Dellouisa

That's so sad. Poor little thing, she was looking so good to. Thanks Kaz for taking the time and trouble to share her with us, she was a cutie.

Thanks heaps for the link, we will look into it! Have a great Xmas.

They are adorable! My daughter is also pleading for some chickens. How did you track down a breeder? Are they on the net?

She really is quite beautiful!

They are really lovely! Gorgeous colours.

How is little Dusty going? All good I hope! Can you post some pics of his siblings? Cheers

They are all terrific. The yellow faced blue is devine!

Yes looks all good to me. The male might start to enter the nest box when the hen is sitting on eggs or the chicks have hatched as he will take an active part in feeding them.

Kaz this is such an interesting post. Thanks for giving us regular updates,although I know when Dustys time is up I will be feeling awfully sad.

They are stunning! I'm very happy for you.

He really is adorable!

Nice find Maddy!

Good for you Kaz, give him your best shot, then if it doesn't work out you will know you did all you could to allow him to have the best life possible for the time he was with you.

Hey, from what I can see in the picture the hen looks like she has a normal adult cere. Lots of hens ceres are bumpy looking and not smooth like the cocks. Even so you should research some of the links here to explain how to treat scaly face and look at some images so you will recognise it if it develops.

Do you have a picture of your "wow" bird Splat? I would love to see him.

If you have other hens in this aviary, you will need to be very careful that one of them doesn't try to take over this nest. If this happens the new hen will MURDER the chicks. This is why the use of breeding cages leaves you much more in control for lots of reasons.

okay well if she is back sitting on them, just let her do her thing. She does have to leave the eggs sometimes to have a stretch etc. Next couple of day you may have some additions.

If an egg is due to hatch you can quite often hear the chick peeping inside the egg if you hold it to your ear.

You will hear the peeping long before you will see a head poking out!

Hey, you should check to see if the eggs are fertile. They may not be and this is why the hen has given up on them. Keep your eye on the hen to make sure she is well and isn't ailing in any way. If you had another nest at the same stage you could transfer any fertile eggs.

okay, I have had a bit of a win from what started as a disaster. A month ago I was away for a few days and my friend was caring for my birds which included a nest of three, two week old chicks. Sadly she accidentally left the door unlatched and dad got out and flew away. Mum was feeding them but not fantastic as dad was the main food giver, so after lots of reading and video watching I started to crop feed them. I know they are now quite capable of feeding themselves but they hang on the cage and squeal when they see me, so I am still topping them up. They are so darn cute I can't resist. Will post some pics if I every figure out how to do it!

Fantastic! They are adorable!

Some cute little pies there!!!!

They are absolutely beautiful, you must be over the moon

Hi, budgies don't mate for life but they are very social and LOVE to be with their own kind. Just remove the nest box and Dibbie should stop producing eggs.