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This page shows what's
going on in my birdroom throughout the year. Click on the months below
to see what's been happening or click here
to take you to the latest news!!! |
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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). |
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January 10th 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. |
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I am now able to take orders for Stafford (March 2nd at Staffordshire County Showground - Bingley Hall)
Normals at £25 pair I may have some Agates ready for March but I will confirm nearer the day. Please Click Here to send me an email if your interested (with your phone number) and I'll reply as soon as I can. |
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I'm getting them into good condition for Stafford on March 2nd. Many of these birds have damaged tail feathers due to the 1/2" meshing used in the flight cage....I tend to find that this mesh damages their tails when they manoeuvre around the mesh. I do not get any damaged tail feathers from my "punch bar" cage fronts, so I have pulled any damaged feathers to allow them to re-grow in time for the Spring Show. To get these birds in to good condition I'm feeding them with treats and tonic seeds, I've also given them access to bathing 24/7. this will continue ...probably up until Stafford. I've also selected my team of birds to take to the Welsh national this Sunday. I have entered a total of nine Java's but have yet to decide if I will take all nine. This will be my first time at the Welsh National and I'll be teaming up with my fellow JSSUK colleagues to man our society stand.
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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. |
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January 17th 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.
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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. |
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January 20th 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 See photo on the right.
I also won - Best Fawn &
Best CYOB (See photos below) |
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I spent most of the day on the
JSSUK
stand along with my Java friends and colleagues, Dave Pover,
Andy Dutton, Bryan Roberts and Tommy Sissons. I also bumped in
to a few familiar faces...Maurice Stevens, Clive Cotton and Port
Talbot breeder, Leighton Owens......good to see you fellas!!! |
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January 23rd 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!
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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!!! |
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January 27th I went into the birdroom to do my morning checks and discovered feathers all over the floor. Upon checking the cages I found this young Fawn dead on the cage floor. This bird looked a little "off weather" yesterday morning but didn't cause me too much concern. What I have found strange is the way all of the feathers on the back have been plucked.
Was this done whilst the bird was
alive or after it died? In all honesty, I have to say I have never experienced this before. Have you???.......Click here and let me know if you have an explanation for this.
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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! |
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February 5th 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??? |
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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) |
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March 11th 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.
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March 13th 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. |
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March 25th 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 very full.
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On October 28th last year my fellow JSSUK colleagues, Steve Nesbitt, Dave Pover, Andy Dutton and myself went behind the scenes at Chester Zoo to see how they manage their collection of birds. The zoo also had some excess Java Sparrow's to which the JSSUK were able to obtain. I have one of those birds...a stunning Normal cock bird. As this bird is only a few generations from it's "wild caught" ancestors this bird will, hopefully, provide new blood when introduced to my existing stud. I have tried this cock bird with two hens with no results. A couple of weeks ago I paired it to an 07 hen bred by myself last year, and to my delight, she has laid here first egg today. I'm not counting my chickens (pardon the pun) but I really do hope that I can get young from this pairing as a new bloodline will assist in keeping my stud genetically diverse. |
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March 26th
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 will be
attending the
JSSUK
AGM this Saturday and can take them there if required. |
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A Reminder to JSSUK
Members and anyone interested in joining.
Abberley Village Hall
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March 30th 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?).
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April 14th
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. |
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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! |
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What a difference!! The cages on the top row now appear very bright in comparison to the cages below which I will be painting in the next couple of weeks. |
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April 29th 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. |
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