RIPbudgies

I can do it all in my head but when I am pressed for time I use the calculator. Besides with the amount of typing involved. Best to calculate, export in HTML and then post. If you look on my website at the genetics tables, I did them all without the use of a calculator. I did not have it then.

Cock := Dark Green Dan Rec Pied / Ino Hen := Sky Blue Greywing Dan Rec Pied PROGENY PERCENTAGE DESCRIPTION 12.500 % Light Green Dan Rec Pied / Blue Greywing Hen 12.500 % Light Green Dan Rec Pied / Blue Greywing Cock 12.500 % Light Green Dan Rec Pied Ino / Blue Greywing Hen 12.500 % Light Green Dan Rec Pied / Blue Greywing Ino Cock 12.500 % Dark Green Dan Rec Pied / Blue Type-I Greywing Hen 12.500 % Dark Green Dan Rec Pied / Blue Type-I Greywing Cock 12.500 % Dark Green Dan Rec Pied Ino / Blue Type-I Greywing Hen 12.500 % Dark Green Dan Rec Pied / Blue Type-I Greywing Ino Cock Total Number of Progeny Types (including sexes) := 8

Renee you have learnt a valuable lesson. Don't move chicks around unless you really really have too. The hens feed a crop milk to the newley hatched and slowly over time the hen feeds different mixtures to the different age chicks. She is quite capable of feeding a day old crop milk and 15 day old seed. What you inadvertantly did was to interrupt the hens natural cycle. Four days between the next egg hatching is enough for the hen to think she needs to starts the next round. Now this is not to say that this happens to all hens cause it does not. Mark this on your breeding card for future reference. Budgies don't need our intervetion to get the hang of feeding. Either they do or they don't. It is genetically programmed into them and they may well learn from being fed as chicks in the nest.

Pair 2. What do you mean by GF2? Golden face type 2 There is only one type of GF and it comes in single or double factor. Is the bird a seagreen or seafoam type colouration? Pair 3 & 4. Are the Greys and Grey Green single or double factor for grey? im not sure, never bred before I will assume single factor grey. Pair 5. What Mutant Yellowface is this 1 or 2 and is it single or double factor? yellow face type 1 not sure if single or double factor I will assume the YF is a single factor as most are. Besides a double factor is a white face blue. Pair 6. I am assuming the Violet is Violet Cobalt. Is that correct. Is it a single or double factor Violet? The Cock you say Cobalt or Sky. Could it be Violet sky? I dont know if its a violet or a violet cobalt. He is very purple in real life, but im not sure how to tell. Its the hen I said cobalt or sky. She seems to be between sky blue and cobalt. I will assume single factor Violets for this pairing and as the cock is visually a Violet I will assume he is Violet Cobalt. The hen I will calculate for both Sky and Cobalt. Pair 7. The YF2 I am aussuming you mean YF Mutant 2. Is it single or double factor? yes i mean yellowface type 2 not sure if single or double factor What is the body colour of the bird and this will tell if she is single or double factored YF. If you could answer my queries I can do more detailed calculations for you. That would be great thanks!! This may seem like a pain in the you know what but as far as the YF calculations go without knowing what mutant to deal with will greatly affect the outcome. Same with the Violet. Besides only trying to help Just a thought. Have you got any pics?

Pair 2. What do you mean by GF2? Pair 3 & 4. Are the Greys and Grey Green single or double factor for grey? Pair 5. What Mutant Yellowface is this 1 or 2 and is it single or double factor? Pair 6. I am assuming the Violet is Violet Cobalt. Is that correct. Is it a single or double factor Violet? The Cock you say Cobalt or Sky. Could it be Violet sky? Pair 7. The YF2 I am aussuming you mean YF Mutant 2. Is it single or double factor? If you could answer my queries I can do more detailed calculations for you.

I have never found the dilute alleles to be a headache at all. I found them to be a very interesting set of alleles worthy of the time I spend on them. So worthy in fact I am gonna do it all again. I agree that with time and records they are great. I am interested in breeding dilutes and clearwings at some point. However from where i stand, being unable to find any breeders of these birds in NZ, or any budgies of the 3 dilute varieties with a clear breeding history it is a nightmare. For me to have any luck breeding rainbows, i need some DF clearwings, but so far all i have found are questionable greywings and i cant spend generations breeding them to find out what there genetics are. So yes, from my end a nightmare. But if i were to one day get some good dilutes and clearwings, then its not a problem Dean I did not start off with birds with known histories at all. I started because I got fed up with all the misinformation around the place here and believe me it is still around. I dropped into a club meeting back in Feb I think it was. Nice Dilute on the bench and it was benched and judged as a Greywing. I also visited a breeder here and the first bird caught my eye was a hum dinger of a Dilute Grey Green and immediately tried to obtain it. I was told that he had benched the bird and at times was told it was a Greywing and other times a Dilute. Now if judges can't get it right what chance do the exhibitors have. I started by obtaining birds from breeders who had got peeved off with the dilute varieties not being accuratly identified and so causing confusion come breeding time as the results did match the identification given on the show bench. So I was able to obtain these birds fairly cheaply and I could set about proving what they were. Since Dilutes are the most recessive of the three dilute alleles and cannot be split for Greywing or Clearwing you use them to figure out what the other birds are but you must keep an open mind and be able to interpret what you see. Most of the literature available is of no use to you either. I am always willing to help you if you really want to get into this.

The hooded parrot Psephotus dissimilis is a little known grass parrot inhabiting open woodlands, grassland and savannah of the Northern Territory (Higgins 1999). Like the closely related golden-shouldered parrot P. chrysopterygius and the extinct paradise parrot P. pulcherrimus, the hooded parrot excavates nests in termite mounds (Hindwood 1959) and is thought to have a relationship with a moth, the larvae of which feed on the nestling's waste and are thought to keep the nest-cavity clean (White 1922; Turner 1923). Information courtesy of the Hooded Parrot Project. http://www.anu.edu.au/BoZo/stuart/hooded_parrot_project.htm

I have never found the dilute alleles to be a headache at all. I found them to be a very interesting set of alleles worthy of the time I spend on them. So worthy in fact I am gonna do it all again.

Welcome Robyn and enjoy your stay.

Milk Thistle leaves is a staple for my birds. It is a good liver tonic not only for birds but for humans as well. I grow it all over the yard.

That is a very nice little Greywing. Now not knowing his exactly genotype (not visual) makeup he can be either carrying two Greywing genes or he could carrying one Greywing gene and one Dilute gene. Test mating the parents will give you the answer or you could wait till later on when this little cock bird is mature enough and pair him to a Dilute hen. If you choose the latter option any chicks produced will be both Greywings and Dilutes if he is split Dilute. Should you produce only Greywings then he is genotypically Greywing i.e. carrying two Greywing genes.

You will need to pair each bird with a dilute. Should either of the birds produce a Dilute that will then prove it is split for Dilute. Should you produce Greywings then they ae Split for same. Of course this all hinges on if the chick is in fact a Greywing. Have you got pics?

MDF = Medium Density Fibreboard. It is easy to work with but produces large quantities of dust particles. One of the bindind agents used is Formaldehyde which is an embalming fluid amongst other uses. The other draw back with MDF and also chip board is that when it gets wet it swells. I would say if this is to used I would make sure that the wood is primed well and at least two coats of paint applied to keep the moisture out reduced the emmision of fumes from the Formaldehyde.

Prior to giving up the hobby back in 2002 or there abouts I was starting to gather information on installing a nipple system. Glad to see one in place. Looks great. I used guines pigs bottles in my flights with great success. keeps the water clean and easy to fill for meds if you have too.

Still only the three pairs going in the boses. Pair 2 though the hen has started to get loser droppings. Got to go buy meself water based marker now. Still to order me rings yets but that only takes around two weeks so plently of time. Things I keep finding stuff around the place though. Found the grit yesterday. Good job it doesn't go off ay. Still had all my bowls and drinkers so no probs there.

I was only pointing out that Parsley is very high in Oxalic acid compared to some other veggies. It is also high in Iron but no higher than Spinach and the Calcium content is extremely high at 165mg per 100g. However and maybe I should have made myself clear, Oxalic acid interferes with the absorption of Calcium. One must remember also that although one veggie has a certain amount of a particular vitamin/mineral when added to others you increase the level available.

Size is not to my knowledge been linked with any mutation available today. All varieties can be improved if you wish to work at it. My Clearwings back in 2002 were anywhere between 8-10 inches long, Dutch pieds that on average were 7-9 inches long, Goldenfaces averaged 7-8 inches, Black-eyes between 7-9 inches. I basically did not keep a bird under 7 inches long. Dominants are easier to improve for size because the results are quicker. Recessives take longer because people don't want to wait that extra year for split to be available and don't want to "waste" their better birds for improvement. As for colour mutation effect. Sure does happen and depends on the type of change as to what the effect will be. As mentioned, Cinnamon reduces body colour and so can be used very effectivly in DF Spangle, Black-eyes and Inos. Dilute varieties (Clearwing, Greywing, Dilute) have a diluting effect on other varieties and also amongst themselves. Opaline are a melenin redistribution gene and in my opinion are used far too much. Feather texture is evident some mutations but only when the effect of the mutation is present. Cinnamon has a softer feather due to the fact that the feather structure has be altered slightly due to the imcomplete systhesis of melenin. Same with Ino and Fallows. Once a bird no longer carries the cinnamon gene it is no longer "softer". Don't forget the all import myths, perception and time theories. You don't always see what you see. People see things differently. Some people on this forum have difficulty with telling apart the different yellowfaces, or the difference between normal and cinnamon markings. This is due some in part due to the moniter settings and some because their eyesight is failing or their rod and cone structure in the eye is inadequate to distinghish the difference. Some people are just better at visual perception than others, it's all in the genes. Then there is theory. In the budgie world there has been many, many theories handed down over the generations and about 99% has NO scientific basis what so ever. Even when new evidence comes to light the old myths are still hanging around for the novice to latch onto with eager hands. Some of the bullshit still making the rounds have already been mentioned in this thread. Then there are still others such as - cause of french moult, feather dusters and halfsiders. Time theory. This is a theory that people seem to believe that because a person has been in the hobby for such a long time that they are all knowing. Wrong. I have met many a breeder who after starting in budgie amassed a good knowledge base over a short time and have been snubbed for it. Some people are just smarter, more scientific, and more questioning than others. I have know people in three years know more then somebody who has been around for forty years. Time is irrelevant to knowledge!

Might want to go careful with the Parsley there Daz. It contains fairly high levels of Oxalic Acid at a rate of 1.70g per 100g of Parsley. Although most veggies have small amounts, Parsley has the most of all of them.

Golden Syrup is not toxic. It is a by-product from the process or refining sugar cane. Non-stick pans release chemicals when heated which are toxic. Don't allow birds to fly around in kitchens when cooking they can and do land in frypans etc. Not all toys sold for birds are safe. Think very carefully before buying. Keep toe nails trimmed, it is amazing how a bird can get hung up on things (curtains especially). Their toe nails are extremely fine and fit into the smallest crevice. Dried floral arrangments as mentioned by Daz. There are various chemicals used in the process of drying out the flora. The flora itself would not have been a problem. Eucalypus is fine, they chew on it in the wild and in fact has many medicinal properties along with Tea Tree and other aussie natives.

Sounds like good advice, pity you didn't post on Monday I am sorry but I did not look at the date of the post. I have been extremely busy of late and my connection speed is shaped till the 28th making it a damn pain to get pages to load quickly thereby taking longer to do things. I don't always look at the dates of thread postings. Renee, you could look at it as a reference for the future. Some postings are always gonna be late, not everybody is on the same timetable. Just had another thought. You could get on the phone to Kaz, Gina or even myself. I am sure anyone of us could have help far quicker than waiting for a reply on the forum.

There are no vegetables that contain D3 it is manufactured in the skin. Fish contain D3 as do mushrooms. My previous bird room was completely enclosed and to get around the D3 problem I had full spectrum lighting installed and once a week I gave Cod Liver Oil in the soft food. Cod Liver Oil contains D3 but must be used with caution as it also contains Vitamin A. High doses of Vitamin A are toxic.

Personally I don't put birds under heat treament for cuts. If infection had set in one of the best things is to poor hydrogen peroxide 5% solution mixed water but I am not sure of the rate. It is usually on the bottle. Slowly poor over cut, the oxygen bubbles produced clean up infected tissue extremely well. then rinse with clean saline water and then Betadine to finish off. Couple times day and good as gold. As for using anti-biotics I am dead against the use of them for any tiny little mishap. Anti-biotics are a wonderful drug without a doubt, and one of man's best discoveries to date but the indiscrimate use of them is going to make them obsolete, and in fact in some cases they already are. You must also remember they come in different strengths based on what they were prescribed for in the first place.

Seed if kept correctly will last years. The quality however is debateable. Seed found in ancient ruins has been found intact and if my memory serves, it has been sprouted. A certain amount of moisture is already present in the seed at harvest time and is required for the seed to remain in a state in which germination can occour but low enough to allow correct storage. The key is to keep extra moisture out. This is what will start the degredation process of the seed. Mould will then attack if the bugs don't get in first. Seed can be kept in the freezer or fridge this will stop the emergence of moths which pretty much all seed has but the eggs are so small you don't see them.

Do you think the budgies will age like a fine wine Kaz?