Well I have really started my breeding, 1 round each then rest untill June July.

I have already a couple of nest down and I have 4 fertile eggs from 1 nest being fostered as the hen was breaking them and I other nest with 1 egg.

2 nest had all clear.

Hear is what I have put down with Geoff Gardners help. I know some of the hens ceres are real brown and some light but he reckons that's fine so we will see.

 

Violet Cock my strongest one and grey cinnamon spangle half brother half sister ( same father)

 

Grey green spangle cock ( my foundation cock) Lt Green spangle hen

 

Grey green spangle cock ( my foundation cock) and violet hen the parents of my violets not a good picture of her.

 

Yellow DF spangle and cobalt spangle hen ( parents to my babies winning this year

 

Grey green cock and grey green cinnamon opaline hen

 

This nest has 4 fertile eggs being raised by foster parents

 

This pair have only one fertile egg so far

 

and this pair are the foster parents because their eggs were all clear

 

Dark green cock brother to the violets and sky hen

 

This pair my foundation cock and the hen are the parents to my yellow df spangle well thier eggs wre all clear so they are down again, I am running him with 3 hens this time.

I will post regular updates

 

Geoff gave me strict instructions not to cull any birds from the line of my foundation cock until they have fully molted and he has seen them.

Edited March 31, 200916 yr by splat

Looking real good buddy

Splat have you trimed or plucked the feathers from around the vent of both the cock & the hen.

good luck, I look forward to reading your journal

good pairing looking frod to seeing babys

looking good splat cant wait to see out come chicks

Splat have you trimed or plucked the feathers from around the vent of both the cock & the hen.

 

In addition to this, I'd be interested to hear your method and progress on running the Spangle Grey Green cock with up to 3 hens. I've never had much luck with this due to pair bonding.

Splat have you trimed or plucked the feathers from around the vent of both the cock & the hen.

Yes Macka pluck them as most my birds have really heavy down

Splat have you trimed or plucked the feathers from around the vent of both the cock & the hen.

In addition to this, I'd be interested to hear your method and progress on running the Spangle Grey Green cock with up to 3 hens. I've never had much luck with this due to pair bonding.

Hi Daryl to start with I put one hen in a show cage with the cock for a while to see how they like each other if all good I put the hen and cock in the breeding cage for the 1st day and let them bond and the the next day I take him out and put him in the show cage with my second hen and if all is well she goes in the breeding box with him. So up till now the cock is with the 1st hen over night and then in the morning I put him with the second hen, if I only run him with 2 he will stay with the second hen till 4 or 5 o'clock then he goes back with the 1st hen.But if he is with 3 hens i put him in the show cage with the 3rd hen to see how they go and all is well they go into the breeding box. So the 1st hen has him over night , the second gets him in the morning till lunch time and the third gets him from lunch till about 4 or 5 o'clock in the late afternoon.Some breeders find it doesn't work for them and prefer to leave the cock with the hen until she has laid her eggs then move him on which is much easier but normally I find running him with 3 hens works for me and when i put him in with the next hen she welcomes him and they go for it straight away.My reason for doing it this way is because this cock is quite old and i want to try get as much as i can out of him this year. I hope I helped Daryl.

Edited April 1, 200916 yr by splat

Splat have you trimed or plucked the feathers from around the vent of both the cock & the hen.

Yes Macka pluck them as most my birds have really heavy down

Splat have you trimed or plucked the feathers from around the vent of both the cock & the hen.

In addition to this, I'd be interested to hear your method and progress on running the Spangle Grey Green cock with up to 3 hens. I've never had much luck with this due to pair bonding.

Hi Daryl to start with I put one hen in a show cage with the cock for a while to see how they like each other if all good I put the hen and cock in the breeding cage for the 1st day and let them bond and the the next day I take him out and put him in the show cage with my second hen and if all is well she goes in the breeding box with him. So up till now the cock is with the 1st hen over night and then in the morning I put him with the second hen, if I only run him with 2 he will stay with the second hen till 4 or 5 o'clock then he goes back with the 1st hen.But if he is with 3 hens i put him in the show cage with the 3rd hen to see how they go and all is well they go into the breeding box. So the 1st hen has him over night , the second gets him in the morning till lunch time and the third gets him from lunch till about 4 or 5 o'clock in the late afternoon.Some breeders find it doesn't work for them and prefer to leave the cock with the hen until she has laid her eggs then move him on which is much easier but normally I find running him with 3 hens works for me and when i put him in with the next hen she welcomes him and they go for it straight away.My reason for doing it this way is because this cock is quite old and i want to try get as much as i can out of him this year. I hope I helped Daryl.

 

Sounds like a lot of work Splat - I'm with Daryl i havnt had much luck running a cock bird over multiple hens at the same time. I prefer to wait until she has laid and then move the cock on. I have found that you get more fertile eggs.

Splat have you trimed or plucked the feathers from around the vent of both the cock & the hen.

Yes Macka pluck them as most my birds have really heavy down

Splat have you trimed or plucked the feathers from around the vent of both the cock & the hen.

In addition to this, I'd be interested to hear your method and progress on running the Spangle Grey Green cock with up to 3 hens. I've never had much luck with this due to pair bonding.

Hi Daryl to start with I put one hen in a show cage with the cock for a while to see how they like each other if all good I put the hen and cock in the breeding cage for the 1st day and let them bond and the the next day I take him out and put him in the show cage with my second hen and if all is well she goes in the breeding box with him. So up till now the cock is with the 1st hen over night and then in the morning I put him with the second hen, if I only run him with 2 he will stay with the second hen till 4 or 5 o'clock then he goes back with the 1st hen.But if he is with 3 hens i put him in the show cage with the 3rd hen to see how they go and all is well they go into the breeding box. So the 1st hen has him over night , the second gets him in the morning till lunch time and the third gets him from lunch till about 4 or 5 o'clock in the late afternoon.Some breeders find it doesn't work for them and prefer to leave the cock with the hen until she has laid her eggs then move him on which is much easier but normally I find running him with 3 hens works for me and when i put him in with the next hen she welcomes him and they go for it straight away.My reason for doing it this way is because this cock is quite old and i want to try get as much as i can out of him this year. I hope I helped Daryl.

 

Sounds like a lot of work Splat - I'm with Daryl i havnt had much luck running a cock bird over multiple hens at the same time. I prefer to wait until she has laid and then move the cock on. I have found that you get more fertile eggs.

 

Thanks Splat, very interesting. I've also had some success with the method Heath has described. Although output is reduced I mostly just leave them one on one. Having a smaller number of birds means that whenever I do separate mated pairs they can spend all day calling to each other, even with one aviary well away from the others. However if left until the hen is on eggs then the eggs become her primary focus and she will sit in preference to wondering where her mate has gone. I think success with using multiple hens is also very much dependant upon the personality of the cock used. Some are quite passive or reserved whereas others are bouncing off the walls. Also, younger cocks are generally much more vigorous.

 

For me the main killer to using more than one hen is that I often don't get home from work until after dark so changing mates is not possible more than once a day.

Edited April 1, 200916 yr by Daryl

I think you should do what suits you I only run one cock like that because i know what he is like and he gets down to business as soon as he enters the cage. But most pairs I let them stay together fpr the whole clutch and like my yellow DF SP I will run him with 2 at one time which is much easier.

I have run this particular cock with 3 hen for 2 years now and I think out of all that he has only rear his young once and I have had all most 100% fertility but he is getting on now so it will be interesting to see how he goes this year.

Edited April 1, 200916 yr by splat

wow what a busy man Good luck to him I say

 

if he's getting on I'd make sure I keep a close eye on him, as I'm sure you will, just to make sure he stays in tip top shape.

I will Jimmy he is my man boy need to take care of him but he loves his ladies. If I left in the nest to raise all his young that would be different but all he is doing servicing the hens and then he is out in the aviary again.

so he doesn't help feed the hens?

No Jimmy but I have foster parents down to help

Hi all, 1st baby hatched today, 3 more fertile eggs in the nest which are being fostered.

Parents are

 

This is thier daudgher from last year

omg!! you have some amazing budgies goodluck with the breeding process . cant wait to see the babies

xx Elise xx

Congratulations on the chick splat. I will take the first and last baby

The parents are too die for.

Awesome pair

 

This pair is my favourite.

 

Splat are your foster parents show budgies?My mate uses pet budgies as foster parents. He told me they are alot better parents and will raise chicks alot better than a show type would.

Edited April 4, 200916 yr by Pearce

Yes they are all from good blood , I don't have pet budgies haven't the space. The foster parents are these 2 which I was hoping to get young from the hen is Watson blood and the cock Henry George blood

wow now that is good blood good luck with the cock

I don't think i will get anything out of him because I think he is a dud

UPDATE

I seperated these 2 as I didn't think the hen was ready as she was bickering at him for 3 days, I put him with a cobalt spangle no picture at this stage.

Violet Cock my strongest one and grey cinnamon spangle half brother half sister ( same father)

 

I seperated these 2 too as the ccok didn't seem interested and he is still running with 2 hens.

Grey green spangle cock ( my foundation cock) Lt Green spangle hen

 

These have 3 babies one more to hatch but are all under foster parents.

they are so far two cinnamon hens and one split cinn cock

Grey green cock and grey green cinnamon opaline hen

 

This pair have one fertile egg which is ready to hatch any day, I can hear the chick in side.

 

This pair laid their 1st egg yesterday

Dark green cock brother to the violets and sky hen

 

this pair layed their 1st egg yesterday too

This pair my foundation cock and the hen are the parents to my yellow df spangle well thier eggs wre all clear so they are down again, I am running him with 3 hens this time.

jelly bean from the Dark green spangle cock and grey green cinnamon hen, they only had the one but I am pleased as the cock has a wonky foot

 

These babies are from the the grey green cock and grey green cinnamon hen and are being fostered becaus ethe hen destroyed 3 eggs. Four have now hatched.

Edited April 11, 200916 yr by splat

Great photos

Sad news the nest with 4 chicks well the youngest one that hatched on the 10th died last night :hb: and he was a boy well I think anyway.