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Hi she is definitely opaline, not sure about olive or dark green she looks in between in that photo maybe she could be violet green I don't think she's dark enough to be olive. You can see her iris rings they just aren't as prominent as his, I would say she is under twelve months old. Cheers Jenny

Hi a head spot can be an indication of being split for recessive pied, a bird cannot be split for dominant pied it must show it visually. As far as odd eye colour I have only seen it in dominant pieds. Cheers Jenny

Maybe it is a lightly marked pied not showing any body colour with some wing markings that would look black and white but would still be a blue or grey pied. A lot of people just call it as they see it lol.

Sounds to me like she's going to try regardless. I'd give her a box and let her go or you might get a chronic egg layer on your hands which would be more harmful. They don't have the same guidelines that we have on what is supposed to be the right times. Just be aware older hens can have egg problems but she is laying them anyway so give her plenty of calcium and vitamin D. Cheers Jenny

All of your male babies will be split for ino, and half of your males will also be split for cinnamon. Your cinnamon babies will be hens. Cheers Jenny

Hi it depends on what mutations each bird carries they may all turn out like the male. If they both carry blue you can get some blue, if your male carries cinnamon you will get cinnamons. Unless you know parentage it is a bit of a raffle but that is what is exciting about it. Cheers Jenny. Forgot to mention they both look to have single dark factor so you can also get light green, dark green and olives. Cheers Jenny

Hi and welcome, looks like a male to me, in that photo anyway. Cheers Jenny

Hi he looks to me more like he was badly plucked in the nest which would account for the patchy regrowth and bald shoulders. Some of the damage may be permanent if the feather folicules are damaged, but it shouldn't effect the health of the bird. His weakness and the slight turning of his feet can be caused from under nourishment, if he was plucked in the nest he would have needed lots of energy just to keep warm and to replace the feathers. Cheers Jenny

I had this happen once a long time ago but he got out, I called him Houdini lol. More recently I lost a small young budgie through inch wire still can't work out how he did it, couldn't catch him though he stayed for a little while. Not sure what you can do to stop him from doing it again though hopefully he got it out of his system. Cheers Jenny

You will never know until you try, some will foster some won't but if the only other choice is to let it die then it is worth a try. It also depends on the age of her own chicks. I regularly put babies of all sorts with different species when I think they will be better off. I don't use my budgies much as fosters except for other budgies but that is because I have other alternatives but they have in the past reared love birds and red rumps for me. Cheers Jenny

Hi panacur should be fine to worm them with, it is what most of your older birdkeepers used to use just not sure on the dose rates. Also budgies can tend to go without water for a long time so it is difficult to know how much medication they take in. If you could find someone to teach you how to use a crop needle it will be a great tool for you if you intend breeding your birds. Cheers Jenny

I use a couple of cup hooks screwed into the top corners of the box then you can hang it on the wire, I find that's the easiest way. Cheers Jenny

Hi babychat it isn't a mating dance they are doing just a reaction from being put into a new cage they should settle down after a while. Birds ready to breed often won't stand still either, it's like they are jumping out of their skins lol. I would hang your box up off of the ground and closer to the top of the cage as they tend to prefer their boxes higher. Hope this helps Cheers Jenny

Hi and welcome, sorry to hear about your illness, I hope you have great results with your treatment. Sounds like you are off to a flying start with your breeding, I suggest you have at least two boxes per hen, the more the better, they can be nasty things when they want the same box but you probably know that already from your childhood experiences. I think having birds is great therapy, I have a neurological disorder and looking after my birds keeps me getting out of bed every day I hope you get the enjoyment from them as I do. Cheers Jenny

Hi you could try putting an older chick from the other hen or even her first one back as generally they beg louder for food as they are stronger, often first time mums have trouble with newly hatched babies. Only do this if she is still sitting on more eggs or swap the next hatching over. Cheers Jenny

Hi Jono I think you might find some canary breeders on this forum, hope i'm allowed to post the address. Cheers Jenny. http://aussiefinchforum.net/

Hi can you move the other birds in the aviary until the chick fledges or a least the inquisitive hen, then when the chick is flying you can put the pair into the cage to breed in a box or she will just go back to the feed bowl. Cheers Jenny

Great job very clever I bet they love them.

Hi Robyn, mum is definitely opaline but she looks spangle from one side but not from the other side, to me anyway lol. Finnie is right mum must be violet I said sky violet in case there was a chance of the green not being the dad, like if she mated another male prior to being put into a separate cage as they can carry sperm for a couple of weeks. Looking at the chicks there seems to be two non pied young from that angle anyway so mum is only single factor if they aren't pieds. Also mum may be split for recessive pied but she has iris rings so I think that rules out a combo pied. You also mentioned dad might be split cinnamon, is that because of the light green spangle in the top right hand corner as it is hard to tell if it is cinnamon, greywing or just a lightly marked spangle, maybe some photos once it leaves the nest we might be able to tell better. Cheers Jenny

Hi roseydoo sometimes it is almost impossible to keep mice out of your aviary but what you must do is make sure they cannot get into their feed and try hanging your boxes directly to the wall, I use small pieces of metal strapping one screwed to the box and the other rivited on the wall of the aviary, the one on the wall needs to be bent a little in an arc so the piece on the box can slide into the one on the wall. You can also buy similar mounting brackets on line somewhere and maybe at bird sales if there are any in you area. Look closely at your aviary and establish where they are climbing up, there is usually some brown staining along where they run from their urine which helps them get grip. Hang your boxes in the middle of the walls away from anything they can climb if possible or you will keep having problems. Hope this helps and your aviary can accommodate these sorts of changes. Cheers Jenny

Hi Roseydoo you are pretty much right with your thinking, there are budgie clubs all over the country, try and find your closest one if you are interested and I'm sure they will be more than willing to show you their standards and what is required if you want to head in that direction. I am sure also that a good look around this forum will go a long way to answering your questions as there are many posts on showing and even some show competitions. Cheers Jenny

Hi, definitely male but he is a double factor spangle, black eyed clears have fleshy pink ceres as they are a combination recessive and dominant pied. Ditto on the zebby. Cheers Jenny

Hi are they breeding in a cage by themselves or are they in a colony, if colony then there is often uncertainty about who the dad can be I have also on occasions had the odd hens lay in the same box. Also it is hard to tell from the photo if your hen is greywing or spangle from the front, can you post a photo of her back? It sounds like speckles may have been a violet recessive pied and although you can get pieds from any pair that are split for pied if both parents are greywing then even the pied young should be greywing as well. Hope this helps Cheers Jenny

Hi Robyn your hen is definitely a dominant pied and not recessive and most likely yf sky violet or violet she also looks like she may be opaline but it is hard to tell from the front, I can't see any spangle in her from the angle of the photo though you definitely have spangle young. Are they colony or cage bred? If colony the dad is a bit of a raffle, if cage bred you got yourself a lovely variety of colours dad must be split opaline and blue. That's what I love about breeding budgies you often get some nice surprises very pretty babies.

Hi Wendy I don't think you have much choice other than to keep the male out. The hen should manage fine so long as you give her plenty of soft feed like egg and biscuit, corn kernels or soaked seed. If you can arrange your cages so that the male can feed the hen through the wire it might help otherwise keep him in a different area. Hope this helps cheers Jenny