jaznjj

I am thinking it is a recessive pied with little to no markings. I guess with time we will see if iris rings develop or not PS I have a recessive chick in a nest thats feathering up all yellow with only a hint of colour on its rump...like yours.Could also be what is called a dark-eyed clear (pure white bird with black eyes, usually no iris ring) which pops out of Dutch pieds (I think, but could be Danish.) You can also get them with one eye with iris ring, the other without. It could also be a black-eyed white carrying spangle which sometimes presents as a pure white bird, but does have iris ring. Most likely, as suggested, very lightly marked recessive pied. Violets in my experience are just as robust as other colours, though there used to be talk of a "lethal gene" if you bred violet to violet to produce double factor violets. (This would mean that the chicks would never hatch, but die in the shell.) I don't think anything has ever been proven about this. I think there could be some families of fragile violets because they are so beautiful that even poor ones are kept and bred with whereas with other colours and/or varieties any weaker birds would have been culled. This means we are putting more poor-quality violet chicks into the system. This means a downward spiral in size and quality over a few generations. People more learned than myself have also suggested that the effect of violet in the composition of the feathers causes the feather to be smaller and tighter, meaning that a violet bird may look smaller even though it has the same body size underneath. Again, don't know how accurate that statement is. JazP.S. Love violet birds, particularly violet mauves and combinations with clearwing, pied, Australian yellowface.

That's really bad news! Very sensitive birds. Inos often breed better in lower-light conditions. Could the move have placed them in a brightly lit position? Or maybe it's just an unfortunate coincidence. (Would love to have my cabinets on wheels.) Jaz

Might be a blackeyed yellow, or a dilute, which is also opaline which would explain the green showing in the wings. Jaz

I try not to move them but sometimes it is necessary. Try to move the original nest box to the new cabinet, or shift the eggs/chicks into a nest box of exactly the same design/size. I do that when cleaning; have a nest box exactly the same, shift the chicks into it, and clean the dirty box at leisure. Dirty box (cleaned up) is then available to swap into another cabinet. (Care with hygiene here!) Have never had a problem doing this. If shifting to another cabinet, try to shift to a cabinet of same design and same orientation to light (i.e. north,south,east,west). This might be overdoing it, but try to get as many factors working for you as possible. If into a different cabinet, try to have the nest box in the same position as in the old cabinet - birds get into the habit of entering and exiting in particular directions and making them do a left turn when they are used to doing a right turn could put them off. Make any changes minimal. I don't think there would be a time to do it more critical than any other. I recently was given a nesting pair of birds with fertile eggs in a cabinet and transported them by car a few kilometres. No problem at all. Hatched and raised the clutch really well even though they came into a strange environment. Same style nest box, same style cabinet, same orientation and minimal transition time should be a happy formula. Budgies are bird-brains and easily fooled. Jaz

You must be doing all the right things with nutrition etc. (Or are you feeding her too much red cordial?!) Have fun! Jaz

I think Sky is a recessive pied which means the cere will be naturally pale pink even as an adult. Maybe it's a clearbody. Time will tell. Sounds to me like Sky is a young bird and the begging behaviour towards an adult quite normal. The other behavioural pointers Sailorwolf mentioned are right on. Tracemin is a harmless supplement at the recommended dilution. I actually use it even more dilute than recommended. Whatever you do to correct any hormone imbalance will not happen overnight, so be prepared to persevere. It may start to correct but might not be obvious for a while. A stress-free environment and healthy diet may be all that is needed. Cock birds go through fertility cycles naturally anyway and a change in environment/life style can disturb the hormonal balance. It is usually self-correcting as the bird gets used to its new circumstances. I think if you haven't quarantined either bird it's too late now to worry about it. Jaz

Like Liv says, be careful with sunflower seeds. Addiction to sunflower seeds affects cockatoos badly and budgerigars can also start to eat them to the exclusion of a better-balanced diet. If you feed sunflower, I would allow maybe one or two kernels only a day (this is a bit of a guess for a single bird). Birds not used to eating sunflower may not be interested. Usually start off with sunflower when they are chicks and start off with the seeds soaked so they can get through the husk. As they get older and they can crack seed more efficiently you don't need to soak it anymore. Also, use grey-stripe, not black sunflower because the black seeds are usually too hard for budgies to crack. And care always when soaking any seed to offer it fresh and dispose of leftovers. In an aviary situation you would only offer a small quantity so that birds do not fill up on sunflower. It is an oily seed and has much value, but in moderation. Jaz

I did know a breeder years ago who used to use a racehorse system to name his birds - an easy way for him to recall the bloodlines without always having to look them up. Don't quite remember how it worked: I think it had something to do with his breeding birds all having names which started with different letters of the alphabet, and the chicks also being given names starting with the same letter of the alphabet. Maybe it was just through the cock bird's side. If the father was "Rocky" the chicks might be named Raphael, Rodney, Reuben etc. Somebody else might know how this system works. Jaz

Hi Kaz, nice birds. Jaz (Jaznjj)

Green bird looks like an opaline to me - think the tail is wrong colour for clearbody and the bird shows the typical opaline window in the wing. As others have said, blue bird looks like a spangle, probably also dilute and opaline. The blue bird in the picture below is a different bird and looks like a sky spangle. The baby in the picture below that appears to be a dilute pied - can't see markings clearly so a chance it is spangle also. Jaz

Hi Sonia, One trick to try is to put dummy eggs (I use small white marbles) under the hen until she settles into steady incubation. In need, put the real eggs under foster parents. This just gets the parents into the right habit if they have been erratic. If it's a fragile egg problem, the other suggestions you have been given are right on target. I also put grit in with my seed mix (I use Canunda) and have rarely had a problem with fragile shells - those exceptions being from birds brought in from other aviaries. Jaz

Looks like a boy to me. Jaz (Jaznjj)

Hi Brittany, I think it would depend on her fitness when you put her back in a flight. If she has raised four rounds she needs some long service leave! I assume from your earlier post that you have a breeding flight and a non-breeding flight. I would be putting her in a non-breeding flight and letting her have lots of flying time as soon as you think she is fit enough and once the chicks are feeding themselves so that the cock bird doesn't get distracted from that important job. Like Kaz said - four rounds is too many. Kaz must have posted her message while I was still putting this one together. Jaz

So more chances of cold chicks is seen when the clutch has only one chick and hen is not sitting on it for more than 30 minutes time. I think this shouldn't be a problem when clutch has more than one chick, since chicks stay together closely and so they can keep warmth together, right. Could you please tell me what is the visual symptoms of a cold chick. So assume for some reason we have to separate the hen for 1 hour from eggs, so whether we can temporarily place a 40 watt house lamp/bulb on top of these eggs at little far away in order to maintain the warmth in eggs during absence of the hen for 1 hour. Also for cold chick, how long we need to provide warmth and any ideas on how to do it? Hi, just a little more info. Over the years there have been times when I have discovered eggs and/or chicks cold and chicks apparently dead. I cup the egg or chick in my hands and breathe warm, moist air onto them. It is the most incredible experience when a "dead" chick comes back to life - not quite so obvious with an egg unless it is at the pipping stage and you can hear it. Sometimes the eggs/chicks are cold because parent bird has died, sometimes because they have been separated from the rest of the clutch. In the case of dead parent, foster the egg/chicks out elsewhere. If they have just been "mislaid" by the hen, put them back under her. I would not suggest a light bulb because that will dry out the egg; instead you could place the egg(s) wrapped lightly in cloth and placed in a container over a source of moist heat, such as hot water in a bowl (monitor temperature with thermometer). I also give a more generous time frame as (though I have no hard data to support it) I am certain I have restored eggs and chicks which have been cold for much longer intervals than 30 minutes. I believe another critical factor is when in the 18 days incubation the "cold" occurs. I believe that early after laying, and just before hatching they are more likely to survive. From experience, if fostering eggs out I will only move them in the first few days after laying, or when they are actually pipping. Movement in mid-incubation seems to be less successful - I am told it is because different hens incubate at slightly different temperatures. I feel this also has implications for the success or otherwise of warming up cold eggs. Hope this is helpful.

I'm finishing up for the night now. Good luck with the ti-tree. It will probably take a year or two to be big enough to use the branches, but once you can identify it you'll find it in other places like parks, reserves, bush, gardens. I cropped the ti-trees in my local reserve for years before growing my own. I just made sure that my pruning improved the plants and didn't destroy anything. The advantage of growing your own is you can guarantee there are no pesticides or pollutants which could harm your birds. Goodnight. Jaz P.S. Budgies also like to eat tree lucerne but you have to check with your local council because I think in some areas it is a prohibited plant. P.S.S. Also you can grow grain amarynth which is an annual. Birds eat both the seeding heads and the leaves and stalks. High protein. Seed available from mail order seed places like Eden Seeds or Phoenix Seeds. I could post some to you but not sure of the protocol. Keep thinking of more things: beetroot, carrot, oranges (turn the skins flesh side out after squeezing juice for yourself) boiled eggs, endive, chickweed

Hi Kaz, don't have a photograph but it is a very common native which a plant nursery would be able to show you. Crush the leaves in your hand and smell the lemon! When the birds work it over in the flights it also smells delightful. Not sure about peppermint tree - is this like a peppercorn tree? Budgies also like other types of ti-tree (leptospermum) branches but they particularly go for the lemon-scented. I have heard of people putting in branches of bottlebrush (callistemon) and I imagine kunzea would be okay too. Jaz Sorry, still learning to navigate the forum. Must have pressed the wrong button. Have posted a reply which should be up now to view.

I give my birds branches of lemon-scented ti-tree which is supposedly a natural wormer. However, always hang it upside down. The birds will strip off the leaves and bark leaving sharp pointed twigs which can trap a bird's ring if the branch is placed upright. I grow my own ti-trees and "prune" off a branch for each flight, usually once a week. Have done this for many years. It has the value of giving the birds an enjoyable pastime as well as being of possible medicinal use.