Pearce

I use newspaper for my breeding cages.

The aviary I want to lay sand is about 3 meters by 3 meters. Would a bag do this area?

Congratulations Ripbudgies.

Thankyou Renee that is a good price.

It's very sad and I agree, people who commit animal cruelty should get a worse punishment.

HI Renee. When you add the nest box in the aviary, are the hens that show interest in the box removed to breeding cages? Have you ever had any females fight while doing this?

Thank you Liv. Does anyone happen to know the going price for a cubic meter of sand pit sand?

I am very sorry to hear about your birds escaping Kaz. I hope some come back and you are able to catch them.

Thankyou Kaz and Renee I am going to get some sand tomorow.

My breeding hens will rip my fingers off if given the chance. Once she is tame she will trust you more and allow you to pick her up.

Hi I've been viewing a few topics on the forum and I've noticed that many people use sand on their aviary floor. I am thinking of doing this also. I have a few questions. 1. Which is better? Sand or cement? Please give reasoning behind your answer. 2. How often do you need to replace the sand? 3. How do you clean it? 4. How deep should the sand be in the aviary? An inch? 2 inches? 3 Inches? 5. Which type of sands are safe? Sand pit sand or gritty sand? Thanks for your time, all opinions welcome

Very best of luck Renee, I hope it all goes well for you.

The incubator I had was bought in 2003. It was a proper incubator. It was a polystyrene box and lid, with a wire bottom. The heater was at the top and their was also a thermometer. You had to stick the eggs on the wire base. If left for over an hour in one spot the light at the top would burn the top of the eggs, killing the embryo. On my incubator the base of the egg didnt get any light, so did not get burnt. The incubators you can get now might be better, im not sure. Best to wait for someone who has a recent one.

3rd 09 show budgie rung today. This thread will be a journal of my progress. Not many people look in this thread anymore, probably because their are so many posts. I will post my pictures in the pictures section and any questions I have will be asked in seperate topics. Feel free to comment or post on this thread.

You have to turn them every hour until they hatch, otherwise the incubater will heat the same spot and burn the embryo. Their may be better incubators now that do not require this, I'm not sure. Ive never heard of an incubator that turns the eggs by itself either. Once the eggs hatch you can move them to a parent with chicks or a parent with eggs about to hatch.

Very nice pictures Bird_paradise, I really love the cockatiels. Some similar to mine

Wow the babies look weirder than budgie babies. Very nice.

The ring color is actually Iris not purple. Cory - You are in the US and he color chart that KAZ has provided will NOT be the same for us over here in US as it is in Australia. I have one Normal Blue Hen that has a purple leg band on her leg reading TF 07 and she is an 2007 bird. In the second set of pictures you posted the band looks to be the same purple color as my hen's. I can't say for sure because I am in PA and we are not in the same state, but I do know that 08' leg bands in US, PA are mostly black and a few dark blue. Is there any other numbers or letters on the band?? The colour chart KAZ posted is the usa one, it is different to ours.

Excellent birds Kazzy, well done. I like number 2 and 3 the best.

If you incubate eggs you need to turn them every hour or so, to prevent one side getting too hot and burning the embryo. You need to keep the incubater at a certain temperature always. Personally I would just throw away the eggs unless they were within 5 days of hatching, then I would try incubate.

I agree with melbournebudgies, also the duck could have any number of diseases, they could spread to your aviary. Ring rspca or find a local wildlife carer.

Second show bird of 09 rung today.

Group meeting.. Budgies Cockatiels

Thankyou all for the help. The ants are not in the breeding room so thankfully I will not lose any chicks. The breeding room is easier to control because I can use baits and other things because the birds are all locked in cages anyway. The aviary is harder to control, I will look into some of the suggested things and keep you updated.

I stand by my first guess saying it looks like a young recessive pied hen.