Lib

Thank you, just wanted to double check. I was able to foster out the younger chicks but the 2 older ones are out of luck. Lib

Hi, Quick question? If i take a hen away from chicks that are just getting their coloured feathers through, will the cock take over feeding them or will i lose the chicks? Hen has gone out of condition half way through raising her chicks and has started injuring her chicks. I have had little success hand rearing in the past. Thanks Lib

Hi everyone, Would anyone have some pictures for me to compare. I know i have seen them on this forum before but i ham having trouble locating them. I have a nest full of chicks at the moment and i am unsure wether they are cinnamon or lutino, half of the chicks have red eyes. The hen is yf type 2 cinnamon opaline & the cock is yf type 2 greywing split lutino. I am hoping they are Lutino, when they hatched their eyes look red with a transperant appearance. I am sorry i can't give you picture's, it is cold and windy so i don't want to remove chicks from the box. Thanks, Lib

hi, She's not out of condition & i suppose if their crops are empty then the cock isn't feeding them either, as you said maybe they have sensed something is wrong. I've never had this happen before and usually i have lots of chicks to add them to a foster nest but this time i don't. Oh well as they say that's how the cookie crumbles!

The only one with chicks at the moment is the hen that has only the one 3 week old chick, is that worth a try? Yes, No!, what do you think?

The only one with chicks at the moment is the hen that has only the one 3 week old chick, is that worth a try?

Hi , I have some urgent questions/situation i would like some advise on. I noticed last night on my rounds on checking nest boxes that a hen had started plicking down from one of her chicks but apart from that everything else looked okay. This morning on my rounds i dicsovered she has stopped feeing them so i started to try and give them the vetafarm hand rearing mix on a feeding spoon, i have lost one chick so far and have one left. i am having trouble getting it to feed and it's crop is about 1/4 full. What is the trick to getting it to eat, it is about 2 & 1/2 weeks old. I have another hen who has one chick only but it is about 3 weeks old, is there any poosibility she would except it if i placed it in there (i am assuming not). What would make a hen all of the sudden do this? Thanks, Lib

Thanks for you help KAZ

When you say it took along time are you meaning months or weeks? Is this products A.I.L? and where do i get S76 from? It's funny how ivermectin doesn't work being such a strong product. Lib

Thanks Kaz! It's so frustrating to see dead chicks that look normal bar their yellow bellies.

Hi , I am trying to find some info on Quill mites. I have one bird in my aviary who on both wings on the primary flight feathers chews the quills until he bleeds. All my birds are treated for lice/mites as per the usuall but this one bird is causing me grief. I have checked him again this morning and there is no sign of lice, all his feathers are clean except the ones that have blood from chewing. On the surface you can't see anything, no dirty colouration they are white (he is a clearflight dominent pied) and all the other birds are fine it's just this one bird. I remember reading something on the forum last year that made me think that this is what it is but i am having trouble finding it. Thanks, Lib

Hi Sean, As you say parrots love to chew anything they can get their beaks on. Personally i think your best bet will be instead of trying to get a tree to survive in your aviary (especially with parrots)i would consider gathering some Eucalypt branches with the leaves on it (obviously) and place them in the aviary which means as they get destroyed you can replace them with fresh ones. Eucalypt trees in pots don't last a long time, they need to be planted. With the stress of being stripped bare of leaves (which won't take long) they may not survive unless you can remove it and allow it time to recover but after a few rounds of this it will die. Maybe don on some hiking boots and see what you can find (with premission from your ranger, if you don't want a fine) or maybe a friend has Eucalypt growing in their garden and you can offer to "prune" the tree for them. Anyway good luck!!! Lib

Hi Guys, I have a question about the triple C medication from Vetafarm. 1. When you do a pre breeding treatment how long do you do it for? 2. When you have chicks dying from yellow belly how long do you need to treat the parents for before you allow them to breed again and at what rate? Is it a higher rate than if your birds were healthy? 3. Does this medication need to be changed daily or is it stable in water for a couple of days? (i haven't used this product before but have heard good reports) Since making changes to my breeding set up i have had great success to chick survival rates but i have one pair that had all the eggs hatch but all the chicks died of yellow belly so i want to kick this problem in the butt quickly so i can get on with my plans for this breeding season. Thanks, Lib

Thanks! That does make lots of sense.

Thanks Nubbly, Yes i only breed pet type at this stage but as is common the Lutino's are quite small which i don't want in any case. The Albino hen is a show type which was purchased as a cull from a show breeder and is a good size so should i put the Lut to the albino and then use the chick's from that pairing later on? From another link i have read on this forum people seem to have problems with Lut to Lut pairings as in strength of chicks and size issues etc this has made me ask the questions i have as i would rather avoid the frustration if there was a better way. I would one day like to show budgies so i am trying to upsize my birds and have obtained some show type to help me with this project. Lib

Hi everyone, I am just having a think about my next breeding season and have a few questions. I have had a few people who buy budgies from me ask me to breed some Lutino's for them and i was curious as to my best plan of attack. Am i best to breed Lutino to Lutino or Lutino to a split Lutino or plain green normal even if it takes a bit longer to achieve what i am after. I have 1 Lutino hen and a Lutino Cock plus many split Lutino cocks but they are sons of the Lutino hen (i also have a nice Albino hen if that makes any difference to your advice). Can you breed mother to son or only father to daughter? The other question i have is i would like to try and breed lacewings. Can i do this myself with ino's and cinnamon's or is it more complex than that. The ino's are all cocks and the hens obviously cinnamon. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Lib

Very nice find, healthy birds from a pet shop, good to see. Lib

Thanks guys, Lots to consider, i will make some changes and see if it makes a difference to the survival rate. I live in the country so there are lots of things that could disturb hens at night (foxes, ferral cats, possums, rats, mice all the usuall). The only way mice can get in the breeding cabinets would be through the wire doors with the vertical wire on the front of the cage doors, what would you suggest to prevent this (keeping in mind they need to slide), I will get my husband to put some miniorb across the back to stop the breeze (wind tunnel-good thought). Mice can get through 12mm and that means most aviary wire. The holes on mouse bait boxes is 12 mm and they get into those easy enough the eat the bait. Your square mesh is likely 12mm square or close to it. What have you had to do to mouse proof your set up. I think my aviary wire is 10mm square, i will have to check it in the morining, i remember searching around for the smallest wire i could get, keeping in mind wanting to keep out mice but like i said before they are sneeky little creatures. I might invest in some one way mice traps that the mice have to walk into and get trapped inside a little box (birds can't get hurt) which will give me some answers.

Thanks for reminding me, i bought some to protect my strawberries, i think it was 3.99 for 4x4mt, cheap as, i will use that for now.

Thanks guys, Lots to consider, i will make some changes and see if it makes a difference to the survival rate. I live in the country so there are lots of things that could disturb hens at night (foxes, ferral cats, possums, rats, mice all the usuall). The only way mice can get in the breeding cabinets would be through the wire doors with the vertical wire on the front of the cage doors, what would you suggest to prevent this (keeping in mind they need to slide), I will get my husband to put some miniorb across the back to stop the breeze (wind tunnel-good thought).

Hi kaz, just found picture's of my set up. Posted them just a couple of minutes ago lib

Hi Kaz, I found the picture's of my bird cages by fluke. No i don't have safety doo as yet, working on my husband so far i've been able to shoo the birds up to the back of the aviary.

I suppose that would not be entirely impossible. I did try to make it as vermin proof as possible but some creatures are pretty tricky. I haven't noticed any visible signs of mice or rats(no droppings in nest boxes or chewing on cages)There are some photo's of my set up somewhere on here. I posted them not long ago but i am unsure of how you find them. I suppose ferral cats could be spooking the birds at night, that could be an option.

All the chicks that do survive are really healthy and strong, i have only ever had 2 chicks in 27 years that have had deformities and they died anyway. My breeding cabinets are outdoors as i don't have the luxury of indoor breeding rooms because we are renting for a couple of years but they are elevated of the ground and are free standing along the side of the aviary, morning sun, afternoon shade the floor is wire so all waste materials fall through the bottom onto the ground so everything is clean. As for sprays, i don't use them as i am all for organic/al a natural. Maybe it is the outside breeding? the chicks are in a less controlled environment as far as temps/wind/rain so maybe it does come down to survival of the fittest when breeding out doors?? :laughter:

All the survivng chicks seem really healthy.I have never noticed any chicks with yellow bellies but i will certainly look that one up. I am at a loss as to why this is happening. Before there are any more chicks i would like to get some answers, is there anthing that i can try that maybe i am overlooking. Lib