Updates on various species...

1 pair of shaft tails has babies.  I've removed the 2 pairs from the big flight cage as they kept tossing or won't sit well.  I believe all the activities from the other birds int he flight interferes with their breeding activity.  I will let them rest for a few weeks and will try them in breeding cages...once I have one empty up.

I guess I have a pair of red factor canaries after all.  I knew I had a male as he always sang, but wasn't sure about the other younger bird.  It also sang rarely, so I was thinking may be it was just a young male, but recently I saw the older male "molesting" the younger bird, and a cracked canary egg showed up at the bottom of the flight cage, off they go into a breeding cage.  The hen has now made herself a nest, and I see her sitting in the nest tonight.  Hopefully, we'll have more eggs soon.  

The cordon blues have managed to sit tightly then quickly toss all their babies.  I'll let them try one more time, then that'll be it.  I may try to let a new young group of societies foster their babies if they toss again.

Still having a somewhat slow start with the gouldians.  A couple more babies had to be fostered.  These are my first redline couple's babies, so didn't want to risk losing them after the parents looked somewhat reluctant to go back to the nest.  Will be letting the parents try again.  A couple more pairs are raising their own babies, which is good.  The societies have also been raising a few of their own babies.  Unfortunately, no creaminos yet.  I have paired up a few new pairs of gouldians.  Fingers crossed.

I'm still handfeeding some of the scarlet chest babies, which always seem to lead to slower development unfortunately.  At least the plucked feathers have started to grow back.

New feathered friends...

I finally went to Bird Mart semi-locally and acquired some new friends.  Also, I traded the linnies for some very pretty bourkes.  I shall miss the linnies, so here's a tribute section for them.

As for the new friends...

From left to right: green backed twinspot hen, montane white eye, purple grenadier male, creamino society

green backed twinspot male and hen and a fawn society on top

2 creamino societies and a pair of montane white eye

New bourkes: pink hen, cream male, and bronze fallow hen...supposedly

cream male and bronze fallow hen

pink hen and cream male

blue rumped red opaline hen and white faced pink male

white faced pink male

close up of white faced pink male

Fledgling and misc. pictures

Rose

Cosmos

Rose

Mums

Mock Orange

Cosmos

Mums

Couldn't resist posting some fall flowers.

 Another nest of gouldians and other eggs fostered to societies.  These are more babies from the pair who are very light sitters.  I finally separated the pair and paired them with other partners to see if incompatibility is the reason for such unenthusiastic parenting.

 Close-up shows a hatching egg, so there soon should be 2 baby gouldians.

 Here are a couple of older siblings of the hatching egg and the just hatched baby; these 2 just fledged yesterday.  One is dilute so is a boy, and the second one is yellow.

  Two more yellow siblings of the previously mentioned babies and fledglings - note everyone has a red leg band to keep parentage straight.  These two are fostered with different societies and have fledged for about a week now.  They've gotten very good at chasing down their foster parents demanding to be fed.  Their foster parents are the one raising the recently hatched baby and the just hatching egg.  Young society fledglings are being raised in the same cage.

 Here's another society baby, a pied fawn.  Society babies tend to be almost overly precocious and will fledge before they have all their feathers.

 Ken's new siblings.  Three fledged with 2 more still in the nest.

Here's dad feeding baby.

"cream" shaft tail hen

Creamino shaft tail male

a pair of red faced star finch with a male gold breast waxbill showing off his orange rump

red headed parrot finch, pair of gold breasts, and red faced star finch hen in the back

Blush stretching, male gold breast, and male red faced star

yellow tipped beak black headed purple breast green back gouldian male

 Everybody loves to bath,

male pintail whydah enjoying a splash

 One never gets the bathing facility to oneself for long.  The red-factor canary wants a turn.

 My new lutino scarlet chested grasskeet hen with her split to ino sons eating lunch.

 Close up of Scarlet.  I can get this close because this side is her bad eye.

 Another society fledgling who looks like it should have stayed in it's nest for a few more days - surprisingly good flyers though.

Fledging day...

Apparently today is a good day for fledging.  Young gouldians fostered under societies and Ken's new siblings decided to fledge.  New society babies also came out of their nest - three more pied fawns.  All of Scarlet and Red's 4 babies have fledged; unfortunately Red seems more keen in plucking his babies than feeding them, so I've pulled them for hand feeding.  This time, Coral and Blush are being perfect parents.  Of Red and Scarlet's babies, 1 male, 2 hens, and 1 I'm thinking will be a hen as well but not sure due to the white line under the wing not being very prominent.  Of Coral and Blush's babies, 1 male, 1 hen, and 2 more too young for me to tell just yet.  

Sadly, Ken's sister from last year, my black headed white breasted silver hen had died.  Looks like my problem with blue and silver gouldians continues.  

All of the the shaft tails are restarting.  There were a lot of clear eggs, so we're "rebooting".

On the up side, my creamino hen with her 2 young split to creamino consorts have laid more eggs, so far 2 looks to be fertile.  Hopefully some will be creamino babies.  

I am planning on trading my linnies for some more bourkes.  Cream Puff is starting to lay thin shelled eggs.  She just keeps laying eggs without properly sitting on them, so I have removed their nest box and forcing a rest period.  Time for an extended rest period.  I have decided, at this point, linnies are not the right species for me.  If they do successfully hatch out babies, having to hand feed in order to have tame pets may be too time consuming for me.  They are very cute and sweet, but I think I need to stick with finches and grasskeets for now.  Fortunately I was able to find a breeder very interested in working with them to take them in.  I will miss them, but I think it's the best decision for both the linnies and me.

Baby update

The scarlet chest babies are doing well.  Red and Scarlet's babies look a bit plucked.  Last season it was Coral and Blush who did this.  I'm still not sure exactly what promotes this behavior but am definitely backing off on the mealworms as another breeder suggested live food may be too stimulating for the parents.  The parents are definitely waiting for me twice a day to refresh their food though.

 Here are Coral and Blush's brood of 4.

 Here is Scarlet, guarding the entrance to her nest.

 Here are Red and Scarlet's 4 babies - they are obviously older than Coral and Blush's 4.  Notice the bald spots on top of the head and back - these areas should grow back without any problems, but I would much prefer this not happen in the first place.

 Here's the first clutch of 5 gouldians who are all surviving.  These are the babies I was trying to guess at the colors of.  I think I need more feathers to tell for sure...but I think 2 or 3 yellows, 1 or 2 silvers, and the 1 I thought was a pastel is maybe a dilute???  Oh well, I'll be more certain in a few more days.