The three albino sisters

As i mentioned in a previous blog entry  i was lucky to be blessed with three albino sisters 

all not half bad either but needing work to improve 

so they were ready to be breed in feb this year 

however i only put two hens out of these three up it was in march

and the result was not as good as id hoped for 5 eggs with the middle sister and 3 with the better hen

so i did a bit of egg moving from sister to sister moving the better sisters eggs to the middle sisters clutch 

i then removed the better hen to a resting cage with her cock as so i could try again latter this year 

she ended up going to represent our club in the young bird shields in may and came 8th placing

this is her and her sisters at just under 3 months shes the first one

her just out nest 7 weeks

one of  her sister's same age

the other sister  7 weeks

the eggs hatched under the middle sister in may but the only one from the better sister was not fed and pushed aside  so i decided to feed it myself its first feed then put under another hen
turns out fate had its number as the dog gobbled it up (long story :() )
the middle sister raised two chicks
one an albino chick rather nice to the other a very small scrawny sky violet cock bird whom now lives inside with us my daughter has named him chinky and he will be tamed up as a pet
as his wings are not two strong and i really want to breed only the healthiest of birds so he doesnt make the cut
here is chinky and his sister still feathering up

 his mum n dad the middle sister and her first cousin i brought from john Rowe early this year to pair with her they have two eggs waiting to hatch and 3 infertile
and will be returned to rest regardless of success :) after outcome 
well 29th august and news is this pair hatched one the two eggs it was Grey Opaline hen and affected by fm the mum and dad are in a holding cage resting getting health back from feeding then will go back in flight in few weeks 

 and my better hen with her uncle my 08 jg2 grey/albino cock her fathers brother
to date these two are back in breeding cabinet with two eggs first one layed July first :)  
august 29th update 
this pair failed 
hen was rested and returned to flight and replaced with her youngest sister 3653 hen 
she then younger sister went on to lay 5 fertile eggs 
3 hatched and died pipping two albinos one black eye and one hatched and died at one week i think hulled oates were bad  just dried but old looking at closer expect-ion they were black and brown in some bits and shriveling the last one i moved to foster nest before it was even fed it lives today but has bad splayed legs this to me says was some issue with pairing or breeding conditions of this nest 
they have been left to go back into breeding condition and try again and if no luck rest then back to flights 
  ( update 2 November 2011 ; this pair i moved two eggs under a different hen the rested and returned to flight both hatched and both were cock birds Grey one Opaline the Opaline one has fm :( the Grey is fine quiet a big bird but im thinking he is long flighted so  will give him time to get flying a bit then decide if he stays , i feel im having very bad luck with these birds and may be thinking about restarting my albinos from scratch or giving them amiss all together still deicing which )

i will grab some snaps of the albino chick from my middle hen albino 3654 -010 when and if she hatches chicks which  are due any day now and will blog her nest progression
(update nest did not hatch :( somethings going on im yet to work out what )

 albino hen-gb8-011 from 3654 hen

 shes going to be i think quiet nice fingers crossed 

A few hens to get started

well i had obtained my two cock birds to founder my albino line and only needed to obtain two to 4 good hens to breed them with to get me off and running 
but the question was where was i going to find some worth while hens for the price i was willing to pay ??? 
the answer for me  was  ...the pet shop 
although i had brought a quality cinnamon sky spangle hen ring kc7 also a young 08 rung bird from the auction for a mere 30.00  she was not going to help me breeding albinos not the way i wanted to go about it 
so i wondered down to a local pet store where i knew a few well known show breeders off loaded their left over culls or trouble birds 
however i only needed to get a reasonable few hens and get one or two chicks from each and i was up and running 
their was in one of the shops a very nice sized albino hen  un rung she did not have the head quality's needed but had the body size i wanted to maintain so i brought her 27.50 
i named her Dave as she was so dopey  looking (from dad n Dave )
and i brought another cinnamon sky hen but this time not spangled  as their was nothing else i could get to put with my Grey boy i knew the risk was that i would end up with sky blue suffused albinos  and all cocks would be /cinnamon and  possibly albino but decided that i would just need to breed any hens to a Grey cock and cull all cock birds   so that's exactly what i did 
the result was one  blue suffusion albino hen of very good size and head quality's and 5 siblings 3 cocks sky blue and Grey  and 2 hens both blue and both cinnamon
so i kept the albino hen and moved the rest on
  this is her at 6 months

so getting back to my albino cock and the ugly  albino hen i brought for him 
they produced me 9 eggs 2 hatched first round but one chick had hip issues so was culled immediately
the second chick grew on to be reasonable albino cock  
however not as good as his dad but his stance and colour were very nice and as far as albinos go he was very very nice for variety besides i had to hold on to any albinos i breed regardless of size for now 

first ever hatched albino baby 09 September 

here he is still in nest feathering up

and here he is his first show
hes came first in variety beginners young albino cock twice now once in 010 and once in 011 

 and here is a few photos of the poor little one i had to put down you can see he had other issues as well as his leg his body was quiet odd shaped  strangely enough mum and dad fed him very well
 however his life would have not been much so i did what i felt was right he had no usage of his foot or leg
 it was hard ...and a disappointment for my first club rung chicks for the season he was also quiet large for a week old chick and i feel now Ive been breeding for a while he was maybe a feather duster as the bulb on his belly and rapid growth point this way his brother was half the size and their eyes were only just opening 

and here is mum and dad they went on to have one more clutch 4 out of 7 eggs hatched and 3 lived 1 passed at two days all that lived were hens 
all i have retained  for breeding 
mum was moved on just last year as she was going to pull me back with her head however i am thankful to her for three beautiful hens with great body size and colour to work on with
i still have dad and plan to use him latter this year

My initial chosen stock ....where it began

Although i breed a few variety,s i have to say my main two are 
Albino 
and Lacewings
Dom pieds and Spangles following them as a usable variety to have in my stud  
so where did i get my first albinos from ?

It was June 2009 when i first decided to gather some worth while stock birds for my stud 
from my first auction 
I had been visitor at the Gippsland budgie club since January  that year but did not  not become  a member  until September 2009
as i was still playing with the idea of weather i wanted to show or just breed exhibition style budgies in the end i decided i could join and  then decide latter 
It was John Rowe that first got me to really think about showing them although since a young child of 12 i had set my mind up that it was something i was going to do only to be deterred and never actually bother to  try again ,so as John walked me around our local diploma show discussing birds and his  own success,s in showing birds with his two brothers Greg and David i started to point out certain birds of the  preferred look and features i myself wanted to work with at the end of it all i remember asking John if he could please point me in the direction of the breeder who's birds id shown him and been discussing as it happened  i believe out of around ten birds 2 or three were not bred by himself  but in saying that were all from his brothers studs  it was then i decided whom one of my main studs would be when i decided to purchase  birds for my own :) 




AT THE AUCTION....................................
At the auction i decided to see if their was any decent visual lacewings however i only had a budget of 240.00 and i had know idea of the price birds could fetch 
i had made a promise however to myself not to leave with anything unless it could actually help me in my desired look  
the only lacewing was a hen and i was not to keen on her so i decided to look at what albinos were for offer 
turns out that their was a few in the auction breed by the Rowe brothers
as they had just placed first in the nationals with their albino cock bird in may
i felt i would not have a chance at obtaining any of these birds so was not paying to much attention to them until .. i heard Rowe albino cock 08 rung any body got 20 ...20 dollars  .any one  i quickly tossed my little number up  then the bid went to 30.00  then someone went 40.. i decided id go to 50.00 then stop as i had set myself on starting with lacewings   so up went my number and 50.00 ..was the last bid 50.00 going once 50.00 the bids at 50.00 young albino cock bird anybody else no.... last call at 50.00  and sold to bidder number .....i was wrapped what a buy and a beautiful bird he is today

i was lucky enough to bid on his full brother (unknown to me at time ) 
a Grey /albino 08 boy  also a steel at 50.00 








and from  here started my own line of albinos :)
best thing of all is they were from a stud in which i admired and so it began the hunt for a few good hens ......

Avalon house :my aviary,about its chosen name

Avalon is from a Celtic word meaning 'apple.' The apple-tree is a Celtic Tree of Life, the upholder of the Worlds above and below, the source of all spiritual sustenance.

In Irish tales, it grows upon an Other-world island and bears the fruit of immortality which emits a heavenly fragrance, able to satisfy all hunger, heal all ills, and yet always remains whole.

Avalon is the Inner Temple of the Celtic and British Mysteries, a landscape of the soul, a country of the heart. It is the land which the poet and mystic see in vision, where the artist and musician find inspiration; where the soul goes for healing and spiritual refreshment: a timeless land of power and mystery that offers initiation and enlightenment to all those that embark upon the inner voyage.

Avalon does not exist in the dimensions of time and space. It lies within the Other-world, a place that the Celts have always taught us exists now and always, nowhere and everywhere, in the ‘thin’ places of the landscape, within the cracks of everyday life. As an archetype, or blueprint, of cosmic order and harmony, it distills the qualities of power, beauty and wisdom, sorely needed in our world today.

my aviary is to me a place of magic and spiritual healing some where to retreat to when the world turns sour their is an order and harmony about it , it is filled with   beauty and a peacefulness out of this world where i can engage in a dream and become lost

it is my refuge ,......my tranquility and to have,  breed and show birds is my dream .