Maddy

I'll do that then. I wasn't sure, but I figured if I posted it someone would tell me Thats interesting GB. I asked a member at the meeting last night who did a talk about YF blue birds. He said you can usually tell if they are YF from about 10 days old. But if yours didn't come out till the first moult then I'll hold onto them and see what happens I also wanted to ask for opinions on these babies when it comes to show quality. Is there anything in particular you can look out for in young chicks when it comes to features?

Gloria I went out this morning to find her wandering around the bottom of the cage. I contemplated putting her back in the nest until I saw Pie feed her. She's quite content. She walks around chewing everything she can get her beak on. So I set up a bomb shelter and she happily chewed it. The bomb shelter is just half of a tissue box. Leela She's starting to get her colour through now. Ace She seems to have really dark pins....or its just me. Potato My fluffy fat boy What surprises me is that none of them seem to be YF. I'm a bit disappointed because I really like Pie's yellow face and was hoping to get more like it. But I guess is just like roulette, so maybe next round I'll get some

I've been frantically trying to fix my camera's exposure. Its an SLR and its been blowing out the whites in my recent pictures (as some may have noticed) It makes its extremely difficult to catch true colour. So I went back to see what could of changed. I found out, that when the pictures were fine, was before I added the white breeding cage cabinet. So I'm thinking its just reflecting. So lets see if these pictures are better. Gloria She has throat spots and cheek patches now. Leela Is getting her colour in. Another cobalt, only she is a pied Ace Although she is a pied, she has a few dark flights. At least she will be distinguishable Potato My little fat boy. Yep his down has come through more and its grey. This makes me happy He has seed all over his face lol I put a handful of seed in the nest when I changed it yesterday. It seemed to sink underneath the wood shavings. My mum has been bugging me for a few weeks now, asking which of the babies she can have. See she wants a hand tame baby for my brother. I'm fine with that, but she doesn't seem to understand that I don't want to choose until their feathers come through a bit more. What if I give her my best baby? I'm thinking of giving her one of the pieds or Gloria. Only because I would like to continue breeding pieds (I'm liking them) so if I keep at least one pied then I can continue them. However, Gloria might also develop features like her dad, so I want to wait and see.

very much so

I've been struck by the Flu since Tuesday. But I've found that I feel a bit better when i go out to the aviary, as its nice and peaceful. So its been my little hospital all week Updates Gloria She now realises that she can flap her wings and she tries to escape. She never gets very far though. Nearly every time I open the nest box she's near the front entrance looking out. Leela Looking like another cobalt. Ace Her wings still stick out. Potato This is a strange one and I'm wondering if there is something wrong with it. It doesn't seem to want to move, it just sits there. And unlike the others, as soon as I pick it out of the nest it peeps its little head off. After I took this photo I realised that he no longer had his ring on. Took me a while to find it amongst the dried poop in the nest but I thought for sure it was too late to put it back on. But it still fit. So I'm wondering if this means he is smaller than the others too. I think you might be right Nerwen. There does seem to be some grey down on his back (or its a trick of the light) and he does seem darker than the rest.

Yep, once they are out of quarantine I will be pairing some of them up (if their condition allows it).

Picture/Update time! Gloria Her feathers come out a little bit more every day. She's funny though, she goes into reverse when she's in my hand like she's trying to escape. But when I put my hand in the nest she hides behind it. She's also starting to nibble the wood shavings, so next nest clean I will put some seed in the nest. Leela She's starting to get YF feathers like Gloria, so I think you were right there GB She also looks like she is going to be a cobalt judging by the pins at her shoulder. She also seems to have one dark tail feather? Ace I think is a definite dom pied. She has a pied spot on the back of her head like Leela. But it looks as though she has two dark flights on the end of her wings. Potato I think this is hen #4. Took a long hard look and its white down not grey. Its a shame, it did want one cock. But aww well. I have 4 healthy chicks...I can't complain Looks like she is going to be like Gloria. You'll notice that their crops all look orange. That's because I give mum and dad a serving of the homemade egg and biscuit that GB told me about. They love the stuff, especially Pie. I put it in before I check the nest and it gets Doormat out of the way for me lol Pie hears me open the container and rushes to the door. Hopefully Leela and Ace are going to turn out like their dad. I really love him. His colours are just beautiful, and his features aren't too bad either. His brother was a champion apparently, Pie just got stuck at the shallow end of the gene pool. Unfortunately, I'm not having much luck with my other occupied breeding cabinet. These two, Overcast (hen) and Bloo (cock), have been paired now since Feb 1st. I've seen them mating, and Overcast has been in and out of the nest box as well as chewing on the front step. I sometimes open the nest and she hops in while I'm checking. I don't know what to do with these two. They are bonded and ready, but aren't producing anything

Thats good to know...because I'm not stopping lol But its how i feel about it too. I can see how they aged and even go back to their earlier photos and see if I can pick out anything that they have today. Thanks And thats how i use your input too GB. I go back and look and i say 'OOOOHHHH i see it now!" and it helps me to learn to pick out things like that

If you go to check them one day and the cock is not there....it wasn't me lol joking But he really is a beautiful cock bird

Yep i understand GB. If the chick turns out to be rec pied, then it means doormat and pie are both split. I'm hoping you're right Nerwen. I would love to have at least one cock come out of this clutch

I see. Hmmmm thats interesting that is. That it can travel hidden under other traits. Well it could've come from their grandparents or further back if thats the case. I doubt Pie's mum was rec, as the piece of paper i got only said pied for pie as well. I might test it next breeding round. I will breed either pie or one of his daughters(?) to a rec pied and see what happens.

I went out and got the parents details. I only have their parents, not their grandparents....but I don't believe rec pied can travel very far because its recessive right? Doormat = Normal Cobalt cock x Opaline Cobalt hen (which explains Gloria being cobalt) Pie = Violet Opaline cock x YF Pied Cobalt hen Now the info on Pie's mum only says pied...it doesn't specify. Is it possible to get a dom pied from a rec pied? Because that could be where it came from. If not then I'm stumped lol And I would much rather be patient and wait to pair Doormat again, then be hasty and end up killing her. Both her and Pie are being great parents so it would be counter productive to destroy that Especially because I think she is a beautiful hen....and I got her for free. I don't think that is going to happen much during my time in this hobby. Oh and GB, don't shut up. I love your input

I think people are getting bored with me spamming my own topic lol But its very exciting, its my first clutch of chicks and I want to document everything I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon enough, but for now I'm just going to keep spamming pictures. I got some more colour adequate pictures. As well as a picture of mum. Gloria Leela Notice the light patch on the back of the head confirming the pied. A funny quirk about her is that if you poke her lightly on her above her leg, her wings stick straight out. Ace Wings out as usual. Also, don't let that leg fool you. I know it looks a bit 'splayed'. But i assure you it moves about like the other chicks Potato sitting comfortable in the dip of my hand And lastly, Doormat. I was having trouble deciding whether or not I should let her go for another round. Apart from her face she looks in good health, so I caught her to check her weight. It seems fine, but I can feel her keel bone. Its not prominent, but I don't think I want to risk it She's just over a year old, so she has plenty of time to be a mum again. There was a lot of struggling and biting going on, so my hold on her doesn't look very good.

Plus I got them from a breeder, so they are better quality than pet shops too

Awesome. Thanks GB Here are some pictures for today (or this morning) They're not good for seeing colour as I didn't adjust my camera to the fact that the morning light was shining right through the front of the aviary (I normally take pictures in the afternoon) But they are good for seeing development. So I might get some proper colour seeing ones later. Chick #1 She has body feathers now. I see a bit of sky blue on her back I think I will call her Gloria. Only because she hatched just after the really hot days we had, and her sibling died. So I just think of the song 'I will survive' lol Chick #2 Definitely clear flights. Hello pied My mum has named this one Leela as it only had one eye open for a few days. Chick #3 A bit bright, but I don't see any colour on this ones wings. The whole time it sat on my hand it had its wings out like this. It was cute. So I think I will call this one Ace Chick #4 This one isn't bad for colour and I see some colour on the flights part of its wing So I'm guessing this one will be like Chick #1 I've decided to call this one Potato as it just draped itself over my hand like this the whole time. I'm not sure if that means there is something wrong with it, I just thought it was cute. All of them seem to have white down. Does this mean they are all hens?

Can I ask how you guessed chick #4 GB? For future reference

And so I'm not leaving them out... Chick #3 (his ring is still on which is good) and Chick #4

Well to be super sure that they aren't getting attacked, i could put the cage in the aviary. But that defeats the purpose of quarantine a bit. They are just inside the door of the shed, and it can be closed. My cats and dog have all seen the birds, but are totally uninterested as they can't reach them. I will most likely get some of the shade cloth I used before i got the divider in my aviary and cover them, so I'm super sure.

Quick update for today. I've rung chick #3 and all the other chicks are doing great. To me, chick #1's head pin feathers look to have a yellow tinge to them. So I'm going to go ahead and guess YF opaline normal (feel free to correct me on this one lol) Chick #2 has clear flights and tail feathers( as far as i can tell) as well as white down, so I'm thinking a dom pied opaline. This is all just speculation. I really am not 100% sure on my guesses, but its fun to watch them and see how they develop. I also decided to take out the egg that was in the nest before it went rancid. Whats the maximum amount of time I'm allowed to leave an egg before it can effect the nest? Its been about 4 or 5 days for this one, and I decided to crack it open to be sure. Well, it let off an unpleasant odour when i first opened it. There was no blood and the membrane was yellow and quite dry. But i took a picture so that others can confirm that it was a definite DIS. I buried it in the yard as trash pickup was today and i didn't want it to stink up the bins (they smell bad enough as it is)

Yep I understand. At the moment they are still in the door of the shed, so I think i might just leave them there. They will get some sunshine in the afternoon and they still get fresh air. And its undercover to allow for terrible weather. It just might be a bit of an inconvenience if I want to get something out of there....but at least i know the birds will be safe. And whoops, sorry Kaz...bit of a mis-interpretation there

It was quite hot. I think the member i got them off read his thermometer at 35˚c Unfortunately it was also very windy, and the tarp was acting like a sail, so I moved them temporarily inside the shed, just inside the door. Thanks Kaz. There are a lot of wild birds around my house so I will steal some pegs asap Its so exciting. I've already got a rough idea who I'm pairing them to. The cinnamon grey hen is going to go with my grey normal cock Gandalf (in my sig), only because she is an experienced mother and he is a newbie. The blue spangle cock is going with my grey spangle hen, so I should get some lovely white DF spangles. So far thats all i got, until i get the information on their bloodlines so i don't accidentally in-breed

I really wish I had a mentor like yours It must give you some confidence that if something goes wrong you have someone to call.

A member of my club was culling birds, so I picked some up. They were a very reasonable price at $10 each and I got a total of 8. Here they are On the top perch (from left to right) there is a Grey normal hen, Violet Spangle cock, Grey cinnamon hen (which I believe is the grey normal hen's mother), Blue opaline normal hen, Blue opaline normal cock (i think those two are siblings) On the bottom there is another Blue opaline normal hen, Sky blue recessive pied cock and lastly a Green opaline normal cock. I don't have the specifics on the birds yet, I will be getting them at my nest meeting so that the member i bought them off has time to find their records. The only one i know of is the green cock whose father is a Grey clearbody and his mother is a Opaline grey green. So his offspring should be quite interesting Heres some more pictures of the ones who didn't give me blurry photos from being spastic lol This is the Blue opaline hen, Cinammon grey hen and Green opaline cock The sky blue recessive cock, and the two opaline hens. These were the only ones sitting still to give me clear photos (well, as clear as you can get through bars) Before anyone says it, i know the rule of cage setup is that you should have the perches going front to back. But i measured it, and the space between these perches is the same between those in my breeding cabinets. It just looks smaller because of the angle of the photo, but there is a decent amount of space between them. Also, with front to back perches, it makes accessing the water dish doors in the front very difficult. Besides, this is only until quarantine is over. This is the quarantine setup i got going. Just a cage stand with a tarp around it. There is planks of wood on the top to extend the tarp to make an awning. Its far enough away but close enough so they are not completely cut off.

Okay, picture time Chick #1 She's getting so cute Chick #2 I've rung this chick 3 times now because it kept falling off. But I keep putting it back on there, and hopefully it will stay this time. Its giving me some much needed practice as well. It also looks as though it has white down, so i guess its hen #2 as well Chick #3 Chick #4 All very well fed as you can see There is also an egg that has been sitting in the nest for a few days past its hatching date. I was just giving it some time just in case...but I'm pretty sure its DIS, as it showed signs of fertility when i still had my candling torch (still waiting on my new one)

I wasn't able to get any pictures the other day, but i did a thorough check and there was definitely no blood. But I really do appreciate your concern Kaz They are going really well. The oldest chicks pin feathers are getting longer every day, and the cheeky bugger now sticks its head up at me when i open the nest. I've also had to poke her back into the nest when she walks to the front door. The second oldest (which is a week younger than the oldest) Is getting bigger too. I was getting worried because it only had one eye open for a few days, but now both are open and its well fed. It also looks like a hen as it is getting white down. I will get some pictures and post them later today.