October 19, 200915 yr You are doing very well Dave. Yes, the little Pied has got 'the look' - no wonder Kaz is putting her hand up for her :rofl: Kaz just wants some dommie pieds thats all :rofl:
October 19, 200915 yr Author I think so, sooner rather than later. My club meets friday nights, which doesn't work for me all that well during the year. Work commitments and social outings eat into that night. For those that have shown pieds, what are the standards? What percentage of feathers must be marked? etc.
October 20, 200915 yr Great stuff Dave! And who was saying they felt they would never get there?! By the looks of that cin opaline and a few others you are well on your way. As far as showing is concerned so long as the bird is not an unacceptable combination of varieities or has a disqualifying fault (check your standard or the ANBC website) then you can show them. Colour and markings are judged accordingly but never prevent you from putting them in. As far as pieds themselves are concerned the standard has different requirements for the different dominant pieds so it might pay to have a read. Generally they range from a 20mm band of ground colour (Aussie Doms) to "ground colour patches may appear on any part of the body" for variagated pieds. Best bet is to grab your standard (or buy one if you have not got one) - it's the show person's bible as far as reuirements for the different classes - but remember this is the ideal and birds that don't specifically meet the ideal can still be shown. One of the things that Novices always seem to worry about is that their birds are not good enough. Then they have a go and realize that they are. Novice section is there for people starting off in showing so the standard of birds is around what starters generally have so you CAN be competitive in the grade. Looking at your birds though - I would imagine you might not be in Novice section for too long (depending on how your state deals with grade progessions though).
October 20, 200915 yr Author Thanks Nubbly. I have never taken a bird along to show. Like you said, the fear is that they will not be good enough. Might need to change soon. Absolute Novice. I have been breeding show birds for less than a year, so I am not sure I count as anything but a novice I do not have a copy of "The Bible". I will have to see about acquiring one.
October 20, 200915 yr Thanks Nubbly. I have never taken a bird along to show. Like you said, the fear is that they will not be good enough. Might need to change soon. Absolute Novice. I have been breeding show birds for less than a year, so I am not sure I count as anything but a novice I do not have a copy of "The Bible". I will have to see about acquiring one. i dont got a copy of that either lol dave you got some good ones dont be afraid they wont place or win as its all about learning whats wrong with them that's how i take the show bench that way you can get an idea as to what you need to improve all over stud
October 22, 200915 yr Author Just a quick update. Tonight I moved the kids from the Kindy cage, that is the 4 daughters of Kiwi and Twitch as well as the Spangle and DF spangle of Dumb and Kestral, into the aviary. They had about 3 hours to fly around, eat, drink, play and learn where things are before it got dark, so they are fine. I moved the 3 spangles and 2 DF spangles that were the offspring of the DF widow and Dumber(RIP), as well as the Cinnamon Winged opaline hen and the Grey Opaline Cock, both offspring of Earl and Latte, as well as the Dommie Pied daughter of Twitch and Kiwi into the recently emptied Kindy cage. Timing is good as well, as Kiwi layed an egg of the perch, which did not survive impact, and the DF widow has lyed 3 now - she raised young alone so maybe her next trick is immaculate conception - budgie style :fingerscrossed: In the cages of Earl, DF widow and Twitch and Kiwi, I will give them a few days, then put them back in the aviary. The Dark Green Cock and GreyGreen hen are doing well with their 3 chicks. The eldest looks to be a greygreen opaline hen, the youngest two look to be normal green cocks. We will see. One jumped out the other day, but it was way too soon for her so I put her back in. The light green cock and his egg eating GreyGreen hen have produced nothing. I took the DF widows eggs and put them in her nestbox. They will be infertile, but they are in with two fake eggs. This hen sits on the eggs well, looks to be very protective, but in the end she eats the eggs. I am testing to see if she continues to do this. I have given her some millet in her nestbox to try to distract her. If she eats these newer eggs, I am simply going to remove this pair. I am going to have to start planning the cull soon. It is looking more and more crowded in there. If I fix up my sisters aviary, which I plan to do very soon, then I will be able to ship some birds over there.
October 23, 200915 yr Author Another scorching hot day here, so when I went home, i went out with the wattle bottle sprayer. I am thinking the wattle bottle sprayer holds between 750ml - 1L. Somwhere in that range. I went through three of them spraying the birds in the aviary. Most loved it. All the young ones are doing well. Some of the older guys seem more animated than ever. All the young ones in the Kindy cage seem happy. The Opaline grey green jumped out of the nestbox again and was scurrying around the floor. She is too young, so once more, I put her back in. She must be getting out by catapulting off her brothers' backs. She is very cute, but a troublemaker. Still no movement with the eggs of Bruticus and the albino. Must be soon. If i was more organsied, I would have better records. Shame on me. The best news though is that I put three eggs from other cages in with the egg eating hen, to test her. I also put some millet in the nestbox. She has chewed at the Millet and left the eggs alone. That might be the secret. The next step might be to move the bad eggs out so she can lay more eggs in there. Hmmm, I am outsmarting a bird and I feel really proud of myself. i should be embarassed it is even a contest New tomorrow
October 24, 200915 yr Author I am about to go down and clean out the breeding room, get some photos and the like, but before I do, i thought I would do a quick update. The very good news is that Bruticus and the albino hen have their first little one. It hatched either overnight or this morning. She is an experienced hen so i have no fears about her looking after it. My greygreen cinnamon hen who has been eating the eggs has not consumed an egg for over 3 days now, ever since I put the millet in her nestbox. Maybe she is a hen that just gets bored in there. What is that saying? "Idle hands do the devils work". Dark Green Cock and GreyGreen Hen look like they have an opaline greygreen hen and 2 dark green cocks. It is interesting to note as I never payed too much attention to the dark factor and greygreen birds, but you can see the difference between different grey green birds. Both the hen and the cock look to have a dark factor in this mix, so that explains the dark coloured little ones. Earl, Kiwi, Twitch and the DF widow will hopefully be returning to the aviary very soon.
October 24, 200915 yr Author New pics taken. Limited babies at the moment. New pairs soon. As for the chicks Kindy cage Dark Green Cock and Grey Green Hen This one keeps jumping out Altogether now New hatchling for Bruticus and his Albino hen
October 24, 200915 yr thay are looking good mate the baby with the blue tell is a yellow face but i like the opaline well done keep up the good work
October 24, 200915 yr The best news though is that I put three eggs from other cages in with the egg eating hen, to test her. I also put some millet in the nestbox. She has chewed at the Millet and left the eggs alone. That might be the secret. The next step might be to move the bad eggs out so she can lay more eggs in there. Hmmm, I am outsmarting a bird and I feel really proud of myself. i should be embarassed it is even a contest :hooray: Welcome to the world of budgie breeding - if you have a 'problem', think outside the box and try something else!
October 24, 200915 yr Author thay are looking good mate the baby with the blue tell is a yellow face but i like the opaline well done keep up the good work They are coming along well. I am not sure what you think you are seeing, but it is not a blue tail, and not a yellow face. It is a drak green normal. The blue you see is turquoise and that is the way it should be. Edited October 24, 200915 yr by Dave_McMinn
October 24, 200915 yr o there you go i have not breed a drak green normal only a yellow face and the tells look like that sume times maybe the photo i dont no
October 26, 200915 yr Author Rained all day here, so the aviary and breeding room remianed covered. My little grey gren opaline chick really thinks she is ready... she is so wrong. Once more, I put her back in the nestbox. My little dommie pied is learning to use her wings. She climbed to the top of the Kindy cage and was attempting to fly higher by flapping as hard as she could, but with no luck. Tonight is the first night she has perched to sleep, not sleeping in an ice cream container in the corner. I am so proud - I cleaned out all the other empty cages, put new paper, seed, water, nesting material, etc. Just need some new pairs now. I really want to put in Goliath. He is the biggest bird I own, a green normal but he is huge. Amazing size. Not sure he could get in a nest box actually. The best news though is the hatching of baby number 2 to Bruticus and his Albino hen. Both chicks are dark eyed, but that is expected. If boys, they will be split Albino, which is what I want. My greygreen cinnamon does not get the whole lay the eggs in the nestbox. I removed her other eggs, not hers, but the ones to give her hints, and put her egg in the nestbox. If she eats it, then her and her mate are going back to the aviary. Simple as that.
October 26, 200915 yr My greygreen cinnamon does not get the whole lay the eggs in the nestbox. I removed her other eggs, not hers, but the ones to give her hints, and put her egg in the nestbox. If she eats it, then her and her mate are going back to the aviary. Simple as that. lol your a hard man dave good news on your albino and Bruticus clutch Edited October 26, 200915 yr by KAZ
October 26, 200915 yr Author My greygreen cinnamon does not get the whole lay the eggs in the nestbox. I removed her other eggs, not hers, but the ones to give her hints, and put her egg in the nestbox. If she eats it, then her and her mate are going back to the aviary. Simple as that. lol your a hard man dave Tough but fair. She has ;ayed 4 eggs off the perch, and eaten 4 eggs (2 were non-fertile fosters). She has had her chances. Maybe she is just not in the right frame of mind? It is unfair she takes up nesting space when others could be in there. good news on your albino and Bruticus clutch It really is good news. I am excited. I know that both these birds are quality birds, so the outcome should be good chicks, plus the split to albino for the cocks is good for the future.
October 27, 200915 yr Author It had to happen - the greygreen cinnamon wing hen ate her latest egg, so I removed the nestbox. That is it for her. The cock still wants to mate, so I am thinking that I might remove the greygreen hen, put a new hen in there that is in season, let the pair bond, then put a nestbox on there, a few days later i think. I will consider it.
October 27, 200915 yr It had to happen - the greygreen cinnamon wing hen ate her latest egg, so I removed the nestbox. That is it for her. The cock still wants to mate, so I am thinking that I might remove the greygreen hen, put a new hen in there that is in season, let the pair bond, then put a nestbox on there, a few days later i think. I will consider it. Yep....give him a new girl who hasnt a taste for eggy dinners
October 27, 200915 yr Author See there is the differnece between our birds Kaz. You have a bird named Omelette and mine likes to make omelettes.
October 29, 200915 yr Author I have commenced HSC marking, so there is no way I can do anything during the week as I leave home at 7am and get hom at 9:45pm. Even my dogs have gone to stay at my parents, just so they can get some love and attention. In saying that, the birds are all good. I did check on them at 10 last night, and I check on them every morning. Last night, the little grey green opaline chick that jumps out of the nestbox everday, jumped again, and was on the cage floor. There is paper down, so it is fine. I had put an icecream container in there, but it had not found this. Anyway, as I went to grab the chick to put it in the ice cream container, Dad came flying down from the perch, and landed on the chick, as if to protect her from me. I was amazed at this as this was the first time I had seen this, and it really is so cute. A great dad. The chicks all looks good. One green has jumped out, but he is back in now. I left the grey opaline chick out for the day. She is a sqwarker. Her mum is not, Dad is not. She has learnt it somewhere though Come Sunday I will put some new pairs down, move the greygreen cinnamon winged egg muncher (she layed an egg off the perch again, nothing I can do there, she will not lay in the nestbox and eats the ones that I put in there - maybe I will try again with her in 6 months), and get sone new :laughter: that I know you all love.
October 29, 200915 yr Love the way you tell these stories...I can so visualise everything you say :laughter:
