Daz

I ring at 8 days +/- 1 day. I use three toes forward 1 back method. You can contact the Budgerigar Society for information on the rings. The Budgerigar Socierty Web Site

Courtesy of Mort Faddy – Open Breeder at the Sunshine Coast The Challenge – Preserving the Rarer varieties. Lets now look at the Dark Eye Clears (DEC). It was around the early 1940's during the occupation of Belgian by the German army that the Dark Eye Clears along with the Clear Flighted Pieds were produced in the aviaries of Mon Raymaeker of Belgian. It appears that when a Recessive Pied was crossed with a Clearflighted Pied the Clearflight young from that pairing produced handsome Dark Eye Clears when mated back to a Recessive Pied. They were named Black Eye Lutinos and sold for a very hight price in the 1940's. Between 1939 and 1945 in Holland also appeared a new mutation known as the Dutch Pied. This new mutation also paired to a Recessive Pied found that the young of that pairing put back to a Recessive Pied produced Dark Eye Clears. WHAT are Dark Eye Clears Dark Eye Clears from their name, are budgerigars of a clear yellow or white, free from any markings and colour pigmentation. They resemble the Lutinos and Albinos except in the eye. Like the Recessive Pied they have the solid black eye without the white iris ring. My Story In June of 2003 I obtained 1 pair of Dark Eye Clears (DEC) from my friend Dave Cook, I looked at the little things as they were such poor quality, they were not much bigger than our native bush Budgies. No reflection on COOKIE by the way. In my first year I was in need of numbers so I paired Dark eye to Dark Eye, as a result of that pairing I produced 100% Dark Eye Clears. All eight chicks were small with no improvement in size. Second year, 2004 I paired up Dark Eye Clears to Recessive Pied's. The Recessives were a nice line coming from the SEAGROTT stud, having a percentage of Mannes blood in them. The chicks now were showing a small improvement in size and feather quality. Third year, 2005 I had come across a letter to UK Budgerigar World by an Italian breeder also attempting to work with the Dark Eye Clears. He found that pairing a Normal Split Recessive Pied to the Dark Eye Clears was by far the best way to improve the size in the rare variety. This pairing will result in: 1. Dark Eye Clears 2. Recessive Pieds 3. Continental Clearflights 4. Normal Split Recessive Pieds Genetics of the Dark Eye Clears The Dark Eye Clears are in fact, birds that carry in their genetical make up, one dominant gene (gene for the Clearflight) and two recessive genes (gene for the Recessive Pied) The confusion arises when pairing a Dark Eye Clear with a normal bird; we then produce the Clearflights. In this pairing we will not produce DEC's even though we started with one. In fact, the pairing will produce Clearflights and normals all split for Recessive Pied. What happens in this pairing is that the dominant Clearflight gene will act and the pairing is just like a Dominant Pied to a normal. Because the DEC had two recessive genes in hidden form, then these genes will continue to be present in the progeny in a hidden form as well, hence all the progeny will be split for Recessive Pied. My Pairing 1. Dark Eye Clear to Normal/Rec.Pied 2. Continential Clearflights/Rec. to Normal/Rec. Pied Good Luck with your hobby Mort

I can understand the colouring but you wont get Cinn Cocks from a Split cock to normal hen.You'll get Split cocks and normal cocks.

Cinnamon does dilut the body colouring. You can use cinnamon to help the suffusion of a Spangle Double Factor. I use it this way. Merv I understand your question but can't help in this occassion. I know the best pairing for Recessive pieds is Normal/split to recessive.

Excelent Discription Derek ...

You've given me something to look for this season I love a challenge.

One major factor in quarrentining the birds for 45 days is that most deseases they get usually show up during that time. Yes there are thise that are carriers and the best method is a vetanarian diognoises but quarrentining for a full period is a lot better than lossing you flock.

A very good article by Dr Rob Marshall...

:budgiedance: I think this is very relavant.

AV I was in the same situation 12 months ago. It cost me $700 to have autopsies and lab tests done to find out the problems with my birds. 14 died in onloy a couple of weeks.. In my case it was my feeding management. Too much Cod Liver Oil and then a bacteria infection and then posioning with a worming product. But untill we knew that, I was in the same stituation as you. It is very worry some and I know what you are going through. Wondering when it will stop. But be strong. Macka's advice is a good one.

Be careful with Doxy. Talking to Dr Marshall he suggests testing them by putting them on Doxy and noteing the results. A postive result is Smaller Droppings Droppings change from khaki/green to health black Increase noise and vertality in quarrentine. Feather colour improves The sudden appearance of down feathers attached to the droppings. If you get a positive result after 3 days of Doxy Treatment... continue the treatment untill you get a negative result. This could be any where between 10 to 45 days.A negative result is Fluffed-up sick looking birds Darkgreen watery droppings Vomiting If you get a negative result after 3 days of Doxy treatment... STOP THE TREATMENT. If you're birds are on a Doxy treatment you need Megamix added to this to allow the birds access to grit. If you don't have Megamix, don't leave the grit with the birds, take it away. It is best when starting to buy two or three pair from one breeder pair these birds and note the results. If stisfied with the results return to that breeder for outcrosses.I have decided to have only three breeder's birds on my flock. So I stager the outcrosses coming in. If you want many birds from many breeders, plan when you are going to buy them and stagger them to coming in after the previous ones have finished quarrentine. It is then easier to work out "If" something goes wrong, where it came from.A vet once told me that you should have the birds in quarrentine checked three times during their time in quarrentine to be apsolutley sure that they aren't carriers.

Very interesting. Kaz give some reasons for the decisions please. I can't tell at such a young age. :budgiedance: I would agree that the one in the middle continues to develop and the cere stays like this, that it is a cock bird. But why do you think the others are hens? I find this fasinating...

It's a temperature probe from Tandys. I check it to make sure it's not too cold for them. The garage is fitted with an exhaust fan to keep it cool but I can turn it off in winter and leave the door open to allow hot air from the air conditioner in. 42 to 45 days as recommended by Vets here in Australia. I try to only get two or three birds per year. I now have 5 new birds this year and unless there is something that really catches my eye, i'll stay with that. Gerrald Binks suggests one outcross a year. This is probibly good once you are up and going.

There have been a few posts lately of birds being bought and then finding out they are sick. There are many reasons that you should quarrentine your birds. I have a separate area for the birds that come into my care. It is as simple as a holding cage in my garage. The birds are held here for 45 days to see how they go. The ones in there at the moment have been bought from auction and are currently on Doxycycline. They are from a very good breed that looks after his birds but as they have come from an auction and mixed with other birds, they might have caught something. If this is the case, I din't want them giving it to the others in the flight and losing a lot of birds.

As dave said, you can put those two togeather. They will give you all opalines, some dominant pieds some spangle some both. Most will be Green but if the Dominant pied is split blue, you can get some blues as well.

Hi Peacre, i was agreeing with you and adding that they were very special. They are the only variety that can produce dominant and recessive chicks depending what they are paired to.

Darkeyed clears are recessive.. and very special. Pairing a DEC Hen to a Lutino Cock will give Normal Cocks/ino/recessive pied Lutino Hens/recessive pied No bird can be split to a DEC. Here is the pairings >Dark-Eyed Clears< But wait ... there's more. A DEC paired to a Normal will also give Clearfights/recessive pied and Normals/recessive pieds. Pairing tha Clearflight back to the DEC will give you the DECs

DEC yellow.. the Beak is orange and I guess the feet are pink.

Better make this an offical WELCOME Ino you have some very good blood lines there to start with. I was admiring Heath's birds at the auction on Sunday here in Brisbane.

Might be a very good time to read this article >M.A.P.< I have birds that are in quarrentine and will be so for the next 5 weeks. I can't afford to let anything into my aviary. JB hope he pulls through. Try him on some millet sprays.

Daniel Lutof's

Confucious said, "With our mind we create the world" Man has changed the budgerigar. From this to this so we must now give them what their bodies require.

I was speaking to Dr Rob Marshall yesterday and we discuss this point. There is a very good book coming out very soon that you should all try to get. It is very good in the way we will be looking after these birds.

Very Good points DrNat. It should be the underlying drive to feed a balanced diet with the requirements that the birds need and require. The basis of the protein I am currently feeding them is as follows Ground cereals, bread crumbs, whey and soy proteins, hydrolysed casein, lysine, methionine, vegetable oils, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, D3, E, K, nicotinamide, pantothenic acid, folic acid, choline, inositol, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, magnesium, zinc, iron, manganese, copper, iodine, selenium. We do know that they need and seek out animal protein. In the wild, insects do make up a part of there diet. In the seventies it was comon to feed them meal worms. In the flights we do come acroos the one that, due to misfortune, didn't make it through the night and the others made sure that there wasn't much left of him. So it should be considered that a percentage of Animal Protein should be part of their diet. How much I don't know. The moden bird now requires more intake in general to the wild bird. We only need to look at the differences 2001 2007 You need to adjust the feeding management to suit the birds.

Do not get depresserd when he doesn't mature as you want him to. It is normal for him to go through a time when you don't think he will be any good, but he will in time.