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Zebraman

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Posts posted by Zebraman

  2. Posted

    Good suggestion Paul, we could add a poll to the post?The types we have so far are:-Grey CheekCreamFawn LightbackDoes anyone have any more theories on the type of this bird?Gary.

  3. Posted

    It did have that dirty feather look of a young Grey Cheek, but I take your point about the cream colour in the picture. There is one bird in that aviary which has cream inheritance, but I’m very lucky if it is a cream.The size of it’s head really astonished me as I’ve never seen this in such a young bird, may be it’s all the feeding it’s getting?Bouncing bomb was spot on Mark.I hope it survives to fledge or bounce?Gary.

  4. Posted

    I notice that the price had dropped and the bail had reduced in size, but it seems like they are packing the bail tighter?I have started mixing easibed with snowflake soft chip, which comes in a 25kg bail and is a little lighter, but does mix well with easibed.I have never used sand, but I may give it a try when I eventually start my breeding program. I have been thinking of using the probird sand with aniseed, what’s your thought?Gary.

  5. Posted

    I went in to the aviary yesterday to tidy up and clean around and to my surprise I found this little fellow in one of the nest boxes.2011-Young.jpg2011young640x545.jpgAfter placing him back where he came from I watched to see which birds were feeding him and again to my astonishment there were three Bengalese, one lightback cock, a grey hen and a CFW hen feeding him.It looked very much like a young Grey Cheek to me, but with all these birds looking after it I’m not surprised how big it is. I also put a ring on it just in case it turns out to be a showstopper,” you never know”Gary.

  7. Posted

    They could have been ill when you bought them, birds are very good at hiding illness until it's too late.Check to see if you have any signs of mice, both in your aviary and where you keep your seed, if so you will need to eradicate them ASAP. Gary.

  10. Posted

    A very interesting piece of information Trevor, I would have split them up before this thinking it may be a genetic problem or just a badly matched pair.I just goes to show that some pairs only need a bit of privacy and they will do the rest.+ point on your reputation for this post as I think everyone will find it both interesting and useful.Gary.

  11. Posted

    Hi Kim,Some birds can get a bit messy when raising their young, one of the best things you can do is hang a water bath on the front of their cage. This will allow the parents to keep clean whilst raising their young.Hope this helps, Gary

  12. Posted · Report reply

    I’ve been trying to remove the splits from my Normals for years now, although like Paul, I now have at least five generations that I have records for. I do keep one or two visuals for my lightback strain though...Jeff (juggler) used to breed some cracking silvers, but sadly he recently sold all his stock and only keeps a few pairs now. It’s one of the dilutes that I also favour, but not one that I keep at the moment.Gary.

  13. Posted · Report reply

    Unfortunately it’s one of the short falls of breeding Zebs these days because many breeders have and still are, mixing all types of mutations and colours together to achieve the right type? People new to the scene have little or no chance when trying to breed from what may be perceived to be a good quality pair. I myself have fallen foul to this very problem on many occasions and that’s one of the main reasons why I keep detailed records of all my pairings, but even this does not allow for a genetic trait from generations back down the line.Take a look at the Normal for instance, there are very few what can be perceived as “true Normals” mainly because of their usage to produce so many other types over the years. There are, on the other hand many visuals about, but not many genetically true Normals.I’ve even bred from small birds over the years and had some really good results, again because breeders will discard these birds as inferior due to their small size, but this doesn’t mean that they won’t produce good off spring.Life is full of little surprises?Gary.

  14. Posted

    Glad to hear the good news Kim, She may lay another egg over the next couple of days so make sure you keep her warm with plenty of seed and water. You could also offer her a bath at some stage as well, but make sure she doesn’t get cold.Gary.

  15. Posted

    There’s something that I’ve been pondering over for some time now, so I thought I’d post my thoughts to get a general feeling on what people think?I usually do not attempt to breed from a hen until she is at least one year old or before the following season.I know that the book says that a hen is capable of breeding from between three and nine months, but I personally feel that a bird does not mature until it is at least twelve months old, so what do you think?Gary.

  17. Posted

    You’re not on your own there Scott, both with work and pairing up, I suppose I’ve got to be thankful for the work though. I’ve decided not to pair any birds until the end of May; I have good reason for this which I’ll reveal in later posts.Now back to the topic, well done Mark, you’ll find great benefits keeping this type of records, it also helps to keep track of things in the setup.Gary.

  20. Posted

    Hi Mark,The Perspex front slides up, which allows me to put the birds inside. It took me about two hours to put together and I use it to take all my pictures.Sizes I’m not sure, I’ll take some measurement and let you know.It was built from scrap wood I picked up from work. Gary.

  22. Posted · Report reply

    Hi Mark,I’ve copied the how too in to this post to help. I’ll delete it once you’ve got your images in.Gary. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------How to add images into your posts from the Gallery.First go to Gallery and find the picture/image you want to display in a post. On the right side of the page, you will see an option "Share Image+" click on the + sign, which will open a drop down box with 4 entries:BBCode, HTML, Image Link, and Page Link.Left-CLick within the box named Image Link. The entry will be highlighted. Then, with the mouse still inside the boundary of the link-box right-Click and choose "Copy"Go back to the Forum , start a post. Click the "Insert Image" button in the Editor. When the box pops up, right-Click and choose "Paste" and the info will be pasted. Click on "Insert Image", and your picture will now be displayed once the post is saved.

  25. Posted · Report reply

    Welcome to the forum Greg.Looks like you’ve got quite a menagerie there, glad to hear you’ve added a couple of Zebs.If there’s anything you need to know, just ask.We look forward to seeing your photos and giving advice on the type you have.Gary.