October 29, 200915 yr Author checked on little ones tonight. Bruticus and his albino hen have 3 little ones. I think that is it in this clutch. Rings in the morning on the eldest. Cannot miss out on these ones. Dk Green and GreyGreen have 2 that have fledged. I put the youngest back in the box, and other in an ice cream container.
November 1, 200915 yr Author As promised, new The kindy cage - 1 opaline sky violet spangle hen, 2 opaline sky violet cocks, 2 DF spangle hen, 1 opaline grey cock, 1 cinnamon grey hen, 1 grey dominant pied hen. Dark Green Cock and GreyGreen Hen have 1 opaline GreyGreen Hen and 2 Dark Green Cocks. Bruticus (grey normal) and Albino hen have 2 chicks.
November 1, 200915 yr Author Created 2 more pairs today. I put a GreyGreen Spangle Som Pied Cock down with an Opaline Grey Green Hen. I know the two greygreen things together may not be the best, but I want to see where these two go. I also took the GreyGreen egg muncher out of the pairing with the Light Green Cock and added a Light Green Cinnamon Hen. I put the ring back on the eldest of Bruticus and the Albino, plus I put a ring on the younger one, but this is sure to fall off, so i will chek again tomorrow night after marking. All 3 little one of the Dark Green cock and the GreyGreen Hen spend their days in the icecream tub. The eldest - the opaline greygreen hen - has started to perch today. All is good in the Kindy cage, with everyone perching well, and flying has improved greatly.
November 1, 200915 yr Created 2 more pairs today. I put a GreyGreen Spangle Som Pied Cock down with an Opaline Grey Green Hen. I know the two greygreen things together may not be the best, but I want to see where these two go. Oh I don't know .... I'm a fan of Greygreen Dommie Pieds and I particularly like Greygreen Spangles - they are very good for producing Yellow DF Spangles (best if paired with a Cinnamon Spangle). :hug: I also took the GreyGreen egg muncher out of the pairing with the Light Green Cock and added a Light Green Cinnamon Hen. Good move removing the egg muncher - you have been way more patient with her than I ever would be :rofl:
November 1, 200915 yr Author Created 2 more pairs today. I put a GreyGreen Spangle Som Pied Cock down with an Opaline Grey Green Hen. I know the two greygreen things together may not be the best, but I want to see where these two go. Oh I don't know .... I'm a fan of Greygreen Dommie Pieds and I particularly like Greygreen Spangles - they are very good for producing Yellow DF Spangles (best if paired with a Cinnamon Spangle). :hug: The cock has a lot of good features that I would like to seperate I think. The spangle and the dom pied are much better if they are not together. His mask is good and his spots are okay. Then hen is very dark in wing colour, and she has great spots, so the hope is to get the best from them. I also took the GreyGreen egg muncher out of the pairing with the Light Green Cock and added a Light Green Cinnamon Hen. Good move removing the egg muncher - you have been way more patient with her than I ever would be :rofl: Honestly, HSC marking has taken up a great deal of my time, and this is the real reason that I have not removed her - time. I have only been home in daylight on Sunday this week (excluding the morning wakeup and get to work rush). Most days involve 7am leave and a 10pm return. If I was home, she would have moved earlier.
November 5, 200915 yr Author Just a quick update. HSC marking means I do not get anywhere as much time to play in the aviary as I would like. All kids in the kindy cage are going well. They will be headed into the aviary in about 2 weeks I think. All 3 young ones from my Dark Green and Grey Green pairing are now at the perching stage. The GreyGreen Hen is ready to lay again, she is "preparing" the nestbox all the time. I expect the first egg very soon. My opaline greygreen hen who is paird with my GreyGreen Spangle Dominant Pied Cock is yet to check out the nextbox. She might be a littl unsure fo what to do. She will get it. The light green cinnamon wing hen that I paired with the Light green cock (that was previously paired with the egg eater) has been in the nestbox and moved the shavings around, so that is a good sign. Bruticus and the Albino hen have 2 young, both are rung, and they are growing well. They will both be normal greys, and if cocks, split Albino. the eldest looks to be an opaline, so I am leaning towards the chick being female. It is possible that a split opaline cock could could be paired with an albino and produce an opaline cock?
November 5, 200915 yr It is possible that a split opaline cock could could be paired with an albino and produce an opaline cock? Yes
November 5, 200915 yr It is possible that a split opaline cock could could be paired with an albino and produce an opaline cock? Yes as the albino would be then known to be masking opaline
November 8, 200915 yr Author The three young in with the dark green and the greygreen hen are all doing well and later this week they will be moving to the kindy cage. The hen has layed her first egg in her second clutch, so that is very exciting. Bruticus and his albino hen have 2 young, and they both look like Opalines, and I hope they are both not hens. Funny, when you want hens, you can never buy them, now I cannot stop breeding them. The hens in the two new pairs I paired up the other day have both been in checking out the nestboxes. It is a very good sign. So far, only 4 of the 9 breeding cages are being used. Once the moulting is all over, some new pairs will go down. I will post some new pair combinations soon to get feedback, as well as updating you all with some of the current young ones.
November 10, 200915 yr Author I decided to do a big photo catch up, so this may take a few entries in here. Currently in the breeding room we have: Dark Green Cock and a GreyGreen Hen Clutch 1: GreyGreen Opaline Hen, 2 Dark Green Cocks Clutch 2: 1 egg so far Albino Hen and Grey Cock (Bruticus) - Despite the hend being experienced, she has plucked the down off the little ones. I have given her some millet to chew and we will see how that goes. Clutch 1: 2 chicks that look opaline and are yet to be sexed New pair 1: Opaline GreyGreen Hen and GreyGreen Spangle Dominant Pied Cock New Pair 2: Light Green Cock (previously with the egg eater) and a Cinnamon Light Green Hen Kindy Cage: 2 DF spangle Hens, 1 Sky Blue Violet Opaline Spangle Hen, 2 Sky Blue Violet Opaline Spangle Cocks, 1 Grey Dominant Pied Hen, 1 Opaline Grey Cock and 1 Cinnamon Opaline Grey Hen. Some of the little ones in the aviary now
November 11, 200915 yr Author Just an update. What I thought was originally 2 greys in the nest of Bruticus and the albino now looks to be two opalines, one is sky blue, one is grey. The father of the Bruticus (grey) were a sky blue and a grey green. Not sure about the Albino Hen.
November 12, 200915 yr Just an update. What I thought was originally 2 greys in the nest of Bruticus and the albino now looks to be two opalines, one is sky blue, one is grey. The father of the Bruticus (grey) were a sky blue and a grey green. Not sure about the Albino Hen. are you meaning her color dave your not sure what she masks as id say Opaline cobalt if she got grey and sky chick unless bruticus is medium grey then she has to be sky as 1 dark and one medium you know what i mean but i don't know i will just shut up lol i just need sleep i think im delirious dont listen to me im not focussed lovley birds dave the opaline spangle s fantstic birds very well done amoung other outstanding birds breed by you Edited November 12, 200915 yr by GenericBlue
November 14, 200915 yr Author I mean what colour the ino gene has removed. I would also conclude that she is masking sky blue, as to get a sky blue chick, then she must not be blue, not grey. Lost two birds either overnight or very early this morning. Two hens. Two 08 hens. The hens from the photos below. No visible signs of injury, all I can conclude is that the heat got to them. I had covered the aviaries today, putting a tarp 30cm above the breeding room, and opening a large shade umbrella above the aviary, in an effort to keep them cool. I removed the surviving partners (the cocks) and put them back in the aviary. I am not going to let bruticus and the albino have another clutch. Once they raise these two, they will be rested and returned to the aviary. My greygreen hen and the dark green cock have 4 new eggs. I will keep a very close eye on them. The good news is that they are not in one of the highest breeding cages, so the heat will be more bearable. I have also removed the wooden openings on the nestbox and replaced them with wire, to allow the chicks and the hens to be cooler in there. No breeding over summer, it will just get too hot. I am planning on fixing my aviary over january, returning it to its rightful spot once I have layed a new slab there, so I will use the breeding aviary as temporary storage for birds when I am moving the aviary back into position. :fingerscrossed: to come of the two little ones in bruticus and the albino's nestbox.
November 14, 200915 yr I am so sorry about your losses :rofl: It shouldn't be the heat unless it got excruciatingly hot with no water in there, which i would doubt considering all your precautions etc. Here in SA we are in the middle of a heatwave and so far we have had over 7 days straight of 40+ degrees. The bird room has been up as high as 45 degrees. The birds are hot, but doing fine. *Touches wood* :fingerscrossed: I hope you have no more loss, but don't let the hot weather put you off, as everyone i have spoken to says the hot weather brings far better breeding results than cold weather. :hap:
November 14, 200915 yr Author I think that the majority of our days are going to be hot Liv. I am just not plannign to breed in the middle of it. That might change, we will see what type of summer we have I am disappointed losing two good birds, but not discouraged
November 15, 200915 yr Author Steps 1 and 2 in the hot weather plan. Step 1 - put a cover up over the breeding room to take the sun off the roof. It is raised about 30cm off the roof, so a cool breeze can blow thru there and keep the breeding aviary cooler. Step 2 - I have opened my shade umbrella over the aviary, on one side. This means that the mornimg sun will still get he aviary, but very little afternoon sun will land on the roof. I am also going to put some shade cloth up. I will do that tomorrow. And this is why we do it. The two offspring of Bruticus and the albino hen - both hens I think - an opaline grye cinnamon wing and an opaline sky blue normal. The 2nd clutch of my Dark Green Cock (split opaline) and his GreyGreen hen - 4 eggs so far - too early to tell if fertile or not. The kindy cage - the dark green cocks and the greygreen opalineare from the above pairing. The rest you have all seen before.
November 15, 200915 yr Good job Dave with your heat reduction strategies! Goodness gracious those chickies are looking nice!!! I particularly like these 'new ones'!
November 15, 200915 yr Author I never liked Greens, but they are really growing on me. Like Kaz once said to me "You come to love what you didn't like" I once loved the fancy varities and disliked normal birds. I never liked dommie pieds. Now, I love the basics, love my greens and my greys, even love the dommie pieds.
November 15, 200915 yr I never liked Greens, but they are really growing on me. Like Kaz once said to me "You come to love what you didn't like" I once loved the fancy varities and disliked normal birds. I never liked dommie pieds. Now, I love the basics, love my greens and my greys, even love the dommie pieds. Well you cannot get away from the fact the the Dominant varieties are the building blocks for your stud- yes you can argue that anyone can breed a Normal, Spangle, Dommie Pied, Opaline or Cinnamon ... but can they breed a really good one? :rofl: And it's these building blocks that you will come to rely on as you strive to breed and improve upon your "favorite" varieties
November 15, 200915 yr Author I never liked Greens, but they are really growing on me. Like Kaz once said to me "You come to love what you didn't like" I once loved the fancy varities and disliked normal birds. I never liked dommie pieds. Now, I love the basics, love my greens and my greys, even love the dommie pieds. Well you cannot get away from the fact the the Dominant varieties are the building blocks for your stud- yes you can argue that anyone can breed a Normal, Spangle, Dommie Pied, Opaline or Cinnamon ... but can they breed a really good one? :rofl: And it's these building blocks that you will come to rely on as you strive to breed and improve upon your "favorite" varieties Well said. I think this is something that young breeders need to be hear. Breed the best birds you can in appearance, the normals, then look at breeding the variations. That is my aim.
November 21, 200915 yr Author okay, I took some new pics. The first ones are the parents, and then the chicks. I originally thought I might get two grey chicks. Seems I have one sky blue opaline and one violet cinnamon opaline. I think the cinnamon is definitely a hen, but the sky blue may be a cock. Hard to tell. I have to give it a few more days. I know that the grey father was split blue and split cinnamon. Parents Chicks together Violet opaline cinnamon wing sky blue opaline These are the three from the Dark Green Cock paired to the GreyGreen Hen. First clutch had the three below, 2nd clutch has 5 eggs so far.
