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January 1st
Happy New
Year!!!!
I managed to get a couple of hours
in the birdroom this afternoon to continue with the revamp. I
continued to work on the new flight cage. I didn't get too much
done but I have managed to "box in" the cable for the lights
(see right). I also fitted the dividing rails which have yet to
have the plastic channels fixed.
I've also increased the lighting
hours from 10 to 12 hours in preparation for the forthcoming
breeding season....in 2 weeks I will increase the lighting to 14
hours.
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Also today I spent a further 2
hours preparing millet sprays.
I buy my millet in bulk (15kg) and
then prepare the whole box so it's ready to offer to the birds.
I took a tip from
Steve
Nesbitt to tape the millet sprays together and hang them on
a plastic coated hook. It works great but going through the
whole box and taping up 2 millet sprays at a time is very time
consuming. Still, this box will last around 12 weeks so at least
it will be a while before I have to do it again!
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January 30th
Very little to mention as I have
been "up to my eyes in it" with my job. I've had to go over to
Holland a couple of times since the last update.
However, I do plan to get the
new large flight/stock cage finished this weekend as I aim to
start breeding again by the end of February. My birdroom
requires a lick of paint to tidy up the cages so I need to get
that done before I can start my 2007 breeding programme.
I have a some more
news too!!!
I have tracked down a Timor Sparrow
breeder on the continent who has 3 Timors for sale. A Java pal
(Dave Pover who takes care of
JSSUK
Publicity) and myself are planning to get them paired up
with some of the Timors that are in his possession as we are
going to attempt to breed this "difficult" bird. I should be
getting these birds mid-February.
On the subject of Timor Sparrow's,
Dave Pover is compiling a database for the JSSUK in order to
establish how many are in the UK and to hopefully arrange birds
for loan pairings. If you have Timors and are interested in
preserving the number of birds in the UK
click here and drop Dave an email.
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Timor Sparrow's
(as featured on Steve Nesbitt's website
www.snaviaries.co.uk) |
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February 4th
I managed to get an afternoon in the birdroom today which has turned
out to be quite productive. As you can see in this photo, I have
managed to make all the litter drawers and fix the plastic
runners for the dividing boards.
 I
only intend to use dividers when catching birds as this cage
will predominantly be a stock cage.
This week I will be ordering
the four cage fronts required to complete these cages.
All that needs to be done now is to
apply a fresh coat of paint and to fit the perches....I will not
be using the
Rob Salem perch blocks in my birdroom revamp as I now want
removable perches to make catching birds easier.
As soon as this cage is done, I
will divide it in to two and move my cocks and hens to free up
the breeding cages opposite. They require painting and
re-perching and then I'll be ready to start breeding again. I
was going to totally revamp the cages as I wanted to make deeper
drawers to accommodate the Hemcore. I don't have the time to
revamp these cages in the foreseeable future, so I will stick
with what I've got until next year. |
Almost ready!!! |
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BAD NEWS!! -
With the recent discovery of the
H5N1 bird flu strain in the UK, all imports have been stopped
until further notice....looks like I will have to wait a while
for my Timor Sparrow's!
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February 24th
Slow progress on my cages
but I do have something to share with you.
Today I have completed a website
for West Hagley Aviaries who are based near Stourbridge in the
West Midlands.
I got hold of a professional
web design package and offered to build a new website for Harry
(owner of West Hagley Aviaries) and he accepted.
I'm also currently working on a new look SJD Java's website too.
Watch this space!!!!
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Click on the picture above to take
you there. |
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Ready for the Timor's!!! |
I've also prepared a cage for the
new editions to the SJD Java's birdroom...that being Timor
Sparrow's.
I am going to an event tomorrow
(Sunday 25th) at
Royston
Civic Hall
in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. One of Europe's top breeder's,
Paul De Nil is giving a talk on how he keeps and breeds some of
the world's most "difficult" bird species. Paul breeds anywhere
between 600 and 700 birds per year so I'm really looking forward
to hearing what he has to say.
I contacted Paul several weeks ago
when I was trying to locate some Timor's from Europe. He
couldn't help me at the time but said he'd make a few phone
calls and, true to his word, he got back to me a few weeks later
as he had found a breeder who had three for sale. So tomorrow I
am picking them and bringing them back home.
The three birds are a pair of 04's
and an 06 hen.
I am keeping the pair and my good
pal Dave Pover will be having the young hen as he has several
options for paring.
If anyone out there is going to the
talk tomorrow....I might see you there!!
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February 25th
I had a great day today at the Paul De Nil talk/lecture organised by
the
Waxbill Society....to which I am now a member (signed up
today).
If anyone out there in the bird keeping world ever gets the
chance to go to one of Paul's talks then you really MUST go. I
think any bird keeping hobbyist (like myself) will look at
his/her hobby in a different light after attending one of these
lectures.....I think he's the only bird keeper I've ever met who
can be called an expert! thanks to the
Waxbill Society and especially Paul De Nil for a great day
out.
I also picked up the 3 Timor
Sparrows that Bob Story picked up for me on his recent trip to
Paul's home in Belgium.
Pictured right is the 04 pair (I
didn't want to stress them out taking a lot of photo's so I took
this one.....couldn't get them to perch for the camera). |
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The biggest gamble on buying birds
without physically seeing them first is that you really cannot
guarantee the quality of the birds you are buying.
When I first saw these birds today
I was concerned over the condition of the 06 hen as it was
looking rather withdrawn and inactive. The tail feathers were
missing but I know that feathers grow back so I wasn't overly
concerned.
I took them all home and put them
in the double breeder that I prepared yesterday. A couple of
hours later I thought I'd go back to the shed to see how they
were settling in. To my horror I noticed blood around the top of
one of its legs...it appears that some "cotton like" material
had wrapped around its leg very tightly which had stopped the
blood flow to the leg. The leg and foot are darker in colour and
felt stiff and lifeless.....see photo below:
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I have managed to very delicately
pick at this with a thin Stanley knife and have managed to
remove it....I'm just hoping that the blood flow will regenerate
the leg and foot. See photo below that show the leg without the
foreign matter around its leg.
I have a feeling that this bird
will not be with us in the next day or two....I just cant
understand what happened. If this foot is dead then the bird can
be written off for breeding use.....as a one-legged hen will be
unable to breed. I'll keep you informed on this bird's progress.
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February 26th
The young 06 Timor hen mentioned yesterday has improved slightly,
I'm not confident that the bird's leg will survive.
It seems to have no problems
getting on the perch but the foot still appears to be stiff.
I was hoping that by removing the
material from around the leg yesterday would have got blood back
to the leg...I'll give it a few days and catch the bird up again
and feel the foot for myself. |
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The wound looks cleaner today but
as you can see, the leg is dark in colour which isn't a good
sign...the back toe is has no movement and can just be seen in
this photo.
More updates to follow. |
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February 27th
It's still very early days to predict the outcome of this Timor. I
am, however, quite confident in saying that the leg is
"dead"...see photo right.
I will be seeking advice from an
Avian Vet who I know is going to Stafford this Sunday who I hope
will give me a bit of guidance on what to do with this bird.
You can see in this photo that the
leg shows no sign of recovery.
I spoke to my two good Java/Timor
buddies, Dave Pover and Steve Nesbitt, this afternoon and they
have both witnessed aggressive behaviour in their experience
with Timor's.
The tail feathers are completely
missing along with feathers from the flanks.....the rest of the
feathering seems "OK" so I think it's fair to say that this bird
has probably seen some form of attack, maybe from the other
Timor's...or maybe from another bird (if it was kept in a mixed
aviary)....As mentioned a couple of day's ago, buying bird's
without seeing them first is always fraught with danger....in
the ideal world, it's always better to meet the breeder of ANY
bird you buy...but with some rare species you have to "take a
chance".
One thing I still can't understand
is where the "cotton like" material around its leg came from. I
have experienced fibres in the Hemcore that I use on my cage
floors getting caught on the Java's legs, but the material
around the bird's leg was completely different to anything I
have seen before...if anything, it had the appearance of lambs
wool.
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The feathers should grow back in
around 6 weeks, but I think it's fair to say that the leg is
beyond repair. |
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March 7th
I thought I'd drop a reminder to let you all know that the
Java
Sparrow Society UK (JSSUK) is holding it's AGM on Sunday
18th March.
The venue for the meeting is:
Cheswick Green Village Hall, Cheswick Green, Solihull.
It is situated only 2 miles or 5 minutes travelling time from Junction 4
of the M42.
The meeting is scheduled for 12:00 midday and is expected to last around 2 to
3 hours.
New members welcome!!!!
Click Here for a map of the venue |
The JSSUK logo, as featured on our
new T-Shirts (available at the AGM).
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March 12th
Today I have put down two pairs of Agates to breed. They have been
showing all the signs that they are ready to go so I set up the
cages this evening after I got home from work.
For the first time I am splitting
my double breeders into single breeders to give me more space
when pairing up.
At the weekend I will be pairing up
a few pairs of my Normals. |
The start of my 2007 breeding
program??
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March 13th
I have used the last of my basic seed mix today (Versele-Laga's
Tropical Bird Mix) so for the next few weeks I will be feeding
my Java's on the seed I won in a raffle at the Paul De Nil talk
on February 25th. It's another product from Versele-Laga, it's
their Australian Waxbill Mix (see photo right). This mix
consists of the following:
Canary Seed 34%
Yellow Panicum 25%
White Millet 13%
Japanese Millet 10%
Red Panicum 5%
Perilla Seed 1%
Chia 2%
VAM Pellets 8%
Oyster Shells 2%
You can read more about this seed
mix by clicking
HERE, this will take you to the Versele-Laga website. I
looked on here myself as I had no idea what Chia or VAM Pellets
were.....interesting stuff!...especially the information on
Chia.
This comes in 20KG bags so this
should last approximately 3 to 4 weeks with the amount of birds
I have at the moment.
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Versele-Laga's Australian Waxbill Premium Mix. |
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March 15th
The 06 Timor hen is looking a lot better today (see photo right).
You can see that the tail feathers
are beginning to re-grow which is already making the bird appear
more healthy.
The sad thing about this bird is
that one leg is completely dead. I will need to seek further
advice from an avian vet as the leg has become mis-shaped and I
believe it needs removing....I'll keep you posted. |
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March 16th |
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Please Note: The
Java Sparrow Society UK have had to cancel their AGM this Sunday
18th March.
A key member of
the committee is suffering from ill health and will be unable to
attend the meeting.
The AGM will now be
re-scheduled and will hopefully take place in the next few
weeks.
All society
members are asked to check the
JSSUK
website where the re-scheduled date will be posted when
confirmed.
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March 20th
I've had several emails saying
my "mailing list" link doesn't work. I started to wonder why I
wasn't receiving any new members to my mailing list and after
checking I discovered that the link still had my old email
address.....but now the link DOES work as I have tagged my new
address to it......So if anyone is interested in joining, click
the link in the bottom right hand corner of the menu page and
I'll add you to the mailing list. |
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March 23rd
Checking the nest boxes this evening of the two pairs of Agates I
put down to nest on March 12th I have
discovered I have eggs in BOTH nests.
 The
cock bird built this nest very quickly and was obviously very
keen to breed. Today the first egg has appeared!! |
This photo was taken
yesterday, I have been watching this pair closely over the last
few days. The cock bird hasn't made much of an effort with this
nest (especially if you compare it with the other nest). And
I've also noticed that the hen spends a great deal of time in
the nest box. I may be wrong, but I think the hen is more keen
to breed than the cock bird....and I have a feeling these eggs
may be clear. Time will tell, I will candle these eggs early
next week to look for signs of life..........or not!
Another egg today makes a total of
four so far!
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March 27th
I mentioned on March 23rd that I thought the hen (from one of my
Agate pairings March 12th &
23rd) was more eager to breed than the
cock bird due to the amount of time she was spending in the nest
box. Conversely, I was saying how the cock built a very "half
hearted" nest. My guess was that the eggs would be clear.
Well, I've checked the nest box
this evening and there are now six eggs with three showing early
signs of fertility.......it just goes to show, you can assume
nothing in this hobby! |
Will these eggs will hatch the
first Java's of 2007 in the SJD Javas birdroom?? |
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March 29th
The 06 Timor hen is looking a lot healthier with the exception to
the dead leg.
This evening as I fed and watered
the birds I noticed the Timor hen was perched quite comfortably.
Looking closer I noticed the foot was missing as I could only
see a well healed "stump".
I found the leg on the cage floor
(see right). |
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Here's a photo of the Timor hen taken today.
Compare this photo to the photo
taken on the day I got her (February 26th).
You can see how her tail has almost completely grown back.
I still have concerns about if she
will be able to breed or not. Having said that, I received
several emails back in February informing me that many breeders
have had a "one legged" bird in their collections and have bred
with no problems. As I have never experienced this
before.....I'll try and be more optimistic!! |
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April 1st
This afternoon I have put two
pairs of Normals down to nest.
The first pairing, pictured right,
is a new pairing. The hen is in the rear of this photo with a
blue split ring, this hen was bred by myself and is 14 months
old. She has just gone through her first adult moult and appears
as though she is ready to breed.
The cock bird, is from
JSSUK
chairman, Tony Gladwin. It's only seven months old but is very
fit and has been singing none stop for the last few weeks. |
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This pair are a proven pair of 05
birds.
These were bred by my good pal,
Steve
Nesbitt and were a prolific pair last year. The cock filled
every egg and they raised every chick with no problems
whatsoever.
Apologies for the blurred photo. |
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April 5th
An update on my two Agate pairings (ref March 12th,
23rd & 27th).
The first pairing, who appeared
very eager to breed, have laid a total of seven eggs....sadly,
they are all clear.
I have taken these eggs away from
the birds to hopefully encourage them to try again.
I have checked my breeding records
from last year. This pair did exactly the same in 2006, the
first round was completely clear with a high fertility rate in
the next round.
Fingers crossed!! |
Seven clear eggs!
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Six out of seven ain't bad!!! |
Better news from my second Agate
pairing!
A total of seven eggs have been
laid with six proving to be fertile.
This photo clearly shows the
infertile egg (middle egg on the right hand side).
If all goes to plan I should start
seeing young Agate Java's on, or around, Easter
Monday......Easter chicks???
OTHER NEWS!!!
My website achieved
a landmark a couple of days ago be receiving its 10,000th hit!!
Thanks to everyone
who has called by to take a look!
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April 8th
The first Java of my 2007 breeding season has hatched today...a day
earlier than I thought.
Judging by the colour of the eyes
and beak, this young Java is not a visual Agate but a
split....Not that I'm complaining....I just need to get my rings
on order!!!!!
Hopefully there will be one or two
more chicks to report on tomorrow. |
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April 9th
Another chick has hatched today, and I can confirm, it's an Agate.
The photo on the right clearly
shows the red eyes below the skin, and also, the pinkish beak.
Both of these characteristics confirm the colour of this young
java. |
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Also today, I have received an
email from Suzy in California and she has asked how my seed
hoppers fit my cage fronts.
I thought the easiest way of
describing would be to show a few photos.
(She
emailed me a couple of weeks ago to ask where I get my seed
hoppers from. I sent her the link to the company who makes them,
Riversway.
Click Here
for more info). |
The hopper consists of three
components, The Lid, The Hopper & The Tray |
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The tray has an insert that fits
through the bars. |
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The hopper slides down over the
insert of the tray. |
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And here's a "Java eyes view" of
the final assembly.
Suzy, I hope this helps!!! |
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April 11th
I never got the chance to update yesterday, so I have done it today.
Another Agate hatched yesterday
which now gives me two, leaving another three fertile eggs
to hopefully hatch by the end of tomorrow. |
The red eyes of the Agate's are
clearly shown here.
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April 14th
I was "doing the rounds" this morning and noticed a newly hatched
Agate chick dead on the cage floor.
(Pairing ref March
12th,
23rd, 27th,
April 5th, 8th,
9th and 11th)
I'd really like the answer as to
why this happens.
The parent birds are proven in
their rearing skills as they bred successfully last year with no
incidents like this. The only thing I can put it down to is
"nature's instinct".....did the parents know there was something
wrong with this baby??
What I am pleased about though, is
the high ratio of Agate's that have hatched in this nest, if
this young Java would have survived, then I would have had a
total of four Agates to one split in the nest. |
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Something else that has puzzled me
with this nest is that an egg has vanished.
A total of seven eggs were laid,
six were fertile, five hatched (including the chick that died)
which means there should be two eggs left in the nest....not
one!!
This has happened before with other
pairings. I've checked the cage floor and the sides of the nest
but I cannot find it.
One possibility is that the parent
birds could have eaten it...I have never witnessed it, but I
can't rule it out. |
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And finally for today....my new
rings came in the post this morning. I have ordered a total of
100 for this year as that is my target.
As you can see, these rings are
black, the chosen colour for 2007.
Personally, I favour the coloured
rings over the plain, self-coloured, aluminium rings.
I find that with the coloured rings
it makes the letters and numbering easier to identify and it
tells you the birds age at a glance.
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Will I use a total of 100 this
year?
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April 15th
The Agate pairing that have young in the nest ( ref March
12th,
23rd, 27th,
April 5th, 8th,
9th, 11th and
14th) haven't got off to a very good start.
The smallest, and most recent
hatched chick, pictured in the nest
yesterday has died. When I checked the nest this morning, it
was approximately 4" away from the rest of the clutch. It
appears that it was accidentally dragged from the nest by one of
its parents. I have experienced this a few times, particularly
when inspecting the nest. If the parents are easily alarmed then
they exit the nest quickly, sometimes dragging a chick out with
them in their eagerness to get out of the nest box. I always put
the chick back with its siblings as I'm not too sure that
parent Java's have the instinct to put them back themselves.
Another blow today also!!! I mentioned yesterday that an egg had
gone missing, well I can confirm...it hadn't. When I was
inspecting the nest this morning I moved some of the nesting
material and found a new hatchling buried below (see chick on
the right). As you can see in this photo it was another Agate.
That means from a total of six fertile eggs out of seven, five
Agates hatched and one split. I have now lost a total of three
Agates.
Fingers crossed for the remaining split and two Agates.
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April 18th
The three remaining chicks from the Agate pairing ( ref March
12th,
23rd, 27th,
April 5th, 8th,
9th, 11th,
14th and 15th) are doing fine. In fact
today I have fitted closed ring number SJD1-07 to the first java
of the year. Here you can see the Agate split with its ring
fitted.
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April 22nd
This afternoon I have rung the third and final young Java in the
Agate nest ( ref March
12th,
23rd, 27th,
April 5th, 8th,
9th, 11th,
14th, 15th and
18th) here is a photo to show their
progress. |
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Also this afternoon I spent a
couple of hours cleaning out the birds. I went to the local
supplier that I get my
Hemcore
from, which I use to line my cage floors, but unfortunately they
were out of stock. So instead, I purchased a similar product....
Easibed, many bird keepers use this including my good pal
Steve Nesbitt.
Here is a close-up of
Easibed, it looks very similar to
Hemcore
although I have noticed it feels heavier and is very slightly
moist to the touch. Like
Hemcore,
it's actually manufactured for the equestrian industry and is
more commonly used on stable floors.
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I have also candled the seven eggs
laid by a pair of Normal's put down to nest on
April 1st, good news from this pair,
ALL seven eggs are full. I did mention in a previous posting
that this pair were prolific last year, if my memory serves me
correctly, this pair raised a total of fourteen youngsters from
two rounds with every egg being fertile......all being well,
they look set to do the same this year. |
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April 25th
Sadly, may other Agate pairing (ref March 12th,
23rd and April 5th)
which had a clear round of eggs in round one, have produced
another clutch of seven eggs...again, all are clear.
I have removed the eggs, messed up
the nest a little and put some fresh meadow grass on the cage
floor in an attempt to get the cock bird to rebuild the nest and
to try again.
I will give them another chance and
if the third round proves unsuccessful, I will split these birds
and try again at a later date. |
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April 30th
The three young from the Agate pairing ( ref March
12th,
23rd, 27th,
April 5th, 8th,
9th, 11th,
14th, 15th,
18th and 22nd) are
developing well.
One thing to notice here is the
difference in colour of the two Agate chicks at the top of the
photo.
Comparing the two heads you will
see the chick on the left is fawn in colour, the chick on the
right is grey. I encountered this last year with the same parent
birds and both feathered up differently, the chick on the right
should end up looking pastel in colour but has a dark brown head
and the ruby red eyes but does not have the cream belly that the
standard Agate has.
I will shortly be posting a photo
of the bird I bred last year to see if anyone has bred a similar
Java. |
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Good News For Java Sparrow
Enthusiasts!!!
My good friend and well known Java
breeder, Steve Nesbitt, as designed and created a brand new
website dedicated to the wonderful Java Sparrow.
The new website is called "Just
Javas".
Click on the screen shot (left) to
go straight there. |
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One final update for today...I
attended the Java Sparrow Society UK's AGM yesterday in
Solihull.
To find out what was discussed then
join the JSSUK. All AGM information will be published in the
next newsletter.
Click here to go to the
JSSUK website to find out more on becoming a member. |
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Due to the high
number of photographs on this page, the month of
May will be on
a new page to help speed up downloading. |
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Click
Here to go to the month of May |
