September 9, 200915 yr Author They are all gorgeous! And that photo is adorable!! I am very pleased that he looks like his Dad. I hope he fills out like his dad did as well.
September 9, 200915 yr I am very pleased that he looks like his Dad. I hope he fills out like his dad did as well. Its a strong genetic line..........he should fill out. His cousin did....
September 10, 200915 yr Author If you remember what Dumb and Dumber were like, they had the length but were yet to fill out, and it was not until the beginning of 2009, as in April, that they really could be classed as fully developed. They are/were 07 rung birds, so it took them a good 1 1/2 years to fully develop. When I purchased them, they were more about the length.
September 11, 200915 yr Author Thanks Kaz and Splat. I am pleased. I put the ring back on one of Dumber(RIP)'s young today as it had slipped off, and rung another 2. One might slip off tonight or tomorrow, but it is better early than late. I think that Dumber(RIP) and his DF widow have 6 young now, in 2 nests, plus 1 more unhatched egg, and Earl and Latte have 1 recently hatched young one, with 5 eggs possibly fertile. Kiwi and Twitch have about 7 eggs, and 6 look fertile so far. My new pair I put down - the John Hewitt bred greens have 3 eggs, 1 that looks small and two much larger eggs. They look good. I have removed the nestbox from the cinnamon winged male and the dom pied hen as she appears to be eating all the eggs. Perhaps a rest then some time in the aviary might be best for her. Still looking to put some new pairs down tomorrow. Hope to get to it then.
September 11, 200915 yr There seems to be pretty good fertility at your place Dave...you must be doing plenty of things right
September 11, 200915 yr Author Still waiting on paternity tests before I admit anything Karen, and until then.............oh you mean the birds, yes, they are doing alright. I might need to look at airflow come summer though, or even a small shade sail
September 13, 200915 yr Author Had a very hot day here today, that almost resulted in the loss of one young one in the kindy cage. I was in there giving cooler, fresher water and putting in some baths as well, when i noticed one of Earl and Latte's young suffering what I am calling heat stroke. I picked him up, took him inside. I put him in a cool room, in a cage without box, with some kitchen towel under him. I gave him a drink, and put some water and millet in his cage. Here we are, some 5 hours later, and he looks better. I think he has thrown up, but it is more of the result of what he has gone through. He looks a little fluffed up now so I have put a lamp on him. I am going to put some Sparks in his water to give him a boost. All the others are going well. DF widow has 4 hatchlings from her mating with Dumber(RIP) and there are 2 of thier offspring - the eldest 2 - in with Earl and Latte. The will all be spangle, and some will be DF's. The eldest looks to be a normal spangle, but the second eldest looks to be a DF spangle. We shall see. 6 offspring from this pair though, that is good, especially since losing Dumber(RIP) Earl and Latte also have 2 of their own. They are little ones at this stage. Kiwi and twitch have 7 big eggs. My green pair have 4 eggs. One is tiny and spherical. It think this was the first egg she layed. Like her body was on a practice run. Nothing good can come from it, but I have not removed it. Curious. No more pairs down yet, but hopefully they will be this week.
September 13, 200915 yr Wonderful results Dave with all your breeding program. I am so happy for you that Dumber has left progeny to grow and hopefully develop like him :sad:
September 14, 200915 yr Author Well, after spending the day inside, Icarus - that is what I am naming the little guy (Icarus is a character from legend that built wings and decided to fly - they worked but when he flew too close to the sun, his wings melted and he plunged to his death - moral of this story - beware the power of the sun) - is all better, eating well, droppings are normal again, chirping away, so he has been returned to the kindy cage with the others. All new hatchings survived the heat. Dumber(RIP) and the DF widow look to have produced 2 spangles, 2 DF spangles so far, and it is too early to tell on the others. Earl and Latte are raising their 2 fosters and their two little ones well No hatching yet for Kiwi and twitch in Rd 2 4 eggs for my green pair.
September 17, 200915 yr Author I tried to take some more pics, but i had mixed success. It is hard with the new nestboxes. I am always scared that the mum will seek to do the bolt. Anyway, here we go DF widow in her nestbox with her 4 young. One confirmed SF spangle, 1 DF spangle, 2 unkknown - will be either single or double factor Earl and Latte's nestbox - two fosters - one DF spangle, one sf spangle - and 3 of their own, with more eggs remaining. Twitch and Kiwi's 2nd clutch of eggs Some of Twitch and Kiwi's young from first clutch Dumb and Kestral's DF from 2nd clutch Caesar's young from earlier clutch - both going through 1st moult Earl and Latte's 2 greys, plus a little dom pied, all hanging around
September 18, 200915 yr Author you must be proud with some of the out comes Could I not be proud of ALL of the outcomes? I am!!!!
September 18, 200915 yr Author Another quick update DF widow - 4 chicks, 3 rung so far - all good and waddling around, even the youngest - 1 DF, 1 SF - will be a bright blue, 2 unknown Earl and Latte - 5 chicks, 4 rung so far - 2 fosters, maybe 3, hard to tell yet - 1 DF, 1 SF ( colour unknown) - rest unknown Kiwi and Twitch - 7 eggs that may start to hatch any day now. Green Pair - 5 eggs so far Icarus has recovered beautifully and looks great after his bout of heat stroke All the others are going great.
September 18, 200915 yr Author Good news about Icarus' recovery - in fact good news all around! Excellent! Thanks. I was surprised how fast Icarus went down, and then by how fast he has since regained his strength. Definitely a heat thing. I am investigating ways to make the breeding room cooler. I am going to remove a section of the wall at one end, add a ventilation panel, so allow more air movement and assist with ventillation. It will be near the top, so hot air will escape, not cool air. I also had a sheet of plastic - thick plastic - that is dark and will not allow too much light through. I stood that next to the kindy cage, between the window and the kindy cage, on the side that gets to the most sun. This should mean that the birds can stilla get a small amount of direct sun, but not too much, thus meaning they will not get as hot. I am going to start show cage training today - that will be interesting. I have 5 show cages so I am going to go get some table tennis balls to start with, then I will put pairs in show cages whilst I do a complete clean out of their cages.
September 19, 200915 yr Author Lost a little one today. Maybe it was getting too much for DF widow on her own. The youngest did not make it. All the others look fine. Looks like we have 1 SF opaline violet sky spangle, 1 DF spangle, and the third could very well be a DF spangle as well. In Earl and Latte's nestbox, 1 opaline violet sky spangle, 1 DF spangle, 1 SF opaline spangle (not sure of colour yet), 2 opaline greys (too young to tell, but both parents are opaline greys, so unless there is a miracle....) No movement in other nestboxes yet. I have dishes on the floor of the cage with their seed in it. There is always a lot of mess where seed gets kicked out and flies out of the cage onto the floor. Today I began putting some elasticised covers around the bottom of the cages. It will help keep things a lot cleaner. I will take some :budgiedance: tomorrow. I also put 6 birds in show cages, with table tennis balls in the bottom, for the first time today, just to give them a go. It made cleaning their cage a lot easier, and I they get their first experience in show cages. Hopefully more pics tomorrow, including new breeding pairs.
September 19, 200915 yr wow it is all happing at your home well done in the new babys and show cages Edited September 19, 200915 yr by shannon bird breeder
September 20, 200915 yr Author I promised a update and here it is. One thing we all wonder is how we can keep the floor clean. I am trialling some new covers for the bottom of the cages. Since they eat in dishes off the floor, this should help eliminate a lot of the seed that falls through the cage walls onto the floor. You can see the different coloured ones in these photos. In the next picture, you can also see the nestbox looking like it is open at the back. The doors I have taken off the cages to attach the nestboxes also serve as wire to stop birds flying out the nestbox at the back, but they do allow better air circulation on a hot day. At night, i take them off and close the nestbox properly. Kiwi and Twitch are on their second clutch and their first little one hatched yesterday. It has been fed, but Mum is protecting it well. Last clutch was all girls, so we will see what we get here. Eldest are still in a kindy cage - all 4 are hens - remarkably. What am i going to do with 4 pied hens? At the back of this photo - Dumb's son is at the front Dumb and Kestral - one son can be seen on the corn in the above picture and their DF son is below My green pair have 5 eggs, and Mum is very devoted, sitting all the time. DF - widow has 5 offspring - 3 in her nestbox and 2 in another. Her nestbox Earl and Latte have 2 fosters (1 DF spangle and 1 opaline SF Cobalt spangle) and 2 of there own. I am still not sure honestly if they have 2 fosters and 3 of their own, or 3 fosters, and 2 of their own. I will have to wait until more feathering occurs. Caesar's son is beginning to fill out - wider head, bigger blow. Pics are not the best, but you get my idea. New pair were put down - Albino hen with Cec Gearing Bred Grey named Bruticus So all systems go around here. Edited September 20, 200915 yr by Dave_McMinn
September 20, 200915 yr Kiwi and Twitch are on their second clutch and their first little one hatched yesterday. It has been fed, but Mum is protecting it well. Last clutch was all girls, so we will see what we get here. Eldest are still in a kindy cage - all 4 are hens - remarkably. What am i going to do with 4 pied hens? Love that hen ..................as for what are you going to do with four pied hens....................SEND THEM TO ME !!!!!
September 20, 200915 yr or me i love that normal grey send him to me to o o hope the cages works out for you
