I have been thinking about the pairs I can get once the quarantine period for my new birds is over.

I have a couple in mind, but I would really like to start thinking about features and such when picking my pairs.

So I am going to post pictures of my birds with their basic genetics (if I have them) and if anyone would wants to chime in

with an opinion on what they would pair and why it would be greatly appreciated.

The first 8 are my new birds. None have names.

Cobalt opaline cock (left), Cobalt opaline hen (right)

Cock = Normal violet cock x Opaline cobalt hen

Hen = Opaline cobalt cock x Opaline cinnamon sky hen

Cobalt hen

Full sister to Cobalt opaline cock

Cinnamon grey hen

Cinnamon grey/blue cock x Opaline cinnamon grey hen

Normal grey hen

Normal grey cock x Normal cinnamon grey/green hen

Spangle violet cock

Spangle mauve cock x Opaline sky spangle hen

Sky recessive pied cock

Violet recessive pied cock x Dark eye clear white hen

Opaline Dark green cock

Opaline clearbody yellow cock x Opaline Cinnamon grey hen

DF spangle cock (aka Lemon)

I do not have his genetics, but when I purchased him I was told he is small, but his parents were huge.

It was only because his parents were both DF spangles that he turned out so small.

Normal grey cock (aka Gandalf)

He was a find in a pet shop. So he has no ring and I have no info on his genes.

Grey Spangle hen (aka Nimbus)

I don't have her genetics, but neither did the breeder as she was

acquired from another breeder

Olive Recessive pied hen (aka Rasputia)

The olive was a guess on my behalf.

I do not have her genetics either, but she is a big stocky hen.

And though she has always had the baffling condition of not having any feathers under her wings

or around her neck, none of her siblings or parents had that problem as I asked.

I feel like i post too much on this forum and people are getting sick of me lol

But I like to ask questions and learn from them.

So, off the top of my head, these are the pairs I have worked out so far.

Normal grey cock (Gandalf) x Cinnamon grey hen

I think the grey cock has lovely blow but is lacking on body size which the hen has.

She has also bred before so I think its a good idea to put a first time cock with an experienced hen

Sky recessive cock x Cobalt hen

I know that the hen is not masking opaline as it's sex linked and the rec cock isn't either, so I would like a non opaline line

My opinion is that the cock has length but the hen does not (I'm not sure if that matters)

Spangle violet cock x Spangle grey hen (Nimbus)

No other reason than i think they compliment each other and would make some lovely DF babies

DF spangle cock (Lemon) x Normal grey hen

With the problem of the cocks' size i have it in my head that if I pair him with a decent hen it will come back in

his babies. Is this right?

Opaline cobalt cock x Olive recessive hen (Rasputia)

I really don't think pairing her with any cock will work as she seems to like her solitude.

But apart from that I feel that she has good size while he doesn't.

Opaline cobalt hen x Opaline dark green cock

I really have no reason for this pair other than experimentation

So if you have an opinion like 'I think this cock should go with this hen because...' then I would love to hear it.

Or if I've said something that makes you think 'What is she on about?' then go ahead and tell me I'm speaking nonsense lol

I would just like to learn about what I should look for when pairing birds.

I've tried to follow the 'Pair opposites' rule I've heard about,

but I really know nothing about show birds and what a winner should look like

Edited March 9, 201114 yr by Finnie

okay

here is my suggestion and that's all it is

 

 

grey cinnamon spangle hen ...nimbus

x

ydf spangle cock

 

 

grey normal cock...gandalf

x

grey cinnamon hen

will find out id hes split cinnamon and or opaline in one breeding and he will help her wings and both got good frontal push above cere

 

 

opaline dark green/clear-body /cinnamon

x

normal cobalt... the sister to the normal cobalt cock

 

 

grey normal hen

x

cobalt normal

again the lifting of the wings

and she has better feather than him

 

violet spangle and opaline cobalt

as the rec pied is in my opinion not worth breeding for show quality you will just go backwards from the start

 

and last but not least i wouldn't breed the rec hen as to much feather issues

and sits weird and hunched

but in saying all this thats me

Thats funny because the DF cock and spangle hen were bought together with the intention of breeding them.

 

What you say about the rec pied I do see now, and thinking about it I didn't include my other birds because they are 'pet' birds.

So I'm kind of asking myself why he was the exception.

 

 

Really, the only pair I had thought a lot about was Gandalf and the cinnamon hen. The others I kind of paired off because....well, I felt like it lol

Thats why I was asking for opinions.

 

 

 

 

 

Thats funny because the DF cock and spangle hen were bought together with the intention of breeding them.

 

What you say about the rec pied I do see now, and thinking about it I didn't include my other birds because they are 'pet' birds.

So I'm kind of asking myself why he was the exception.

 

 

Really, the only pair I had thought a lot about was Gandalf and the cinnamon hen. The others I kind of paired off because....well, I felt like it lol

Thats why I was asking for opinions.

 

 

lol i didnt even see you had chosen the grey x grey cin hen lol

see shows you how much i took notice ,,.... not :{

i did but i forgot when i was looking them over

 

what made you think putting nimbus with the violet spangle

may i ask

because ill tell you something

being asked question helps us learn more as both party's gets to express their reasons and it can be discussed much more thorough and a better understanding of it all reached

 

looking at the pied cock

is he maybe just from nest does he have barring ??? looks young if so give him time

Thats okay, I often overlook things like that.

 

But that makes me happier because it means I made a good decision

 

As with the spangles, I just think they are both really nice birds and neither really have any strong features (in my eyes...remember I don't know features much)

And looking at the DF male I was just thinking how nice it would be to have some white ones.

So really it was just a 'pair them for their variety' choice and nothing else.

 

I really want to learn so anyone can ask me questions...even if its a silly one like 'what colour socks were you wearing when you decided the pairs'

The point of this topic is so I can learn

 

The pied is a blue ringer, born 18/4/10

So he is old enough to breed. I actually asked the breeders when i saw him if he was a young bird.

He just has that big eyed baby look about him.

 

I would love to hear others opinions on the pairs.

I probably won't change the grey cock and cin grey hen pairing,

but the others are no where near set in stone and I will most likely shift them around depending on opinions.

 

I do like yours GB, thank you

i only said what i would pair to try bring out any show quality's that my be their

some your hens are very handy but its hard to say when they are not even looking at you lol

 

the cocks however i feel your ydf spangle your yf cobalt that's got the chicks and the Opaline dark green are your handiest birds regarding feather and look

any chance you can lend a show cage from a breeder and get snaps of them each better as its hard to really tell

your birds could be supper but just look average due to not in show cage

show birds is all about the show cage you can have a supper bird but if he or she does not show

well then you have nothing

as it does pass on down in the generations

and best to use the ones who show and put the rest aside unless they have constant outstanding features in the flight

my thoughts

 

if you can always veiw your prospect birds in a show cage before buying

I have a show cage i got from a breeder.

Its a bit banged up and is calling for a new coat of paint inside and out, but it will do the trick.

 

I will try and get them in there tomorrow and take some snaps

wish i has time to read this tonight. but you can't use the DF spangle as I will be stealing him

haha I will have to watch him extra close then

 

I cannot for the life of me remember (I blame my new-ness to the hobby), but his parents were from a very reputable breeder.

It was just unfortunate that they paired two DF together and ruined it

I agree with Gb, I mean about the photos, so I will wait for new ones . Can you try and not make them so bright to please.

i really like the grey hen, cinnamon grey hen and the yellow Df spangle, grey cinn spangle hen and the grey cock looks nice too.

I how big is the grey cinn spangle because if she isn't to small she would be good with the yellow DF spangle as GB said.

But will wait for better photos.

I think once I get show cage photos, the size of the birds will be more noticeable.

 

I've been trying to figure out the bright problem for a while.

I think it might just be any time there is something white in the photo, as all of these photos (except the spangle hen one) were taken at the same time.

put peace of blue paper in show cage first then sticky tape it

wont glare back then

I think your flash is washing them out, see if you can change the setting or get back further and zoom in.

Do you take your photos into photoshop and edit them because if you went into auto contrast it may fix them for you.

Photobucket has an edit thing too, just try that if you don't have photoshop.

Nearly all my photos get edited and cropped etc

Edited March 9, 201114 yr by splat

I just wanted to say you have some stunning birds The violet spangle Stole my heart I LOVE Violets and Spangles I have one so far of my own and he's a big boy takes after his Mama

 

Your last picture the one with the feather issue - I agree I probably wouldn't breed her Just because her siblings and parents didn't have issues doesn't mean she won't. there Must be some reason she's missing feathers and that May carry on to her babies

 

I put together a pair of "pet/American/pet store type - not sure what to call them any more lol) together and they were both Great birds Lovely feathers and HUGE compared to most I see in my area

They had 5 Babies but 2 of those 5 had Feather issues I don't know if they were just slow on growth (they were parent fed its when I first started out and was still learning) BUT the pictures I have of them They looked like their flights were clipped and I can guarantee they were not They were just newly fledged I never clip wings that young it is how they feathered out they couldn't fly too well they fluttered but landed well didn't crash into anything either (so that was a plus)

 

and I sold them as PETS ONLY! and explained to the people who bought them I was not sure if their feathers would ever grow in they may of just been stunted or slow growing But I didn't want them used as breeders at all ever -Just in case it was a problem and not just slow growing I didn't want it to come back and bite me in the behind!

 

I was told not to breed the parents again any more - I did just not together well at least not on purpose - When they were bred with different mates it never happened again

when I moved to my new house I had a cage of a few I was selling together 3 boys and like 5 girls Well the pair that gave me those 2 odd winged babies ended up mating in that for sale cage(actually he mated every female in there He was such a male budgie ho) she laid an egg, i removed it and marked it and put it under my best pair for fostering I really did not think it would hatch, but it sure did and that baby was perfectly fine as well.

I don't use a flash Splat.

Thats why its got me absolutely stumped.

 

I always photoshop my pictures after i take them. I've never had to use auto contrast before this started happening...and it still doesn't help much.

Not even playing with levels helps (I just finished my bachelors in graphic design so I am a photoshop queen lol)

 

But I will put Gandalf in the show cage and play around with the settings

He will be my tester bird, because he's friendly and doesn't freak out as much.

Hey I have A Diploma in Graphic Design lol, "photoshop princess" lol. I preferred the photography side of it in the end. I went back and did Visual Photography, but I am rusty at everything now. I had the film cameras worked out to the tea but the digital once have so much to remember when you are trying to with manual. So i opt for auto, lazy me. But I have been trying manual lately on the photos are turning out quite good.

 

Back to your photos, if you are not using a flash, check your settings on the camera because it looks like you are letting to much light in.

Edited March 10, 201114 yr by splat

Thats awesome

 

Yea mines a digital SLR. I didn't do much photography in my course, but my mum is a photographer so I inherited her old EOS 20D.

Unfortunately, either she doesn't know why its doing it or she just doesn't care lol

 

But I'll fiddle around and see what happens

Well, it took me over an hour to get these pictures but I did it

It took quite a bit of patience to put each bird in the box and then get it to perch to get proper photos.

Now I know how judges feel, especially since most of these birds have never been in a show box (at least not for a while)

As with the settings, they worked for a few photos but then they seemed to look over exposed again.

So halfway through they get better as i changed the settings.

Gandalf (Normal grey)

He surprised me (being a pet shop bird and all). He got straight up on the perch and posed.

He's my little king.

Nimbus (Cinnamon grey spangle)

Thats right. After getting a close look I realised she is actually cinnamon.

She also has bird boobies lol

Lemon (DF spangle)

His yellow looks really bright, it happened when I brought it into photoshop.

But he is a rather bright bird.

Violet spangle cock

I couldn't for the life of me get him to put his tail down.

Cobalt opaline cock

Dark green opaline cock

This was the point that I realised was blowing out the whites again.

Normal grey hen

Cobalt opaline hen

I couldn't get her to calm down and sit up straight

Cinnamon grey hen

Posed straight away, but she's a biter.

Normal cobalt hen

I'm tempted to call her Quasimodo.

This was the straightest picture i could get of her.

She just wanted to sit hunched over the whole time.

I had to break the laws of quarantine to get these photos.

Only because I thought it better to risk putting the birds within range of the others...than lose them all.

And its lucky I did because there was quite a few escape attempts.

okay

i didnt go back and look at what i first said

 

 

but here is my say

 

grey normal hen

x

opaline dk grn /clearbody /cinnamon cock

 

 

grey normal /unknown

x grey cinnamon hen

 

spangle cinnamon hen

x

blue opaline cock

 

df yellow spangle

x cobalt hen

 

violet spangle and cobalt opaline hen and rec-pied

id

use for pet breeding and colour variety only

sorry

 

 

the reason i changed the cinn sp hen x df yellow sp was due to they are both rather cut off from bum no follow through

 

and i think the head feather on the cobalt as in direction is good

for him she seems to be needing a bit more wighth that he has

 

andbeing related to the cobalt cock

if you pair the two with the pairings ive said

then regardless of out come

you can then pair the cin hen with the ydf next time and will have half related chicks on his side to pair in future with his impact as he looks like hes been breed well so would be resonalbly pre-potant as does she adding the two blues should give that tad length to both birds chicks and the direction will be on its way if not fixed enough to keep young and then re imprint the direction at latter time that they can be breed

 

 

i dont see any show quality in the others i left out

 

but then who am i

im just another beginner

so dont really know that much but they are in my eyes colour injectors only

But you know more than me and I value your input

 

Depending on what my other pair do (as they have been paired for over a month with nothing happening),

I may add them to this equation.

For the moment though I'm just assuming they are stupid teenagers who have no idea what they are doing,

and I will keep them together for a bit longer.

ahh your killing me here with all these gorgeous birdies

as for the settings I don't know much about DSLR's - haven't ventured into them yet

 

but I have a canon Power shot S5IS

which i usually use Auto on it because I change the settings then I can't remember what I had set to what when I got the best picture LOL

 

but what I've learned while playing with the settings Is if the F stop (not sure of its actual name) is too high then my pics come out very washed out like I had the flash on even if I didn't Also the ISO plays a big part in it I usually leave that on AUTO no matter if i'm messing with the settings or not I've messed up a lot of perfect shots by having the ISO too high

 

Also taking pics of light colored birds or ones who are mainly white I get a lot of washed out pictures and I have to use the flash because the lighting in my house is not good at all, But I've learned if I put a piece of paper(i use plain white printer paper) in front of my flash it helps a lot - but this takes practice to get it just right If it covers it too much your picture is too dark, not covered enough your getting it all washed out, Put it too close to your flash and you get smoke when you take your picture (YES i've done that many times LOL)

 

Here's one I took with Paper over the Flash- I didn't have it exactly right as it has a bit of a red tint to it and a bit dark BUT it did show the birds color pretty well - better than I can get with out the paper and just flash or no flash at all

 

when he was born and growing up he was actually Silver (I know not a mutation but that is exactly what he looked like was silver) but he's actually a Violet Grey Grey Opaline wing clear flight pied - so his colors are very light most pics i have of him he looks like he's pure white even his markings get washed out

 

 

this is another picture of him it's the best one I've ever gotten with out using paper on the flash or changing any settings and the flash still went off even though I was trying for it not to go off

Edited March 10, 201114 yr by K&M Breeding

I am adding some birds to the equation.

 

Once some of the pairs I have planned out using GB's advice (because no one else has given any yet lol) have come into condition then I will be pairing.

 

Cobalt opaline cock

 

Cobalt recessive pied hen

 

These two are the pair I had in the breeding cabinet about 2 months with no success. I have no explanation for this as they were bonded and mating and both in condition.

So I figured I would try them with different partners and see what happens.

 

Normal cobalt cock

 

YF sky cinnamon opaline hen

I dunno. Her wings look brown.

 

Light green opaline hen

 

These three I got for free at the last bird show. The two hens are on the small side, but I love the cock.

 

I also got some better pictures of Nimbus, the Violet spangle cock and the opaline hen as I felt the pictures did them no justice.

 

 

 

 

The pairs I have definately decided are:

 

Gandalf x Cinnamon grey hen

 

Normal Cobalt hen x Dark green cock

 

Though if you have a really good reason why i would be better off pairing them with others I would love to hear it.

Most of those hens are not in condition.

Most of those hens are not in condition.

kaz she did say that

quote

Once some of the pairs I have planned out using GB's advice (because no one else has given any yet lol) have come into condition then I will be pairing.

 

but id like to say that some them birds have no irises and look not even 6 months yet

i know some do but the light green cinnamon hen shes just a baby under 6 months for sure

do you know their age ???

Both of the hens are blue ringers and I think the owner said they are about 9 months.

You can slightly see the blue ring on the light green hen in the picture.

 

They came from the same cage in the sale area.

But age is something I definitely check before purchasing (or in this case just acquiring) birds