WE HAVE EGGS!!

[willowisp71]

Just wanted to announce that my pair have started their very first clutch! We are very excited!

Our boy, Skittles, is a Blue of unknown age and parentage (rescued him 2 yrs ago from the road, was unable to find his owners, so adopted him), and our hen Pepper is a (sf) Violetblue, born September 2012. As of today, Pepper has 3 eggs - expecting #4 later today or tomorrow.

Having no background on Skittles, it is unknown if he is carrying any splits - so I'm very excited to see if this first clutch reveals any. I would be more than happy to discover that he is split to cinnamon, as I am quite keen on the lavenders (Cinnamon Violetblue), but split to pallid would be fine by me too I'm hoping he's not split to Ino, but what will be, will be.

Will keep the updates coming, as things progress, and will post some pics a bit later also, when I get them sorted

In the absence of further genetic info on Skittles, my pairing currently looks like this:
EDITED:

1.0 blue /ino
x 0.1 blue violet(sf)
% from all 1.0
25.0% 1.0 blue /ino
25.0% 1.0 blue violet(sf) /ino
25.0% 1.0 blue
25.0% 1.0 blue violet(sf)
% from all 0.1
25.0% 0.1 blue ino
25.0% 0.1 blue violet(sf) ino
25.0% 0.1 blue
25.0% 0.1 blue violet(sf)




WISH ME LUCK!!

[ringneck]

Woot! Woot! That's amazing! I'm so excited for ya! I'm wishing you all the luck in the world!

Best Wishes,

IMRAN-C

P.S. I can't wait to see photos!

[willowisp71]

Thanks Imran! I'll post some pics soon

[willowisp71]

Some Pics

Mum
[URL=http://s1168.photobucket.com/user/willo ... 2.jpg.html]

Dad


First egg laid Tuesday 9th September


Third egg laid Sunday 14th September


Pepper seems to be doing quite well, for her first clutch. Trying not to disturb her too much, but also wanting to keep an eye on her, to make sure she doesn't get into any strife. Counting down the days now until a) she starts incubating, and b) the babies (if fertile) start hatching. I'll try to candle the eggs at the appropriate time, but not sure how that will go - the pair of them are extremely protective of their nest box!

oh and here are some pics of their bird room - we converted a small back room in the house for their indoor 'aviary'

Door was replaced with an old fly wire door, with aviary wire instead of fly wire:


Nest box over in the far corner, cage to the right of photo, play-gym to the left, Skittles standing guard at entrance:

[ringneck]

Deb I'm speechless--such beautiful babies you got there! Your mom look just like my Aya!

I can't wait to see the babies! Are you going to hand feed them or let the parents raise them?

BTW! I love your bird room! Amazing much!

Best Wishes,

IMRAN-C

[willowisp71]

Thanks so much Imran. Yes, Pepper is a Violetblue like Aya - not sure if your Aya is a double or single factor though? Pepper is only single factor, but still beautiful! (the first pic of her has made her look much more vivid purple than she actually is to the eye - I struggle to get an accurate pic of her true colour, no matter what the lighting!)

And yeah, we are pretty stoked about them having their own room now - my work hours increased over the last 6 months, and I hated the thought of them being caged for most of the day. This way they have a bit of room to move around and stretch their wings while hubby and me are both working - and of course the door is left open when we are home, and they have free flight to the rest of the house

I'll be attempting to let them parent raise the chicks - at least until they're about 4-5 weeks maybe(?), and then I'll try to supplement their feeds and start handling them also to tame them up a bit. Otherwise, I have a local breeder on stand-by to step in and hand-raise them if things go awry - Pepper is yet to prove her mummy skills, and given both parents are semi hand-tame, it could affect their natural parenting instincts for the worse. Fingers crossed it all goes well though

[InTheAir]

Lovely set up and birds!
What are you planning to do with the babies when they are weaned? If you are keeping them for yourself, consider trying this method http://learningparrots.com/blog/trainin ... l-parrots/ to make friends with them after they wean and let me know how you go. I tried it with a parent raised bird I got and she's a great pet. I'd love to know how others fare with the same technique.

[ringneck]

Wow, well it's a well done bird room!

I know what you're saying about our violets. I can't get my camera to take accurate pictures of her color either. It's almost a fluorescent tinge to the purple hue.. Really, it's spectacular. But, I'm almost sure Aya is a single factor too.

Best Wishes,

IMRAN-C

[willowisp71]

Thank you both

InTheAir - we will be finding good homes for the babies once they have been fully weaned - I'm sure it will be very sad for us being the first time, but we both know we simply don't have the room for more than the two we already have. In saying that, it wouldn't surprise me if we ended up changing our minds and keeping one

Pepper laid her fourth and final egg last Wednesday 17.9.14 and has been diligently sitting on them since then, coming out occasionally to do a couple of laps through the house for exercise, and to have Skittles feed her. It appears that she is NOT allowed to help herself to the various foods we give them each day - Skittles chases her away from the food bowls and insists on regurgitating food for her. I worry that she is getting enough sustenance this way, but I have to assume that they know what they are doing, and trust in nature finding it's way.

So the countdown is on until hatching time. Hopefully some or all are fertile and we'll have some babies by mid October or there abouts. I don't like my chances of being able to candle the eggs, as Pepper is quite agressive if we go near the box, so it may just be a case of fingers crossed, and wait and see

[ringneck]

Alright! I'll be waiting till October !

Best Wishes,

IMRAN-C

[willowisp71]

UPDATE: So yesterday evening when I got home from work, I had the opportunity to candle the eggs - I open the door to their room when I get home, so Pepper and Skittles can come out for a fly around the house if they want to. They were both in the lounge room so I quietly closed them in there, and raced into their room with a torch…..

3 of the eggs are fertile, with the tell-tale red veins and what looks like a darker shadow/blob thing forming, so I'm guessing all is progressing as it should. Unfortunately, the fourth egg, which I noticed earlier had a small 'dent' in the shell, is not viable - had a few dark lines in it, but was much, much, lighter (in weight) than the other 3 eggs - so although it may have been fertile at first, the shell has obviously been compromised.

I'm leaving it in the nest with the rest, as I don't want to cause her stress by taking one of her eggs away before the others hatch - I'll take it out once the other 3 babies have arrived - unless some of the more experienced breeders on this forum advise otherwise???

So, here's hoping the other 3 will continue to develop nicely, and I'll be more than happy to have 3 healthy chicks from Peppers first clutch. Can hardly wait until they get to pin feather stage - EXCITEMENT PLUS! - and they haven't even hatched yet, lol!

[Wessel Gordon]

Hi Deb

I discovered yesterday my one female has 2 very small chicks and an unhatched egg in her nest so I'm just as excited as you are since it's my first clutch of IRN babies as well.

Keep us up to date on how things progress.

Wessel

[willowisp71]

Hi Wessel - congratulations on your 2 chicks! How very exciting! I hope all goes well for you. I will certainly keep you all updated on my pairs progress, and I hope you will also let us know how your pair go with their first clutch

[sheyd]

Congrats on the fertile eggs

[Wessel Gordon]

Thank you sheyd

So far all seems to be going well with the babies. The dad is exceptionally weary of anything suspicious around the aviary, including me so guess mom gave him a lecture on his duties as a dad. If mom's in the nest with them you won't hear a single sound but if she takes a short break to stretch and eat you can certainly hear their disapproval. There's a marked increase in the noise-level the past day or two and the mom threw out some broken eggshells so I'm hoping the third egg hatched as well. Guess I'll have to send in my volunteer next weekend again to check on them and to get some new pictures.

Wessel

[willowisp71]

Thanks Shey

So I'm estimating we're on about Day 16 -/+ of incubation - getting closer to hatching day, which I expect will be sometime in the next 7-10, I hope

Pepper has been coming out for exercise and to eat more often than she did at first, but isn't staying out for too long, before diving back into the box, so I'm not too worried. Skittles has reverted back to being a mummy's boy - I think he's been a bit lonely while Pepper has been sitting - whenever I'm home he's been happy to ride around on my shoulder, or perch up somewhere close by to me - he's such a sweetie

With any luck my next update will be about the successful (fingers and toes crossed) hatching of some chicks

[Wessel Gordon]

That's great news...but now for the impatient wait for the sound of chicks, hehe. I just hate those last few days before an egg is due to hatch and there's always some excuse to go and do something around the cage as due date creeps closer.

My babies are doing fine, although I'm still not sure if it's two or three but I can definitely hear more than one throwing a fit whenever Mom leaves the nest. Dad is incredibly devoted in taking care of her and the chicks..whenever she takes a break he immediately starts up an intense conversation with her (makes me wish I talked IRN so I could get a better progress report on the babies, lol).

Mom has undergone a bit of a personality change. While she still tolerates me around the cage I'm apparently being timed...when she figured I spent more than enough time in her territory she'll charge at me and in no uncertain terms tell me to leave her alone. Luckily the charge is a lot like the notorious IRN bluffing stage as in she'll stop short of biting even if I'm within range but I'm not going to call her bluff.

Having said that Mom does seem to have a huge appetite for unshelled peanuts so as long as I keep bribing her with them she seems fine.

[willowisp71]

WELCOME TO THE WORLD, LITTLE BUBBA!!!

First chick hatched this morning sometime ( or maybe even late last night). Both mum and dad have been chowing down on their food and both going back into box all morning. I can hear the little one chirping(?) madly (sounds like a squeaky toy being repeating squeezed,lol!) - I could sit here all day listening

[Wessel Gordon]

Congratulations

They do sound like a little squeaky toy so imagine the amplified sound of that if all four eggs hatch and Mommy Pepper telling you in no uncertain terms to leave her babies alone...IRN heaven.

My babies is all doing fine although I'm still not certain if I have two or three. Judging by the cacophony when their mom leaves the nest too long for their liking I'm hoping for three but I'm having the neighbor's son remove them next weekend so I can handrear them so I'll know for sure then.

[Wessel Gordon]

I just had a complete bummer of a day. We discovered both the chicks dead in the nest.

I'm looking at this positively as in a hard lesson learned. Next time I hear the sound of chicks from any of my nests I'm pulling them from the nest to handrear.

[willowisp71]

Hi Wessel - I'm so sorry sorry for your loss….that's a real shame Do you know why the chicks died? Were they injured? Or were the parents not feeding them? It could be any number of reason's I guess. I hope you have better luck next season.

Apologies to all who are following this thread, for not updating sooner - it's been a busy week for me, and we had a near miss earlier during the week. To catch you all up;

After the successful hatch of Egg #1 on Monday 6 Oct, we found ourselves in the terrifying situation of having to perform our first ever Assist Hatching on the second egg - the chick had breached the shell sometime during the day on Monday, and the pipping site had received some damage (perhaps from the parents coming and going in the nest box?) - by early Tuesday morning the poor wee thing had made no progress and was showing signs of fatigue. So after much research and advice from the online community, we decided to attempt helping the chick out, and hope that we were doing the right thing……scariest thing I've had to do in a long while!



Thankfully, it appeared the the yoke had been drawn in completely, and we immediately put the chick back with mum and Bub #1, and hoped for the best. I went to work, and left my husband to monitor the situation until I came home on lunch break. A quick check showed the chick was still alive, and 'appeared' to look more lively than earlier. When I returned home from work that night, I checked again and took a few pics - on closer inspection, it was revealed this little trooper had red eyes, meaning my blue boy IS split for another mutation, and making chick #2 a hen

Day 1 (Tues 7.10.14) (Day 0 being Monday 6.10.14 , when first chick hatched) - 1st chick (black-eyed) at rear and 2nd chick(red-eyed) in front:



Day 2 (Wed 8.10.14) - mum and dad appear to be feeding chicks well, 2nd chick seems to be doing ok, food in crop



Day 3 (Thur 9.10.14) - had a bit of a panic moment when I got home from work -crops on both chicks looked really huge, and being my first time breeding birds, wasn't sure if this was normal or not. Having read so much about it all, the good and the bad!, I was worried the parents may be over-feeding, or the bub's digestive systems weren't coping, sour-crop, crop impaction, you name it - it was all running through my head. Took some pics and posted on a Facebook page as suggested by Shey, a member of this forum, to ask advice. The general consensus was that it looked pretty normal, but was given some tips about what to look out for, so decided to wait until the morning to see if their crops had emptied.

Pic for Day 3:


Day 4 (Friday 10.10.14) - Set my alarm and got up early this morning to chick the chicks crops - all is well the crops had emptied nicely and dad was eager to start eating so he could feed his babies

Pic for Day 4(morning):


Day 4(evening):


Day 5 (Sat 11.10.14) - Parents are to a great job in raising these two chicks. Forgot to mention, there's been no movement on the 3rd fertile egg - I'm assuming at this point that it's DIS, but on the advice of several Aussie breeders, who say this season has been a strange one with chicks hatching later than usual, I'll be leaving the non-hatched and the non-fertile eggs in for awhile, if only to give the babies something to prop up on, and from preventing mum from sitting too tightly on them

Pic for Day 5:


Today is now Day 6. I haven't taken any pics yet, so will do that later today and post pics tonight. A quick check this morning reveals still no movement on Egg #3, so I'm pretty certain now it's DIS, but someone else told me they had the last chick of a clutch of 5 hatch 7 days after the first, so a few more days won't hurt anybody

I will try to update this thread daily from now on - it's fascinating to see the growth rate from one day to the next, when you see the pics side by side. Nature is just amazing

[Wessel Gordon]

hi Deb

After the dead chicks were retrieved I did thoroughly inspect them for any signs of damage but there was none. Their crops was totally empty, though, so it seems Mom fed them up to a point and then simply stopped since on the one chick you could actually see little black dots where the feathers would have appeared in a few days.

It was and still is a sad, hard lesson in bird breeding. The only thing I know is that whenever I hear chicks crying for food I'm pulling them for hand-rearing. I realize hand-rearing is a massive undertaking but in this case it seems the mother needs some assistance in raising her chicks.

I'm glad your pair are doing so well with their clutch...even if only those two hatch in the end it's still an exciting journey.

Regards,

Wessel

[willowisp71]

Hi Wessel - that's a shame the parents didn't do well for you at feeding the babies. It happens like that sometimes

Forgot to upload yesterdays pics, so here they are….

Day 6 (Sunday 12.10.14) - Just look at those little fatty boomba's!

[willowisp71]

Day 7 (Mon 13.10.14) - Chicks are doing really well, looks like their eyes are starting to open also

Pics from Day 7:

[willowisp71]

Day 8 (Tuesday 14.10.14)

[willowisp71]

Day 9 (Wednesday 15.10.14) - starting to get little fluffy bits on their wings and bums

[ringneck]

Woot! Woot! I can't believe they hatched already and how big they are. What a treat to log in and see this! :OP I'm so excited for you.

Best Wishes,

IMRAN-C

[willowisp71]

Hi Imran! Thanks!

Yes, they have grown so much in the first week. I've read plenty of posts from other people, saying how fast they grow, but to actually experience it first-hand is amazing

Skittles and Pepper have been fantastic parents, especially Skittles - he is constantly looking for food to load up on for his bubba's, to the point of driving me quite nuts at times, lol, But he is such a good dad, I can hardly complain

[ringneck]

I can't wait to see them feather out! One baby has red eyes!

I hear you about them growing so fast. I had to stop breeding because it killed me when I had to re-home my babies. I even turned a few people away cause I was not sure! I know, I can be crazy at times!

Best Wishes,

IMRAN-c

[willowisp71]

Imran - yes, I can imagine how hard it must be, having to finally let the babies go to new homes - something I am dreading myself It will be quite hard for us when the time comes to go to their new homes, I'm sure.

So, today, when I checked on the babies at lunchtime, I was a little concerned that their crops weren't as 'full' as what I'm used to seeing them by this time of the day - and further more, it appeared the older (black-eyed) chick had LESS food in his/her crop than the younger (red-eyed) chick. I was a bit worried that mum and dad may have been losing interest in feeding them like they had been. I decided that if when I got home from work tonight, they still didn't look as well-fed as previously, I would start supplementing their feeds with hand-rearing formula.

Well, I needn't have worried - got home from work, and both chicks crops are nice and full again. All the same, I have the HR mix and equipment on standby, just in case, and I'll keep a close eye on them. Suffice to say, they both look larger than they did yesterday, so I guess they are still going through their growth spurt, lol

Day 10 (Thur 16.10.14) pic:

[Wessel Gordon]

They do seem to be doing very well.

Does Pepper allow you to inspect the nest or do you need to distract and lock her in another room first? My breeding female was incredibly territorial about the cage and everything a certain distance beyond it while the chicks was alive. If you ignored her warnings to stay away you needed the reflexes of a snake to avoid bleeding.

[sheyd]

They're looking great Deb!

[willowisp71]

Thanks Shey and Wessel - I'm super excited And Wessel - yes Pepper is super territorial also, and although she does lunge at me when I go to check the babies, I know how to avoid her beak, lol, and she will tolerate me once I've opened the door to the box until I've finished inspecting the nest. She's pretty good, considering - hasn't really tried to attack me too wholeheartedly, or with any serious intent to do injury
I think so far the chicks are doing really well, and mum and dad are still going strong also. I did fret a bit the other day, when I checked on the chicks mid-morning, and their crops didn't have very much in them yet. I monitored them all day, and by late arvo they were looking full again. I almost went into panic mode, and thought I'd have to start supplementing the parent feeds with hand rearing mix - but by the time I went to bed later that night both crops were nice and full again. I think the fact that they are inside, and not out in aviaries, might be having an affect on their perception of 'daybreak' and 'nightfall' - perhaps starting to feed their bub's later in the morning than they would in their natural environment, and of course, much later at night also. I will keep monitoring them during the day to make sure the chicks are getting enough by the end of the night. At least I know their digestive system is all in good working order though - crops are nice and empty first thing in the morning, so sour crop hasn't become an issue

So, I must apologise once again, as I have missed a couple of days of posting pics and revet to say, I didn't even take any pics for these days. Today is now Day 13 and here are the pics.

Day 13 (Sun 19.10.14) -
Eldest chick, black eyes, dark nails - will be either blue or sf violet blue:


Younger chick (by one day), red eyes and clear nails - most likely Albino, but still hoping cinnamon or lacewing as an outside chance:


Nawww! I'm sure they'll be beautiful no matter what colour we get - how cute are they?

[Wessel Gordon]

They are cute...ugly in a way that only a mother could love at that stage, hehe.

I've had a bombshell dropped on me yesterday: a bird breeder I bought one of my IRN's from called and wanted to know if I'll be interested in a hand-reared African Grey. Apparently the original buyers are stalling and from what he said the bird is at the age that it needs to start bonding with the potential owners...if they don't come back to him by Monday or refuse to take the bird by then I can have it for free. From what he said there's just some kind of issue with the one leg (I'm not sure what the exact issue is but apparently he/she doesn't have full use of that leg) so he can't use it in his breeding program and just want it to go to a good home.

I'm not sure if I want the bird or not since I've never had an African Grey but I figure if I don't take it and the original buyers don't there's no telling where it might end up. Needless to say I told him I will take it.

[willowisp71]

Oh WOW! How lucky for you, Wessel, if that comes off. African Greys are such beautiful birds, and highly intelligent. I've heard they make really great companions too, much friendlier than IRNs apparently, but I guess it all comes down to how much time and effort owners put into their FIDs
I'm sure you will give this CAG a wonderful home, and hopefully it will learn ways to get around even with a crippled leg.
Here in Western Australia, African Greys are prohibited unfortunately, although I think some states in the east of Australia can keep them. We have some pretty strict regulations in place here to protect our native fauna and flora. There are many birds that you need to have a license to keep, like Indian Ringnecks, and regulations on cage requirements being 'double-doored' to prevent escapees - and yet, so many pet IRNs still managed to escape their owners every month. I'm super paranoid about my 2 getting out of the house but it's become second nature now to lock all doors and keep windows closed when they have free flight of the house

Let's us know what eventuates with the African Grey. Good luck

[Wessel Gordon]

Thanks Deb.

I will let you know as soon as I hear something. I usually put my phone down and don't touch it for days but today it's attached to me like an extra limb...I can't wait for the call but it will be a huge disappointment if I don't get the bird.

Considering I was declared medically unfit for work I spend all my time at home so that's not a factor in my case.

As for the bird's "disability" I am sure I can find ways for it to cope with it such as placing ladders and other obstacles to climb at strategic places to encourage it to move around. I suspect it might use it's beak a lot to move around which means if I take it out of the cage I'll have to very quickly learn the difference between it using it's beak to stabilize itself and trying to bite.

How's your babies doing?

[willowisp71]

Hi Wessel - I have my fingers crossed for you, that you get the good news soon.

Well, as for my lot - after all my tok of how great the parents are going, I'm terribly afraid that mum and dad may have stopped feeding the older chick They were doing so well, yet I had noticed that the older chick the last few days hasn't seemed as "full" in the crop as the younger one. And this morning I watched the parents go in 5 times and feed the younger chick, and each time I checked after they came back out, the older chick had nothing at all in his crop!

At 11am I made the decision to attempt a hand-feed for the older one. Having never done it before, I was very nervous, but knew I had to get something into the poor mite. I've had a few practice runs at mixing up the formula and trying to get the right temperature, but I've struggled to maintain it at the correct temp. I think I did alright this morning - I don't have a brooder, so I slightly warmed up a wheat bag and put it in a container for bub to go in, placing a hand towel in between the wheat bag and the chick. Then I used a bowl of almost boiling water with the hand rearing mix in another container sitting in it until it reached above the required temp, took it out, stirred it through to make sure there were no hotspots, kept checking the temp until it was about where I wanted it, and quickly syringed it up and fed it to bub - I only gave him about 1ml of it, enough to get a bit of fullness in his crop without making it too full.
I was all set to give him a top up around 1pm, but when I checked it looked like mum and dad had actually fed the poor mite - he still didn't have as much in his crop as his younger sister, but I thought, PHEW! at least they are feeding him. Checked again at 4pm and again, his crop is empty and the other one is full! Just gave him another top-up, but I'm struggling to regulate the temp of the formula, and make sure it's not too hot to burn the crop, or too cold to give him sour crop.

I don't know whats going on with Pepper and Skittles! I'm due to go back to work tomorrow for the next 4 days. My hubby is home for a couple of weeks now off work, so I'll need to try and teach him what to do if mum and dad don't get back into feeding both chicks again.

Feeling very worried

[Wessel Gordon]

Deb,

I know that worried feeling...all of us with babies knows it, I'm sure.

Unfortunately it sounds a lot like what happened with my clutch. You might have to consider the option of pulling the oldest one out of the nest completely...it's not ideal but at least it will help the odds of the chick to survive.

Check out the topic below on help on hand-rearing:

http://www.indianringneck.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=799

Please keep us all updated...for what it's worth you have my emotional support from half a world away.

[willowisp71]

Thanks so much Wessel - I'll certainly check out that thread. I actually think I've read it before, but definitely worth a re-read, given my current situation

Trouble is, although I've researched and read so much on the topic, having to actually put it all in practice for the first time is extremely daunting!

I got a tip off another forum about using a barista's thermometer to better manage the temp of the hand rearing formula, so I dived out to the local coffee supply shop and grabbed one. Hopefully that will help me maintain the right temp lots better, if I have to keep supplementing the chicks feeding.
My last check about 10 mins ago, showed that the parents have fed both chicks this time though - thankfully!
I will just have to keep monitoring the situation and hope that they are just having an off day, and will be back to business as usual tomorrow.

[willowisp71]

UPDATE!!!

Just checked on the chicks again as I knew Skittles had just had a huge feeding session and went in to feed them. BOTH chicks have lovely, bulging, full crops!! Yay!! So happy right now

So, here are pics for Day 14 (Mon 20.10.14) -

[Wessel Gordon]

That's a huge relief.

If they don't keep it up you will have to have a serious talk with Skittles and Pepper about parental responsibilities.

[Wessel Gordon]

I had a phone call from the CAG's breeder. The original buyers missed the deadline so I'm picking it up on Friday.

Sounds like it's a very sweet natured bird but considering my lack of experience with CAG's I'm not sure yet if I should be thrilled or terrified.

[willowisp71]

Haha!! I think my 'serious' talk with Skittles and Pepper must have done the trick! Got up this morning and gave them their breakfast of fresh corn, carrot and broccoli plus a bowl of warmed peas and corn - checked the babies after they'd finished feeding and both have nice full crops! Big sigh of relief. Of course I'll still be monitoring their progress but I'm feeling much better today. Off to work now, will post today's pic later

Great news about your new companion! I'm sure you will do just great. My understanding is that CAGs are very gentle and loving birds. You must post some pics when you get her/him

[ringneck]

Aw, this is wonderful news!

Best Wishes,

IMRAN-C

[willowisp71]

Thank you Imran - yes it is great news! After keeping an eye on them all day, I'm happy to report we are back to business as usual - both chicks have been getting fed all day, and have nice full crops

Day 15 (Tues 21.10.14) pics - just look at those pins on the dark-eyed bubba!! getting close now




I'll protect you, lil sista!! Awww

[Wessel Gordon]

Deb,

Those babies are adorable.

The breeder of the CAG did send me two pics to my mobile but I haven't got a clue how to download pics to this site, unfortunately. He said the bird is a real busybody with a naughty streak and a heart of gold so it sounds like I'll have to enjoy my last few hours of "freedom", lol.

[willowisp71]

Ok, I've missed posting for a few days now, sorry. Things have been a bit hectic with work, and the bubba chicks. It seems Pepper and Skittles are a bit hit and miss with feeding their chicks - they seem to be not feeding them very well for the first part of the day, but late arvo and into the evening, they are loading up the crops quite well. We have started supplementing the feeds with hand-rearing mix - usually about mid-morning (I always give parents a chance to feed them first, but if by 10am they haven't, then we intervene) - and then a early afternoon feed if the crops are still looking empty or low. So far, this seems to be working out okay - but it's a bit worrying as to whether we are going about it all correctly. Just have to keep our fingers crossed.

Missed taking pics on Day 16 (Wed 22.10.14), so next pic is day 17….

Day 17 (Thur 23.10.14) -




Also missed taking pics on Day 18, next pics from Day 20…..

Day 20 (Sat 25.10.14) - Dark-eyed bub's pins are starting to open - looks like we have a blue. Was hoping s/he would be our first violet, but there's always next season



And Albino hen-

[willowisp71]

Day 21 (Sun 26.10.14) - Again, had to give the chicks a morning hand-feed, even though parents have been gorging themselves all morning, they don't appear to be passing any of it on to their chicks, (although as I write this, they are both in the nest box with chicks and it sounds like they may be feeding them now…)

Master Blue (I'm going with male, just for fun, but could be completely wrong!) has more pins starting to break open



And little Miss White shouldn't be too far away

[Wessel Gordon]

The chicks are looking fabulous.

Banana finally came home today and he's already settling in quiet well. I had to scratch his head till he fell asleep, and tonight it was the same story.

He's 4-5 months old (the breeder misplaced his records and as soon as he found them he will let me know the precise hatch-date. The "disability" doesn't seem to bother him too much..it just limits his movements a bit...but he had great determination: if he wants to go somewhere he will go there on his own steam and if you offered to help the offer is treated with disdain and a torrent of speech let you know without a doubt that he doesn't need help.

We picked him up at about 11 am and by 8 pm that night I was already scratching his bead and neck and other parts of his body. From the research I have done it takes at least a couple of days before they start calming down around you so it seems I struck the jackpot with being able to touch him so soon.

Needless to say: I already fell head-over heels in love with him and we're building up the basis of a strong bond. Mom joked that I'm acting that it's Christmas, New Year, my birthday and every other occasion where you receive presents all rolled into one day.

I will post pics as soon as possible...if someone can perhaps let me know how it can be done I'll really appreciate it.

Wessel

[willowisp71]

Hi Wessel - try this link to the topic on how to post pics - I have a photobucket account that I load my pics to, and then use the links to load up here.

So, both chicks are feathering up really quickly now (or at least it seems that way!) Here's a few pics from the past couple of days.

Day 22 (Mon 27.1014) -



Day 23 (Tue 28.10.14)-



Day 24 (Wed 29.19.14) -