January 1st

Happy New Year!!!!Here we go again...the start of another Java Diary!!

I was hoping to have the new look SJD Javas up and running for the start of this year but it's still not ready....I am working on it though!So what's happening in my birdroom at the moment?

Currently I only have one pair of Java's breeding, an 06 Agate hen to an 05 split cock bird.... things are looking good, then hen has just finished laying a total of nine eggs and many are already showing signs of fertility.

The clutch show a total of ten eggs as I've fostered a fertile egg from a Normal pairing that I split up yesterday (I marked this egg with a marker pen).

January 10th

A disturbing find in the birdroom this evening.

Last night when I went in to feed the birds I noticed a young Fawn had been viciously attacked by another (or maybe a few) Java. this bird was in a stock cage with other young birds that were still "feathering up".

This bird's tail was completely missing and there was quite a heavy bleed from the rear. The feathers on the back of its head had also seen some form of attack. As I currently do not have any free cages I was unable to house this bird on its own to ease the stress. I decided to house it with my main stock of hens.

The particular cage houses many hens that have bred successfully this year and proved to be excellent mothers. In fact, the mother of this bird was in this cage too. This morning I noticed it wasn't looking too good for this Fawn and was pretty sure that when I got home I would find this bird dead on the cage floor.......sadly, I was right. Many people say that Java Sparrows are aggressive birds.

In almost three years with the species this is the first time I have seen this type of injury in my birds.

This bird suffered heavy bleeding after being attacked.

SJD#80/07

Here are the first "SJD Javas" of 2008.These are from an Agate pairing (January 1st) that only had one chick in their first round back in 2007.

It appears I have two Agates in the nest so far, although this pairings single youngster from round one turned out to be a fawn (split for Agate).

Young fawn hatchlings are virtually identical to Agate hatchlings....time will tell what these birds will be.

January 17th

Once again......I went into the birdroom tonight to feed and water the birds and was greeted by another bird that had been attacked in its tail area. The damage wasn't as bad as the bird mentioned on January 10th but did look very stressed....not surprising!

The Java I thought was responsible for the attack on January 10th was also housed with this bird. I have removed the injured bird and put it in a cage on its own, unfortunately this was my last free cage which means the offending bird is still housed with other Java's. I will give the injured Java a day or two on its own and then I will swap it for the "aggressive" bird so it will be housed on its own.

The injured bird was going to be one of the birds I had selected to show at the Welsh National this Sunday. I was entering it in the "Any Other Colour" class. This is one of the few birds I have bred that I am uncertain of which mutation this is (see ref May 6th 2007 & December 3rd 2007). I do, however, have another three of this colour...all cock birds too.

On a lighter note, the Agate nest (ref Jan 1st & 15th) now have five chicks in the nest. three of which appear to be Agate (or possibly fawn).

There is one egg left in the nest which may hatch tomorrow.

January 20th

It's been a long day today...

I got up at 4 o'clock this morning to make the 165 mile trip down to Port Talbot in South Wales to attend the Welsh National. I entered at total of nine birds...3 adult normals, 2 adult silvers, 1 adult fawn, 1 adult "Any Other Colour" (I entered the "unknown" colour ref May 6th 2007 & December 3rd 2007) and 2 CYOB (Current Year Owner Bred). This class covered any CYOB, I entered 2 Normals.

To my delight I won the following:

Best Normal
Best Adult
Best In Show

See photo on the right. I also won - Best Fawn & Best CYOB (See photos below)

Best Fawn

Best CYOB (Normal)

January 23rd

My new "08" rings were delivered today from AC Hughes. They arrived just in the nick of time as I rung the largest Agate chick in the nest.

The ring colour for 2008 is blue...I ordered 50 rings to start with but I will not be breeding on a big scale until March.

I currently have a number of Java's available for Stafford (March 2nd) and until they have new homes, I will not be breeding....as I don't have the room!

For the first time ever I have tried giving my Java's mealworms. I'm pleased to see that they devour them.

I am currently giving a few of these each day to the parent Agate birds that are rearing a nest of five chicks at the moment. Many Java breeder's will say that Java Sparrow's do not need live food...and I would agree.

But as far as I'm concerned a varied diet can only benefit my Java's. Let's face it, their diet in the wild does them no harm!!!

On a lighter note....I thought I'd show the progress of the Agate nest (ref Jan 1st , 15th, 17th and 23rd).

All of these chicks have now been rung "SJD #1 to 5".......the first clutch of 2008!

February 5th

What is it with the fawn's I bred last year????

As I went in to feed the birds this evening I found another fawn dead on the cage floor! That takes the tally up to 3 birds (all fawns) that I've lost from the 89 birds bred last year.

There was absolutely no sign that this bird was sick....in fact yesterday I selected this bird as one to keep back for myself for this years breeding programme.

Once again the frustration of this hobby hits me between the eyes. This Java was the picture of health yesterday....why does this happen???

SJD #35/07

The Agate nest (ref Jan 1st , 15th, 17th, 23rd & 27th) are now showing their true colours.

As you can see, there is only one visual Agate in this nest (top right). There are two fawns split for Agate and to Normals (split for Agate).

I must say, all of the Agate pairings I have have must be split for all different colours.

I have bred many splits that include, Fawn, Silver, Opal Isabel and "some kind of Pastel Agate" (ref May 6th 2007 & December 3rd 2007).

March 11th

It's been just over a month since my last update...the birdroom is very quite at the moment.

The only thing to mention is that I have a pair of Bengalese, that were very kindly given to me by Tony Edwards of the NBFA, sitting tight on four fertile Agate eggs.

The eggs were taken from the third round laid by the Agate pairing (ref Jan 1st , 15th, 17th, 23rd, 27th & Feb 5th). By my records, I should start seeing the eggs hatch tomorrow.....will my estimation be right??..

I'll update tomorrow and let you know.

Pair of Dilute Fawn & Whites Bengalese (Cock left, Hen right) doing what Bengies to best!!!!!

March 13th

I was unable to update last night as I was out with some Norwegian colleagues from work...my wife kindly fed and watered the birds...I couldn't really ask her to update the website now could I!!!

As I predicted on March 11th the fertile eggs started to hatch yesterday. You can see in this photo that two are doing well...the other young chick hatched this morning but sadly hasn't made it through the day.

Bengalese are excellent foster parents for Java's and should rear this clutch with no real problems. Having said that, this pair to my knowledge, have only ever reared Bengalese chicks...hopefully they will perform true to their fantastic parenting reputation and rear these Java's successfully.

Watch this space as I'll update throughout this nests' development.

Agate chick at the top of the picture.

March 25th

Here's a photo taken this evening of the Agate nest pictured on March 13th, these two chicks are being raised by a pair of Bengalese finches.

I have been observing these birds and they are feeding these chicks as if they were their own...also giving me a defensive  peck when I try to inspect the nest.

You can clearly see the difference between these two Java chicks, the Agate is to the right of the photo with the Agate/Split to the left.

Notice their crops are full.

March 26th

I have made the decision, and it has not been an easy one, to give up my Silver Java's. Firstly, I want to continue to breed quality normal Java's and secondly, I'm contemplating with the idea of getting a couple of pairs of a different species....I haven't decided yet.

I have 2 pairs left ....1 from my breeding stud and 1 unproven pair....both pairs, in my opinion, are very nice birds.

The known breeding pair consist of a 06 (un-ringed) Cock bird (Bryan Roberts) & 05 close rung hen (Phil Thompson).

The unproven pair consist of a 06 close rung cock bird (Stuart Drury) to a 07 close rung hen (Stuart Drury).

If anyone is interested I will be selling these for £45 for both pairs (£25 a pair if sold separately). I will be attending the JSSUK AGM this Saturday and can take them there if required.

Click Here to send me an email if interested.

SJD#25 - 06 Cock bird (one of my Silver's for sale).

March 30th

I've had an enjoyable day today as I attended the JSSUK AGM held in Abberley, Worcestershire.

It was good to meet up with me Java friends and colleagues...we all live in different parts of the UK so we don't see each other as much as we'd like.

Want to know what happened today??.......Sorry, you'll have to join the JSSUK to find out.......... (well, I've got to help promote the society now haven't I?).

April 14th

I don't have a lot going on at the moment but I do have some good news regarding the pair of Normals I put down to breed in my flight cage.

On March 25th I informed you of that the cock bird (of Chester Zoo origin) and an 07 hen) produced their first egg. Well today I am pleased to announce that two young Java's have hatched....the first two of a 5-egg clutch which are all fertile.

If everything goes to plan, and these youngsters have no "white tick marks" on them they will bring a much needed new bloodline to my stud.....and to my JSSUK colleagues too!

Before I can start to seriously breed this year I need to repaint the birdroom, I have made a start this evening by painting all of the cages in the top row.

I use these to house my main stud, one for the cock birds and one for the hens.I am using Dulux Vinyl Silk emulsion.Many bird keepers add Duramitex to their emulsion with the theory being that its "Anti Mite" properties will continue when applied to the relevant woodwork.

I contacted Harkers who make the product and they told me that adding Duramitex to paint effectively renders the product completely useless.

Duramitex, when applied in a spray, will for microscopic crystals that are absorbed by mite as they make contact with them. Mixing it in to emulsion will  prevent the crystals from forming...the only real achievement will be very bad smelling paint!

April 29th

I was on holiday last week with my family, we went to Disneyland in Paris....we had a great time although it was very expensive!!!!

Back to the birds, the single Normal pair that are breeding at the moment (ref: March 25th & April 14th) are doing well with four young Normals in the nest, these young are from the pair that includes a cock bird from Chester Zoo.

At this early stage there is no sign of any white feathering so, fingers crossed, I may have a nest of "tick free" Javas....I'll keep you posted.

May - Sorry No Updates

June - Sorry No Updates

July - Sorry No Updates

August - Sorry No Updates

September 4th

Yes....I'm still alive!!!!!

My life has been thrown in to chaos over the last few months which has meant my Java's have had to take a back seat.

Where do I start??? Back on May 15th my pregnant wife went into labour seven weeks early and our daughter, Amber, was born weighing 4lb 8oz. This has obviously had a huge impact on our daily routine as there was a lot of time spent travelling a fifty mile round trip every day to the hospital where she was born.

Everything is fine now as she is fast approaching 12lb in weight and is a very hungry baby!

My work has been very hectic also which, coupled with being a new dad...again, has subsequently resulting in less time with my birds. Over the last couple of weeks I have painted my breeding cages and over the next week or two I aim to get some new nest boxes made so that I can start my very belated 2008 breeding programme.

I will be updating again shortly......and I would like to say a big thanks to all those people from around the globe who have emailed me to see if I am ok and to see if I still keep Java's. I answered emails when I had the chance and I apologise to those people who I never managed to reply to.....it's unlike me as I do like to answer all emails I receive. More updates coming soon.....I promise!

October 4th

I took a trip to Grantham today to visit my good pal Steve Nesbitt (www.justjavas.co.uk).

I spent around three hours at Steve's house chatting about our favourite bird.....and to catch up on things in general. I have to say Steve has bred some cracking birds this year and he is spending this weekend selecting pairings that he will soon have for sale. I came away from Steve's with a very nice hen that he kindly gave to me.

We occasionally swap birds to give our respective studs new bloodlines.

Pictured right shows Steve and I in his birdroom this morning.

October 12th

I had a great day today at Stafford's County Show Ground (Bingley Hall), I attended the Parrot Society run Bird Show Of the Year (BSOTY). I entered nine birds in total but unfortunately didn't pick up any "1sts".

I spent most of the day on the Java Sparrow Society stand with my good java pals, Steve Nesbitt, Dave Pover, Andy Dutton, Bryan Roberts, Tommy Sisson, Billy Hughes, Phil Thompson, Brian Gregory, Brian Hilditch, Mark Capener, Norman Chapman, Brent Jackson and Sara East.....I think that's everyone.

It was also great to see Rob Salem and his family who travelled up from Devon, it was also a good opportunity to get a photo of the three people responsible for three java websites.

The photo on the right shows Rob Salem, Steve Nesbitt and myself.

November 16th

Well it's finally happened....about 6 months behind schedule, my 2008 (nearly 2009) breeding season has begun. I have put down 8 pairs of java's today, 3 pairs of whites (new to my stud) 3 pairs of fawns and 2 pairs of Agates.

You can see in this photo that I am using a different nest box to the ones I used last season. These are just deep square boxes with a 2 1/4" pop hole. I built these myself and I hope that these will work ok...I'm sure they will.

Although I have successfully used the Gouldian type nest box for my Java's I did lose a small number of chicks that had been accidentally dragged out of the nest when the parent birds were startled.

Java Sparrows do not instinctively put their young back in the nest so I have opted for deep boxes which means that any chick that is dragged from the nest cannot fall anywhere other that back in the nest.

I got this pair from Graham Evans in South Wales who has sadly had to give up his Java's through ill health
(Cock on the right, hen on the left).

Graham Evans Cock bird (left) to a Dave Pover Hen (right) - A totally unproven pair.

This is a proven pair from my good friend Dave Pover.
Cock on the left, Hen on the right.

An unproven pair of fawns, the Cock bird is on the right and was bred by me. This is a well marked bird and is deep in colour, strangely this bird was bred from an Agate pairing.
The hen on the left is an 05 Tony Gladwin bird.

A A Tony Gladwin cock bird (right) to a hen bred by me last year (left).
Both birdsare split for cream and are unproven.

 I have not used the cock bird (right) for the last two years since his mate died. This bird is an 04 bred by Laus Trigwell. The hen (left) was bred by me last year - A totally unproven pair.

A Tony Gladwin Agate cock (left) to an 06 hen (right) bred my me. I have used the hen with another cock bird before and she has turned out to be a great mother. This is the first time this pair have been put together.

An 06 Agate cock bird (left) to an 06 Agate hen(right). Both birds were bred by me and are totally unproven.

Most of the pairings are unproven....if they are successful the I intend to breed 2 rounds from each pair and then breed from 8 pairs of normals in the new year.

One thing that will be different on my birds next year will be the closed rings.

I will no longer be fitting closed rings with "SJD" on them as I will be using JSSUK rings.

Look out for the rings next....they will have JSS (Java Sparrow Society) and my number D002 (Drury/member number).

December 24th

Since the eight pairs were put down on November 16th there has been very little to mention other than I've had a very poor start to my 08/09 season.

I've had around 30 clear eggs although today I have had the 1st fawn of the year hatch out. This is from a new pairing (pictured in last update, top row of photos, last picture on the right).I have one nest with 3 fertile eggs from a White pairing and I have a pair of Agates also on 3 fertile eggs.

Once again, a very hectic schedule at work and home has left me with little time to swap these pairings around......hopefully the Christmas holidays will allow me to re-organise.

The first fawn of the year (Apologies fro the poor quality).

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