Birdshed Blog
Thursday 20th May 2010
Breeding Season so far
I have 14 pairs of birds and so far 13 chicks have hatched. The first lot hatched on the 30th of April. I had another 2 nests of chicks but they died
during the cold spell we had. The nests weren't well enough built to keep the chicks warm. I have also had 1 chick fall out of another nest and die.
So that's 6 pairs with chicks and the rest with eggs.
There's heaps of dandelions just now and the canaries are loving them.
Wednesday 23rd March 2010
All paired up
I finished my painting last week and have decided to pair my birds up now. I know it's a couple of weeks early
but the birds are showing signs that they are ready. The cocks are feeding their perches and their feet, making a right mess, and some of the hens are beginning to draw.
This is when they pull themselves long and thin which shows they are coming into breeding condition. The cocks are whistling their heads off too which also helps bring the hens
into breeding condition.
I pulled the slides to let them see one another and they were very keen. It also helps to try to decide if the pairing is
right when you have them together in the same cage. I have put jute fibre and animal hair in as nesting material and the birds are interested in it. I am not using cotton wool this year
because the hen can sometimes accidentally eat it when cleaning the nest and cause her to go soft.
I am now giving them eggfood everyday and will start giving them soaked seed everyday too. I am also feeding them a very small piece of apple and broccoli.
Hopefully I'll have a better breeding season this year.
Wednesday 17th March 2010
Man at Work
I've been busy this last fortnight painting my cages to freshen them up ready for the breeding season.
Saturday 6th February 2010
Soaked seed a big hit
I haven't washed my cages yet. The weather has turned colder so I decided to wait until it's bit warmer.
I'll paint them as well before the breeding season.
I started feeding them soaked seed today, just a teaspoonful each and they love it. I use Haiths Easisoak.
All I do is rinse it under the tap in a sieve, then put it in a bowl somewhere warm e.g. next to the radiator with just the water from rinsing
and in a couple of days it will have sprouted. It's ready to use as soon as the seeds have cracked. I add a tiny amount of bleach about 1/2 teaspoon to 2 cups full of seed.
This is to kill any bacteria. Make sure you rinse the sprouted seed thoroughly before feeding it and only sprout as much as you need.
Tuesday 26th January 2010
Spring Clean
This week I'm going to wash my cages with dettol diluted in water to clean and disinfect them and I've ordered nest felts and animal hair nesting material.
Monday 18th January 2010
Start of preparations for the breeding season
I've started giving my birds a finger tray of egg food which is about 1 teaspoon, twice a week. I use Haiths Nectar Blend.
I add 1 small hard boiled egg to about 6 heaped tablespoons of the eggfood and 1 dessertspoon of crushed hemp and 1/2 teaspoon of
brewers yeast. If the egg is freshly boiled it should bind it together but if it's a bit dry I add a little water to moisten it. I
have a little coffee grinder that I use to crush the hemp seeds.
I also give them a little bit of apple twice a week. But only
enough that they can eat in one go so that it doesn't frost and then upset their stomachs and no greens.
I don't have any extra lighting or any heating on. Over the last few weeks I've had some frozen drinkers in the morning but I just take the ice
out and fill them up again. I'm retired so can look after my birds during the day but if you are working you need to leave the light on for a while
after you've fed them to give them time to eat.
The canaries have been bathing in their drinkers so I've given them some bird baths that fit on the front of the cage and they're really enjoying
splashing about in the water. The fact that they like having a bath shows how healthy they are, especially in this weather. Rather them than me!
Friday 15th January 2010
End of Show Season
Of the 2 chicks left from the pair of canaries the webcam was following I only showed 1, the other one was too small. The photo above is the cock that I showed. He came second and third
at the local shows. I didn't have a very successful show season. Overall I entered 3 shows Fraserburgh, Cullen and the North East Scotland Border Show in Keith and judged one which was in Wick. I put a team of 12 birds to each
show and got firsts, seconds and thirds at each one. One fancier had an excellent team of birds and won most of the local shows. The shows are getting smaller and there are less of them but
the quality of birds is still good.
I've bought 6 birds to add to my stock for the breeding season this year. Two buff variegated hens, 2 yellow variegated hens, 1 clear yellow cock and 1 white cock. I hope
I have better luck this year.
Friday 4th September 2009
Chick Update
I only have 2 out of the 3 chicks from the pair left. There was a tragic accident and 1 of them was killed by a sparrowhawk. I left the window to my birdshed too far open and a sparrowhawk got in, knocked the training cage off and got to the canary. All I found left were the wings and some feathers. It was a hard lesson to learn because I think that chick was one of the best I bred this year. The other 2 are well into the moult and I'm beginning to see their potential.
Friday 17th July 2009
The breeding season has ended
Unfortunately the hen knocked the chick out of the nest today. She is going into the moult, you can see this by her loose feathers so doesn't feel like feeding her chick. The 2 eggs didn't hatch. The chicks were dead inside the egg. That's the end of the breeding season for this year. Out of the 12 I've bred I think there are some good ones especially 1 of the three parts darks.I'll continue to let you know what's happening with the chicks that were bred from this pair.
Wednesday 15th July 2009
Still 1 Chick
There is still just 1 chick. The hen knocked one of the remaining eggs out of the nest. I'm not sure if the other 2 are going to hatch. The cock that was the father died so maybe he wasn't healthy enough to produce chicks.
Monday 13th July 2009
Last Round
There is 1 egg hatched so far this morning. Three to go. This is the only hen with eggs now.
The hen that had 4 eggs, 2 of them turned out to be clear and the chicks were dead in the shell with the other 2. We had a lot of thunder the other night and I wonder if that's why they died.
Sunday 12th July 2009
Foster Parents
Yesterday the hen knocked 2 eggs out of the nest, so that just leaves 1. They were both clear, possibly she knew. I've put 3 eggs under her from another hen because the cock she was paired with died and it looks like she is going into the moult which means the chicks probably wouldn't get fed.
Friday 10th July 2009
Left Home
I moved the chick to a cage with 3 other chicks that are about the same age. That leaves the hen sitting
on 3 eggs and due on the 13th.
I've moved the big chicks into individual cages on their own. This is because they are now at the stage where they are
getting more boisterous and will fight and probably pluck feathers out of each other, especially the young cocks.
Thursday 9th July2009
Update
Unfortunately the chick from the top pair died yesterday. I'm don't know why. Possibly the hen didn't
feed it. The other 2 eggs didn't hatch. That means that pair don't have any chicks. I've split them up
and put the hen in a big flight cage which is 4 double cages with 11 other hens who have finished
breeding. They are all starting to go into the moult. The cocks are kept in cages on their own.
I've washed and disinfected the nest pans and laid them past for next year. I've also washed and disinfected my whole shed.
Cages, slides, drinkers, seed hoppers, perches, the lot.
I have 12 chicks on the perches and 3 hens sitting on eggs waiting to hatch. Two of the hens have 3 eggs
and 1 of them has 4. I've never had such a poor breeding season. I normally breed about 40 chicks. It's really disappointing.
I'm not sure what the problem has been. I'll blame global warming and the changeable weather!
Tuesday 7th July2009
One egg hatched
The yellow variegated hen has 1 chick. It hatched yesterday. She has 2 eggs left.
The chick above is growing and I think is going to be a really good bird.
Saturday 4th July2009
Big Chicks
The big chicks are getting used to popping in and out of the training cages. I put some condition seed into the cage to encourage them in. In about a week I will start putting them in the training cage for a few hours at a time so they can get used to being in a show cage. They are starting to go into the moult and get their adult feathers.
Thurdsay 2nd July2009
Happy Families
The hen has laid another egg today so now has 3 eggs. Normally a hen lays all her eggs over a few days. I don't know why she is taking so long to lay her clutch of eggs. It's been 7 days since she laid the first one.
It's really hot this week and I have a fan on in the birdshed to try to make it a bit cooler. Make sure you give fresh food everyday as food will go off quickly in this heat.
Tuesday 30th June 2009
Egg Update
The hen has laid another egg so now has 2. The pair above have 4 eggs which are due on the 6th of July.
Saturday 27th June 2009
Third Round
The hen has started laying again. She has 1 egg. This will be her last time.
Friday 26th June 2009
In Training
I've attatched a training cage to the cage of the big chicks so they can pop in and out of it. This is so they can get used to the cage and is the start of training them for the show season.
Wednesday 24th June 2009
Busy Day
The chick jumped out of the nest this morning and has been jumping about the cage and even managed to fly on to the perch though is a bit unsteady.
Saturday 20th June 2009
Aren't we growing
This is the chick at 14 days old. It is a three parts dark. I have dummy eggs in the nest to help to support the chick because it is on its own.
These are the chicks from the first round of eggs. They are eating plenty and getting bigger. They still get eggfood and soaked seed and greens. I give the birds iceberg lettuce as there aren't any dandelions now. However if I find some chickweed I give them that instead.
Saturday 13th June 2009
No luck
None of the eggs of the pair of birds above the main pair have hatched. All of the eggs were infertile. I have given the hen some epsom salts and a new nest to try again.
Wednesday 10th June 2009
Sad news
Another 2 of the chicks have died. I came home yesterday to find 2 chicks on the bottom of the cage. I don't know how they fell out of the nest. Maybe they got caught up in the hens feet. This is her first year as a mum and so she is inexperienced but it's really disappointing. If I'd been at home and found out soon enough I could have put them back in the nest. That just leaves 1 chick now.
Sunday 7th June 2009
Clutch hatched
Only 4 out of the 6 eggs have hatched as one of the eggs were infertile. Unfortunately I found one of the chicks dead on the bottom of the cage this morning. When the hen jumped out of the nest the chick must have been underneath her wing and fell out by accident. This can happen when the chicks are so little.
This morning when I was in the birdshed the hen came off to feed, the cock jumped onto the nest fed the chicks and when the hen returned they fed each other.
Saturday 6th June 2009
Chicks hatched
The second round of eggs are now hatching. Three out of the 6 hatched today.
Friday 5th June 2009
Ring on and ready to leave
Now that the chicks are 20 days old I have put a ring on their leg to help to identify them. Every year has a different colour and this year it is purple. They are weaned now and feeding themselves so I've taken them away from the parents and they are in a cage with other youngsters.
Saturday 30th May 2009
Round 2
The hen has laid 6 eggs and they are due on 6th of June. The chicks are growing and mostly feeding themselves.
Friday 22nd May 2009
Look at us
The 2 chicks are now on the perches and have started feeding themselves some of the time
but still like to be fed by "mum and dad". The hen has started laying again and now has 2 eggs.
I have 15 babies all together, 3 of them are out the nest. I also have 5 hens sitting on eggs.
Wednesday 20th May 2009
Babies have left the nest
They have went from this
to this
to this
in just 15 days. They have now left the nest though are still being fed by the parents who have started building a new nest. The babies are both cinnamon variegated and both hens I think. The green stuff you see in the cage is dandelions which luckily I have found an abundant supply of. The parents are kept busy feeding this along with eggfood and soaked seed.
I won an award this week from earthcam.com. They voted me in their top ten webcams of the week. I'm really pleased they like the webcam.
Tuesday 12th May 2009
Launched Webcam on site
Finally managed to get webcam up and running. It is following a buff variegated cock paired with a three parts dark yellow hen.
They are both unflighted which means it is their first breeding season.
The hen has laid 5 eggs only 2 of which have hatched. Above them are a buff heavy variegated cock and a yellow variegated hen.