Here we are again at the beginning of another breeding season and it seems like yesterday that we were here last year! A few changes to the birds and a few changes to make to the aviaries but let's start at the beginning.
The zebra finches have come through the winter with flying colours and only one fatality. Their cheerful chirping has brightened up many a cold day. I invested in a new pair which are a bit bigger than mine and hopefully will help increase the new stock. I went to a Parrot Society breeders sale at Carlisle and got them as well as a few others but more of that later. The cock is grey and the hen fawn and they seem to have settled in pretty well.
The cockatiels have over wintered in their new, insulated hut with only a biscuit box and bulb as heating. At the same show I bought the spare hen I needed to even the numbers. She is grey pied and absolutely unafraid of anything, much to the horror of the others. The lutino cock has attached himself to her so all would appear to be well. A friend of mine is needing a home for an 18 month old hen so, guess what, I'm on the look out for a cock now. She is a beautiful bird and I'm looking forward to her arrival which won't be until the weather is warmer. The swap for her is a young one to hand rear when the time comes so, watch this space!
The more delicate finches are quite content with their lot in life and seem to be none the worse for the winter. The gold breasts are almost calm now and, as usual, the red ear and orange cheeks are just busy,busy. My precious bichenos are happy and healthy and have even filled a nestbox with fibres and feathers. No eggs but they are really cosy at night. I was a bad girl at that show and bought another pair but they have taken up residence in my dining room where they will have to stay until it is very much warmer and they can join the others. They are happy little things and chirp away all day long.
In the budgie aviary there have been a few changes.My two green hens did not have much success with their eggs, the young hens ended up on the floor and of her mothers' two hatched only and they perished very quickly. Only this week the last of the blue babies have gone on to new homes so I am left with my pairs only. I bought two more hens, one lutino and one green because I am 99% convinced that both Gordon and Custard are cocks. That gives me 5 breeding pairs which is quite enough for now especially in view of the modifications to be done.
I had a birthday recently and on returning from a weekend away was greeted by a pair of canaries sitting in a cage in the kitchen. They are gorgeous but as the weather is still uncertain, they are now in a big breeding box along with the bichenos in the dining room. It is more like a pet shop than a home!! I have a lot of reading up to do to get everything right for them.
The latest plan is to split the area inside the budgie hut with a solid partition and make a hatch out into a new flight at the opposite end from the budgie flight. It should be around 15 feet long by around 3 feet wide and will involve my owing favours to John for ever more I think.
Well that's the news for now. I'm hoping to get more pictures up of all the birds and also the building works involved for the canaries.