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Hi Rachelrose he could be dec but they are rare. He could also be a double factor spangle recessive pied which will look just like a dec but the breeding results will be different. I think he is some type of pied as his feet look pink and his beak is orange, double factor spangles generally have pigment in their feet and beak. Cheers Jenny

Sounds like a good plan shame about the couch. If you have some mite and lice spray you could use that otherwise a pyrethrum based fly spray is best. Cheers Jenny

I personally think it is damaging to always head towards one ideal when they keep moving the goal posts. Maybe it is time they do start up for different types of budgies to widen the appeal for breeding and showing. When you look at photos of budgies from around the world some seem to have a distinct look, if you could isolate the differences they may be able to have some sort of breeds as such. Australian, English, American, ect. ect. I gather that is what the miniature budgerigar society is a about, at least it is a start. Only my thoughts anyway. Cheers Jenny

Violets are hard to tell in photos you are the best judge on the colour and yes he is opaline. Your other male is a yellowface grey type 2. Cheers Jenny

Sometimes you will get a male that will sit in the box but they can be a nuisance and break the eggs. Just keep an eye on them you may have to move him if he is causing problems. Cheers Jenny

Congratulations Budgie mad hopefully the start of many to come. Cheers Jenny

Yeah that would have been a good idea hopefully you will be able to work it out later. Cheers Jenny

Try offering seeding grasses or treats close to the door by pegging it to the wire. You will find that they will start to anticipate it and wait close by while you put it in. Eventually they will take it from your hand and will trust you more and more as you go. It usually don't take to long to earn their trust. Cheers Jenny

It will depend on how many of her own she had but you should be able to share some with your other pair when they are sitting properly. Cheers Jenny

Have you got any nesting material in the box it can help to keep the eggs together and also gives the hens something to do. Make sure that nothing else is upsetting her like mice during the night can cause havoc. If she still decides not to sit and you want some her young you could foster some of her eggs under another laying hen. Cheers Jenny

Hi babychat just a fine point marker, the harmful ones have a x on them and say toxic. You can pick the older eggs by the size of the air pocket at the round end of the egg. As the egg ages the air pocket gets bigger because the shell is porous. You should be able to see this when you candle. Cheers Jenny

Hi if they were both white double factor spangles they would have all white babies also. Check the colour of her legs and beak they will be pink and orange in an albino with red eyes. If she is double factor spangle she may have grey legs and a horn coloured beak but it can depend on what other mutations she carries. I had a look back through the post and this opaline dominant pied yellow face mutant two grey female that they bred earlier would have had to be spangle as well if she is double factor. Cheers Jenny

Hi Mochi, Welcome to the forum. Sometimes it may be due to the sperm not making it to where it has to go, on some birds the down is very heavy around the vent area and the theory is that it acts like a sponge and soaks it all up so a lot of show breeders will trim away the down feathers around the vents but not the body feathers as they are used to guide the sperm to where it is supposed to go. Other problems may be due to incorrect incubation on behalf of the hen or embryos dying at a very early stage. Try these things or just change males as the problem is usually with them because the hen is laying eggs. Cheers Jenny

Hi CasB, I don't know of any breeders in Adelaide but I know there is a bird sale at Gawler on the 24th of this month there may be some budgie breeders there. I am thinking of making the trip across myself for a look. Cheers Jenny

Hi Budgie Lover it is an opaline grey spangle, are you sure the mum is an albino and not a double factor spangle, does she have red or black eyes? Cheers Jenny

Hi there shouldn't be a problem unless your hens get sick. There ceres change as they progress during their breeding cycle. Cheers Jenny

Hi L_J, she may not have started to sit properly yet give her some time and if she decides not to sit you may have to foster the eggs to your other pairs. Some hens will wait longer to incubate than others. Also I have had fertile eggs be cold for a couple of days and still hatch when fostered out. If she hasn't been incubating properly yet the eggs should be good for about 10-14 days. Cheers Jenny

Hi it will depend on what he is put with but he should at least throw some green dominant pieds and his hens will all be opaline as well and possibly cinnamon if he is cinnamon. If he is put with a blue and he happens to be split for blue you can get blue pieds and blue in the other colours as well. A lot of these will be combinations of the colours. Your other bird is a light green greywing, though he doesn't seem to have much in the way of an iris ring in that photo anyway. cheers Jenny

Hi Alannahapple, Budgie lover is right it is an extremely bad case of scaley mite but treatment is easy with ivermectin which you may be able to get from a vet or Vetafarm also make a product specifically for birds to deal with it. I think you can order it through online stores. He may need more than one treatment as it is bad. It just involves putting a drop or two on the skin at the back of the neck then wait for it to do it's work, you will have to repeat it after a couple of weeks or whatever the directions tell you. Cheers Jenny

Hi thanks for the new photos they help quite a lot. How old is he? If he is still young his colour won't be as bright as that of an adult. And also his iris ring won't be fully developed. He looks like he is a dominant pied in cinnamon or dilute or even both, he is also opaline by the look of it. He could be double factor as Nadene said but you won't know until you get some breeding results from him.

Hi Tracey, When you say she has been sitting for two weeks, did she have six eggs two weeks ago or had she started laying then? If she only started laying then she would be up to her eighth egg now. As Vargur mentioned you can candle the eggs to check for fertility, this can be done in the nest with a strong small torch just one of those led torches do the job fine. Cheers Jenny

The majority of them grow their feathers back without any problems, then when they can fly put them in the aviary. It is important to keep giving them quality feed so their immune system is strengthened. Only the other day a avian vet was talking about it and he said leave them for six months then try again, it is called polyoma virus. Hopefully from your good husbandry they will fight it off quickly. Cheers Jenny

Hi Gaby I mix my own seeds as I have other types of birds as well. I use plain canary seed about 50% with white french millet 20% , Japanese millet 10%, yellow or red panicum millet or a mix of both 10% , hulled oats 5% , canola 5% But the premium mix that PJI mentioned is quite good. Cheers Jenny

Hi could you post a photo of the cage setup so we can get more of an idea of what you mean. Small adjustments are generally tolerated but you don't want to rock the boat to much at this stage if you don't have to. Cheers Jenny

Hi a better photo of the bird would be great, in the photo you have the colour on him looks like the suffusion of a double factor spangle. There are pictures on here with some double factor spangles with full dilute coloured fronts, but often they only have some colour like a collar under the neckline. If his cere is still purple,pink it could indicate double factor pied or even fallow if his eyes are red. Cheers Jenny