Hey Dave ... WOW What a Journey you have had ... I too just re read from start to finished And I was sitting on the edge of my seat .... It's fantastic that they are growning so well .... I am sorry for your losses along the way. I too just lost 4 from a clutch As Kaz mention Hen braking a neck whilst feeding This happend with one and the others were little ones, as written in one of my post I discovered that I had red mites ( 2 -3 ) in this nest box When i spoke to my Avian vet he advised me that this could be a cause to the deaths of the young ones as their crops were full and no other illness This was from an experienced pair with 4 clutches ... I wish you and all the little ones the best of luck and a happy future please don't let this second guess you as a breeder ....

No one likes loosing birds, it always hurts, but I have been keeping birds since I was 7 years old & used to cry & carry out burial rites etc, but at about 9 years of age I thought to myself if your going to keep birds some are going to die & in those days there weren't any bird vets to help, you better get used to it or give up. So I always do my best for them, but once their dead there's no way they are coming back, I just get on with the ones that are alive knowing that even with losses you can have improvements & win in the end. And of course hopefully your birds will get stronger with each generation. It's unreal to think that you can keep birds without losses.

 

Certainly if you have a red mite infection you will loose birds, especially in warm weather, alway keep an eye out for them, so they don't build up, to where they can cause damage.

 

Even in a nest of chicks each bird is an individual, even though related each one is genetically different some survive some don’t. Like Kaz says often with no apparent reason. It can be a disease or genetic fault; even with disease some die others live.

Edited March 26, 200817 yr by Norm

Hey Norm. I was reading how you said when you were little you burried you birds when they died... do you still do that now or dispose of them another way. I bury mine when they die, but I don't have that many. We have a pet cemetry behind the shed where all our pets are... rabbis, mice, guinea pigs, lizards and birds... I guess I was wondering because with the amount of birds many show breeders have, you'd run out of spots... Sorry if this question is a bit 'off', just my curiosity... :sad:

No Maesie I don't go for the burial thing any more, just dispose of them so that the dog or other wild things wont get them.

No Maesie I don't go for the burial thing any more, just dispose of them so that the dog or other wild things wont get them.

 

 

Thanks Norm! :sad:

Checked on the young and all look good.

 

Cheese and Sebby are now just Cheese. Sebby was doing some cleaning of the nest box, removing litter and I would occassionally find a chick sitting on the floor of the cage. At first i thougth explorers, but the littlest one was far too young. So, after consulting with an expert, i have removed sebby to a seperate cage where she can gather some strength before she heads back to the aviary. Cheese is a great Dad so there should be no problems there.

 

Look how few marks the eldest has on his back, the younger ones have more, so they are not identical, thus easier to tell apart. Here they are all huddled up together.

 

Here is Cheese doing the good Dad thing.

 

Here is Mum sebby all on her lonesome.

 

Angel and Hugo and the 4 in their nest box are all going well. The journeyman could end up being a cinnamon as well, we will have to see. Not an opaline, but the black does not look dark enough. The next 2 are feathering up nicely. they will be single factor dominant pieds, might carry the ino gene, or they might carry the recessive gene as that is what I believe that Angel is split to. Anyway, they will be white dom pieds, so I look forward to seeing them feather. The most encouraging news is that Pale Ale is no longer pale, but is a lot darker now. Maybe he/she has beaten his/her infection. Fluff is covering the body, almost all over, and the skin underneath is pink, as it should be, not a washed out slamon.

 

Here is Dad's dirty face. All he seems to do is eat these days - (Laughing out loud). When you have 6 people to feed, him, angel and 4 young, you need to graze all day.

 

Here are the little ones, not how much darker pale ale is now. Feathers are forming on the others as u can see. Also notice the size difference here. The one closest to the camera dwarfs the journeyman. The journeyman had best ensure that he does not get crushed in there.

 

 

Tralia, Nibbler and their young are also doing well. The eldest is definitely a spangle, and a blue one at that. Still not sure on the next, but they are all feathering up nicely.

 

Dad is still a good looking bird.

 

Here you can see the tail of the eldest. Definitely a spangle.

 

Here you can see the tail of the 2nd eldest, not a spangle, but the wings look like they have a tinge of yellow.

 

 

Here you can see the youngest 3, all going well.

Edited March 27, 200817 yr by Dave_McMinn

Had some problems with photobucket. I have added some new pics. Since I cannot go backa nd edit, i will just do a new reply straight after the last one.

 

Yellow in the feathers of this non-spangle? The 2nd eldest in Nibbler and Tralia's box

More great shots Dave... the size difference is just amazing. A few days makes a big difference.

Great pictures Dave. It looks as though the mood at your place is cheering up after that run of losses. lets hope there aer no more downward trends... The Pics are fantastic, thanks for the updates :budgiedance:

Pale ale is back to normal colour Dave...how wonderful !!

I am attached to every chick that is born. The survival of an animal is far more important to me than the genes they carry. Losing a small pet type blue bird is as tragic to me as losing a violet male fallow chick of show size.

 

 

Dave,

 

I am exactly the same. I hate to lose ANY animal.

 

I am pleased to see it has picked up a bit for you again now, the chicks are looking good.

 

 

Feathers.

your bubs look great, really nice pictures

Yeah Pale Ale has certainly changed, been a big colour change, you might be right it might have been some infection, as it looks like it got over it, you would think if it was genetic it wouldn’t have change so much. Best of luck Dave, they're all looking good.

Seems I moved Sebby just in time. She dropped an egg from the perch today, as she had nowhere to lay her egg. Good advice as always Kaz.

 

I am very pleased with Pale Ale's improvement. He looks very good now. The size difference between soem of them is amazing. The offspring of Sebby and Cheese are little things whilst the size of nibblers offspring, and hugos in another nestbox are all a lot longer and bigger birds.

Edited March 29, 200817 yr by maesie
asked by Dave :-)

Oops, meant moved Sebby just in time. Mods, any chance you can fix that?

 

First has semi-fledged in Cheese's cage. Golden faced cinnamon wing came out for a look around and then went back into nextbox.

 

Eldest in Nibbler and Tralia's nestbox will not onlybe a spangle, but she/she also looks to be cinnamon. Tralia could be a cinnamon, and Nibbler may carry the gene as his mother was is a cinnamon.

 

Pale Ale is going well and now we see little white feather chicks with black patches. Their size looks good too.

 

My internet connection is playing up so I will be offline for few days. New pics to come upon my return.

It's great that they are all doing well and Sebby was moved in time. It's also excellent Pale Ale is doing better. Good luck with the fledgings and I hope you get your interenet fixed soon (such a pain when it plays up!!!)

new pics taken today

 

Sebby and Cheese's nestbox - fully fledged soon I am thinking

 

Angel and Hugo's - all are going well

 

Tralia and Nibbler's nestbox - all growing well, with the eldest a cinnamon winged cobalt/violet spangle?

Gorgeous! love the yellow pieds!

I want one! haha already have enough to handle at the moment

thanks for the pix

 

♥Indz♥

Gorgeous! love the yellow pieds!

I want one! haha already have enough to handle at the moment

thanks for the pix

 

♥Indz♥

 

Too bad you live on the sunshine coast or u could have had one.

Exactly Dave!

Deb, you still out there? Any requests?

Nice Dave... looks like things are comming along well.

Been a strange weekend for IT at my house.

 

pics were taken on aschool camera I bought home to experiment with. Not as good as my camera. Focusses strangely on the setting I was using.

 

Belt went on the washing machine, so it is in need of repair. internet connection was down, until repaired today. Dvd player in bedroom has gone, and it scratched up a dvd.

 

Yes Maesie, things look good with the BIRDS at the moment - (Laughing out loud)!!

Been a strange weekend for IT at my house.

 

pics were taken on aschool camera I bought home to experiment with. Not as good as my camera. Focusses strangely on the setting I was using.

 

Belt went on the washing machine, so it is in need of repair. internet connection was down, until repaired today. Dvd player in bedroom has gone, and it scratched up a dvd.

 

Yes Maesie, things look good with the BIRDS at the moment - (Laughing out loud)!!

 

Atleast the birds were behaving. As to your appliances... they don't make them like they used to!

You are right Maesie, nothing is made to last these days.

 

Interent is obviously operational again, washing machine man is coming on wednesday, and I will buy a new DVD come Thursday night.

 

Anyway, as Maesie pointed out, the birds are all well. I am hoping to see Sebby and Cheese's young ones fledge soon. I am thinking of closing off the breeding box and placing them all on the floor of the breeding cage in a container.