robyn

I agree with Nadene, quarantine first no matter what. I also had a bird that made this "squeak" (called squeak for that reason). He made this sound ALL the time , I treated for air sac etc, no change. He used to drive me nuts every time I was in cleaning aviary etc. At the moment I have 2 of his off spring (hens) in cages with 5 & 6 chicks each. None of his chicks have made this noise, thank heaven, I used to be able to hear him from approx 20 ft away when he was nervous. He passed away last year but I don't think it was related to his squeak at all.

Re April. first day out.

Sorry you lost your hen Maz7, it's hard to lose them after all you did to try to save her. Just concentrate on your remaining birds, in one sense it will show you what to look for if others are not well, so you can treat them quickly. I hope they all stay healthy for you from now on.

New cabinets look great Nadene. Love pair 3 as well. I bred a couple that look like the hen, don't know what to call them. Pictures I've seen they said clearwings, so dont know. I just love their sherbet/lime green colour. I also have 4 nests down, 6 chicks, 5 chicks, 4 chicks + 4 eggs and 1 pair still cleaning out her nest. Hope you have had all your little "glitches" for this round.

Sounds like your off and runnning Paulie, great to see your birds finally co-operating. I have tiny chicks in aviary and we had temp of 4% over night, which is low for us, but mine were all fine when I checked at 7 a.m.

Hi, has there been any improvement in you hen? Hope she's responding to treatment, if she's still vomiting up seed it may be a while yet. Fingers crossed for you.

Well as you said a rough quess, here's mine snowflake may be a sky blue opaline greywing? Violet maybe a dilute of some kind as she's very lightly marked and coloured. We need the experts to post.

Hi, It doesn't look like she's ill. Can you tell if the perch she's on is sticky e.g .? She just looks like she's adjusting her grip on the perch. p.s. I think "she" may be a "he".

I think you may have a hen. Not positive, others may know for certain.

Hi, if your not ready to breed them just remove the eggs. Don't add a nest box or the problem will get worse.

Hi, I've been off air with comp. bug. So glad you found vet to treat your hen. Firstly budgie's do drink water although not a lot of it. If it's fungal I'd say treat him as well as he may not be showing symptoms yet but could still be infected, if they have been sharing cage. Follow advice for your other birds. easier to nip it in the bud than wait until they are all showing symptoms. Do you have your seed cuttle bone etc where they can't get any moisure on them as wet seed etc is very bad as well. What sort of floor do you have in your cages? Dirt or gravel etc floors can harbour bugs. it's much better if you can have cement, pavers etc . Good luck with it and keep posting so we know how you go. .

Hi, by muddy I meant the colours are a washy sort of colour not blue, not green, they don't have clear colours. Some are quite pretty but you just don't know what they will be like. The hen in above picture I don't know her mutation I see spangle, cinnamon, y.face? maybe a dilute of some sort could be blue in her parents? Do you know what they were?

Hi, you say she laid dud eggs etc. how long ago did she lay that clutch? How did you know they were duds? after what time frame ? If she has only just completed her 1st round, she may be ready to lay again. If she incubated the eggs and no chicks, she may be going into her 2nd attempt does she look "egg bummy"? I'd keep an eye on her to see if it just nesting behaviour or if it's illness. Does she come out of the nest box for a while and go back or is she just sitting fluffed up in box all the time? It's very hard to try to advise when we can't see her I think it's more instinct as to whether she's ill or not.

Can't help with mutations etc although I think I would have swapped pairs 1 and 3 to keep your colour clearer. I find with green to blue, I end up a muddy colour range in chicks. Just my opinion/ observation with my own pet types. (Not every chick but some).

The smiles on the kids says it all. Great job Bretto, just in time for spring breeding. Are you planning on breeding just yet or waiting for a while?

sorry but I vote for snowy.. even though it's my picture. l.o.l.

I'd say your male is ready to mate and his girl isn't. When they are both in breeding condition they should let you know, cuddles, bonding preening etc. If your planning to breed them and all conditions are right they will, if you add a nest box, nature will take care of the rest. If she's not "in the mood" she will let him know but I don't think it would come to blood shed, keep an eye out to see if it's just a back off nip or vicious attacks.

Hi Nathan, it may be french moult. If you go through this forum, (health qu. & tips) page 4 there is a post COULD THIS BE FRENCH MOULT IN MY BABY. There are pics as well on this post. Read through this and see if your bird looks similar, other reply's to this post may help you a bit.

no 1 question. I have been reading about clear wings and the description says: A clear wing has very light wing markings and a bright body colour. Don't know if this helps.

Hi Aussie_Kris, if you have got the little fellow this far you must be doing it right! I have never hand reared, yet. If his crop is full after each feed and it's content to sleep etc until next time it should do well. I don't think it will be any longer with it's development than a parent reared bird. As to it trying to be fed off older chick, they will do that as long as somebody falls for the trick of feeding it, instead of it feeding itself. Just hope your sellers Dad does okay. it's a shame he had to sell his birds, glad you could help out. Beautiful video Phoebes. lot of patience there. Well done.

They look great now Phoebes, rearing a clutch does take a bit out of the parents but they soon bounce back. I had one clutch of nine and poor Dad was a bit ragged at the end, he had food caked on his mask/bib whatever I had to give him a clean up when he had finally finished his duties but he's great now, a couple of weeks and he's after the girls in the aviary already. l.o.l.

Some beautiful birds there Budgie lov3r, I can't help much with mutations but I'd say your right with the grey wing and spangle. I love the green & gold pieds, little aussie's I call them. I have just managed to breed a couple again, I lost the Mum who used to breed them, now a g.daughter of hers has bred a few, even though she was a lousy Mum, I fostered her eggs but she was better the next round she had.

Hi, It really depends on your set up, also your Mum's. At the moment I have chicks hatching, my breeding cages are set up within the aviary (separated from birds) I have a patio blind I put down every night . We have not been having the cold temps Canberra gets but it's been down to 7 o.night. I have not had a problem SO FAR, I bred this time last year as well. I think if the birds decide "the time is right" then go for it. I only breed pet types, not show by the way. If you have tried and tested parents you could do o.k.

I haven't caught up for a while but looks like a great area for your aviary, should nearly be a bushland setting when your finished.

Your cages look great, I think your trays will be okay but the birds may have a chew at them. I have metal but line them with newspaper. makes the clean up a lot easier. For some reason the adult birds don't worry about shredding the paper, that happens when the chicks come out into cage !! Like all kids. Good luck with your aviary and birds when you get it all set up.