renee

Fussy Cat litter, 10 or 20kg bags from City Farmers or the local Pet Shop. It's like little white pebbles and absorbs all the poo and clumps so the little chicks feet stay clean.

First chick born to Greygreen Spangle (cock) and Violet Normal (hen). She's a maiden hen and hadn't fed the chick by midday so I put the chick into a nest of three 1-2 day old chicks and transferred a day old chick into her nest. I'm hoping the chick will be fed by the temporary foster hen and the Violet will learn to feed with the transferred chick. Fingers Crossed! :parrot:

Good job!

Without a doubt GOLDEN COB! You can choose from Budgie Mix, Budgie Breeder Mix or Supreme Budgie Breeder Mix.

Kitty litter Aha! So have I converted you Kaz?

I do believe that anyone wanting to breed budgies need their head examined as it it has to be one of the most frustrating endeavors ever. YES, it IS always the best and most dearest little budgies that have issues and cark it prematurely. Get used to it oh fellow head cases! :parrot:

So it's stopped raining and the gazebo is up:

Hmmm, yes I had shade cloth up last year but because it's quite a large aviary (4mL x 2.5mW x 1.75H) I couldn't get a shade sail to cover it all. I hear you about the wind but I'm hoping that 'cause of the location we won't have any problems. Actually it's because the wind doesn't really get to that location that we are going to set up the irrigation system as well as the gazebo.

Well, there you go.

Yes, I agree. Time to get some more boys.

Can't you get the Landlord to insulate or put in an air con for you? We live in a rental also and the first year I asked for an air con and offered to pay part of it .... then last year I asked for roof insulation and he bought the insulation bats and we laid it. The air con cost under $1500 with installation and I think we paid $300, we got it through the Good Guys. The insulation bats were $500 from Bunnings.

Pair One: Lutino and Olive- 6 eggs, Two are Fertile! Pair Three: Violet and Spangle - 7 eggs, Four are Fertile!

So, it's just as well the sand layer is thick

So we've just bought a lovely gazebo from Bunnings which we are going to erect over and around the main aviary. Unfortunately it only came in dark blue, I was hoping for green or a very pale colour ... It's raining today, so we'll put it up later in the week and I'll post pictures. Also we're going to go ahead with an irrigation system on top of the aviary, below the gazebo roof. We have applied to the Water Corporation for a special dispensation, because of water restrictions you can't just go ahead and set it up, you have to ask for permission. Any way, when we get round to doing that I'll also post a step by step guide of how we do it. So, watch this space! :hug:

All my aviaries lie on paving slabs and I have concreted between the slabs and along the sides to ensure the little nasties can't visit. RE the lime, it's about 1cm thick and is covered by a 3-4cm of sand. I am running an experiment in 2 aviaries, one with lime & sand and one with sand only. What I am noticing is that in the one with lime & sand, the budgies do rummage around but they're not digging down to the lime. Off the top of my head I recall Kaz saying that you'd have to consume 1 kg for it to be toxic .... I don't know how much it would be for little budgies.

Just did my planting today. One pot: millet, one pot: wild grass (oats), one pot: budgie pot luck mix. I'll post pics when they sprout.

So sorry to hear about your horror of a week end. I'm relieved that you found the silver ling to that black cloud in Lilly, she gorgeous!

I've learnt a lot too.... Most valuable piece of information lately was about the 'safe' forms of calcium vs iodine and calcium blocks made up of plaster of paris. The pinned topics about mega and psiticosis .... Recognizing pieds, clearwings and dilutes. and of course genetics, which I still can't get my head around, just as well I'm trying to breed the bird not the variety

Yep, clean around them - don't move them.

This is something I agree with even with my kids, I try to keep them off antibiotics and so does our MD because of the super virus out there. I know that we need to ensure our birds are healthy but if you give antibiotics when they are not sick or showing signs that could potentially weaken their immune system vs keeping them healthy because what happens when they are off the antibiotics when they are not sick they then get sick? Just thinking out loud. EXACTLY! I know from personal experience that the birds I buy from one or two top breeders over here have a 30% chance of survival out of their original aviary because those breeders have routine medication regimes. I have lost many birds from these aviaries and have resolved not to bother any more. On the other hand there are a few breeders who refrain from medicating their birds at all except in cases of obvious need and their birds have high success rates all over the State and beyond.

Direct sunlight is what is required for Vitamin D. If the light is coming through a closed window I'm not sure it's sufficient.

okay, with those odds I'd go ahead and bait. Good Luck!

Natural light or special bird lighting is one of those essential condition components. If you don't get that right you won't have too much success.

Not high but I wouldn't risk it. Budgies are very curious little birds. I use Tomcat and poison in my breeding room BUT all my birds are in cabinets so the chances of them escaping and coming into contact are remote.

when I said this I did not mean that the vets reason was what I said....I was generalising that that would be part of the reason. I myself do not give drugs to birds willy nilly. I keep most of what I do on the KISS method ( Keep it simple stupid Principal ) I do not dose with antibiotics as a matter of course. Same as when birds have vomiting symptoms...a lot of people assume canker or mega. Best to know for sure and that means vet diagnosis. You may notice SW I did not advise trying to get ANY meds from the vet in my post. Precisely SW, it was me that was advocating becoming a registered client of Rob Marshall, not Kaz. And you would know if you have been reading up on posts that although my medication cabinet is well stocked, I am loath to medicate without a clear indication of ill-health. If anything I have enteric disorders in one of my aviaries, which on evidence of pooey bums I treat with Sulfa AVS and Carlox as a preventitive measure. Also I am quick to take birds to the vet if I am unsure about what is wrong with them.