This is a "Prozap Insect Guard Jnr" it's a 10.5g dosage that treats 50 to 100 cu feet.

My birdroom is approximately 350cu feet so this really won't be effective throughout the whole shed.I have hung this next to the nest box that has the infestation of mite.The theory being that it will be most effective in it's immediate vicinity.

I should hopefully be receive a consignment of 80g units in 7 to 10 days time so I'm hoping this will help in the interim.The 80g Insect Guard treats 900 to 1200cu feet so, when I get some, I will have to cut them down accordingly to treat my birdroom.

I've been told that I can hang up the 80g with no problems in my small birdroom, but I don't want to "overdose" the shed unnecessarily.

May 5th

I've been on a business trip to Holland (Wednesday & Thursday) so my wife Claire has fed and watered the birds.

I was glad to see that the nest of seven Normal eggs has hatched out 100%. This is great news for the first time parents who are doing an excellent job so far.

The three pairs of Silvers have done nothing over the last two weeks so I will be separating them over the weekend.

Only one pair looked like they may have bred as the cock built a cracking nest (see right).

As I have mentioned a few days ago, the birds  have lost condition very slightly and I think they maybe about to moult...I'll see what the following weeks bring.

Also today, I have seen the first of 8 young chicks in the cage.

Here it is, somehow clinging to the ceiling of the cage!!!

May 8th

The nest of 7 Normal chicks is coming along nicely!!!

Here are the chicks aged between 5 and 8 days old.

And here are the proud parents!!

May 11th

My wife rescued a young bird this morning from a cat. Take a look at these photos....I think it could be a Wren because of it's size...and the short stubby tail.

Having said that, my wife looked in the tree nearby when the cat was attacking the bird and she said she saw a Sparrow "going berserk" so I suppose it could be a Sparrow.....by the way, my wife couldn't tell the difference between a Blackbird and a Robin...lol.

Any British keepers out there recognise this bird??? Click here and let me know your thoughts.

I know what it is really...it's a young Greenfinch...I should know...I used to breed them....I just wondered if anyone would try and catch me out!! LOL

From this angle it looks like a Sparrow.

I have put seed and egg food on the cage floor with a small water dish.

I have also mixed up some Rusk with milk and fed it to the bird through a syringe.

The chick has definitely "perked up" since this morning.

Obviously, I am no substitute to it's natural mother so, now that the bird seems more alert, I have hung the cage next to a hanging basket on the back wall of the house.

I have opened the cage door in the hope that if the mother hears it call it will come to it's rescue.

I have fed it again this evening at around 8:30pm and I'll be leaving it outside for the night.

If it survives the night, hopefully it's parents will hear it call at sunrise.

I'll keep you updated tomorrow on the chick's progress.

May 12th

Good news!!! The young chick had completely recovered when I went out to it this morning. I fed it with some more Rusk and the took it out of the cage and placed him on the roof of my birdroom which is right next to the tree where my wife heard the parent bird calling from yesterday.

It hopped into the tree and I then had to go to work so I'm sure everything has turned out OK.
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Back to my Java's!!!! I have candled the 5 eggs from the pair of Silvers and they are showing early signs of fertility.....fingers crossed!!!

I have 2 cocks and 8 hens....not a very good balance.I'd be willing to swap 2 hens for 2 QUALITY silver cock birds.I'm having difficulty sexing the 2 silvers in this photo....the one with the orange split ring is visually 60% cock bird (although it has never sung). And the one with the pink split ring....well.....I change my mind almost every day with this little bugger!!!!

Anyway, I have 2 hens as a straight swap for 2 Silver cocks (must be good quality).

Every evening I tend spend 20 to 30 minutes just observing my stock to make sure all my birds are ok.

I was looking a pair of Normals that I will be splitting up this weekend as they have reared 2 successful clutches and have already laid another clutch.

I just happened to glance down at the cage floor and saw, what I can only describe as, something that resembled a small apricot.Then the penny dropped, one of the parents has threw one of the eggs from the nest and it looks like they have eaten the shell (as I can find no evidence of it).

Here is a photo of the yolk!!!

Not very interesting news I know........but I try to show as much as I can of what happens in my birdroom.

I also mentioned to Steve about the loss of feathers to a pair that I split up today.

Pictured right is the cock bird...you can see the loss of feathers around the thigh.

This is actually one of Steve's birds that I purchased from him when he left the hobby in December last year.You can't see all of the feather loss in this photo due to the position of the bird on the perch.Feathers are missing from the lower abdomen and both thighs.

Both the cock and hen have lost feathers, but the cock bird has lost more.As I am still gaining knowledge and experience with these birds I thought I'd seek advice as none of my Java's have suffered this before.

He indicated that this could be due to the extensive sitting on the eggs.....this pair have laid a total of four clutches, with two rounds being "dead in shell". I suppose that could be a factor as to the feather loss but I also think that the recent mite problem may have contributed to it also.By that I mean, the irritation to the birds skin could have resulted in them pulling out feathers in the affected area.

I have also "sneaked" another fertile egg taken from the Normals I've split up today and put it under the Silvers.

That  makes six eggs in total, three Silver and three Normals.These should start hatching on Thursday/Friday of this week.....if all is well.

May 22nd

I checked the nest box today from the pair of Normals I paired up yesterday and, true to form, the cock has started to build his nest (see photo on right).

I wrote yesterday about cock birds singing when in condition.The cock that built this nest has been singing his head off for weeks now and has nearly completed his nest within 24 hours of being paired up.

I mentioned that I have never seen the Silver cock?? (that was paired up yesterday) singing.

This is the nest of one of7 my pairs of Normals that reared only two chicks in their first round.

They did lay a total of 6 eggs in the first round.....4 fertile and 2 clear.

Four hatched in total but they lost two chicks early on. I have to give them credit though, as they have done a great job in rearing the other two (which I separated yesterday).Well......here are six eggs from round two.....with three eggs showing early signs of fertility.

Watch this space!!!!!

May 25th

Two days earlier than expected my very first Silver Java has hatched!

This is the nest with three "Fostered Normal eggs". I know this is a Silver because the Normal eggs are covered in droppings.

All being well, I may possibly see the other two Silver's hatch tomorrow.

Take a look at this photo of the egg shown (lower left) in the above photo.It has two shells!!!

It's one of the fostered eggs from the separated Normals.Has anyone out there ever experienced this?? Click Here and let me know.

One possibility I've thought of is that the upper part of the shell may be part of the egg that the young Silver has hatched from today....maybe the half shell slipped over the egg somehow as the chick hatched????

I say this as the upper half of the egg is cleaner......free from droppings....but then again, it could have been naturally polished by the hen's damp belly after bathing.

I have tried to remove this outer shell but it won't budge....maybe the fluid in the shell has created some kind of suction that will not allow me to remove the shell.In fact, as I sit here typing this, the more and more I think that this is what has happened......the upper half of the shell is actually part of the egg that the silver chick has hatched from.

Do you agree???? Click Here and let me know you thoughts.

May 26th

This morning my thoughts on the "double shelled" egg were confirmed.

Before I went to work this morning I checked this egg again and gently peeled away the half shell. So it's pretty safe to say that this was a "freak incident" which I may never see again.

May 28th

The pair of Silvers that I put down to nest on May 21st have shown no signs that they are ready to breed. The nest that I have started off remains untouched and the hen appears to be losing condition.
I have decided to separate this pair and try again in a few weeks (maybe the cock??? will give some indication to his sex too!!!).

So, I've cleaned out the cage and paired up some Fawns (see photo right).

I've also sold a pair of birds today.......a Fawn Cock and a Silver Hen.

They have gone to the guy who supplies my seed. I don't have any birds ready for sale yet but he was eager to get a pair of Java's and wasn't concerned about the colour.

I am also trying out a different brand of Pickstone (see right).

I have been using "Pick Bloc" from Versele Laga to which I cannot criticise as my birds devour it. I am simply "trying out" a cheaper brand that appears to contain the same ingredients.

I currently pay 80p for a 350g pot of Versele Lagas' Pick Bloc and I'm now trying "Pickstone Red" by Colombine (Belgium). It's sold as a Pigeon product but the ingredients are almost identical as Pick Bloc.

The cost for this is £1.00 for 650g and, like Versele Lagas' Pick Bloc, comes with a useful clay pot.

So, for an extra 20p I'm getting almost double the amount of Pickstone.......not bad....I just hope my Java's like it.

May 29th

I've decided to pair up another pair of Normals today. These are now in "cage 7"...a single breeder (with lights).

These are totally unproven, the cock is a Phil Thompson 05 bird and the hen is from Tony Gladwin 05.

May 30th

Checking on the Silver's nest this morning I now have two more chicks in the nest....these are from two of the three Normal's eggs that I switched with clear Silver eggs.

You can see the difference five days makes between hatching. The two Silver's appear enormous next to the new hatchlings. I think it's safe to say that the third Silver egg (on the right) is not going to hatch....it appears to be "dead in shell".

All being well, the remaining Normal egg should hatch tomorrow. One other thing to mention, the pair of Normal's I put down to nest on May 21st should hopefully lay the first egg later today or tomorrow.

The hen is looking rather swollen and her wings are down which usually means an egg is immanent...I was going to take a photo but I didn't think it right to "stress her out" at this stage.

May 31st

The third Normal egg (in the Silver's nest) has hatched out today, so that's two Silver and three Normal chicks in total.

The third Silver egg I mentioned yesterday that I presumed was "dead in shell" has been confirmed (see photo right).

I know it's  not the nicest thing to look at but I like to show the ups and downs of birdkeeping...this sadly, is one of the downs.

My on-going Silver sexing continues, take a look at the Silver in this photo. It's been in with my cock birds for a few weeks now and has shown no signs of that it's a cock.

Visually, when it was in with the cock birds, I was unsure so this evening I have put the two Silver cocks???? in with the hens an watched them for half an hour.............still nothing!!!

But like I say, take a look at this photo....to me it looks like a cock bird. What do you think?? Click Here and let me know.

June 1st

Take a look at these two Silvers.

These are the two little buggers that I keep changing my mind on.

I was hoping that I have two cock birds so this evening I caught the birds up and took some photos of their beaks.

I think that the underside of the beak on the orange ring bird may prove it to be a hen....see what you think.

The bird with the orange split ring is the bird I mentioned yesterday.

I spoke to Steve Nesbitt last night and he took a good look at yesterdays photo and his thoughts swayed towards a hen...I think from the beak photos on the right he may be correct.

If you take a look at the photo below, it almost mirrors the beaks shown on the right.

June 4th

I have witnessed, for the very first time, a Java chick hatch from it's egg this afternoon.

I was just inspecting the nest as usual and as the hen left the nest I watched the baby Java enter the world.

Sadly I never had my camera handy as I would have like to have captured the event with several photos....it would have been great to put "the birth" on this page.This photo shows the two chicks that have hatched today from the second round of a pair of Normals.

This pair were first put down to nest on March 1st...their first round produced four chicks, but one was "lost in the nest" and another was mutilated by the parents. They did successfully rear two chicks though......let's hope they've got the hang of being parents now and have more success from this round.

The nest has six fertile eggs, however, this morning one egg was positioned away from the others so I picked it up and put it back with the rest of the clutch. I'm not going to hold my breath on this egg as it didn't feel warm to touch so it may not hatch....but you never know!

June 5th

Not a lot to mention today so I thought I'd show you the nest with the two Silver chicks and the three fostered Normals.

I have rung the two Silver chicks this morning before I went to work, they are around 10/11 days old.

You can see the difference in size....the three Normal chicks are around five days younger than the Silvers.....what a difference five days makes eh!!!

Notice the silver quills in the wings!!

This is the equivalent to the old Vapona's that were banned in the UK and Europe several years ago.

This is one of the few products that WILL eradicate an infestation of mites. I have purchased three cases of these and they will be shared by my Java pals.

You can see the difference in size (photo right), I've hung the Prozap Jnr on top of the large one........these last approximately four months, so I've got myself three.....a years supply!!!!

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Also today, my website has accumulated 2000 hits since I published it on March 11th of this year. Thanks to Steve Nesbitt and Rob Salem for thier help in getting my website known.

June 8th

I went to Tony Gladwin's last night to pick up some Fawns, a cock and two hens. These will hopefully complete my collection of Fawns, these will now give me a total of four pairs.

Thanks Tony for some great birds!!!

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I checked a nest this evening and I have spotted a few mite crawling over eggs. I'm obviously concerned as the Prozap is up and should now be working. I have decided that I will use the full dose (80g) of Prozap until I see no more mite. I can only assume that the Prozap should see off any small insect within a few days of hanging it up. .....I'll just wait and see what happens.

I've tried to take a few pics of the mite with my macro lens. Take a look......any "mite experts" out there??? Are these Red or Northern Mite.......(I know Red Mite are only red after feeding)???????

Click Here and let me know your thoughts.

June 16th

I've just got back from a five day holiday down in Poole, Dorset....hence the reason for no recent update.

Thanks to my Dad for feeding and watering the birds whilst I've been away and thanks to my mate Graham Pope for calling round on Wednesday to close ring a nest of four Normals.

Well, this afternoon I've checked the Fawn nest (put down to nest on May 28th) as they have been sitting on eight eggs for about a week. Sadly all eight eggs are clear....I will take the eggs away over the weekend and let them try again.... you never know!!!

Also take a look at the progress of the Silvers nest (that has three fostered Normals) the last photo I took was on June 5th...compare it to this photo....what a difference eleven days makes eh?

One other thing to mention....I'm quite confident in saying that my mite problem has now gone away.

I mentioned on June 8th that I still had a few and that I said the Prozap should see off any mite within a few days......well, it looks like I was right!!I saw a few mites running over the eggs in one of my nests so I placed a Prozap Jnr directly on top of the lid (where it hinges)...theory being that the vapours would get directly into the box.

Well this afternoon when I looked I have noticed that the mite have congregated around the Prozap Jnr on the lid....and died!!!I even squished a few under my thumb......look close and you can see the blood!

Forget Duramitex, S76, Ivermectim, Ardap, mite powders and sprays; just hang up a Prozap insect Guard and in a few days your mites WILL be gone.

Please Note: Prozap Insect Guard contains Dichlorvos which was banned in the UK and Europe as it is believed to be carcinogenic. It is still available in the U.S.A (except California) and it is not illegal to use in this country.......however, selling them is.

I could not find a supplier in the U.S.A who would ship direct to the UK so I got a friend in Wisconsin to send me some over.

June 18th

Not much to mention today but I thought I'd show you the progress of the chicks that started to hatch on June 4th.

These are from a pair of Tony Gladwin Normals that I put down to nest on March 1st. These chicks are from the second round.
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Below is a photo of some of the young I have bred so far this year.
(With exception of the Silver on the middle perch).

If anyone out there is interested in buying some of this years Normals, Click Here and let me know.

As you can see in this photo the birds are young and in various stages of their moult. I will not sell any birds until they are in adult plumage.

June 19th

The pair of Normals that I put down to nest on May 21st, have hatched out two chicks today!!!

I'm really looking forward to seeing these chicks develop as their father is my best visual cock bird.....so I just hope they are a "chip off the old block".

These chicks are from the very first pair of Java's I got from Steve Nesbitt last year. There were a total of seven eggs in this nest, two of which were clear, so all being well the other three should hatch over the next couple of days.

As I said above, I stopped using newspaper about three months ago and have not used anything since.

The bottoms of my litter draws are made from White Sided Hardboard. The white side has a slight sheen to it and is quite resilient to water...it is also easy to scrape off the droppings.

The problem now is that the drawer bottoms are getting damp due to the Java's constant bathing. In this warm weather I hang baths on the cages every day.

For quite a while I have been thinking about using a product called Hemcore. It is used in horses stables for bedding, but it is also very good for absorbing moisture.

I did consider wood shavings but I think they will easily get blown around by the draught from the birds as they fly.

I'm going to the Parrot Society Show at Bingley Hall in Stafford this coming Sunday, I'm hoping that there may be some available there.Talking of Stafford!! The Java Sparrow Society will have a stand there, upstairs on the balcony near the refreshment area.

If you're going, why not call at the stand and take a look at some of the Java's for sale. We will have membership forms there too so why not join???....or just come up and say hello!!

I'll be at the stand for a while so come on over for a chat....it would be great to meet some of my website visitors.

June 23rd

I checked the Hemcore website last night (after updating this site) and found a distributor in Sutton Coldfield which is about twenty minutes from my house.

I finished work at midday today so I thought I'd call in and get a bag. I paid £6.20 for a large bag from "Hungry Horse".

So, I thought I'd clean out the birdroom this afternoon and try it out!!

I think this is good for the birds as it gives them a more "natural" environment for them to forage around in for food.

 I spent about half an hour just observing the birds and they appear more active as they now look have to search for the seed that has buried underneath the floor covering.
Only time will tell if this is a good product, but I'm happy so far! I think this is good for the birds as it gives them a more "natural" environment for them to forage around in for food.

 I spent about half an hour just observing the birds and they appear more active as they now look have to search for the seed that has buried underneath the floor covering.

Only time will tell if this is a good product, but I'm happy so far!

The Java's in the flight cage seem to like it too!

I have thrown a handful of grit in each cage, again, it's good to see the birds naturally forage rather than get it from a pot.

Also today, I've finally managed to inspect the nest of the Normals as mentioned on June 19th.

I have wanted to look to see if the other three chicks hatched out successfully.Every time I have tried the hen would not come off her chicks. She would even give me a peck to tell me to "bugger off".

I don't like disturbing birds in the nest unnecessarily so I have left her alone.This afternoon though, she came off the chicks to take a bath so I managed to check the nest and take a photo.I removed the two clear eggs to leave five healthy baby Java's.
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Also today, the two Silver chicks have fledged....I didn't have my camera handy though so sorry, no photos!!

June 25th

A sad day today, I checked a nest this morning before I went to the Parrot Society Show at Stafford Bingley Hall.

The nest of Normals (ref June 4th) has one chick less. Everything has been going OK...the parents have been feeding the chicks with no apparent problems but this morning I have discovered a chick dead in the nest.

There is nothing obvious visually to indicate cause of death so I'll put it down to experience......it's always sad to lose a bird.

I managed to get the ring off the chick with no real problems.

Chick no 31 was not to be!!! I'll use this ring again on another baby Java.
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Whilst at Stafford  I decided to stock up on a few things. I purchased some "Meadow Seed" to offer my birds as a tonic.

This afternoon I offered it to them in small dishes and they devoured them in minutes.

I don't know what seeds are in the mix but they sure do like 'em!! (see photo right).

I also purchased a large box of Sluis eggfood.

I have always used E.M.P dry eggfood before now but as this was being sold at a good price I thought I'd get some.

I paid £11 for 4 kg....I know several bird keepers that use this with good results so I thought I'd give it a go!!

June 26th

Not a lot to mention today but I managed to get a photo of my very first Silver fledglings.

I took the camera in to the shed this morning before I went to work and managed to get them both on the perch.

June 27th

Again, not too much to mention so here are a couple of pics. On the right are the three chicks that lost their sibling two days ago.

They all appear healthy and are progressing well. If you compare  this photo with the dead chick you will see a significant difference in feather development. I know there is only two days between them but the dead chick, in hindsight, was not as developed as these three.

The Fawns nest (re: June 16th) now has three eggs in it.

These, and any to follow, are from the second round. The first round of eight being all clear. You never know, the cock may fill a few eggs this time!!!

June 30th

I managed to get a photo of the three Normal chicks that were from the fostered eggs in the Silvers nest (ref May 21st).

The three Normal chicks all fledged two days ago but today I've managed to get them on the perch with their foster siblings.

I've also checked the Fawn's nest (I only have one pair down at the moment) and they are currently on six eggs.

Their first round had eight eggs which turned out to be all clear (ref June 16th). Well, I candled them tonight and there's definitely one fertile egg in there....it's still very early days yet some there may be a few more too!