renee

Sounds like he is sick. Try to get him to the vet asap. In the meantime try to keep him really warm. Budgies body temperature is, I think, 43 degrees Celcius, so try to get the ambient temperature to about 35 degrees.

Be very, very careful! Once the hen starts laying again it's a good indicator that she is ready to move on ... I have lost 3 chicks this year just at this crucial time 'cause either Mum or Dad decided they didn't want anything more to do with their chicks. A good tip from Gary Armstrong: at week 3 remove the hen to a holding cage and let the Dad raise the chicks until week 5. (4 weeks in the nest, 1 week in the bottom of the breeding cabinet) By this age they are ready to go into the Nursery and can feed on their own. Then reintroduce the hen for the next round.

No, I didn't. I tried with 2 nests that could've taken it but they rejected/didn't feed it. The trouble is this chick is 4-5 days younger than everyone else. And I don't have any nests due to hatch soon either ..... Plus I've grouped chicks together according to hatch date so their all the same size and most of my nests already have 4-5 chicks ... I think that ratio is a bit high and would prefer 3 chicks per nest but I had a couple of foster hens feather pluck and a mother who wasn't feeding her chicks well enough so those chicks had to be redistributed. Unfortunately the feather pluckers are in deep nest boxes with swing out doors so I couldn't replace the door with glass/clear plastic .... I tried distracting them with millet sprays and the like but it wasn't working. I think feather plucking can be passed from generation to generation as a learned behaviour, that's why I was so quick to move the chicks ... but it does mean that everything is chockas now. You will find with time that feather plucking ISNT genetic...it just happens. A plucked chick in the nest of mine has never gone on to be a feather plucker. I don't think it's genetic, I believe it's acquired behaviour learnt in the nest from the parents - just like good mothers breed good mothers (read good feeders), I think that's acquired behaviour too. But the main reason I swap them is that I hate to see the little ones bereft of their baby down and when the parents start scalping them it's just heartbreaking.

Yep, It does happen. I had a chick that hatched out last night that was kicked out of the nest this morning ... I warmed it up and transferred it to another nest but by mid-afternoon it still hadn't been fed. My solution? I gathered it up and got Tony to drive as fast as possible to Libby's place! Didnt you have a foster nest to put it in Renee ? No, I didn't. I tried with 2 nests that could've taken it but they rejected/didn't feed it. The trouble is this chick is 4-5 days younger than everyone else. And I don't have any nests due to hatch soon either ..... Plus I've grouped chicks together according to hatch date so their all the same size and most of my nests already have 4-5 chicks ... I think that ratio is a bit high and would prefer 3 chicks per nest but I had a couple of foster hens feather pluck and a mother who wasn't feeding her chicks well enough so those chicks had to be redistributed. Unfortunately the feather pluckers are in deep nest boxes with swing out doors so I couldn't replace the door with glass/clear plastic .... I tried distracting them with millet sprays and the like but it wasn't working. I think feather plucking can be passed from generation to generation as a learned behaviour, that's why I was so quick to move the chicks ... but it does mean that everything is chockas now.

Yep, It does happen. I had a chick that hatched out last night that was kicked out of the nest this morning ... I warmed it up and transferred it to another nest but by mid-afternoon it still hadn't been fed. My solution? I gathered it up and got Tony to drive as fast as possible to Libby's place! :hap:

Good Luck Liv with your breeding! I hope it all turns out well for you! :budgiedance:

Thank you Elly for your post. I put my little ones out into their aviary last week but yesterday noticed some runny bums and lo and behold white poos. I didn't know what that meant till I read your post. Happily I've caught them up and put them back inside and to my delight their tucking into their food now. I guess they just weren't quite ready for outside yet, I'll give it a few days and try it again soon.

Yes, I had a problem with miners, cockatoos and parrots and the shade cloth really did the trick.

What lovely pics and gorgeous little ones! I would hazard to say Greygreen is taking over your aviary .... LOL It's so hard, it just seems the biggest birds are greygreen cinnamons.... at least that's how it is for me. I just put 2 greygreen normals together and was resigned to greygreen outcome but to my delight I got a green and a grey. So there's hope!

Thank You!

I have done autopsies on my birds but I need some more training. Will have to see Gary about that I'm trying to get Tony (my hubby) interested I have offered him the autopsy kit for a Xmas pressie - he is, so far, non-committal! I cannot imagine Tony changing his mind and saying YES to this .... I have ways and means ....

I put a normal greygreen hen to a grey spangle cock. I got an oplaline greygreen hen. Is this possible?

Gorgeous!

I have done autopsies on my birds but I need some more training. Will have to see Gary about that I'm trying to get Tony (my hubby) interested I have offered him the autopsy kit for a Xmas pressie - he is, so far, non-committal!

Brilliant! Thank You Libby

From both possible pairings? split to split split to dilute?

Thank you Libby. So do I breed splits to splits ... what would that outcome be? Or if I paired a split to a visual ... what then?

Right you are, that's what I'll do then. Thank You Tried that already .... no joy

Yes, I think so too .... but WHYYYYYY? Can I fix it?

okay, here's a question for those of you who know their genetics (unlike me )I paired a violet dilute hen to a normal cobalt. What do I get?No, this isn't a trick question lol, I'll be more specific:4 chicks already, normal violets and cobalts .... Are any split for dilute?

Then she'd be laying clear eggs, surely?

But she's at it like a rabbit day in day out ... I think she's in lust already.

Yes, she gets Calcivet in the water; fresh soft food daily; brocolli 3 times a week; iodine block in her cabinet; Vitamins A, D, E and iodine plus cod liver oil in her seed (Golden Cob Supreme Breeder mix).

Yes, well my legs went weak at the knees a few times throughout the autopsy but my determination to find out what killed him proved stronger. I have decided to add a couple of drops of apple cider to the water from now on. I won't be giving my flock for the 45 day doxy treatment till Feb. Evidently Magic's Mum must have the megabacteria as he was feeding her and the chicks as well, but Mega is a secondary infection and so long as I can increase the PH levels of the crop I should keep it at bay. I'm also considering giving all birds citrus, maybe orange lobes.

I have a lovely hen that just won't lay. I'll tell you what isn't the problem: * She isn't nest bound - she comes out of the nest box regularly to be mated * She isn't overweight But she doesn't make dump droppings ... and of course there are no eggs. Any suggestions?