PJI

I mainly spread it out below the perches Julie,just throw it down on the floor as you please,they will soon scratch around in it and spread it out.

I had two french moulters last year,one cock bird has bred for me this year,hes brother is flying in the aviary and will be used later.The one that has bred for me this year has himself bred no french moulters.Just remember when you do have a nest with french moulters,make sure you attend that nest last & spray "glenn20 ' on your hands between nests.

Thanks for the tip TAZ , I have a Map Gas tourch I use for bathroom renovations, will give it a go. No I think that is for Megabacteria. I know many breeders give their birds lemons but it is the acid content that counts and some oranges have more than others, don't they? I would have thought bitter oranges were best - though I'm only speculating. Matt, how is it going today? Hi Renee, Lost one more today, 2 more dont look good, Problem is they have lost alot of weight and who knows what internal organs are damaged, But not giving up. All birds in aviary seem okay for now , all got millet sprays to make sure they are eating and are all now on a course of antibiotics to hold any secondary infections at bay . It was Hot here today and humid tonight, very still and im right on the coast , so all birds would have got a good dose of meds today. On the flip side 3 chicks hatched today . Garden lime is basically calcium carbonate depending on what and where you buy , so safe to use . It must be the white fluffy powder type, I buy Yates garden lime. Brickies lime or Hydrated lime is garden lime heated to an extreme temperature which changes the molicular structure of the lime , so dont use this for the birds. This is the industry that i work in ,processing limestone.The type i use in my aviary floor is called "abgrit " aproximately the same grade as sand & also " selgrit " aproximately 4m in size.I spread the abgrit all over the floor of the flights then on top of that i sprinkle the selgrit,the birds love it.It also makes it a lot easier to clean up the floors later.Both these products are as Matt said 100% calcium carbonate ,the white fluffy powder type is the exact same product as >abgrit and selgrit < it's just that it has simply been milled to a more finer product.

Avigrain premium 20kg is $23.00 ,if you buy five bags or more you get a further 5% off.Here is the link http://www.derks.com.au/

The first bird looks like an opaline cinnamon spangle which is also a longflight The second bird looks like a violet factored spangle not sure of the exact colour.

He has shoulder and how can you tell he doesn't have back scull Renee when you can't see that area anyway. I think he is magnificent. I would be proud to breed a bird like that but then at the same time the directional feather is almost going to far. This is why you have such good quality birds splat,because you can appreciate the quality of this bird and obviously apply that talent to your own stock.I cannot believe all the negatives regarding this bird,the bird won a major award in the UK & that is not easy to do.Give me an aviary full of them any day,well done Les Martin keep them coming hopefully one day imports into Australia will start up again and i can contact you for some relatives of this ripper example of an exhibition budgerigar.

This is probably not going to help you as you don't have enough cabinets or birds,but i will tell you what i did with a troublesome pair that i really wanted to get something from.The particular pair i am talking about wanted nothing to do with each other ,they sat on separate perches ,he would attack her and visa versa.They where half brother & sister from one of my good cocks and i was determined to get them to breed,here is what i did,i have eighteen breeding cabinets ,so basically cabinet nine is right in the middle of all the breeding action ,this is the cabinet i placed the troublesome hen "for three weeks on her own",when i introduced the cock it was like love at first sight, they are currently raising three of there chicks.

Those pictures are of hes 2011 rung chicks,the grey green cock was a breeder.

You have every reason to be pleased with those chicks Julie good on you well done.

I cannot remember who gave me this tip,but the remedy worked for me last year.I had a double factor yellow face white spangle hen that started plucking the down off the chicks,so i rubbed minced garlic all over the affected area of chicks,the down started to grow back and there where no more blood spots after a few days,it works.The hen has since died and so far this year i have no feather plucking ,fingers crossed.

I Think you are referring to the federal Highway Matt ?,it's a very boring stretch of road,that's for sure,not a place to exceed the speed limit,two unmarked on the way.The good thing about the birds i purchased is four of them are related to my own stock. Thanks Julie,i am happy with them,i will give them a good rest as Mario has bred with them.

I went to Mario's place today and was lucky enough to go home with five nice hens,it's rare these days to be able to purchase so many hens at one time off a breeder ,Mario's birds are excellent quality and reasonably priced,well worth a visit if you are ever in Canberra.Here are some pictures cheers Phill

There are people out there ,like you just described Taboo.Who have won at the Nationals ,who are on the pension and who have never spent a lot on birds.They do exist and will win at the nationals again,simply because of there skill as breeders not there deep pockets.

No I am not using B12 in water, I know there's rich source of Thiamine in seeds, whats the best one to get and should it be given before and while breeding.. Will get it for sure asap!! Thanks You can get liquid B12 from Elenbee,i put a teaspoon into 2 litres as i don't think the mixture is as strong as it should be.Just a tip for you NOWBUDGIE ,a couple of days prior to the eggs hatching get the sitting hen out of the nest box into the breeding cage and give her a spray with water,does the same job as dipping the eggs in warm water as some people do.This is just an easier way,works for me ,Thank Garry Hyslop for that one .

Are you sure the mother is kicking them out?,your nest boxes may be to shallow & maybe they are getting out of the nest box on there own,mine are 11 inches deep ,when mine exit they are already cracking seed as i am continually replacing the panorama and french white millet sprays while they are in the nest box.That said,i assume you cannot foster the chicks anywhere else? if possible foster them to other nests.I make sure i never have this dilema as i always put down pairs in groups of four at a time so i can swap eggs and chicks around.Getting back to your problem & assuming you cannot foster the chicks i would replace the chicks in the original nest and grab a handfull of nesting material and rub it all over the chicks and keep your fingers crossed she doesn't reject them,it's unusual for a hen to reject a chick or chick's,ive never had it happen to me.Another alternative would be to contact another Hills member ,who is also breeding and take the chicks to there place and place the chicks under one of there pairs,with chicks approximately the same age,after that i am flat out of ideas hope it all works out for you cheers Phill

I remember in the nineties when i first started breeding birds i went to Geoff Wood's place & Garry Hyslop was there also,Geoff bred two awsome grey pied cocks from a pair,the father was this pip squeak of a grey budgerigar and was as blind as a bat,so it is possible but probably as Kaz said not recommended.

Are you sure the parents haven't feather plucked the chick?,but you say the same mum released two perfect young in early july so probably not the case.It could be a case of french moult & if it is, and the chick is losing body feathers due to french moult, it is french moult at it's worst & if it happened in my aviary i would cull it .If you had a mild case of french moult from one particular pair i would always attend that pair last ,and spray the nest box now and again with "glen 20" or a similar product.I have no advise as to how you would look after a chick without body feathers sorry.

These pictures might help.

Ceramic dish on the floor not elevated,changed every second day.

Tracemin & b12.

The catalogue is out,if anyone wants a copy just pm me .

What i do is feed 50/50 soaked horse oats & sunflower seeds. (1) > For the correct quantity < 3/4 fill a 2 litre plastic ice cream container with a 50/50 mix of horse oats and sunflower seeds. (2) Rinse it through a strainer until the water runs clean. (3) Then in a slightly larger container ,"say a 4 litre plastic ice cream container " add two cap fulls of bleach. (4) Then add the 50/50 rinsed mix of oats and sunflower,fill with water and stir it around,then leave soak for 24 hours. (5) After 24 hours rinse the soaked oats and sunflower seeds through a siv then leave to drain,i do this for three days. (6) After the third day i break it up into 2 litre quantities and add a teaspoon of wheatgerm to each then refrigerate to stop the sprouting. (7) Feed it to the birds. It is very important to get a routine going and stick to it,throughout the sprouting process the seed should smell nutty,if you are suspect chuck it out. Two days Three days

These three hens are all sisters, two cinnamon opalines & a normal cinnamon.I call them mauves father was an olive cinnamon normal,mother was a sky cinnamon opaline. Here is a grey dominant pied hen pictured with two of her sons from different fathers. These three hens are sisters to the ones above,i am hanging onto them for now,i might let them go later. The three hens and the dominant pied are available if you are interested,they are not world beaters but they will breed and should get you off to a good start,the dominant pied has paired up with one of the spangle cocks by the way.Who knows you could breed a spangle pied ,anyhow that's the best i can come up with for now cheers Phill

My last aviary & my current one face east Julie,best option is to face the wire north so i am told.If it faces south Julie just plant some trees as a wind break or maybe some latice in front & plant a grape vine or something like that to use as a wind break.