renee

okay, Pearce and Daz, it seems we have been labouring under a misunderstanding when it comes to this topic. Acid Ph is BELOW 7 and Alcaline is ABOVE. Therefore by adding ACV we are lowering the Ph. Maybe you knew that already but I was getting it mixed up so sorry Pearce for the wrong info. Megabacteria proliferates in the Proventiculus of the budgie and by lowering the Ph we are keeping the fungul growth in check. I think what caused the misunderstanding is the reference to the notes taken at the lecture of Dr Phalen: "To grow the fungus needs: * A Low oxygen environment * Narrow range of above Ph 3.0 to 4.0 starts to grow & above rapid growth * Needs serum to grow (product from the host bird-feeding each other etc)" Surely this cannot be correct.

Thanks Liv, very sweet of you to be so supportive You're right, the survivors look fine and are progressing nicely. My heart bleeds for the hatchlings that were studiously ignored

OH NO Yeah, tell me about it. Any way some of the survivors .... had some issues with the camera settings so didn't photo them all

Since my last post it's been drama stations round this neck of the woods. I have had soooo many problems with hens not feeding chicks and lost about 15 chicks in the past 10 days As I stated at the beginning, my best hens this year are maiden hens and unfortunately I have had major issues. A few hens decided they were not going to feed their newly hatched chicks .... And then some others decided that they wouldn't feed anymore than 3 chicks so the 4th, 5th, etc chicks died too. And if that wasn't enough heartche one of my cocks went feral and ate a nest of fertile eggs Anyway, off to the breeding room to photo the survivors.

Gooooorgeous birds! :rofl: Well done Splat, you're on to a winner there!

Stick with the Accessories Table at your local Budgie Club. They will be stocking products that experienced members use AND in most cases they sell things cheaper than pet shops. Also, if they have something you aren't familiar with you can always inquire on the spot about it.

Sailorwolf......How can it be a tumour when it started as a cut foot and infection set in ? The vet did say he thought she was a bit young to develop a tumour ..... no doubt he'll reassess this arvo. Any way I just dropped her off to the vet with the instructions that he call me when she has recovered - not when she's improved, but cured. She is actually better this morning and resting her weight onto the foot, but I don't care- I want her 100% and between you and me I really don't like squeezing her leg very much ... she squarks a lot and it's obviously painful. Call me a sook but I just hate it.

Based on what I'm seeing Kaz, there's absolutely NO room for you in the Novice grade anymore :question: They are stunning! I can't get over the directional feather and depth of mask- Congratulations! Now are these bubs coming out of Gary's line? Are you breeding size too or will that come later?

Don't use avi-cal Pearce. I trialed it last year and calcium deficiency problems with it.

How wonderful MB! How lucky that you are carrying her over winter .... nothing worse than being heavily pregnant in 40C+ days

Another update of fussy chook. Her condition has actually worsened, not improved. I squeezed some more puss out today and gave her a good crop feed. Hard to believe but the foot is even more swollen and now she doesn't rest her weight on it. I've just got off the phone with the vet. He now says it may be a tumour ... I doubt it but I'm not going to argue. I told him I was going to drop her off tomorrow and he can look after her till next Tuesday. I exagerated a bit about how bad she was because initially he told me to just carry on and squeeze her foot twice daily. I don't want to mess around anymore, as far as I'm concerned he can keep her there till he figures out what is going on. He did say that he might have to amputate ... I think that's a bit drastic but if it comes to it, so be it. I asked him whether he was going to switch antibiotics to Lincospectin and he said yes, he'd give her a couple of injections. From my experience with him he prescribes baytril and then lincospectin if that doesn't work. So there you have it. Poor chooky not doing so good and I'm increasingly dispondent.

I dont give vitamin supplements.......just good and plenty and varied food. Me neither. Nice fresh broccoli, carrots and apples plus herbs in the soft food daily. However, my seed contains added vitamin A, D and E so I know they're covered.

My birds get 1 cup of black sunflower seeds in their soft food mix - all in moderation and you should be okay. Budgie starter is a pre-mixed high protein powder you can get on the accessory table at your club. Some people give it to breeding pairs, some put it in the soft food mix ... personally I don't bother with it but it's a matter of personal choice. I add 6 drops/L of iodine to the water with the ACV. It helps with budgie libido and keeps the water clean. Again all in moderation- don't overdo it cause it can mess up their thyroids. You should be able to get it from the chemists, remember to ask for AQUEOUS iodine - I get Luggolts (Brand name).

Pearce, pull yourself together mate! Budgie breeding is fraught with difficulties - Especially for the beginner. It does get better, believe me, but till then look upon these setbacks as "learning". For those of us who have been doing it for more than a couple of years I can assure you that we have all faced similar disasters at one time or another - there's not much I can say except '**** does happen'! So chin up and get on with it. You have worked too hard and learnt too much to date to just chuck in the towel.

You've done well Dave! Nice masks and they will develop into 'power' birds.

Aaaaugh! What are these Greencheeks? Mutant wire-chewing budgie killers??? Time to move them well away from the poor budgies :sad:

Looks interesting- thank for sharing! :sad:

So sorry you've had such a disastrous experience. :sad:

Yipeeee!

Well you have to be a registered client first. And then when I did an order he sent back the invoice with the products and on the back of the invoice is a full list of products. Doxy is one of them. Mind you when I have put in order for new products I have always discussed them with him on the phone (the budgie book is out of print so I needed to be sure I was dosing appropriately) and I did explain to him that I do a yearly doxy treatment for my birds .... as so many breeders do ... and so that was that. Of course, if I lived nearer I'd have a face to face consult but this is how we do it.

Thanks Heath, they are on the list.... I have the lot but couldn't live without S76- it's brilliant for lice, mites and worms (especially red mites should you have the misfortune of getting them ) AND you can give it to your breeding pairs with no side effects. KD Powder is great too! You can also order Doxy and Baytril from him too.

I also use Dr Marshall's products and I can't say enough good things about them!

"To grow the fungus needs: A Low oxygen environment Narrow range of above Ph 3.0 to 4.0 starts to grow & above rapid growth Needs serum to grow (product from the host bird-feeding each other etc)" Neutral PH is 7. By raising the PH value to 8 you are controlling the proliferation of fungal growth.

But why so aciddy Macka? Isn't it as bit 'overkill'? I mean the point to adding ACV is to naturally help confine the build up of fungal infections, such as Megabacteria. By just adding - at most- 1ml/L you are raising the PH value sufficiently to control the like.

And they actually drink it? How do you know they aren't drinking what you provide them on the other days?