Well finally after much hoo hah I've finally got some photos, only a few, but if you only knew how difficult it's been to get this far. Thank you to Kaz and Liv for their help!

 

The Main Outside Aviary

This is the aviary my hubby built last year -1.8mWx3.6mL

 

The Breeding Room (converted garage!)

You can see the mishmash of different breeding cabinets I've bought over the last 18months, 33 in total

 

My Cull Birds

I love all my birds but I have too many ... 70 are already in the Breeding Room

Great to see your pictures up Renee

 

I love your setup, and you are so meticulous with your methods and birds and record keeping. You would put a lot of people to shame. Hope you have some great chicks out of those 33 breeding cabinets.

WOW!! That is an awesome setup and you have some very nice birds

 

So pleased you got photobucket working :hap:

I've got Gary Armstrong coming over tomorrow morning to check out my pairings and give me some on the spot advice (Gary is the acting President of my club the SWBC).So it's panic stations here getting everything nice and tidy! Since he let us know he could make it (3pm this arvo) Tony has already cleaned out the outside aviary, cleaned the aquarium and replaced the gum leaves with a fresh branch ..... and now we go to work. :hap: I have a feeling he is not going to approve of my deep litter method so I am bracing myself ....

Edited August 27, 200816 yr by renee

:hap: About time he visited.....I know Dolores has been telling him for ages to come and see you

Renee, all that work paid off it is wonderful.

Looks great Renee...don't worry about using a deep litter method, that's what I use & I think my birds do pretty well, it's all a matter of different ideas.

Thank You for all your encouraging comments!

you have a very nice setup.

Renee its a credit to you to have such a wonderful setup very impressive you and your husband have worked very hard to have a setup up such as yours.... wonderful to see you lookafter your budgies very well so i say hats off to you and your hubbie and thank you for sharing with us your wonderful pics regards John & Swanacilli.

WOW great set up! Can I come move in with you?

I have a feeling he is not going to approve of my deep litter method so I am bracing myself ....

 

 

Just wondering what a deep litter method is??

Edited August 28, 200816 yr by *libby*
fixed quote

Looks great Renee

What deep litter method? Or do you mean only in the cabinets? Because aviary floor looks spotless to me

Deep Littler Method is when you don't clean out the nesting materials until the clutches have finished

This is so they aren't disturbed ..

 

Please correct me if i am wrong

Edited August 29, 200816 yr by maesie
typo

Deep Littler Method is when you don't clean out the nesting materials until the clutches have finished

This is so they aren't disturbed ..

 

Please correct me if i cam wrong

 

okay, I didn't know that. And today Gary said that actually I don't do the deep litter method, so go figure! :hap:

 

What I do is fill up the bottom of the breeding cabinet with 3-4inch of Fussy Cat Litter and because the poop clumps I just pick out the clumpy bits once a week. The same sorta goes for the nest boxes, except when the chicks have hit the 2 week age I throw out the old Fussy Litter and replace with new stuff on a needs be basis.

 

It is soooooo easy I pity anyone who has to spend hours changing the trays every week :hap:

I will keep that in mind when i start :hap:

So how did it go with Gary????

I will keep that in mind when i start :hap:

So how did it go with Gary????

 

Ho, ho, ho!

 

Well, no surprise Gary thinks most of my pairings suck LOL but then so do I. Frankly, of the 33 cabinets there are only about 8-10 top pairs - of which 7 are breeding for me :hap:

 

Basically I don't have enough quality hens to put to my quality cock birds, so I am relying on the best hens I can breed to get the results but it's not going to be an overnight success for me by any means. Also I'm short on some basic varieties to complement my breeding program. I guess I will have to save my pennies and try my luck at the upcoming SWBC Auction in September.

 

I've been hearing whispers that I should be put up to Intermediate next year but I am fighting it tooth and nail! As I see it, when I can win on the bench with birds that I have bred myself .... well then I'll be ready to move up, but I need more practice at pairings (I think he may help me next year). Also, I'm **** at genetics so need to start hitting the books on that front.

 

Gary has given me some pointers regarding introducing hulled oats into their diet through the soft food.

 

And interestingly he recommends administering the Calcivet to them via the soft food mix and not in the water. However, I'm not entirely convinced as some of my birds won't eat the soft food. At least when it's given to them in the water I am confident they are getting their required Calcium quota. What do you all think?

 

Of course he did mention that Kaz had picked up a significant number of his birds lately and intimated that she'll be giving me a run for my money but when I innocently said that she hadn't offered me any of those he chuckled and reminded me that I was the competition. For all you non-Perth BBC member, Kazza and I go head to head every SWBC Club meeting on the Novice bench .... and this year, like last, it's neck-a-neck!

I'm sure you will get there with your pairing up Renee. All good things take time. May you breed fabulous show birds and give Kaz a good run at the shows

Renee is too modest...she does far better at shows than I do, has more trophies and awards and in my opinion has better birds.

I dunno Kaz, maybe I have a few more good birds, it's debatable. The truth of the matter is I don't know what to do with them - yet. I went from budgies to show budgies within 6 months so don't have any experience to fall back on.

 

For all you non-show bird breeders: you are gaining a wealth of experience that should you ever decide to breed show types will put you in excellent standing.

 

I think if you talk to any breeder they will tell you that what keeps them going is the enjoyment of looking after their birds, winning prizes, well that's just the icing on the cake.

Renee, that is something that I will have to gain experience with too the pairings :hap:

Wow so you an Kaz, on the same show bench, I'd hate to be the judge :hap:

 

Well I hope that it all goes well for you and your birds, You too Kaz ...

 

I still would hate to be the judge LMAO :hap:

Renee, that is something that I will have to gain experience with too the pairings :hap:

Wow so you an Kaz, on the same show bench, I'd hate to be the judge :hap:

 

Well I hope that it all goes well for you and your birds, You too Kaz ...

 

I still would hate to be the judge LMAO :hap:

 

Well the judges don't care because they don't know which birds belong to who. But the judging process itself takes about 2-3 hours for the whole show so it's always an anxious wait for us! :hap:

Great set up Renee :hap:

Your breeding room looks busy! Where do you find the time! lol

Good luck with your future breeding :hap:

Today I rung my 80th chick .... the Nursery is overflowing with little ones and it's time to move the older ones outside. I have checked the forecast and night-time temperatures are supposed to stay around 10 degrees C.

 

Here's what I'm talking about:

 

The Nursery

http://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp297/r.../TheNursery.jpg

Moderator’s Message

this picture is oversized turned into link

This is a view of the bottom half (the top half is even fuller with chicks)

 

The Young Uns Outside Aviary

I don't think you can see it in the photo but it's protected by a big pine tree so it stays nice and cool over the stinking hot summer months.

 

The chicks will stay here from age 2-3months till I start culling, around March next year.

Edited September 2, 200816 yr by Elly

Some more pics of the Nursery.

 

Full View

July/August's chicks in the top half

 

The bottom half revisited

This time with clean Fussy Litter and this week's fledgings