Finnie

It is a funny joke!

Thank you, Splat. That's what I was after, other people's opinions As part of my little experiment, I think I will also try the whole slice of bread option. If my birds like it that way, then I see no reason to go to the effort of crumbling it up and mixing it with the vegetables. Of course, being the neophobes they are, if they won't go near it, I will be forced to hide it in their vegetables after all. Here's the first thing I learned from my experiment (because I've never cooked with eggshell, before): Don't think you can put unbroken eggs in a bowl and use a hand blender to chop them up. As soon as the blades of the blender hit the eggs, dry shell fragments went flying everywhere! And I do mean everywhere- far and wide. What a mess!! I even felt like I had bugs in my hair until I went and brushed the fragments out! On a positive note, the loaf came out looking very good, and if it weren't for the shells baked into it, I would be taste-testing it. My youngest son asked me what I was making, and when I told him it was for the budgies, he said "Budgies?! Everything you make is for the budgies!" (Don't I wish my cooking load was that small!) As far as fresh vs frozen goes, I usually use fresh, as well, but if I have fresh stuff that is not going to keep much longer, I will freeze it, and then I can take my time using it up. That's what I'm going to do today with a big batch of baby spinach leaves I have. My vegetable mix will contain carrots, spinach and broccoli. I'm planning to make a few different test batches, some to freeze and thaw immediately, and some to leave in the freezer for a couple of weeks, to see if longer term freezing makes a difference. So I may have an update on this tomorrow, but this is going to be an ongoing experiment.

That's a good idea! I will conduct a small experiment and examine the condition of the thawed food, mixed and unmixed, and see if there is any difference. This will probably take me a couple of days (I'm slow) and then I will post what I find out.

In the interest of giving my budgies a consistent diet, in order to prevent them from going into a moult the next time I want to breed them, I'm planning to make up a big batch of soft food, and freeze it in ice cube trays. I'm planning to use specific vegetables and egg biscuit food that can be duplicated when I run low, so that the next batch is essentially the same. My question is, does anyone know if it is better to freeze the crumbled egg biscuit separately from the finely chopped vegetables, or can I mix them together first, and then freeze them? Does it even make any difference? I just want to know which way it will keep longer without spoiling.

You are right...and he was such a happy soul too...there's lots of good things to remember and laugh about. I'm glad. That will help a lot.

I believe what you say GB I believe you, too, GB But this sure does throw a spanner into the works for those of us who are learning! So should we now be thinking: grey down= no opaline, white down= either opaline or split opaline? Also, is the white down only on the babies, or should we be able to find white down on our adult split opaline males? Doesn't it seem like that would be too easy?

I love it that the one named Macka is a sky violet!!!!! :rofl:

Kaz and Ken, I am very sorry to hear of your loss. My thoughts and prayers will be with you in the difficult days and months ahead. What I learned from losing my own father-in-law a few years back, don't be afraid to talk and laugh about the good times, a lot, when you can. -Finnie

As I understand the sex-linked genes, there is no way a female daughter can inherit any opaline from her mother. Is it possible that all 3 of the different fathers are all split for opaline? By the way, I am really, really learning a lot from this thread, about spangles, greywings and opalines. Kaz and G.B.'s pictures are very educational. It really helps to be able to see subtle differences.

:rofl: Ha Ha! Never was seed free! I've actually been thinking of attaching some kind of flap at the bottom of the doors to direct the seed back inside. Or I could just open that drawer at the bottom a crack and let all the seed fall in there! Thank you everyone, for all your compliments. This has solved my dilemma on how to house more birds without hubby complaining about cages everywhere. The dimensions are 33.5"w x 20"d x 40"h. How many birds do you think would be comfortable in that space?The thing is about seed...........it doesnt just fall................all it takes is a bird to fly and the husks go sailing through the air. No kidding!! And then all it takes is one person to walk by and scatter seeds and husks across the floor to all corners! It's like reverse sweeping! Hardware store. Finding the mesh wasn't the hard part, it's finding the right cabinet that took me quite a while. Check Goodwill or other thrift stores, ads in the paper, Craigslist,etc. Unfortunately, when people are re-selling old furniture, they often have an inflated idea of what it's worth. But at garage sales, people really just want to get rid of stuff. Mine was marked $45, which I thought was high. I was surprised when they accepted my offer of $20! Also, keep in mind that whatever you get, the budgies will chew it! That really narrows down your choices, because so many are made of unsuitable material, or have questionable looking finishes. It took me months of keeping my eyes peeled before I found mine. Good luck with your search!

I did start adding some egg biscuit mix to their vegetables, which I hadn't done before. Also, the vegetables I give them are always random- whatever I've got fresh, or what's growing in the garden, or failing that, something from the freezer. I had been thinking that since they were used to random vegetables, that wasn't really a new "change" in their diet. But when I added the egg biscuit mix, I began chopping the veggies finer. Maybe they actually started to eat more of the vegetables, and between the two, maybe that caused the moult. I might add, that the two hens in the other cage are also moulting. One has been losing feathers and getting pins for a long time, the other one just started. (They get the same veggies, so I guess it would affect them, too.) I guess I will just try to keep their veggie/biscuit mix a little more consistent, and then next time, maybe this will be one less problem to factor in :rofl:

Just an update. As it turned out, all four of the birds have begun to moult, so I have closed off the doors to the nest boxes. Maybe since they were about to moult, they just didn't feel like being in breeding mode. I'm going to leave the boxes still attached to the cages in hopes that the birds will get used to seeing them there. Then when the moult is over, and I think it's time to try again, maybe it won't be such a shock for them to see a box. Also, I am in the midst of building them a new, proper breeding facility, where the boxes will be attached up high. And I get to make a budgie room in my basement, where I will be able to have a bigger flock! Tomorrow I go to see a (good) breeder I have found, and I am planning to get an experienced cock from her, so once quarantine, moulting, and rearranging are over, I will have 3 pairs to put down, and 1 of the 6 won't be a first timer. I hope to have better luck next time!

Oh No! Birdluv, I am so sorry. I wish I had words to help you feel better. Hugs, instead.

Most meshing is finshed all except window meshing and front which will have to be the last thing. We are currently working on the popout/suspended section right now. Perching is down there ready to go. The whole perching rack will be hinged at the top and secured at bottom with slide bolts, so it can be dropped against the wall by sliding back the slide bolts, and the hinges will allow it to go flat against the wall............and that will mean I can clean the floor under the perches easily and clean perches themselves and replace any perches in the future that get eaten through. We found some great powdercoated steel brackets thrown out front of a house for rubbish removal and we are recycling them for the supports for the popout section Wow! What a lucky find! Your setup is looking really good. I can't wait to see it finished. (As I'm sure you and Ken are, too )

It looks sweet and gentle, Daniela, but from what I have heard...you don't want to be getting within charging distance of one of those! Birdluv, I'm hoping you had a really good zoom on your camera?

I'm not involved in the show side of things, but for you, are darker markings preferred?

It's fun seeing how much of this I've gotten right, and which parts I missed. That part about the albino cock having a 50% chance of being /ino slipped right past my mind! (I was too focused on the opaline factor to notice.) I wrote down my answers on paper last night before I went to bed, but I didn't post them. Then this morning I found some of the facts had been changed and I got confused! But other people's answers have helped me figure out more, and even then, I still missed some of it. I love these kinds of tests and quizzes, and I'm sure others are enjoying it, too, even if they don't post. It's great for learning. Thank you for setting this up Nubbly5!

I thought he looked violet in the first picture. Less so in the second, but it is probably the lighting. I'm new to all this, so I was wondering, do the spangle markings lighten when they moult? In the first picture they look sort of "thicker", in the second it's almost as if the feathers are bigger, with more white area, and smaller black area. Is this just my imagination? Or maybe due, again, to the different lighting in the second picture. But since I know that moulting brings on changes in color intensity, I was wondering if the spangle markings area also affected.

"WEENY"! I love it!!! Might have to copy this one sometime (Beautiful birds, too, by the way.)

I think thats about it... Thanks, Dean. I was one of those who were too chicken to respond before.

Thank you for this tidbit. I had been wondering how she had managed to hand rear all those babies without them all starving to death, because this lady really had her hands full. She has multiple sclerosis and walks with a walker (or pretends to, now I wonder ). She said her 75 year old mother helps her take care of them, because it is too much for her. I guess I am the Unsuspecting Personified! She seemed like a gentle person, just unknowledgeable about some things. I never took her for a cold blooded liar. I had also wondered how a bird that saw humans as a source of food could be so distrustful. At least I can believe the weaned part, because he has husks from his millet all over. Now I'm rethinking the whole visit through new eyes, and am getting suspicious of another thing. She told me their diet was seed mix, Zupreem pellets and in the mornings, vegetable. Well, I had noticed they all had veggies, so I was impressed that even if she couldn't be bothered cleaning any cages, at least she bothered with the veggies. But maybe the veggies were just staged for my benefit. Hmmm....

Nice chicks, Bird Paradise! Just for fun, I will take a stab at their sexes, even though I will probably be wrong. The experts can let us know. :ohmygod: The younges one looks a little bit male to me, but my official guess is all 3 hens.

Dave, I have made a couple of those. (Well, finished one. As I don't really like to sew, the 2nd is still in pieces.) I suggest that the next time you are out buying nail polish and makeup sponges, that you stop by the fabric store to pick up some tulle! :ohmygod:

Hi Shannon. Your clearwings are really beautiful! I have a hen who looks just like this, and I have never known her proper mutation before. I will now start thinking of her as a clearwing! Would it be considered cobalt, or violet? Anyway, I just love the look of your birds- the ones in your other posts, too. -Finnie

I agree! I really wanted a spangle, so I justified buying the one, but not more than that. On the way home I felt it was too bad that I had supported her by even buying one. Part of me wanted to buy all 4 budgie babies and get them out of that cage! But that would just help her squeeze in the next lot. She really couldn't keep up with all her birds. All the cages were filthy! And all the birds were paired up with nest boxes, so even though she claimed to be "downsizing", she really wasn't.