed their bird the odd chicken carcass (I know you do!) but I have reluctantly decided to start to introduce cooked mince meat into the soft food mix with next year's babies.

Wow I've just come across this thread - don't know how I missed it before! I really enjoyed the intro Splat with photos and history. Yes I do like your Cobalt Cinnie Spangle best but the DF are very nice too! As for using Cinnamon in the Spangle line - Yes! I heard that straight from the horses mouth a couple of years ago and so have always focused on breeding Cinnie Spangles. What I have found is that Greygreen Spangles chuck fewer suffused chicks than Lightgreen Spangles when paired to a DF Yellow. This year I tried to breed a Grey Cinnie Spangle but for the main part have failed miserably so my DF White series will have to wait some more ....

Don't worry if you are the only one that makes sense of it! You know your birds best and that "feel" for what will work is priceless!

Whoi told you it helps with worms Renee. it doesnt. Ahhhhh so that's another of those 'myths' I was told as a Beginner!

Yes it purportedly helps with worm control and I used it a lot in my first year but as my focus on bird well-fare has developed I now am more inclined to use apple cider vinegar, S76 and an annual Worm treatment as preventative measures.

Fantastic Splat! Yes it really DOES make a difference and is well worth the effort.

Well this may come as a bit of a surprise to you but I am not such a great believer in 'line breeding' - yet. I am pretty strict about keeping 'families' together but at this stage of my breeding I am putting together a better bird, when I get that bird I will line breed but in my opinion none of my birds have got there yet. A perfect example is this bird, the Dad. I have used him to get the shape and deportment of a foundation Spangle/ DF bird but from then on I need to put a top end on him. When I have 4-5 birds like that (hopefully next year's chickies) THEN I will start to line breed - but to put any of my current birds back to him next year would just reinforce his good size and shape but more importantly his lack of blow .... and I do not want to have that in one of my "prepotent" birds, ie. a bird that consistently chucks chicks like him.

I am SOOOO glad you have let some of your birds into those flights!!!! It must feel so good after all the hard work it has taken to get it ready.

Well Kaz, as you know I do not sex my birds until they grow up and "show" me who they are .... but yesterday everyone was referring to "her" so I have deferred to their superior knowledge so she will be her till further notice! Actually I feel quite ambivilent about the Dad ... my gain, somebody else's loss is how I see it. As you can see from the photos Dad is a big, strong bird but he is lacking a proper "blow". Now so far the Young bird has a lovely deep mask but he too does not have a blow proportionate to his mask - yet. So fingers and toes are crossed that when he goes through his next moult he will develop a bigger blow, his Mum's wasn't too bad so we will see.

okay, as promised. First of all my DF Yellow Spangle boy Now I've checked back and these guys were featured in my breeding journal earlier in the year in post on 2 June 09 ... so he's not 4 1/2 months old as I thought but 5 1/2. His Mum I bred in 08. Here's a photo of his Dad: I won this guy in a raffle down at SWBC! He was bred by Fran and John McLoughlin and comes out of a Barry White bird. He is one of my foundation Spangle boys and earlier I tried selling him at this year's SWBC auction as he is related to most of the Spangles I have kept but nobody wanted him! ... and here was I thinking he would make an excellent addition to any up and coming Novices breeding program ... I will never offer him up again! Here is my little UBC girl: I reckon she is going to be quite something when she grows up but right now I don't think she is a natural "show bird", have a look at the way she is sitting on the perch .... way too upright, she needs to be out at a 30 degree angle. And this is the thing about Show Budgies, at least for me, what I really look for in a budgie is the natural show birds ... you put them in a show box and within a couple of minutes they find the perch and sit right up off it - and blow! I have a couple of absolutely beautiful birds but when you put them into a show box the pull in their feathers and hunch over the perch ... NOT good! But they photo wonderfully well ...

Well to be perfectly honest I hadn't paid too much attention to her before yesterday, I mean yes I was very happy with her development and so on so forth but that's about it. I will wait till she goes through a moult and then re-assess. You are so spot on with that! That is exactly what it is all about - at least it is for me!

Well it has been a couple of weeks now since I changed the seed that I feed my aviary birds. I changed from Golden Cob Supreme Breeders mix to a 2:1 mixture of Triangle's Breeders mix plus Finch mix. I cannot say that the change put my aviary birds into a major moult at all, some did go into a moult but not a particularly bad one. I suspect other factors may be involved but I have no idea what they may be .... :rofl: So the jury's out on that one for me.