By Don
Langell
First there are three areas
which are very important. They are work, attention and patience.
Work:
Keep the birdroom and cages clean. The
nestboxes and concaves should be immersed in a solution of ¼
bleach and ¾ water after each round. Yes, this requires work,
but I believe you will eliminate the curse of French moult by
employing this method.
Do not use cedar shavings in the box. Can you
imagine the fumes the young chicks would have to breath if we
used cedar in the box?
Attention:
When you enter the birdroom, first just sit
down and observe the birds. Is everything all right? Are any
birds sick or have a less than healthy appearance? A bird "off
color" must be isolated from the rest of the flock and treated
immediately. This is most important. Inspecting the nestboxes
early in the morning and again late in the evening has been one
of my greatest pleasures.
Make certain the eggs are
clean especially if there are chicks in there also. The eggs may
look clean but they will be covered with a substance from the
hen when she is feeding.
Check the beaks of the
chicks. Also check the vents to ensure that they can pass waste
freely. Inspect for chicks which are being bothered by one or
both of the parents. If you discover that a chick is being
bothered, place a millet spray in the box. This generally
corrects the problem. When the chicks leave the nest, it is then
that you have to be most observant that all is going well. It is
most disturbing to have a nice chick attacked.
The feeding program is an
area of constant attention. The birds must have a varied diet.
My feeding program consists of 75% canary, 20%
white and red millet, 5% racehorse oats or
hulled oats. In addition I feed three different pigeon seeds
called "candy" which is fed separately.
The drinking water must be
changed and the containers washed daily. I use diluted Vanadine
for this purpose. Cuttlebone, grit, iodine blocks and mineral
blocks are always available to the birds. I feed greens every
other day plus carrots and oranges. Remember, whatever the
budgies receive, you must furnish it to them. ·
Patience:
This area is not doubt where the control of
fertility is decided. Are the birds ready to breed? I mean, both
have to be ready to go. Study and listen to them. They will let
you know if they are ready.
The budgies of today must
have their vent areas trimmed. Do not pluck the vents as the
feathers will grow back by the second round and may affect
fertility. Many times you hear of the first round being fertile
and the second round clear. I feel that feathers around the vent
are the cause of this problem.
Watch the young to make
certain they are eating sufficiently to remain healthy once they
have left the nest. It seems that the best babies are the
slowest to catch on to how to feed themselves. It also applies
that some babies are "unhappy" in the large flights and must be
kept in smaller flights or they will
suffer.
After all of the above is
done, I think the effort will be justly rewarded when a "good
one" is produced and hopefully gains the "top bench" .
