Maddy

Sometimes hens eat the eggs when they know they are empty or no hopers so keep that in mind too I had a hen eat some eggs recently after laying them all in the nest box but I am willing to try again with her with some fake eggs handy. The birds try and eat the fake eggs but soon give up.

I'll take a stab at it...though I'm not good with pieds The first pair are both YF's (Yellow Faces). The female a recessive pied and the male looks to be a combination pied. Lil' Ricky looks like a sky blue combination pied also, and is his dad the same cock as in the first photo? His cousin Victor looks like a YF Sky blue recessive pied. Anyway, those are my observations Feel free to correct me on this guys.

Hi Are you sure the parents ate them? I've been told that is very unusual. Is it possible that rodents got into the nest? They are usually the culprits. If not, there is a chance that the chicks were killed by other budgies, as it can happen when you have a whole lot of them in together (colony breeding) It's why a lot of members here breed them in separate cages, as hen can get very competitive and hostile with other hens.

Ring stayed on today Little fella is getting his down in. Of course its looking grey as his parents are normals. Pair #4 should have a new arrival any day now hopefully. There is only one fertile egg out of seven eggs, so fingers crossed it will hatch successfully. If it does and the chick is healthy, then this pair will go for another round, with luck it will be more fruitful.

Agreed with nubbly. I have a hen over a year old and her cere isn't brown...but it looks completely different to this one.

I have to chime into this thread and say: THANK YOU MODS! You keep peace among the budgie forum. If it weren't for this forum I would never of started to breed budgies, nor joined a club or got more than one budgie. So thank you again

The picture was painted from scratch on my computer Took me a good while to do. I think if we can breed the budgies with bourkes parrots then we could get pink ones....But I'm not exactly for the whole cross species thing Haha now that you say that GB, I was just planning on calling it 'The budgie Nest' but thought it too boring. I picked this name because I feel Pink is the colour of new life (its also my favourite colour) and Nest because its a safe protected haven for the birds. I know how you feel Nerwen. I have those days where I just like to read. I don't mind that people aren't responding much, but it is nice to hear opinions I plan to make breeding boxes for myself as well Nerwen, ones that will suit me. However, because I'm not a woodworking pro, I have to wait for funds to be able to pay for all the wood I would waste Back to the birds...The ring fell off the chick today, but I will try again tomorrow. Like I said, I'd rather be safe than sorry. I also did a bit of mix and matching with the pairs today. Decided the one pair I had I didn't like. Was a YF cinnamon hen and Grey Green cock. Well the pair below them, a Cobalt cock and Grey hen, had been sitting in there with no luck for over a month now, so I decided the swap the cocks in both pairs. This means I have a YF hen with a Blue cock, and Grey green cock with Grey hen. The YF and cobalt pair I feel are rather small birds, but the green and grey pair are larger. So with this new pairing, I hope to get some lovely YF's and some large stock birds. Its basically, one pair is colour, the other is features. I also blocked the nest with the grey hen with some thick cardboard. But there is a hole made with a pen where the nest box hole would be so the hen can chew through it if she is eager. This way I will find out if she wants to be in there.

I would love to get boxes like that...but the ones I got were free of charge and I got 8 of them Mine are actually quite annoying to check as they open via the lid. But until my funds are better...I'm coping okay with these ones

I rung chick #1. Only 6 days old. I figured I would try it, I'd rather be safe than sorry. But I had to use a toothpick to pull the little claw through the ring...which I only had to do for one chick in the last clutch (but only because it fell off at the very last minute) So I guess this either means: ~He is a bigger chick than the last clutch were ~He's just growing faster ~Its just my imagination and bad ringing skills (lol)

That last one and the one before looks like a cock to me. Are you using the flash on your camera? If not, then I vote boy

I think some of the breeders on here can tell with some varieties... I cannot though If he only has small dashes of blue I would guess recessive pied, though its hard to say without a picture. Because its recessive though, you might find you get white babies. I'm still learning genetics myself so I would be interested to know as well Are you sure she is albino? I have been told never to pair two double factor spangles together, and they look remarkably like albinos The difference is the eyes. If they are red she is an albino. If they are black, she is a DF spangle. But other than that I would not know why you were told not to pair her with a white male

I am going to come in the night and steal that lacewing I mean what? Joking Taboo, but your birds a beautiful None of mine are up to that quality, but I really hope I get there.

I agree with all of Finnie's answers. The last one looks to be a female (looks definite brown to me, but the photo quality isn't great) The third last one is very side on, hard to tell. But I think its a male as I see a lot of purple. Is there any white on that ones cere? For fully accurate results on gender, try and get nice clear shots of their face. And try not to use a flash as it can blow out the colour. wait for them to be at least 12 months old, otherwise you will just have problems for yourself and your birds You have some really lovely birds though. I especially like this one He looks like he has a hat on

You shouldn't have any problems if you breed an albino with an albino. I think thats one of those things that goes around spreading misconceptions. Your right about the sex link thing. But looking at these breeding expectations http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index.php?showtopic=23594 If you pair her with a normal cock you will get normal hens and normal cocks split for albino. I would say that if you want lots of white babies try and find a cock split for albino or an all albino cock

Another pinkie hatched today with pair #1. This little guy has already had a better start in life than the last chick, as I didn't find him outside the nest. But he is a lovely dark pink colour just like chick #1, so i have hope. This means that the dark mark I previously spotted on one of the eggs was nothing to worry about, as there are no more fertile eggs left. But I've left the other empty egg in there as a pillar as mum sits rather tight on them Its okay finnie, I understand that this chick just wasn't meant to be here I am certainly not going to stop the spray, especially since I know it takes some of the stress off. But I witnessed the cock feeding the hen today so that makes me happy, particularly since he seems to love the egg and biscuit mix I put in there as well as the pink powder. So if he's eating it, mums eating which means babies are eating it I also finished the sign I have been working on for the aviary And the original I know it's a little lame but I don't care

Awesome, I was hoping someone could tell me something from the picture. I will keep that in mind, make sure I don't give them anything that could upset little tummies Well now that you said that about old poo....I put that spray in the nest to help mum. Could of come from that. However, I agree with you that it was just a weak chick. Chick #1 is still going strong and would of been fed the exact same thing.

Well, it wasn't meant to be I guess. Chick #2 died this morning. Stubbs was still sitting on him. I can't tell why he died, but if anyone knows then that would be great Chick #1 is still going strong though. This guy is gonna be a champion i just know it (Bad photo I know, but Stubbs was getting impatient with me) I also cleared an egg out of Pair #1's nest that had a hole in it. I took out a bad egg from Pair #5, and I'M NOT CRAZY I knew Pair #1's eggs looked bigger than the other pairs The one from Pair #1 (bottom) was infertile from the start so that didn't bother me. However, the top one from Pair #5, was laid that way? No holes or anything So I don't know. Also, to keep updating on the other three chicks, the ones that started all this lol In the far corner of their cage I have given them a little cubby to play in. Its there as a tester, to see if they tip it over. If not, then this will be my new bomb shelter from fledging chicks

Genetics is confusing

I'm replying to my own thread posts Chick #2 is doing fine. Pushed the hen out of the way enough to see his full little crop. I've decided to call this hen Stubbs (as in stubborn). But though she is really stubborn when it comes to nest checking, she's not nasty. Like I said, I can push her out of the way without going away with sore fingers I've been a bit worried though, because I never see her leave. So I'm worried that she's not eating. So I put half a spray in the nest with her. Came back later the same day and there was no evidence of it. So I will probably continue doing this until I at least see her eat outside the nest. Chick #1 is growing very quickly. At least triple the size of chick #1. Can already see the grey down coming in, so thats pretty cool. There is still one more egg to hatch. I've been trying to guess some outcomes for this pair, but its super hard as I don't have the cocks background He could be hiding cinnamon and/or opaline and I have no idea. He could also be split blue for all I know. But I'm going with the info I have: Cinnamon Grey hen x Normal Grey cock = Normal hens, Split cocks (<--this is the part I edited because I kept changing my mind ) I'm still trying to get the hang of genetics....they are definitely not easy. I am sure that both Grey and cinnamon traits are dominant. So saying that dad is indeed just a normal grey through and through, and mum is a cinnamon...does this sound about right? I'll try and get pictures of bubs tomorrow

Looked in Pair #1's nest to find an empty egg shell. Couldn't find the baby though. Find him cold and peeping quietly on the cage floor outside the nest hole, so figured he was dragged out by mum or dad. Put him back in and checked on him two hours later. His peeping is stronger which gives me hope Little guy still has his egg tooth and what I believe to be some left over yolk in his crop. Mum hasn't fed him yet I don't think but like I said he is definitely stronger and she is sitting tight on him so hopefully all goes well. I'm thinking this may have been the egg with the black mark...but as I have a hard time getting the hen to move (I stand there poking her and she just nibbles my fingers but doesn't budge) I can't say for sure. Also, the three eggs in Pair #2's nest are now gone Figured that I have an egg eater and let the pair out int the flight. Will try again with them in a while with some fake eggs handy. In the meantime I replaced them with a Grey green cock I picked up from a pet shop, and a YF cinnamon hen I got for free. Will not produce the best young...but I'm just having fun with this

That is a lot of babies for one hen Its good that she's taking good care of them all, even the tiniest one (which probably isn't so tiny anymore )

A pinkie hatched yesterday morning The little guy is wriggling around, peeping, fed and a healthy pink colour. One of the other fertile eggs in that nest seems to have a dark stripe between the air sac and blocked out part of the egg. It can be seen without candling. I thinking i read somewhere that dark marks are bad....but I can't remember, so can someone give me a refresher on what this means? The other egg looks fine. Pair #2 also has 3 eggs now and one of Pair #5 's eggs has so much air in it that it stays sitting on the same end, even when you bump it (so I'm guessing its no good And Pair #4 has one definite fertile. I spent all this morning rearranging the cabinets. The bloody things are big, awkward and heavy and a couple of times ,due to restricted space, I found myself trapped in corners. But the way they are set up now means I have more moving space, and I can access the wood shavings bucket ALOT easier. I also did it to try and pinpoint where mice would be getting in. I found a couple of places that had a strong rodent smell, but I followed some droppings to a corner where the metal is bent leaving a small gap between aviary and ground. It will be blocked asap. Surprisingly....no spiders got me today

Yes, finnie has taught me some new things as well But there is a story I remember every time I buy new birds, real event that happened to a breeder in my club. They started out with pet shop finds and won a few shows with what was bred from them. After getting into budgies more they decided to go out and buy some quality birds from a very reputable breeder. These birds were not quarantined, and let straight in with all of their birds (including the champions) This breeder lost 150 birds because of this. The exact cause is still unknown, but it was some kind of megabacteria. This goes through my head every time I question quarantine Point is, no matter how well known the breeder is, the birds can bring chaos to your aviary when precautionary steps are not taken.

Possible halfsider? Pictures would help

How long have they been in the cage together? They definitely sound bonded. Are they in full breeding condition? The female's cere (fleshy part above her beak) should be a even light tan colour and the males should be a even vibrant blue (no light blue parts) If all of these are a yes, then you should expect eggs within 10 - 14 days after pairing them up