dragonwing

Okay, well, now I really don't know what to do! My hen (Stewie) who laid the eggs, after "mating" with the recessive pied hen/cock, began breaking her eggs. She would lay one or two and then break one, lay another break two...... After reading about others that experienced egg breaking, I started replacing broken ones with fake eggs. She has now stopped laying and has two real eggs in with the fakes. As the two birds didn't seem to be getting along well, and as she was not sitting on the eggs, I removed the hen/cock and put her/him in the "boys cage". He/she seems to be getting along well with the others, one in particular. I thought "Oh good, he is happy". But now I am worried - what if she who turned out to be a he is actually a she ?!?!?!?!?!? The original hen (Stewie) is now alone in her cage, showing no interest in her eggs and looking a bit annoyed at being alone. I was under the impression (from the pet store) that he/she is about four months old, so I don't want her to breed with the boys, but I don't want to put her/him back in with Stewie in case she is actually a he! Perhaps I should put her in a separate cage, but for how long, and then what? AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE HELP :fear PS I was pretty sure that they were mating as his??? "technique" was the same as one of my REAL males, including the wing wrapping.

Hi All, It has been a while since I asked for opinions on the sex of my new budgie and I thought an update was in order. I introduced her to Stewie, my other hen, after removing Stewie's mate. Although I am new at this, I did notice the mating taking place and thought "Hmmmm, could it be that Liv was right and everyone else was wrong?" Kudos to Liv! If there was a prize to be won, you would win it. I know, would you like a baby budgie? Apparently I am about to have some!!! :feedbirds:

Thanks to everyone for their help - I learned alot - again!

Just to clarify, the greywing pictures that I posted (the front and back) are of Tony, the father. The mother (Stewie) is a sky blue hen. The first picture that I posted (the small one) has a green bird in it, but is not involved in this discussion. He simply snuck into the photo, so please disregard him - sorry to have confused the situation. So if I understand correctly, my greywing (Tony) carries a green gene and a recessive blue gene. The mother (Stewie) who is a sky blue must also carry a blue/green split, that is why I got 2 sky blue chicks and 1 yellow chick. :hap:

I agree with MB So he is a green greywing? And silly me thought he was yellow! I read the colour mutation info on greywings and am now even more confused. How the heck did I end up with 2 blue chicks and 1 yellow chick? If the mother is blue (isn't blue recessive) and the father is green which is dominant (although I think that the greywing gene is recessive), wouldn't the babies be green? If the colour thing is too complicated to explain, don't worry, I'll keep re-reading the gene information and hopefully it will begin to make sense!

Here are a front and back photo - hope they are okay.

Yes, thanks, it helps alot - I will check out the recipes right away! I popped a couple of celery leaves in as you suggested and the eldest chick began munching (or at least ripping) right away - thanks!

Hi again, since you were all such help with my hen/cock question, here is another one. I was scanning the pics on the Gypsy Willows Colour Mutations looking for a bird with colouring similar to "Tony". It would appear to the untrained eye (that's me!) that he seems to look alot like a diluted green. Am I correct? Also, he recently finished raising a clutch with a skyblue hen (Stewie). The three chicks turned out to be two skyblue and one some form of yellow (unsure as feathers are still growing in). If he is a green variation, wouldn't all the chicks have been green? Does this therefore mean that he carries a split blue gene (unsure of correct terminology!) I have read three books on breeding colours and have only ended up with large hangovers and a tiny amount of understanding!!!! :fear Tony is on the right - Sam is on the left

Sorry for the small pics, I have tried to upload a larger size as suggested but they never got any bigger. Most of you seem to think she is a girl, so I will go on that assumption until proven otherwise. I am new to this web site (and budgies in general) and must tell you that I am amazed at the knowledge out there and willingness to help, you really have been a great help with all my questions! Thanks. :fear What a coincidence....I AM CANADIAN ALSO....& I too love cake!!!!!!!

I saw this little sweetie at a pet store and brought her (?) home to join my crew. I am thinking she is a she as her cere is a blue/pink colour with distinct white rings around her nostrils, but as I am a newbie with young budgies, I am looking for opions....any thoughts?

I have three baby budgies (eldest 26 days, youngest 21 days). They are being raised on the floor of the cage as Mom didn't want to use the nesting box. "Breeding Budgerigars" by Cessa Feyerabend suggests feeding both the parents and the young as they are beginning to eat seed a "good nestling food" and also have regular seed (canary, millet, oat) mix available. I have only found one "nestling" food, under the name "Sun Seed", which the Dad and eldest baby seem interested in. My question is this, is a "nestling food" with regular seed, the best food for babies, or is something else better - perhaps an egg food? They also receive greens, carrots, celery, etc. daily with their food. :feedbirds: My avian vet suggested I use Avix Sunshine mixture (red palm oil) on their seed - any thoughts on that?

Thank you all so much for your help, I really appreciate it. I feel much more confident dealing with the situation now.

Would exchanging the eggs, as she lays them, with fake eggs help? Leaving them to develop and then removing them would be very difficult for me. Also, what is the "regular" routine that you use for separating a breeding pair when you don't want to have another clutch of eggs. Do you separate the parents before the chicks become self sufficient, if so, when. I really enjoyed the experience of breeding budgies and would like to continue (with another hen) but I want to make sure I do this properly!

Having read other posts (very informative) I have a question for seasoned breeders. Two of my much loved budgies have bred and successfully raised a clutch of three beautiful babies (the eldest is 24 days, youngest is 19). Because my hen is 5 years old, I don't want her to breed again. The pair has begun to mate again and my question is this; in your opion, what is the least stressfull way to prevent a new clutch? I could remove the cock and dispose of eggs as they appear or leave the pair together until the young have left the nest (which is the floor of the cage as she didn't use the nesting box) removing the eggs as they appear. Also when disposing of eggs, is it better to dispose of eggs as they appear or after the hen has stopped laying. I would appreciate any and all advice as the happiness and health of my birds is my top priority. Thanks!