RIPbudgies

I so agree with those words Kaz. I had an incident in the birdroom yesterday. A Clearwing was going to be coming out of the box any day now but the hen attacked it big time yesterday! What a mess. Totally bald on top, both eyes closed, even one wing damaged, blood everywhere. Took no chances, removed this bird and then took the remaining two from the nest and put on the floor of the cabinet with a up-side down container on the floor should they need it. First thing I did was move it to another cage on its own to see how it was going to go over a couple hours. Sometimes they just crounch in corners and give up. Anyhow it was moving around and appearing to be quite a fighter so off I went to set up the hospital cage. Being warm at times like this can be comforting. So HC set up inside chick moved in. Main thing was to feed and settle it down for the night. Will over the next couple of days clean up wounds but not too much as they have begun to scab over. Eyes are not a real issue, bird does not need to see as I am feeding it, it does not need to look for food. Fingers crossed. I took some photos and will post if people want to see but will start another thread and not hi-jack this one anymore than I have already. Hopefully Kaz's and my bird survive.

Sorry Kaz but the last part of your statement is one of those old wive's tales. Mops appear in show stock and pet stock alike. It is more prevalent in show stock due to inbreeding and regular supervision. In colony bred pet stock the inbreeding occurs but not in the same as as show stock and when a mop appears it is usually not detected unless the owner checks the boxes regularly, when the young fledge they either learn quickly to fend for themselves or die. It is not uncommon for bodies to be hidden in the aviary litter and go undetected. Well, thats very good to know mate :hmm: Its just that we hear it said so often in show breeding circles No worries Kaz. Some things just make sense if you breed the lesser varities like Clearwings. I had mops popping out of one of the Clearwing family lines with regual frequency. These birds although getting better were not 'on their way' in the sense of being like the less rare side of things. It is genetic and I kept a track of it and could always predict in which nests the likelyhood of producing a mop was. Usually the chance was a 1 in 4 of producing one, being careful not to pair two FD gene carrying birds together. Being a recessive gene it is hard to illiminate from the stud but over time not impossible.

Sorry Kaz but the last part of your statement is one of those old wive's tales. Mops appear in show stock and pet stock alike. It is more prevalent in show stock due to inbreeding and regular supervision. In colony bred pet stock the inbreeding occurs but not in the same as as show stock and when a mop appears it is usually not detected unless the owner checks the boxes regularly, when the young fledge they either learn quickly to fend for themselves or die. It is not uncommon for bodies to be hidden in the aviary litter and go undetected.

Tis rather attractive. Seems the salmon colour comes through with this hybrid as it does the corella/galah hybrid. Not sure if the same rules apply by in mammals the name is derived from the combination of the parents name but the sire is first followed by the dam. i.e. a male zebra and a female horse is called a Zorse, the other way round is a Hebra. So with that in mind the hybrid bird would be a Galatoo. :sad:

This website is okay http://www.budgieplace.com/colorsguide.html also this onehttp://www.officialbarrieshuttbudgerigars....rsmutations.htm Before posting links elsewhere try looking at the wealth of info already here at BBC forum We do have a wealth of information here, but do we have a page that explains it all in beginner's terms? I started to look for a link to paste here, but it looks like everything is separated into many different articles. As for the link to the Budgie Place, that is where I learned the mutations, before I even knew about BBC. "Easy Peasy" is a very accurate description! I agree with Kaz here. Look around on this forum first there are a lot of post and FAQ's. The budgie place although is for the most part pretty good on it's content it does have some anomilies. Yellowface being one. The fact that the author has reference Peter Bergman as a scource of more info as the 'budgie place' provides very little tells me the author is not fully understanding of this variety. It is stated that their are only two yellowfaces a Type 1 and Type 2 (terms that should be discontinued) which the author seems to describe as a single factor and a double factor form respectively. In fact there are three forms of Yellowface with each one in a single or double format. Jack your last photos of the yellowface spangles are in fact single factor Goldenface Spangle Cobalts withe the second one being Opaline as well by the look of those photos.

There is NO reversal of the markings on the wings in Spangles! Why do people keep clinging onto this perception? The marking effect is produced by the elimination of the melanin in the inside portion of the feather leaving an outline similar to some Opalines. With Spangle though the tail and flight feathers are affected whereas in Opalines it is not except for the wing stripe and upper portion of the priamary tail feathers. The affect on some Spangles appearing to look like greywing or even clearwing can sometimes be caused by either a bird in baby feather or the fact that the melanin quanity in that particular feather is just not in a high enough quanity to allow the marking to be exhibited in a darker form. Spangle can vary a great deal in the intensity of the markings.

I disagree with this totally as many a hen with infertile eggs in her nest has raised another hens babies or eggs fostered. The problem sometimes with the show breeding fraternity is the OLD WIVE'S TALES that get passed along, mostly by an older generation of breeders and much of which is nonsense. This is not to say there isnt good info passed along too I am in complete agreement with Kaz here. Just because someone is a top breeder doesn't mean they know their stuff either. Wether to remove clear eggs or not will dpend on what is going on in the bird room. In mine for instance I have one pair who after a round of clear eggs have now raised two rounds from other nests and I might add in the case of a couple of the chicks better than the original mother who had fertile eggs. I have two hens who has addled their eggs so now as the eggs are laid they are substituted with false ones, the eggs they lay are moved to another hen who I don't want a second round from but will raise these chicks in fine style. Day before the eggs hatch I will transfer one egg back into original nest so it hatches under the mum and at least get her started on the rearing and then foster to her as I go along. Rubbing stuff from the nestbox onto chicks is not necessary, as Kaz said budgies have a poor sense of small. This is a mammalian trait. Mammals have a highly evolved sense of smell and they are widely known to reject young that have an altered smell. Even adults captured during research sometimes have to be cleared of human smells when released back into the population for if not they may be rejected by the resident population. The older generation is not a smart as some like to think they are. There are some real dummies out there! Being old does not equal smart!

First and second birds are Clearwings, no doubt about it.

splat if you click on 'view' you should be able to change it to list view. You will still have to scroll across but at least you don't to go bug eyed with the big print.

The first bird is a single factor Yellowface Mutant II Opaline Clearwing. Second bird is Greywing by the looks of it. If Cinnamon I would expect the feet to be more pinkish. Greywing markings on a green bird can sometimes produce an illusion of brown markings caused by the presence of yellow pigment.

Jack, you could contact Chapman Rings Unit 2/10 Hearne St Mortdale NSW 2223 (02) 9533-3785 You can get closed metal with numbers, year and also your own code if you wish. I get my rings direct from them if I don't get club rings.

One of my UBC hens in avairy has been observed a few times on the floor in the corner in nesting position, no eggs though. In the wild they fledge and mate at a young age. It is us humans who have taken it upon ourselves to determine the age they should breed. Personally I breed when the bird is ready too, age is not really a concern to me, although having said that I would not pair up a UBC. I just think we make too much of it sometimes. Just off topic a bit here but if anybody is familiar with goats, males can impregnate females from around 4 months of age. The instinct to procreate is a strong, no doubt about that, and stronger in some individuals than others. Gee just look at the human species!

Just a thought on the chickweed and milk thistle. Don't try to culivate it. The more you ignore it the better it will be. I have even grown milk thistle in summer but that is in the veggie patch were there is plently of water. Even the chickweed tries but it just cannot get the leafy growth that milk thistle does.

Winter and breeding they will eat you out of house and home Don't I know

I beg to differ on the chickweed. It is a winter weed. I have a garden full of the stuff and now is the time for it to start setting seed. I have been feeding my breeders this non stop for months now. Milk Thistle however although cooler climate plant does not like it at the coolest time and is extremely prone to attack from Aphids during winter.

Cere colour in hens can vary a great deal. In good health a hen should be a light tan colour through to a dark nut brown. As far as cere colour goes for breeding condition the general rule is brown. I have found over the years though that cere colour should be coupled with behaviour. I had a hen breed many times and she never had a brown cere, it was always a whitish blue colour.

Throw all the eggs out and she should start again in a week or so. If you leave them in there she will clean out the nest in time but it will take longer. As a breeder if the eggs are infertile I use the pair as fosters or remove eggs and let the hen lay again. It all depends on what is going on in my birdroom at time. Depression is a human affliction. Don't get sucked in to putting human emotions onto animals. Just a word of advice re books. Not all the information you read is acurate. Authors also suffer the afflication of imparting human emotion onto animals. Anybody can write a book, you do have to be an authority to do so!

Kassidy your garden looks great. I see your soil is rocky. This will cause a problem with your root veggies. The carrots etc will tend to malform when they hit a rock or possiblly fork around them. Yoú could end up with some awesome shapes though and they will still be edible, just a pain to peel. You corn. Have you sown it lengthwise or in a block. Corn is grown in blocks to aid in the pollen reaching the corn tassles.

The length of time that a product will last is also based on how it is stored. Most containers will have a section informing the purchaser of the storage method i.e. refridgerate after opening, cool dark place etc. If not stored as directed it will lead to the ineffectiveness of the product. Vitamins are a classic example. Light and heat are the biggest enemies to vitamins.

okay people, I am definately not an Elvis fan but I do appreciate a good artist. I am always amazed at the tools and materials people find to use to create their masterpieces. This creation is truly outstanding. I know that I will see cheesepuffs in a whole different light now! http://www.wimp.com/cheesepuffs/

I have used veggie oil lots of times with no problems and yes it works fine. Apply once a day. Parrafin oil can also be used but it can 'scold' and cause feather loss. Patroleum Jelly can be used also. Vaseline is favoured by some people but prefer people use Petroleum Jelly as Vaseline is the same thing only it has other chemicals added where as the Petroleum Jelly is pure, but remember it is a petroleum based product so I don't recommend its use unless really necessary. As for the last photo. Baby birds have cere colours ranging from black, bluish and pink. Most baby males show pink and blackish and where as hens show bluish and blackish. This is an average so there are allways exceptions to the rule. Size, shape and texture of the cere also plays a part. Generally with babies texture is not an issue as it is new growth and not yet formed any horney keratineous layers (usually in hens). Male ceres are generally smallish and bulbous where as hens tend to be larger and flatter. But again I have seen some males with quite large ceres but they were most definately pink. Again, exceptions to the rule. Another way to tell sex is by palpation of the pelvic bones but this is not 100% certain in young birds. In cocks the space is extremely narrow where as in hens the space will be wider. Variations exist in different family lines. Another way of telling but certainly not accurate is comparing siblings. Hens tend to be flatter in the head than cocks but this again is not accurate as in show birds especially there are those hens referred to as 'cock headed'. Last but not least is attitude. Again not accurate but rather a guide. Hens tend to be more nippy, usually bite harder and tend to hang on. Over time you will get the hang of it.

The first three appear to be cocks. The fourth one is a little hard to tell for sure. The last one looks like hen. Scaley face is caused by a mite (Knemidokoptic pilae) and as already mentioned is contagious with some birds being more susceptable than others. One of the cheapest and easily obtained cures around is vegatable oil. Every body usually has it in there kitchen. It works simply by filling the tunnels formed by the burrowing activties of the mite thereby suffocating them. Make sure the oil is applied to the skin around the eyes, beak, cere and don't forget the feet. Application can be done with a small artists paint brush or a cotton bud.

I think that is an issue we have all dealt with at one time or another. To alleviate the problem I put branches in up-side down, this makes sure they cannot 'slide' down a branch and get caught. Besides they would have a clue if the branches were right side up or not. I find it also helps them exercise there better as it seems much harder for them to actually perch on a branch in this position.

Well going on the new photos there does not appear much difference between the parents but having said that the dad does appear slightly darker. He just doesn't look Dark Green to me. There are variations within each colour. He just looks like a darker Light Green. I currently have a Light Green chick just fledged last couple days and the colour is absolutely superb. There is a possibilitly that the cock is split for Slate. Slate Light Greens resemble Dark Greens. The fact that this youngster and the Recessive are both hens and also both look Dark Green is inline with the Slate inheritance. Also Jodie, as you are based in England it is quite possible that birds will turn up from time to time with Slate in there background. Can you trace the history of these birds as this may help you further. There are a few breeders of Slates in the UK and they must get rid of excess birds somewhere, pet shops maybe, they are not a hugely popular variety over there.

I am having an idea what we could be dealing with here but at this stage of the query I would rather not say. Like nubbly suggested, pics of parents in the same photo so to replicate exact same conditions. To get better photos do not take under incandesant light (light bulb), put them outside but not in direct sunlight. DO NOT use a flash!