Dean_NZ

Do you know what the albino cock is masking? I would wager he is masking opaline, or at least split to it.

Update... Here eye cleared up for a while, but then just when she seemed to be coming back to herself, her eye started watering again and she got very low. I checked her and found her keel was quite pronounced. She was still in quarantine at that point as a pre-caution and so i decided to take her to the vet. Fortunately they now have an avian specialist so i was pleased to be able to spend some time discussing various budgie health topics while he looked her over. She has a mucky ring at the moment, but as near as we could tell she is an '04 hen, so it is not totally unexpected that she should have low resilience to illness. She has been admitted overnight as the vet wants to perform a number or diagnostic tests. He also offered to perform a necroscopy at no extra charge should she not make it through the night (heaven forbid) He actually said he wont charge more than standard consultation fee's regardless of the tests and will only charge more if we end up using doxy or some other medication. All in all i was well pleased hope to learn what is causing her illness and what to look for / actions to take in future. Keep you updated.

Love how the smallest one looks to be shielding its face from the camera! "NOOOO IM TOO SHY!" *Hides*

It looks like she is going to have that shaggy feather that is so in vogue! Gosh what a huge monster! Update us on this lot 3 months from now!

Excellent post GB Totally agree. It is evident that there is a bit of a split in this set up - on one hand you can see the cleaning and food provided - no-one can deny that this would take considerable time and effort to mainatain. But on the other it sometimes seems that it is easier to say "its what everyone does, so why should i be different". The responsibility of every breeder, large or small, is to provide the best possible environment that they can. I understand finances are a crucial factor in deciding what you can provide your birds, but as we ALL know, spending a bit more money and providing better for your birds health and wellbeing pays off hugely in the long run. Self-education as a breeder is a responsibility, not an optional possibility to consider at some point. Im glad Marlon has come to this forum and shown us the standards there. We do have different standards, and because of the difference between our practices we are shocked in many ways. I hope Marlon, that you aren't put off by our reactions and understand how you might react in our situation and use this as an opportunity to educate yourself and become a leader and top breeder, regardless of the fact that you are a commercial breeder. You wont find a better place for information, assistance and encouragement. Hope to hear more.

Third baby hatched a day earlier than expected. Not 'early' per-say, but while the first and second chick can often hatch on the same day or one day after the other, generally the rest hatch every two days. So far one chick has hatched every day for 3 days, but i know the 4th will come tomorrow because the egg is making peeping noises today I have swapped the last 4 eggs into the other nest where the hen had 6 infertile eggs. She will now hatch and raise the last 4 herself. Here is a picture of the three hatched so far cuddling up together Click here for larger picture

WOW. Very educational liv. The amount of growth in 10 days is phenominal, those feathers are really pumping! Please keep us updated

So sorry to hear the news renee Also in regards to daryl's suggestion - it could pay to cover the top of the 'sneaky seed layered water bucket of doom' with some cage wiring - birds wont get through but for mice it wont be a problem whatsoever. I once noticed mice rampaging through my compost bin, which was nestled into a corner of the yard about a half foot from either fence, so i wedged a water filled bucket in the gap and sure enough had 3 mice drowned in it the next day

A good friend of mine had a cinnamon hen pop up in his line of normals he had been keeping 'pure' for eight years. He has only ever paired that line with his own normals and was completely surprised by the cinnamon showing up as he has no idea where it came from or how long it had been passed down.

Excellent Sounds like you'll be a great contributor to the knowledge and experience of this forum. Always great to have another breeder among us, hope you really enjoy it here! Look forward to hearing more from you

Yes both parents are from show stock, albeit the cock is average quality and the hen has very few 'good' points i purchased her because almost no-one has show stock violets for sale and i took what i could get This pairing is more of a colour pairing, although i am curious to see what quality the chicks are show-wise. Its a shame the other pair have infertile eggs as that cock is my best show type and the hen is good as well

First pair is Augren and Viola. I have a second pair on 6 infertile eggs, but the cock is EXTREMELY gentle and although he is with his partner, he has never showed any signs of wanting to mount a hen no matter how much he flirts Augren is a Yellow Face type 2 opaline sky blue split for ino, Viola is a Yellowface type 1 violet cobalt. Breeding expectations are - 100% cocks split for opaline, 100% opaline hens 50% single dark factor (cobalt), 50% zero dark factor (sky blue) 50% single factor violet, 50% normal 25% Yellowface Type 1, 25% white face, 25% Yellowface Type 2 'normal', 25% Yellowface type 2 'composite' (Type 2 masking type 1, except thats technically not the correct term). 25% normal cocks, 25% cocks split ino, 25% normal hens, 25% ino hens. Four chicks will remain in this nest, the other 4 will be fostered to the pair with infertile eggs. Two eggs have already hatched and the first is an albino hen, the second unknown as yet. Expecting another chick in 2 days. Here are some high definition closeups for you to enjoy Click here for larger picture Click here for larger picture

sorry I was talking abouyt two of them I dont think this one is skyviolet at all but cobalt Feathering is skyblue not cobalt. Cobalts have ribbed feathers and lack the skyblue sheen that is so commonly desired in rainbows to 'brighten' the overall look.

Any trouble in the aviary as yet?

Woah TINY! I went to the pet store today, and they had some new birds in. They were the smallest i had EVER seen, and i thought maybe they were babies, but they all had broken caps! I was shocked! My BABIES are bigger when they fledge!!

Yellow face breeding is STILL the biggest source of confusion and heresay even among the big show breeders i talk to who have been doing it for years. Many of them still believe you have to 'breed out' yellow spillage from a goldenface. What many of them fail to realise it the distinct varieties, Yellow face type 1 (often referred to by the old school champions here as lemon face, a term i actually prefer now considering the genes involved), Yellow face type 2 with the distinct sea foam green or aqua colour in blue birds (noteably sky blue) - i have had breeders tell me such a bird is a lemon face with bad spillage that needs to be bred to 'this or that' mutation to 'fix' it. Then there is golden face and its many composites and as such, it has the largest variation of spillage and/or patchyness in its coloration.There is nothing wrong with pairing yellow faces together if you like yellow faces. It has no effect whatsoever on dark factors, although the breeder may have meant you lose the pure blue colour and find yourself with a seafoam green or aqua bird.I have paired right now a yellowface type two and a yellow face type one. This will give me 50% yellowface type 2 chicks, 25% yellow face type 1 chicks and 25% white face chicks. Absolutely no probs there If you want further breeding outcomes pm me By the way kaz, I would LOVE the cock bird. I could use him for show breeding OR colour breeding as i am in need of a double factor yellow face type one, and he just happens to be gorgeous to boot

This would be a great breeding test Pair him to a white face, and if you get all GF chicks then you surely have a Double Factor golden face. And yes you can absolutely breed GF or YF lacewings. If this cock is a double factor golden face, pair him to a blue series lacewing hen. All the cocks from that pair will be single factor goldenface blue series split for lacewing. If you pair those chicks back to a lacewing hen you will get some GF lacewings of both sexes, if you pair him to any regular hen, you will get some GF lacewing hens

Ah, old habits eh :hug:

Wait. Where are the down feathers? Something didnt look right to me and i just clicked lol. Plucking?

Hi guys, some of you may know that i am working on my own soft food formula that is based on nutritional studies for budgies, focussing first on the right protein/carb/fat ratio and secondly on packing in as many vitamins and minerals as i can (within daily recommended limits). I would love to have feedback from anyone who swears by certain powders, foods, additives or supplements for their budgies. I am not trying to give budgies a COMPLETE food source, simply trying to make it as healthy as possible while ensuring my breeding parents and chicks are thriving on the right amound of protein, carbs and essential fats. I will research any foods suggested and see if i can incorporate them into a soft food (so i would prefer dry/long lasting foods that can keep for a while if possible, but will take any suggestions). Heres what i have so far - the mix contains 19% protein, 71% carbs, 10% fats. I would ideally like 8-9% fats but i cant currently lower that given the ingredients i currently use (secret ). I am calculating all ingredients and matching them up to database values. Here is a break down: General nutritional values per 100g of feed =========================================== Energy | 375.0 kcal Protein (19%) | 18.0 g Carbs (71%) | 62.3 g Fiber 7%| 8.7 g Fat (10%)| 4.3 g Vitamins =========================================== Vitamin A | 1951.3 IU Folate | 87.4 µg B1 (Thiamine) | 0.6 mg B2 (Riboflavin) | 0.4 mg B3 (Niacin) | 3.8 mg B5 (Pantothenic Acid)| 1.4 mg B6 (Pyridoxine) | 0.4 mg B12 (Cyanocobalamin) | 0.5 µg Vitamin C | 9.6 mg Vitamin D | 0.0 IU Vitamin E | 3.9 mg Vitamin K | 12.0 µg Biotin | 0.0 µg Choline | 30.3 mg Minerals =========================================== Calcium | 85.0 mg Copper | 0.3 mg Iron | 3.1 mg Magnesium | 103.6 mg Phosphorus | 341.0 mg Potassium | 462.9 mg Selenium | 48.6 µg Sodium | 136.2 mg Zinc | 3.3 mg

Sorry to hear the news! Lovin the birds especially the hens!

Interesting Kaz - I had read that they are identifiable in the nest before feathering up because they grow faster, eat more and they have a characteristicly 'different' chirp. I think it was referred to as a 'dopey' chirp? There is something very odd about it that you instantly recognise as 'not quite right' from what i've read. Are you able to confirm this liv?

It is very pretty, and kaz is right about the protein.

I believe some breeders have succeeded in supplementing such birds diets, sufficiently to keep them alive. I wouldnt have the foggiest on how they did that im sorry so im of no practical help here If it wasnt a feather duster, going by those first few pics i would have said you have one very buff budgie on your hands!

It is also noted that adult birds are capable of producing vitamin K on their own through digestive processes aided by bacteria found in the gut. Any anti-biotics use on a bird will destroy good bacteria also, and as a result cripple the birds vitamin K synthesising abilities increasing their need for vitamin K supplementation TEN TIMES until the gut bacteria is restored. (This restoration occurs over time, and can be aided by probiotic supplementation, or by the bird eating the droppings from other flock members, however it does still take time to restore bacteria levels FIRST and vitamin K levels SECOND). If a hen lays with low vitamin K levels, or low ability to produce vitamin K, this is passed on to the egg (which is low in vitamin K stores). Chicks that hatch with low vitamin K levels have next to no blood clotting ability and can bleed out and die from a wound as small as a nail scratch from a passing hen or cock. Such chicks may also bleed internally and will seem very pink, may have red or purple bellies due to the bleeding. Edit: Interesting to now see that firstly - charcoal intereferres with vitamin K, and secondly - 'preventative' anti-biotic use which is prolific in certain aviaries may actually be extremely detrimental to breeding, and to the welfare of birds in general. Everything we feed our birds has an effect one way or another...