July 27, 200916 yr Author Thank you all. They are adorable... These three are staying with me as i am trying to grasp a strong understanding of their dietry requirements and how to increase their life span and quality of life. Sadly i think Quilla will be the first to perish as he is the thinner of the three chicks and still requiring crop feeding each day. The two DF spangles are plump and doing well
July 27, 200916 yr they are all beautiful liv, keep up the great work with them. did the wing clip help?
July 27, 200916 yr Author It has helped.. the chick is able to toddle around a lot freer. The long flights are loose and really get in the way and throw the chicks off balance when walking around. The excessive flights also weigh the wings down and make them droop. Clipping the wings have made the wings sit more normally against the body. I am not clipping all their wings as i want to be able to see the differences. Clipping the wing may cause the chick to moult quicker and put more strain on its body, but it also may not make a difference... So will have to see which works better for them. Here is the three of them today - The one with the clipped wings (Shaggy) is in the middle.) 10 Days of feather growth.... from this to this... Edited July 27, 200916 yr by **Liv**
July 27, 200916 yr WOW. Very educational liv. The amount of growth in 10 days is phenominal, those feathers are really pumping! Please keep us updated Edited July 27, 200916 yr by Dean_NZ
July 27, 200916 yr I spoke with Peg on the week end. She remembered Renee as she bred her herself but unfortunately she couldn't remember her parents at all ....
July 27, 200916 yr Author I spoke with Peg on the week end. She remembered Renee as she bred her herself but unfortunately she couldn't remember her parents at all .... bummer... never mind... Thanks for looking into it for me
July 27, 200916 yr I spoke with Peg on the week end. She remembered Renee as she bred her herself but unfortunately she couldn't remember her parents at all .... bummer... never mind... Thanks for looking into it for me Thats odd, when I spoke to Peg she seemed to think Renee was a bird bred from Vinci stock.
July 27, 200916 yr I spoke with Peg on the week end. She remembered Renee as she bred her herself but unfortunately she couldn't remember her parents at all .... bummer... never mind... Thanks for looking into it for me Thats odd, when I spoke to Peg she seemed to think Renee was a bird bred from Vinci stock. Yes, she thought so but didn't know for sure. I know that she had Manno, Levy, Norm Wheatley, Brett Wood and Lloyd birds but no Vinci birds from the ring codes. And as I said, she couldn't recall the parents. Edited July 27, 200916 yr by renee
July 27, 200916 yr I spoke with Peg on the week end. She remembered Renee as she bred her herself but unfortunately she couldn't remember her parents at all .... bummer... never mind... Thanks for looking into it for me Thats odd, when I spoke to Peg she seemed to think Renee was a bird bred from Vinci stock. Yes, she thought so but didn't know for sure. I know that she had Manno, Levy, Norm Wheatley, Brett Wood and Lloyd birds but no Vinci birds from the ring codes. And as I said, she couldn't recall the parents. Not to worry Renee.......we at least know there was FD's on the fathers side. Edited July 27, 200916 yr by KAZ
July 28, 200916 yr It has helped.. the chick is able to toddle around a lot freer. The long flights are loose and really get in the way and throw the chicks off balance when walking around. The excessive flights also weigh the wings down and make them droop. Clipping the wings have made the wings sit more normally against the body. I am not clipping all their wings as i want to be able to see the differences. Clipping the wing may cause the chick to moult quicker and put more strain on its body, but it also may not make a difference... So will have to see which works better for them. Here is the three of them today - The one with the clipped wings (Shaggy) is in the middle.) 10 Days of feather growth.... from this to this... reminds me of a rocker billy Elvis came to mind when i saw him lol you are doing fantastic job liv
July 28, 200916 yr Hi Liv, My take on this is, as mentioned earlier, I believe it is the result of a recessive gene for Feather Duster (FD): ie it is carried by both parents. I don't believe it has anything to do with "getting near breeding winners" but it may be the budgie equivalent of Down's Syndrome. Being a recessive gene it operates like the familiar pairing together of two green/blues in that you expect: 25% pure green, 50% green/blue, and 25% blue. In the case of pairing two normal looking birds split to the FD gene you'd expect: 25% normal birds free of FD gene, 50% normal looking birds split for FD, and 25% FD's. This of course poses the question: what to do with the parents (who carry the FD gene) and whether to breed from the siblings (who have a 67% chance of carrying the FD gene)? As I'm not the owner of the birds it's easy for me to advise not to use any of the birds to breed from. If they were mine I'd have to make that decision too. If you breed the parents and siblings to your own birds which most likely do not carry the FD gene then you won't breed any FD's in the short term. But you will spread the gene in a hidden form so that it is likely to show up again in the future. Then again you may be lucky in that the siblings you use to breed are of the 33% group that are not carrying the FD gene. Tough call. I wouldn't be too concerned with trying to work out the ancestry of the parents as I don't believe the FD gene is discriminatory of breeder status. It's just one of those things that happens and can be present in any stud. Apart from this, the range of colours you have bred from this pair is absolutely beautiful. Which one of the parents is the Double Factor Yellow Face? Daryl
July 28, 200916 yr I like the fact you are trimming then. I do feel sorry for them, trying to get around and all
July 28, 200916 yr Author Thanks GB Thanks for your advice Daryl. Your input is much appreciated. its the cock that is DF YF We have decided to split the parents and breed with them next season and keep a record of the FD gene through the line. Thanks Dave, i feel sorry for them too. I have trimmed all their eyes today... the poor little things looked at me through all that feather as if they have never seen the world before. Edited July 28, 200916 yr by **Liv**
July 29, 200916 yr Author Quilla died today He was the weaker of the three and the one requiring the daily crop feeding. He is at peace :thankyou:
July 29, 200916 yr I feel so terribly sad about him, despite knowing it would come I am really sorry Liv. He was the most beautiful creature no matter whether he was feather duster or just plain budgie..........a beautiful feathered soul in birdie heaven. I know you would be feeling terrible about this :thankyou: but you know you did all you could do.
July 29, 200916 yr Author Thank you all... :thankyou: Yesterday i noticed some blood coming from his preen gland and today he had some blood around his eye.. There was also dry blood throughout this feathers. The blood was very red and thin and i feel he had a blood clotting issue or lack there of. He never thrived and gained weight like the other two... The two DF chicks are both doing well
July 29, 200916 yr Oh Liv, I am so sorry you have lost the little man. :thankyou: , Quilla sweetheart.
July 29, 200916 yr Aww, i thought the little guy was going to last as long as possible in your care... although it was expected being a duster... just know that you did the best you could. :rip:
July 29, 200916 yr Sorry to hear the news liv! It was expected in a way, but still sad to lose such a gorgeous wee soul. Excuse my ignorance, but how old was he? I suspect you are right in that there must have been some other internal problem that led to his early demise, but it is very informative none the less. Have you considered getting a necroscopy? I doubt your avian vet has had the opportunity and it may present some interesting information on his state of health. cause of death or nutritional status that may be of benefit. Of course, we would all much prefer a more dignified death/burial but i thought i would mention it none-the-less. You're doing fab by the way!
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