renee

okay, enough already, I want the answers! :

Congratulations Matt! You have bought very wisely and have lovely birds. Please can you re-size the photos and post again so we can have a better look?

Thank You for all your encouraging comments!

They look lovely Norm! Now why do you call them BES's? They look like light green spangles to me?

They look lovely Norm! Now why do you call them BES's? They look like light green spangles to me?

I've got Gary Armstrong coming over tomorrow morning to check out my pairings and give me some on the spot advice (Gary is the acting President of my club the SWBC).So it's panic stations here getting everything nice and tidy! Since he let us know he could make it (3pm this arvo) Tony has already cleaned out the outside aviary, cleaned the aquarium and replaced the gum leaves with a fresh branch ..... and now we go to work. :hap: I have a feeling he is not going to approve of my deep litter method so I am bracing myself ....

Well finally after much hoo hah I've finally got some photos, only a few, but if you only knew how difficult it's been to get this far. Thank you to Kaz and Liv for their help! The Main Outside Aviary This is the aviary my hubby built last year -1.8mWx3.6mL The Breeding Room (converted garage!) You can see the mishmash of different breeding cabinets I've bought over the last 18months, 33 in total My Cull Birds I love all my birds but I have too many ... 70 are already in the Breeding Room

This is a tricky one and the short answer is that it's a case by case scenario where your personal judgement prevails. As a rule my pairings raise two rounds and if their progeny looks good I'll foster out the third round. However, if it's a 3 yr old hen and she is in good condition I will let her a third round. The reasons being that I retire my hens after 4 years and with my current 3 year olds I've noticed that they lay much smaller clutches, 2-3 eggs. Notwithstanding I have to add that all my 3 year old hens are bought birds and I do not have records of the entire breeding history. This is the first breeding season that I am using my own birds for breeding purposes and I may change my breeding habits based on experience.

Hope you had a happy, happy day! And that everything went as planned....

Well you're very generous Liv. I have no time for egg eaters - they don't get a second chance with me and go straight into my Retirement Village!

Probably one of the vet-types will know more about the intricacies of glands and all. Notwithstanding, from experience I think added Calcivet a few weeks before breeding is vital. Last year I bought a hen and put her down almost immediately so she didn't get the Calcivet in the lead up and although she got it in the water for the time she was in the breeding cabinet 3 out 4 chicks went on to have splayed legs. It's the only time I've had this and it is also the only time one of my hens did not get Calcivet for a few weeks prior to breeding. As a rule of thumb I do not give my birds Calcivet during their 'holiday' when they've finished breeding and are in the outside flights. But I do give it to them all in the lead up and of course the young birds do get it to help with their bone development.

Hey Neat, Have you wormed them recently?

Possibly stressed by the cock. But no pooey bottom or any obvious signs of illness. No eggbinding. Two eggs proved infertile. Aughhh! What rotten luck. Mind you I lost a JK cobalt hen early in the season. Just dropped off the perch, no warning, no rhyme nor reason. I'm telling you budgie breeding is NOT for the fainthearted!

The YF hen http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r145/ka...es/DSCF1791.jpg laid two eggs and keeled over and died You've gotta be kidding me! What did she die of??????? Have you saved the eggs? :mellow:

I don't know how I managed to miss this post .... ... since it's been going for a couple of weeks now. No matter! Congratulations Kaz! NOW I know what you're talking about I like your second pairing even more than the first, are they on eggs yet? I HAVE to get that photo thingy going .... wish me luck

Hi Carolyn, It sounds like everything is going well. Don't fret too much about losing your first chick to a maiden hen, it's quite common, in fact it happened to me too at the beginning of this breeding season. The trick is to have foster parents ready to take over when you're 'breaking in' a new hen ... but this is not always possible and like you've found, usually by the time the second chick hatches the mum gets the hang of things. Also it's a fact of life that the chicks from the maiden round are often not as good as subsequent clutches simply because by the time they get to do it again the experience factor kicks in and they're much better feeders. So good luck and happy breeding!

I think you should show all of them but it does depend on whether you can only show your own birds and whether those budgies have your leg ring. For example, over here in the West, Novice showers can show bought birds (that is budgies bred by others with their leg rings) and I think it's vital to do so because this way you can actually gauge how good your purchase is. Also if you can approach a judge after the show you can get their appraisal of your budgie and it helps to get your 'eye in'. At the beginning all your birds look wonderful but after a few shows you get an idea what the desired features for a show budgie are and you get more discerning. But through the show process you learn what the good features of your budgies are and more importantly what they are lacking. This way when it comes to pairing you have a better chance of making a good choice and hopefully will breed better birds. Also, if an auction comes up or you can visit another breeder's you are in a better position to make a valued purchase. But first things first, make sure they're eligible for showing before you rock up.

I agree. I give my budgies boiled eggs in their soft food and that's about it for protein. I've heard some breeders say they've given meat (as in cooked chicken) but I'm a bit wary of that 'cause it's so far off what they'd have in the wild. In fact, while on the meat subject, I also heard that one breeder fed his show budgies meatmeal but stopped 'cause the hens went troppo and started attacking their chicks ...

That's wonderful news Neat! Looking forward to the pics tomorrow.

Yes, I ring my birds too. I have coded rings I get from my club. I have thought about using split rings, maybe I'll start next year .... in the meantime I rely on record keeping!

That's absolutely priceless AV!

Congratulations Brittany on your new aviary set up! Whatever you do, make sure it is mouse proof. Perhaps put some concrete around the base to stop them burrowing in?

Well I have been resisting this as I thought there was so much personal info and was feeling quite reticent ... but after chatting to Kaz yesterday I've decided to give it a go. Name: Renee Pets: cat, 12 canaries, 11 goldfish and lots and lots of budgies, :hap: Favorite Color: Nothing in specific Astrological Sign: Leo Age: 39 Weakness: impatience, my competitive nature sometimes gets the better of me LOL Strength: I don't take myself too seriously, sense of humor, loyalty Live: Perth, WA How long have been a BBC member: a few months

My dear Joel, the photos you are looking at are for NOVICE birds. This was Libby's first showing and I've only been showing for just over a year. Yes, there's much more competition in the Eastern States because there are many more clubs and budgie breeders. Notwithstanding, we do our best over here in the West and as I always say, you've got to be in it to win it. So while a couple of birds may not have had very much competition, a win is a win and I would appeal to your charitable side to acknowledge the joy that win has brought to a first time show breeder. So the idea is that we encourage newbies and not so newbies alike so that they get all excited and put their energies into improving the quality of their darling budgies, NOT squash it all out of them!

Thank you everyone for your kind congratulations! Yes, there's talk of changing the InterClub Challenge to another time as of course we all have our best birds down breeding and naturally benching numbers were down because Metro and the Rares and even a few SWBC members didn't want to show their lesser birds. Mind you everyone's in the same boat, so really it shouldn't matter. A big congratulations to Libby for her first showing with good results!