jetrick57

Hi Geoff Ultimately it comes down to the birds themselves and when their ready but I would say a lot of show breeders would aim to begin their Spring season from late July early August to coincide with the Sept 1st ring issue. If things were to click with a particular pair put down on Aug 1st there's a good chance you could be ringing your first 2011 (ring) chicks in early September. I personally try to avoid the heat as much as possible when breeding and therefore will try and have breeding over with before Xmas. That's me, I am sure everyone else has their ways and so forth. Cheers Patrick

Hi GB, Things have been quiet here with my 61st chick in this my second round hatching out today. I intend moving all my first round chicks into flights this weekend to make way for the second round ones to take over the weaning cages. I also hope to catch up all my new pairs for Spring breeding,and start working on who will go with who. Lastly I hope all the pairs from my first two rounds can get back into the aviary and enjoy a rest real soon. I feel like they have been at it for ever! How are those youngsters of yours? I have a number of split Lacewing cocks that I hope will give me some Lacewings in the near future. I have a TCB Cock x Lutino Hen with 8 eggs so fingers crossed something comes from it. They are from a good Adelaide,though I acquired them a year apart. Keep Warm! Cheers Patrick

Hi GB, There looking great, Cheers Patrick

Hi all, There's not much happening in my Birdroom today, other than chick no.59 of my second round hatching out. It's very wet and miserable in the Adelaide Hills today and I don't think my birds in the outdoor aviaries are that impressed. I'm sure they must think life in the Birdroom beats being out side on days like this. Cheers Patrick

more importantly are the eggs fertile Hi Nick That post was based on my first round where I ended up with 63 chicks surviving from 68 that hatched out. So an average just over 4 chicks per box. The second round is fairing very similar, so I am pleased to say fertility has been good thus far. Smallest clutch is 3 largest is 8 chicks who are doing well. Cheers Patrick

Hi Macka, No I didn't breed him but the chap that did stopped breeding birds in 03 and this was one of his last chicks. He never bred with him either. When I inherited him there were a few other 02 birds that came with him,but not in his league. Cheers Patrick

Hi all, This is a picture of the 02 Spangle Cock and chicks during my first round in March/April. His Spangle chicks were all blues first time around whereas there are more violets in the nest this round. Cheers Patrick

Wow and 02 bird that still produces, he is amazing Sweet chicks. Hi Taboo, Yes he's certainly that,considering all the stories we hear and read about infertility in much younger birds. He came with an aviary I purchased second hand and I never considered the possibility of breeding with him until I noticed him in the aviary behaving like all the other courting cock birds, so I thought why not? It will be interesting to see how he goes with another better quality and more suitable hen. Cheers Patrick

Hi Libby, Yes they are cute, Like most of us, I love the violets. I really never expected anything from this pair hence I paired the Spangle with an Albino Hen. Not a great pairing but I thought it would give him a last chance and her the experience. Eleven chicks later there's no stopping him. I would like to put him to a good quality normal before he stops as he's not a bad bird. Hope you enjoyed the show and auction, Cheers Patrick

Hi all, It has been a quiet couple of days for me in the birdroom with the second round up to 58 chicks, and only a few nest left with eggs to hatch out. It's a full time job making sure every chick has been rung and once done it stays on. This is a picture of my nest no.5, the offspring of my amazing 02 Spangle Cock bird. There is a nice Opaline Violet buried in the back there hiding. Cheers Patrick

Hi all, These are a few of my youngsters going into their 11th week. I am looking forward to getting them into a training flight. Cheers Patrick

my bad well regardless of his quality of markings hes a nice boy and will be very handy just young so plenty of improving time two if he was mine id put him to a nicely feathered grey normal hen (opaline either )(they say opalines better ) one who as lift above her head and a long mask dont worry about spots size and stuff just worry about carriage and self presentation as this way your just trying to bred / splits from him and any hens well they will be albino so spots wont matter the nicer the hen you put him with the better the start you will have with your albinos hes a nice boy as in all over birds (the thing i love about albinos is so long as your birds a good alover bird then you can keep it for your albino line if its colour is c r a p or spots not very good markings what not i love that less waste Hi GB, Thanks for the suggestions,that sounds like a plan and I do have such a hen. This albino was one of the last birds on offer at the auction I attended and looked like being handed in so I grabbed it. I have a liking for the Luts,Lacewings and Albinos. Though I really like them all! Cheers Patrick

Hi GB, Love the pics, particularly the Lacewings. I look forward to having some in the nest one day. They look great! Cheers Patrick

Maybe it is just me, but you have not indicated that either of the birds were spangles, and yet the wing marking on these birds look very much spangles to me. Am I mistaken here? Hi Dave Just to follow up on your query of a few days ago. Having attended a show down here on Saturday I now believe the Cock bird who fathered these Chicks is a Double Factor Spangle and not a Blackeyed Yellow as I was led to believe. On the plus side I have had it confirmed he is a KK bird and apparently very fertile so that's good to know for the future. Thanks for pointing that out. Cheers Patrick

Suggest you remove that bedding and replace with budgie seed. http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....showtopic=22446 Hi Kaz, Thanks for the tip! Cheers Patrick Thanks Mate, I agree the numbers are one thing, but let's see how I go as the quality improves. One thing to be said in the lesser quality birds favour, they have certainly provided me a heap of valuable experience,which could hold me in good sted as the quality improves. Like you I 'm more inclined to hang on to them as long as possible,but don't tell my wife that! Yes the noise certainly grows with the numbers. Cheers Patrick Hi Geoff, Thanks for your comments but certainly no secret I can think of. When I was a kid I use to get so disheartened when they would never breed,so I would have loved just one of my current pairs then. Be careful what you wish for hey! Cheers Patrick

Hi all, The 58th chick of this my second round hached today. The big surprise was in my nest no.2 with that pairs 8th chick hatching out. At this stage all looks well, but you can never tell. Fostering is not an option now with all the other pairs having far more mature chicks. The parents are good, but will need added support with feeding. The cock in a Normal Cobalt x Dom Pied Light Green Hen. Cheers Patrick

Hi GB, He's actually an 09 Albino Cock, but I can understand how he could be mistaken as a Lacewing in that picture. Also he's much whiter than the pics in the flesh or it's feather?. Hey, always glad to hear from you,as I learn a lot from what you contribute. Cheers Patrick

Hi all, As promised I will attempt to add some pics of the birds I bought at auction yesterday. Dom Pied Sky 50% Charlesworth Family x 50% T. Drew Cheers Patrick R&A Smith Lutino Cock Weidenhofer Family Yellowface Opaline Grey Hen T&S Appleton Normal Grey Green Cock

Hi all, Thank you GB,Dave and Kaz for your great comments, I learnt so much from the above post. I have just returned from the auction in Adelaide with 8 new birds, I couldn't resist. Three are from studs you guys might know, R&A Smith,T&S Appleton and the Charlesworth Family. The others were from good studs here in Adelaide, including four from a stud I already have good birds from. I will try and post pics once I settle them in. Thanks again for the great advice! Cheers Patrick

Hi all, Chick no. 57 of my second round hatched today. There have been two nest of 7, two nest of 6, two of 5 and three of 4 so far this time around, plus the balance of chicks in the other nest. There's an auction in Adelaide today which all going well I will get to, but I am reluctant to take on too many more outcrosses until I know what I have amongst my youngsters and what I might need in the future. That said you never know! Cheers Patrick

i honestly dont know how you do it how many cabinets do you have and how many did you put up first rounds your out comes have seemed good how many chicks do you think are of excellent quality can you see any that stand out yet ??? Hi GB, Good to hear from you! Truthfully it has turned into a lot of work but also very rewarding. I started my first round in March with 20 pairs in all wire breeding cages. Of those 15 pairs ultimately had young ones totalling 70 in all with one or two deaths, leaving me 61 chicks now in weaning cages. That was 70 chicks from 105 eggs being laid, which I am told was good. In the second round there are 16 pairs with 14 now with chicks and the other 2 pairs with eggs to hatch. As for the the quality I believe I have a long way to go, and possibly have 5-6 stand out youngsters. I have a number of young ones that will be useful to me next year as they are split Lacewing and I would like to work with that variety.My Lutino chicks are looking good also. I'm probably not the best judge and look forward to having someone skilled at culling go through my flock and telling me who to let go. That will be hard to do as I like them all! Cheers Patrick

Hi all, I paired my good Lutino Hen with a new TCB from the same stud on the 13/6 and they clicked instantly. As it happens she laid an egg today which is an awfully quick turn around so I will be interested to see if it's fertile. The quality Dom Pied which I bought at Auction recently doesn't look like he was fertile this round, but it's early days. There are now 55 chicks in the nest from the second round with eggs stilll to hatch. It's turning into a full time job cleaning and feeding everybody! Cheers Patrick

Hi Libby, That's great you might get him hooked! I am interested in having a look as I have a few holes in my flock jig saw that I woold like to fill, just dependant on quality and price. Also you can't help but be cautious when birds are offered that possibly haven't worked for the breeder. There's a degree of trust involved which I've seen abused. Look forward to seeing you both on Saturday. Cheers Patrick

Hi Libby Thank you for the nice comments, Are you looking to add to your flock? My two Lacewing Hens are from Ian Marshall at NEBS. I've had them for about a year. Are you going to Saturdays Auction? I shouldn't, but hard to stay away! Cheers Patrick

This is a picture of the above fav Chicks Mum who has had 4 chicks in the second round.She's paired to a good quality Cinnamon Cock.Another nest of 7 chicks in the second round.Dom Pied Cock x Normal Light Green Hen. Hi all, Bit tired after adding those pics, Sorry, I am not that much of a tech. I will try and keep them coming though. Thanks for looking! Cheers Patrick