30th. March 2002

The four normal 2001 chicks left today. They had turned out to be two cocks and two hens so I am only left with the lutino
which has the bad tail. It will come into a cage so that I can keep an eye on it and treat it if necessary. Good timing for the breeding season starting, with no extra birds around.

1st. April 2002

The cockatiels have started to mate so today the late running repairs on nest boxes have started. New bottoms to the boxes and new hinges on the side drop-down doors is all that is required this year thankfully so they should be installed by tomorrow. I don't expect any eggs for a week at least but the two pairs I have seen mating are pairs 3 and 4. The latter ones I am pleased about as she is a new hen this year. Corky, the other hen is usually the first to lay each year. It must be Spring as my friend phoned to say that her tame lutino hen, Tiel, has laid an egg in the bottom of her cage. She came from here and is a 1999
daughter of Corky.

4th April 2002

No cockatiel eggs in the nest boxes yet although someone has laid one from a great height inside the hut with less success than it obviously expected. It is early enough for serious outside breeding to start.

10th April 2002

Great excitement, we have eggs! In box number 3 there are 3 eggs laid by pair 3, and in box number 4 there is 1 egg laid, I think, by pair 1. I'm keeping an eye on who goes where but until they decide on which residence they prefer it is a guessing game.
The white cheek cock has a fancy for someone else's hen so I may have to remove him and his mate for a short time to bond them and allow the other pair to breed. I have seen him mating with his own mate but he seems to have a roving eye. He will learn!!!19th April
Now we have 4 eggs in box number 3 which are being sat on by pair 3 (Corky and her mate) I will be keeping an eye on them but they should start to hatch somewhere around May 10th. Box number 4 has two eggs in it the last one laid by pair 1 (Klingon's baby and her mate) They are not sitting yet. I have removed the white cheeked pair for the meantime to let pair 2 settle down to breed in peace. I will put them back when the time is right but for the moment they are in a large cage to which I have attached a nest box so they have every opportunity to breed if they choose.
I have new additions to my collection. I bought 4 budgies last week at an auction, two pairs, and they are turning out to be real characters. I'll be putting nest boxes out for them soon as they are showing signs of wanting to breed, and also on the horizon is the construction of the new aviaries. All the materials are here so we are ready to start.

6th, May

Well I have had a series of disasters recently. I have lost two of my cockatiels in quick succession. One was Corky who, as you know was sitting on 4 eggs. She hatched one egg which had red eyes therefore a lutino and promptly dropped dead. I have taken her to the local veterinary examination service to ensure that she had nothing infectious. Needless to say, her mate couldn't rear the chick alone and it died and another which hatched a day later also died. It was a normal grey and had dark eyes.
I have put the white cheeked pair back into the aviary and they seem to be bonded now so, fingers crossed. Also back in the aviary is my problem tail. The stunted feathers have come out now and on inspection it looks like physical damage as opposed to anything else. I was also able to discover that it is a hen. Maybe one of the widowers will take a shine to her. One lone cock is a lutino also so it would be nice if they paired up.
Pair 1 are sitting on two of their own eggs and the two remaining eggs from Corky which I gave them so time will tell if they hatch.
The budgies have settled in and are quite active and very vocal. They are established pairs and it looks as if they may be settled enough to breed. I have got some new nest boxes for them so let nature take its course.
Another addition to my ever-growing feathered family is a couple of Chinese Painted quail. They are two cocks, unfortunately, but I am seeking out a few lady friends for them. At the moment they are in the bottom of the finch aviary but, great news, the new aviaries are well under way. The ground works have been done and the block work should be finished today. In the meantime all of the panels have been made and only a few need to still be wired. I have been pointing the walls so it all looks like taking shape nicely. There will be four aviaries, one 6 feet by 15 feet, two 3 feet by 12 feet and one 3 feet by 21 feet. All have to be planted up and I mean to use them for finches mainly, leaving the original aviaries for cockatiels and budgies. More news as it happens!

18th. May

Well, things are a little better now. I got the results of the tests on my dead cockatiel hen and there was nothing conclusive so at least the others are in no danger. My white-cheeked pair are sitting on three eggs at the moment I am pleased to say. She is a new hen but they have bonded. The tail-less wonder has settled back in and has some 'normal' feathers growing while my two widowers are keeping an eye on her.
The eggs I put under pair 1 have not come to anything unfortunately and one of their own was infertile but they have a lovely dark-eyed chick. The budgies are still going through the motions but one hen is showing great interest in a box, fingers crossed! I have managed to get two quail hens so now I have had to separate the pairs and Nature can take its course. The new aviaries are coming on in leaps and bounds with the 3' x 21' being very nearly done. Just a few decorating jobs to do.
I'll put the information on the 'aviaries' page to show in more detail ,with pictures.

19th. June

A month has passed so I have, as they say, good news and bad news. Some of the good news first. One of my new aviaries has been finished for a while now and I have moved all of the finches into it and bought some more. The finches have been moved into their new quarters and they seem to love it. They have a few new friends too in the shape of a pair of bicheno finches, a pair of golden breasted finches, and a pair of red cheeked cordon bleu finches. I did order a spare cordon bleu finch hen but she managed to get stuck under the water dish in the holding cage and so committed suicide. A friend of mine was in dire need of a gold breast cock so my original one has moved house so to speak. The new aviary does look really smart and the finches love the space and the quiet.
The other three aviaries are under way as well and nearly complete.
Now for some of the bad news. I have lost one of my budgie hens. It is one of the originals I bought at the auction so I don't know how old it was in fairness. Still on budgies I've got two one year old hens for my "boys" and two beautiful pied babies. More on the budgie page when I get it going.
The quail have had traumas also and one cock flew into the mouth of my young collie dog with no hope of survival and the other just escaped so my ladies are all alone.
The cockatiels are having a reasonably good time at the moment. The baby raised by Pair 1 has come out of the box and is enjoying the big wide world while its parents have started to lay a second clutch and have two already.
The white cheeked pair hatched one chick which was too small to survive and the other two eggs were infertile but they have laid a second round of three eggs up to today.
The biggest surprise of all is that tail-less and one of the widowers, the normal grey, have paired up and she laid 5 eggs three of which have hatched so far. They have two dark eyed and one red eyed. I hopefully will get some pictures up on the "breeding" page soon.
The new aviaries are very nearly completed so the finches will be moving in the near future. News to follow!
Last piece of information is more amusing. I have had 4 white call ducks for a short while on a large pond on the farm and they have been laying eggs too, the first of which are due to hatch this weekend. She is sitting (or rather perching) on 15 eggs so hatch day will be an education and the other one is due to hatch a week later but she is only sitting on 10 eggs!!! If they all hatch and survive it will be fun. Watch this space.

This last month has been a trying one. The only upside of bird life here is the cockatiel aviary. They are doing well with all of the pairs rearing young. On the budgie front my second original hen has died so I guess they must both been aged. It’s a pity because the boys are having to start courtship again. Looks like one pair have bonded but the other is taking a bit of time. I was advised to put them into breeding boxes each time I wanted them to breed but I prefer to let them do it themselves even if I don’t have any young this year. My young pied budgies are growing rapidly and it is a delight to watch them playing. I’ve put their pictures on the “Budgie” page. The quail are in one of the new aviaries but we have decided to get a run for them and put them into a paddock alongside the house to give them a bit more freedom and change of scenery. The new finches have been having a bad time. One morning I found four of them lying dead with no apparent signs why. One of them was a red ear I’d had for about two years and one the cordon bleu hen. Sadly the others were the pair of Bichenos. A mystery as to what happened because all of the rest were OK, maybe they got a fright and flew into the netting, who knows? Think I’ll stick to the easy varieties for a while. The cockatiels are doing really well and the young this year are mainly lutino so they will look good when they all emerge. Last but not least are the ducks. The duck hatched 11 out of 15 eggs and they all took to the pond looking beautiful but within 48 hours the carrion crows had stolen all but 4 of them. I had to put them into an outbuilding for safety. The other duck hatched 8 out of 10 eggs and they were immediately put beside the others inside. The conditions were not ideal and after losing another 4, I put them outside on the pond with a dead crow hung up alongside to deter others (it is an old country belief that putting a dead crow in view of the rest will keep the others away) So far it seems to be working. Another 2 ducklings did die but they were the smallest ones. The rest are growing daily but still looking really cute. 

21st. August 2002

Summer must be here because things are looking up. My birds are settled nicely and some of the new ones even have eggs.
The budgies are all pairing up and I have another new hen to even my numbers up so all is go for next year. I don't expect them to breed this year but at least they have settled in and seem to be quite happy.
The cockatiels have come on in leaps and bounds. The chicks hatched by Tail-less and her mate have turned out to be one normal, one lutino and the other a silvery-grey colour. All are lovely sleek birds and will be the first to go. A young man who has already got a normal grey cock from two years ago is taking one but is still debating which one. Klingon's baby and her mate's two lutino chicks have feathered up and are showing promise. Their first chick left for a new home a couple of weeks age. The white cheek pair have reared a lutino chick which obviously isn't theirs but they have been good parents to it. I am still debating whether to take the nest boxes out or whether to leave them for another couple of weeks. Probably the best thing is to leave them for a limited time then remove them all for this year.
The quail have found a new home with a friend who is building his own aviary and they seem to be unconcerned at their change of address.
I have been adding to my finches too and have found two very good places to buy them. One is just outside Doncaster, called Harlington World of Pets which is well worth a visit. It is wall to wall pets and pet accessories, and the other is in Middlesborough called Simpson's Pets. It is a really good shop and the staff are knowledgeable and the birds well kept. Anyway I now have a full compliment of finches and I couldn't resist a pair of bichenos. They have settled along with red ears, orange cheeks, gold breasts and zebras all in their respective flights.
The zebras are in the long aviary and have already built nests both inside and out and have laid eggs so it won't be long until they hatch. There are quite a few colour combinations so the young should be interesting as the adults range from grey, fawn and white to pied.
The small aviary has three pairs of gold breasts and the big aviary has three pairs red ear and three pairs orange cheeks. The latter have built at least three nests and today I was aware that someone has laid three eggs but I haven't a clue who. Watch this space to solve the mystery.
The second small aviary houses the bichenos on their own. They seem to be a true pair and are quite settled. I hadn't realised how nosy they were. If I go to the inside flight so do they and if I go outside they follow. Curious little birds but gorgeous. I hope they breed next year. I have parted with my red cheek cordon bleu cocks because I couldn't get hens for them but I may have more another time.
I don't expect to have any breeding this year as they have been moved around between aviaries as well as coming from different sources but if some young are produced I will be delighted.
Lastly, the ducks. There are now only four youngsters left but they are big enough to be safe. They look almost adult now and are only a bit smaller than the adults. I decided to ring the adults and so bought coloured rings and enlisted help from a long suffering and horrendously busy husband. It seemed to be going well and the adults were having their wings re-clipped at the same time then we noticed that the rings were falling off as quickly as we put them on. It seems that locally the rings don't come small enough. Exit one over-stressed and highly excitable husband muttering dire threats. Guess I'm on my own next time!!

9th September 2002

It really has a feeling of Autumn here in the North. Weather dictates that there will be no more breeding for this year although the new zebra finches have hatched their young and they are beginning to fledge already. They really are the rabbits of the bird world!
The cockatiels have shown no inclination to have another brood and in hindsight they probably knew more about weather forecasting than we did. Three of the young have gone to new homes with my young friend finally deciding on the silvery-grey chick which will be called Fudge, I believe. There are two more lutino chicks ready to re-home now and one other which has some feather re-growth to do before it leaves.
The budgies are all well settled in now and I am hoping for good results there next year.
The other finches are building up for winter but all look good, especially the bichenos.
Looks like I have missed the boat for hand-rearing this year but, there is always next year.

6th. October 2002

Time flies at this time of year. Some of what I said last time is true but others have proved false. The weather is getting colder at night and it is getting darker quicker. I shut the ducks up at night to foil the foxes and I've been having to do it at around 1830hrs before it gets too dark to see them.
The zebra finch babies have all fledged now and are fully self sufficient. I have a home for the babies too, when my friend eventually gets his aviary completed. He took the quail from me so is quite well stocked. The other finches are content in their surroundings and, even although the eggs didn't hatch this time, I have high hopes for next year. I have lost one red ear finch for no apparent reason but everyone else looks OK.
The cockatiels have surprised me yet again too. The white cheek pair had been going in and out of the nest box for a while so, when I found an egg newly laid on the floor of the inside roost I took a chance and put it into the box. Lo and behold, two days later another appeared beside it so they are sitting tightly. Don't know if they will be able to raise any hatchlings but I'll give them a chance, as they haven't reared their own young this year, only a chick which clearly wasn't theirs because it had red cheeks. If the worst comes to the worst I can always hand rear them. The two lutino chicks have gone too leaving only the one needing more feather growth. Unfortunately I have got the silver grey chick back as it was unable to live with my young friend's original bird but have a chance of homing it with a young lady who desperately wants a grey cockatiel which I wasn't able to provide before. I'll keep you informed.
The biggest surprise of all is in the budgie aviary. I thought I wouldn't see any breeding until next year as time was getting on this year but, boy, was I wrong! The new green girl has taken up with Krusty and they have two eggs. I still have the boxes up, three inside the hut and one outside, well, the eggs were laid in the outside box. I was quite delighted that they had paired up and thought the eggs would not hatch. WRONG! I now have a baby budgie around a week old and, as far as I can tell, doing well. If it survives it will be a miracle but, so far, so good. Added to this Bart and the blue hen have paired up and they have 5 eggs in one of the inside boxes. Three look as if they might be viable but I'll keep you posted. For a first foray into budgies I'm getting used to the deep end .
I really should have all of the boxes down and all the preparations made for the winter months but I'm a bit behind. Still, it won't take long when I do eventually get around to it.


18th October

I think that Autumn is here with a vengeance because it is getting so cold. Time to set up all the heating for the smaller birds. The cockatiels are fine without heating but I think the budgies will need a bit of help too.
The white cheeked cockatiels haven't hatched the two eggs so I think it is either too cold or they are not fertile. Means I can take the nesting boxes away with a clear conscience. The silvery grey cockatiel is going to its new home tomorrow. The young lady who wanted a grey saw its' picture and decided she wanted it so, tomorrow is transfer day. I will miss it as it has been adorning my kitchen for a few days now and loves to fly around taking stock of every thing but I'm pleased it has a new home to go to.
The budgie have exceeded all expectations - here we are in mid-October and they are still hatching young. Bart and his blue lady have, to date, got four youngsters with one egg still in the box. They are so small but seem to be doing well and their parents love them. Each time I go in to the hut to feed them all the hen rages at me before flying off. The baby in the outside box it growing at an alarming rate and has the start of wing feathers and lovely white down on its' back. Its' eyes have been open for about 5 days now and, since its' birth has increased size by about 800%
The zebra finches are still laying eggs but I have removed them to let them build up for the winter. Better to start next breeding season strong and fresh.

26th December 2002

Well it is Christmas and I seem to have been very dilatory about my diary but between holidays and work there aren't enough hours in a day. Anyway, on to the birds.
The zebra finches would happily breed all year round but I am monitoring their eggs until Spring when it will be better weather for the youngsters. Their box has no heating but is well insulated and I have put an old duvet over the top to prevent any heat loss so they are happy and cosy.
The cockatiels only number seven at the moment with three pairs and one odd lutino cock. Before breeding starts I will get a partner for him to prevent any aggro in the aviary. I have had my dear husband on the building again. I discovered a hole in the floor of the cockatiel hut and on inspection realised that the whole hut was past it's best. This was about two weeks before we went on holiday but now it has been replaced with a new, better insulated one. He is really very long suffering with me and my birds!!
The more delicate finches are faring well and we have made an almost enclosed area around the inside flights and installed heaters so they should be warm and comfortable for the winter. I have lost a couple of red eared finches for no apparent reason but everyone else is faring well.
The budgies are real star turns! The babies from October are full grown now and really gorgeous. It is my first time with them and I am fascinated by the colours and their antics. They are noisier than all of the aviaries put together but are so much fun to watch as they play and interact with each other. The single hatchling from Krusty and the green/yellow hen has turned out to be a beauty with an olive back and almost cream wings. It would appear that she is a hen too as she has suddenly produced an egg. I left the indoor nest boxes up because they seemed to like roosting in them and we are off again. Her mother has two eggs as well.
The four blue chicks from Bart and the blue hen are equally lovely. One is vivid blue, two pale blue with almost white wings and one pale blue with fawn wing markings. They all play together and are full of life. Their parents have also laid more eggs, six to be exact, and yesterday (Xmas Day) one hatched and another is hatching today. Think I'll have to remove the boxes this time but I'm learning every day. We have put a heater in the hut for them so it is cosy there too although I did find my green hen lying dead last week with no sign of any problem but I guess it happens.
It will soon be time to plan the strategy for this breeding season. Mainly I am hoping that my small finches will breed so I'll be reading up on them and watching very closely. The budgies numbers will have to be reduced and I would like to get a pair of pied cockatiels but it will depend if I can find them locally. I have until around end of March before I have to put the boxes out so there is time yet to get all of the jobs and repairs done.
Hope you all had a good Christmas and are looking forward to 2003.