Pebble

Thanks for the info Hilly. Could you please explain to me what makes you identify the pieds as dominant. I thought the thumb print and the colour at the bottom of the body denoted a recessive pied. Please educate me : )

This is my first try with photobucket, so here are some pictures (I hope)! This is the mother of my first clutch. An opaline visual violet This is the father of my first clutch. A yellow faced blue, ressesive pied And here are the babies Two creamino chicks One albino chick A yellow face visual violet And my calm little ressesive pied sky? blue. There was one other chick who died as I poster about in another topic. Having learned heaps from the website, I knew to breed two clutches for the noise, so now I also have the following: Mother a sky blue, opaline, grey wing. Father a recessive pied cobolt blue. I thought they were other combinations but this is what I have changed my mind to this week as based on the chicks which are as follows: I also thought I would explain the choices I made and where I got the information from in relation to the website. I already owned the birds and enjoyed them so much I wanted to breed and show them. After finding this site, I took the advice and went and joined my local budgie club. I discovered that my birds were no where near show quality. So I bought a show quality pair, however, not wanting to breed with them at my first budgie breeding attempt (they were more expensive than my pets), I decided to breed with my pets as I had originally intended. The club is where I was able to buy the breeding cages and boxes from (the only cost me $20). I read a number of books I borrowed from the club library as well as basically every post and FAQ I could find before attempting to breed. To get set up I put together a first aid kit, using the website for advise. I also put together a supplement kit. I chose to use Cod Liver Oil to make up for the fact that my birds are inside and so do not get Vitamin D naturally. I also gave the Vetafarm MultiVit to the birds twice a week before breeding and every day during breeding. I organised constant access to a charcoal bell, iodine bell, cuttle fish bone, and True Grit. Next time I would also add a specific probiotic to their food. I fed them a seed mix called Budgie Blue with the cod liver oil mixed through. Every day they had access to fresh vegies (particularly spinich) and Raven Gypsies Budgie Bean Soak. This saw the violet hen lay 9 eggs and hatch 6, and the blue hen lay 10 eggs and hatch 3. Once the chicks started growing I decided to focus on providing the parents with a high protein, high fat dies so I also gave them a regular helping of the polenta and egg meal and extra store bought egg and buscuit mix. They also received a daily ration of millet in the cage and also in the nest box. The babies were thus able to crack seed when they fledged and have not lost any condition. I also bought Neocare hand rearing formula for the chicks, just in case they failed to thrive, but I did not need to use it except for my sick chick and it dies anyway. I chose to use newspaper on the floor of the cages, which I change daily. I use wood shavings bought from my local pet supply in the breeding boxes. Weekly, I add some native branches and leaves to the cages for the cock birds to chew on and play with. My only problems were the chick that died and the second hen did not sit on her eggs until she layed her 5th egg. Even then, she had a tendency to kick them around. I think this is why only the last 3 eggs layed, hatched. I knew from the website however, not to panic and just to let her take her time and get used to being a mother I have had a great time looking after these clutches and now have eight new little lives to enjoy!

I just wanted to post a huge thankyou to the BBC members and particularly the administrators for this wonderful website. My fifth budgie from the first clutch I have ever bred left the nest today. This would NEVER have happened without the support and excellent information available on this site. I will take some photos over the weekend and provide a more comprehensive post. Thanks again.

Thanks for the pictures robyn. It makes newbies like myself dream about what is possible. You birds are beautiful!

Can I suggest perhaps the yellow one is a Creamino which is a sex linked gene. So if I understand correctly you may get ino hens. Also possibly yellow face blues and normals. Also there could be other things I dont see. I am very much learning myself still : )

Wow. Great designs. What is your opinion on the importance of Vitamin D. If you want your breeding room to have access to direct sunlight this might help you make a decision and rule some plans in or out.

The first budgie to hatch from my first ever clutch just died moments ago. It was a very active little soul but I found it sitting in the breeding box with food all over its face. When I picked him up he was cold. I tried to feed him with a weak hand rearing mix but he would not take it, I am presuming this is how he got food on his face also, as he would not take food from his parents. I tried breathing warm breath on him as I had read on this forum, but he died in my hands. When I had a close look at his underside it was fouled with pooh and urate. I there a disease that could have caused his death? Should I be concerned about the rest of the clutch. I checked them and they are all still clean, noisey and active. Or should I stop acting like a first time breeder and just put it down to one of those unfortunate things?

Thanks Robyn As I have been thinking about this lately I have decided that as I build my flock I will buy little second hand cages. Enough so I could move the whole flock, even if they had to squish on the floor rather than perch. This way if there was time to remove them at least it is possible. I also think this is where being a member of a club is important as I am sure most clubs would have members who would be temporarily able to house some birds in their quarentine facilities in such situations. I also hope all members and their friends and families are safe and free from any fire threat.

It is 45°C at my home today and bushfire smoke is making the backyard hazey. As I live near bushland, bushfires are a fact of life for me, however the severity of fires around the country this season has made me think about my bushfire survival plan. If I had to evacuate I would grab my dogs and now my birds. My birds are few and currently inside, but is there an easy way to quickly collect birds from an aviary. Likewise if you must leave them do breeders have any advice of what to leave to help them survive. Finally, does smoke pose any kind of health risk to our little friends and is there anything that could be done to alleviate any issues. Thanks for any feedback, I just thought thisld be a prudent conversation to have in this current heat.

Wow I would never have thought of this being an issue Robyn. Thanks for the info, this sort of story is so important for we "newbies". Congratulations for your achievement, and all my future birds thank you as greatly as I am sure your budgie is thanking you now : )

Thanks so much for the feedback. I do have a multivitamin for the birds that contains Vitamin D, but I only use it once a week. As I only have 7 birds just now, I find it easier to soak the small amount of seed using a few drops from a Cod Liver Oil capsule. I will keep a 'nose' out for any smell, but my birds eat their seed within three days, so I think I am okay. They are still inside birds until I can save enough money to build my dream aviary. Thanks again.

Im not sure. Too new to this game to make such a call. You need to wait for a reply from the experts for that. The only problem that is immediately apparent to me would be ease of rodent access. But someone with banks of breeding cages would know better.

Great work L-J. I love recycling and what better to recycle for than our budgies. These shelves would be great in a bird room too. The solid sides and plastic front would help prevent dust getting on important things or stuff with engines etc.

I am only new to budgies, but have been heavily involved in dogs all my life. I have never bred any dogs (although I live with five German Shepherds)! This is because I have seen the physical commitment and expense and time required to breed healthy pedigree dogs. Most breeders in the dog world are just as committed to their animals as the breeders on this site are to their budgies. While I have the commitment I don't have the money or time. Yet last year Don Burke published an article that extended over a number of issues which claimed that all pedigree dog breeders were puppy farmers. From this point on, I have not bought his magazine as a small personal protest. These claims were made internationally with the same level of spin and unsubstantiated hearsay and accusation as was to be found in the article at the beginning of this post. They were disrespectful and fundamentally false with poor knowledge or involvement in the hobby. As nubbly5 identified Don Burke has also been responsible for the growth of a market for cross bred dogs sold for an exorbident price rather than just cross bred dogs. He also tried to destroy pedigree breeding. My advice for the budgerigar fancy would be to avoid any contact with Don Burke as his actions in the dog world are easily transferred to the budgerigar fancy. Regardless of your opinion of miniature budgerigars, avoid contact with it until Don Burke has moved on to destroy his next hobby! Remember he will always have free and easy access to the media, and sadly in this country too many people still believe that if you're published you must know what you are talking about. It is unlikely any opposition within the fancy could compare to the media dictatorship of Don Burke.

I have been on FAQs and the Food and Nutrition forums and I am very impressed by the information about Cod Liver Oil. I note that many members leave their seed for 24 hours to absorb the oil before using it. However, if it is very dangerous to use once it has gone rancid, how long does it take before it goes rancid? I am particularly concerned as I have started feeding it to my birds, but we are experiencing a bit of a heat wave here in Newcastle (NSW) and I am concerned this may send it bad quickly. Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated.

Thankyou greatly for having this discussion. I plan to build an aviary and start breeding budgies by early next year (I currently have just 5 pets). As I believe in doing thing properly I have been doing HEAPS of reasearch via this site on aviary construction, diet, health etc. Only yesterday I was speaking to my vet (he is my dog vet but also works with birds) and he said he would euthanise any birds for me if I needed it for a nominal price - no consultation charge, just the cost of the euthanasia product. But as my vet is over 30 minutes from my home, I knew there would be a time where I would need to do the job myself. Being new to my club, I was unsure if it was appropriate to ask this question. So THANKYOU. This is responsible and if people don't realise that this is a reality of breeding large numbers of animals, then they should not attempt to do this and should opt for pet ownership instead. I feel so much more confident now in starting up my breeding program. :thankyou:

I just wanted to say a quick thanks for this wonderful forum. Around 12 months ago I took in two budgies that needed a home. Another three budgies later I now have five birds (in my dining room!) and have become so attached to them that I wanted to find out more about them. I found this site and have read so much information that it has inspired me immensley. I am joining my local budgie club this Friday, with the intention of learning about and breeding show birds. I still have to move through the basics such as building myself an avery and buying a selection of birds to establish my breeding lines. Thanks to this site I am going to try to begin by breeding Australia yellow-face blues, normals and violets. I hope to have my avery built by early next year. I will keep poping in to let your forum know how I go on this new journey. Thanks once again Aviary. I need to learn to spell while I am learning about the budgies! :lightbulb: