renee

Well fingers crossed Hamish! He is still only a Young bird and I need to wait till he goes through another moult and grows up more so it will be Feb/March before I really knowing for sure (about the 9 months stage), plus I need to see more like him flying around .... have a few I'm keeping an eye on, mainly Spangles and those ubiquitous Greygreen Cinnamons I bred way too many of .... oh and a little ripsnorter of a chickie that took out best Novice UBC today - another of those Australian YF mutants .... so no more showing for her as she is a Non Standard Variety but hopefully she'll grow on to become a good breeder. Yeah :rofl: :rofl: all round! :rofl:

Well you cannot get away from the fact the the Dominant varieties are the building blocks for your stud- yes you can argue that anyone can breed a Normal, Spangle, Dommie Pied, Opaline or Cinnamon ... but can they breed a really good one? :rofl: And it's these building blocks that you will come to rely on as you strive to breed and improve upon your "favorite" varieties

Good job Dave with your heat reduction strategies! Goodness gracious those chickies are looking nice!!! I particularly like these 'new ones'!

okay well I don't want to sound skeptical but those Murphy's Laws are my mainstay experiences as a Novice breeder ... :rofl: :rofl:

Today we won our first Best In Show down at South-West Budgie Club! :rofl: I say first because e-ven-tu-al-ly we would like to win another .... in many years time! :rofl: Now before you all get too excited I need to clarify that neither Cec and Brenda Gearing nor Gary and Dolores Armstrong showed birds today so numbers were down in the Open Grade :rofl: And before you ask all birds are back in their aviaries tucking into their soft food so photos of this Young Double Factor will follow in due course- though as you all know by now you can expect another **** photo that does him no justice from me!

Some more priceless gems, not all mine - He is Blue split Green Funny how he never chucked a Green chick ... He has a dodgy leg but he should breed fine ... Should is the operative word I haven't bred with him - Oh that brown cere? ... she'll be right with a bit of Ioford Really?

:fingerscrossed:

Debunking some of the myths I was told as a Beginner, in no particular order: Budgies are desert birds and can tolerate those hot 40+ days with no ill-effects ... Show Budgies are much bigger and carry way more feather than the little Bush Budgies and cannot fly away when the aviary heats up Glen 20 is great for eliminating lice and mites ... Use it at your peril She's really fat 'cause she hasn't had enough exercise ... She can't fly 'cause she has a massive tumor I haven't bred with her ... And you never would have 'cause she's an internal layer Pull its tail a month before the show and it will grow back in time ... Sometimes those tail feathers never do grow back Any one else like to add some? :fingerscrossed:

At first I was confused by the genetics of Dominant and Recessive Pieds too .... what you need to understand is that when a variety is Dominant it means that only one parent needs to be of that variety for some of the chicks to also be of that variety .... when a variety is Recessive it means that a Dominant variety can be split for it but for a budgie to be visually of that Recessive variety BOTH parents have to be carrying that variety. :fingerscrossed:

That's the best club meaning top club Jimmy they have being winning all the shields lately and they have the top breeders there, Hunter, Thurn ect, I would love to be in that club Don't let geography stop you - you could always become a "non-showing" member

I agree, in the absence of photos and based on your description, nothing to worry about!

Well in the absence of a better close up photo of your first hen I'll take a punt and say No, I'm afraid she looks like she is going out of condition as I can see some whitening about the cere. The next hen should be flying around in your aviary, she is totally out of condition as her cere is almost grey. Maybe wait till the hot weather is over and then take another look at your birds with an eye for breeding?

Well done Splat, you have done a great job!

This thread is developing better than my wildest expectations! Great input guys!!! I would also add Daryl, yes buy current year's stock but ALSO a couple of experienced pairs to help the maiden newbies and act as foster parents when the need arises. A good rule of thumb when presented with 'cull' birds is "Why is this bird in your cull cage and Does it have any breeding or health issues I need to know about?" I don't know a breeder who wouldn't give you a truthful answer to those 2 questions. I have taken home a couple of "won't breed for me hens" and had pleasant surprises. Another very good piece of advice I was given as a beginner before I had even bought a budgie was "Don't spend more than $300 on a bird, they as just as likely to 'fall off the perch' as a $30 bird". And you know you need those $30 birds to "learn" with

Great post Jimmy! Well I have a sneaking suspicion that quite a few do take a look - of course Kaz would know better than anyone as she approves all new memberships so she knows who is who But as to how many are ready and willing to help others out .... well Nubbly you are TOPPEST! I guess it comes down to how many are computer literate and whether they see any point in sharing their knowledge - as I see it again we get back to that 'old boy's club' mentality .....I would guess that many of the dedicated members are those whose own experience in starting out is freshest and if I'm not mistaken they are mostly in the 50 and under age bracket. You know I am exactly the same about not liking surprises .....And I understand what you mean about wanting a breeder to do right by you and in my experience most will ..... but what you also need to take on board is that you need to be in the position to ask the right questions .... most breeders will offer you a variety of birds and get you to make your own choice, only with time and experience will you know what you really want and need .....

Excellent post Daryl, thank you for your input! Yes I have heard about those Eastern State's Auctions where the top birds go for thousands upon thousands and it is rumored that many a 'dummy bid' is used to push the prices up ... luckily it is not that bad over here in the West. Well I have heard around the water cooler that many Open Breeders here consider it just part of the process to buy one or two birds - after all they have just sold a stack. And I speak for myself when I say I love buying birds, I don't think that will diminish with time - perhaps it's just the same for Open Breeders?

:rofl: :hap: You know it's not that funny ~ I was being serious!

I am sure if I wanted the price I paid for him to be known I would have said so...but I didnt some people suffer F.I.M at times F.I.M AWARD http://i741.photobucket.com/albums/xx57/pr...footinmouth.jpg lol pmsl :rofl: rofil lol :hap: lucky for us kaz renee is a good sport Well I hardly think that what someone pays for a bird at a Public Auction is personal information .... but yes I do have FIM as anyone who knows me will testify. BUT I am very good at keeping other people's secrets ~ you have just got to tell me it's a secret!

No, no. no! There's absolutely no offense taken ~ it is not about us: Your birds well-fare is paramount and that is all that matters. :emoticon112:

But unfortunately the stable door is open and the horse has bolted .... translation: you have already compromised quarantine so BOTH budgies need to be treated as 'new purchases' now. Keep all your 'new birds' separate and read up on Quarantining. Best of Luck! :emoticon112:

Don't beat yourself up about it! :emoticon112: In the scheme of things it is a minor mistake and on the bright side, this is a mistake you are NEVER going to make again! YES! If you have observed another hen and cock bird that are in breeding condition, behaving accordingly, and are old enough by all means go ahead. The only thing I will ask you is, is your breeding area set up for warmer weather?

:emoticon112:

Will be home....Renee and Tony are coming to help finish the aviary :emoticon112: Yes, I have volunteered to do the washing down of the aviary wire ~ even I can do that .... no hand held or electrical devices need for that!

No offense taken! :emoticon112: You didn't mention that and there are no photos so there's no way of knowing.

Well I recommend you do a search for Budgies in breeding condition and read up and see if your birds are really ready to breed. Also it would be helpful if you posted some photos of the birds in question so other members can have a look and let you know what they think of your birds and breeding cabinet set up. :emoticon112: