*Nerwen*

It was funny to read this now since the images have long since changed from the comments made about them.

Joey I'm in love with the spangle like you *steals* okay I'll start up the top. Thank you for the close up of the Albino. Could you confirm the red eyes? The cere is the wrong colour for a DF spangle unless this bird is also young, which the eyes don't indicate becuase of the iris ring which DEC (dark eye Clears) don't get. You where right about the recessive hen Josh, sorry to question but the other photo did match a male more. The cere has blue and white around the edge. Recessive males keep a very bright and pink cere for life. I think your 'old blue bird' is a Opaline spangle sky blue. The few lines that are black (on the flights) don't look grey so I don't think greywing counts.

If you know that only 3 are fertile then you don't have to worry about over crowding the box or over working the parents. The Pie gave great info about the average clutch size. Your hen may continue to lay more if the first few are infertile.

Hi Josh and welcome to the baords Your birds look wonderful. The first one is a yellow face type 2 like Joey said and I would think Grey wing, the body color looks more diluted than normal. (clearings have a strong body color) Your pied looks recessive - all recessive pied are double they need to get one rec. pied gene from each parent to show the gene. Again I agree with Joey that she is mauve. Also I wonder about the sex the cere looks very pink. I like the look of the male behind is it possible to get a picture of him? Sorry for repeating what Sailorwolf stated above I missed her post before. But I don't think the wing markings and tail are pale enough for a dilute that is why I stated greywing. With with pictures this gene is a bit of guess work.

Welcome A, P and Billy It's great that you are putting in the work to tame this little one to humans, and from the sounds of it it seems you have started a good job. The one wing clip is an old style clip. Many believe now that it is safer and better for both wings to be clipped. They still can not get the lift to fly high or gain the speed but they are not unbalanced and working one wing more than the other to compensate. Do you have any millet sprays? This is a great treat that most (there are a few rare ones) budgie LOVE. This can be used as a training treat for when the budgie does as wanted, such as standing on hands. A small piece held in the hand can tempt them to come to you rather than you chasing them. If you are happy for him to be out of the cage at this stage continue doing so. But I would do a short (10 mins or so) training in the cage before you let him out. Either holding the millet or slowly moving her hand closer to his belly to get him to 'step up'. What you think he is ready for. Try and end it on a good note. If you give up when he flys away from you and then open the door he will start to think this is the way to get what he wants. Talking all the time while doing this training help to calm him (silence to a bird means danger) and get him use to voices. If you pick one or two work he may even start talking later. Also make sure your mother is part of this, so Billy and her know each other or there could be trouble after you leave.

ahh okay. Just so I'm clear you would be out to buy mate for her then?

1. because s/he looks like my Tootie (only darker) 2. The yellow body with a faint green around the leg area are key points for a clear body 3. the grey (washed out) flight feathers are another mark of the gene. The Opaline still turns the wings to the color of the body (or what the body should be) in the case of clear bodies the green doesn't show on the body (like it doesn't show on lutinos) so the wings and body don't match.

Grey matched with Blue will give a mix of both, whether they are cobalt or sky blue depends on what dark factors the parents have. (light green and sky blues have none, greens and cobalts have one and Mauve and olives have two) I know Opaline's are used to get bigger and more throat spots in the birds, and I know it works my babies from an Opaline mother all have bigger spots than the dad. I'm not a show breeder just from what I've read and been told by others. Can we see some more of the skyblue that is in the first picture. Read here ( http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....showtopic=12680 ) to understand more in what to look for when pairing birds.

The tail to me looks like the pale gray of the flight feathers. okay one that I thought was easy might not be Link to Clearwing: http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....showtopic=12635 Link to Greywings: http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....showtopic=12634 Comparison: http://www.mastecbase1.com/pht/indexhi.html The greywing with the gray tail is what I was remembering when I picked this picture.

okay seeing the new picture I stay Lucky is female the cere has a touch of brown in the middle. She is either just coming out of condition or into it. She looks like a Opaline Clearbody as well.

Hurdy you maybe right at first the blue bit on the cere seemed to dark to me to be a girl although I did think the cere might be a touch pale. But looking again there seems to be more white.

Irene I'm so sorry to read about this loss, it sounds like you did everything to give this little one a great life after a bad start. a members name from that area isn't coming to mind, I hope someone can answer you soon.

Answers: 1. Mauve Normal 2. Recessive Pied sky blue (the other looks YellowFace 2 recessive pied mauve to me) 3. Green Clearwing 4. Opaline Cobalt 5. Spangle Yellowface type 2 cobalt (cheeta gave that one away ) 6. Goldenface Opaline Spangle

He is a nice boy. Try and get a close look at the ring to get his correct age.

Many think that it’s as easy as buying two budgies and adding a nest box and the money will flood on in. First I will make this clear: YOU WILL NOT GAIN MONEY BY BREEDING BUDGIES! There are many things that need to be considered before a nest box is even put down on the shopping list. Age: The age of the bird must be known so that you know they are mental and physically ready to rear offspring. The youngest that most breeders accept as safe is a year. Many feel that 18 months is better. Budgies themselves are physically ready to breed by the age of 6 months, but this equals in humans 13 -14 years of age. They are simply not mental ready for the task of breeding. They can start to eat eggs, which once started can me hard to stop a bird from continuing, they can abandon nests and eggs or worse attach they young when they hatch. Birds from a breeder you should expect a correct month of birth if not the actual date of hatching. I’m not meaning off the top of they heads but they should have it some where in their records. Older birds in the show side should have coloured bands on their legs which will give you a year of hatching. Ones from pet shops can come with leg bands but if you clearly tell them why you want to know the correct age they should be able to tell what info the breeder gave when selling them. You still take these ages at a risk that they picked a figure from air to tell you for a sale. You also need to know if your birds are too old to breed. Hen should not be used over the age of three, sometime a breeder will removed eggs to another clutch on a four year old hen if the hen if is high value. Males shouldn’t be used over the age of 6. Once you know if your birds are ready or not you can look at other issues. Health: Both the mother and farther need to be in tip top health. This is making sure there are none of the normal signs of illness: Sitting fluffed up continually, Discoloration/discharge present on feathers above nostrils, Lethargy, Vomiting, and Inability to balance, Stains or accumulated poop on vent feathers. If you can’t tell this apart rethink your idea of breeding them right now and study behaviour. You can also take the birds to your vet to get an all well check up. They also need to be in breeding condition. The hens will have dark brown cere or turning brown while the males cere will be a deep and even blue. Relationship: The closer the bird the more risk of defects and problems arising. Beginner breeders should not even t think of starting of with line breeding it takes a lot of effort to do correctly. The closest most people deem acceptable is grandparent to grandchild or aunt uncle to nephew niece. But Line breeding or inbreeding can not be taken lightly Set up: Yes using a normal bird cage can work but you need to think about where to put the box, and if it’s inside the cage is there enough room for 6-10 birds still? Making sure you have enough clear space around the sides or ground to either hang or play extra seed dishes and fresh food plates. Hand feeding: You will need to have hand feeding formula before any babies appear for the in case moment of having to feed a newborn chick. Added to the food are syringes for problem feeders and a spoon bent into a spout. It would also help for you to visit a breeder or a vet that handles bird who can show you the way to feed them correctly. Afterwards: What are you going to do with the chicks? Give them away to friends and family, sell them privately?, sell them to a pet shop or even keep them. What ever you choose to do it needs to be thought over first.

Thank you Tammie :budgiedance: That is a Freckle my old gal. Oh my I just realized she is going to be 7 next year!

grr I did I have a long story to post here explaining all the info, until my computer chose to remove it on me You have a yellow face type two Dominant Pied Clearwing. It is highly possible that he is a Double Factor because he has all the signs such as small amount of colour and small markings on the wings. I say Clearwing but he could be a dilute as well. Clearwings do not have pale body colours and dilutes do. the cere should start to change to a deep blue around now and for a few months. With each molt the yellow will get stronger on the body. He might end up looking something like This:

No website that I have heard of. You could post it here and Daz could give you idea of which club to track down.

now that is one gift I wouldn't return Love the name. Do you know how many more eggs will hatch?

Paul it is a very old picture but it give an idea of the size.

Thanks feather The grey is Jangles. I normally put their names up as well a forgot this time and now it will not let me edit the post to add them (since I had so many pictures I had to make a few post to merge them together) THis one has had a name change. She was Libra in the nest box but since choosing to keep her in honour of the family that has her brother and sisters who told me they name their birds after StarWars characters she is now going to be called Chewbacca (Chewie for short)

Thank you all Poka is a cutie and he loved to come and say hello. It is nice here, perfect weather which I hope lasted for a bit longer.

I agree :budgiedance: I have a hen called Ringo I think it suit both genders Ringo clearly look violet in the pictures "George" might be as well or just a cobalt.

Oh HAND TAMING is slightly different to handrearing. Rearing is when they are very very young and either the parents stopped caring for them or the owner of the bird wanted to take over the rearing of them (for whatever reasons) To get them use to hands and humans take them to a small room (bathroom or bedroom) use treats such as millet spray or freash food to tempt them to come onto your hand. keep the training down to around 10 - 15 mins each time and try to leave it on a good note.

After thinking about it for at lest a week I finally go out in Tweetaville with my carmera to snap off some pictures and show you all how much my babies have grown and all the others out there. First up some pictures of the babies before Anglea came and gave them a new home :budgiedance: And now for the rest of them: having a bath in the fresh food: And still more pictures: One wet budgie (storm):