Last Chick Of The Season Update

Finally, the late July German Roller chick has left the nest! It is quite a pet as we, Pat and I, have been hand feeding every couple of hours through the day since it was born. I was out of town giving some technical lectures for three days and Pat had full duty. He also feeds when I work. He thinks this chick is the easiest to feed ever!


Here I am trying to encourage it to nibble in hopes it will soon get the idea of feeding itself!


When I approach the cage, even on the first day out of the nest, he is busy in his swing.


But as soon as I approach he begins begging!


Full, it happily flies back to its swing.


Kansas Thunderstorm seen off my deck that blessed us with a couple of inches of rain and some relief from the unseasonably hot days!

Promoting Natural Flock Immunity

KD powder, a blend of organic acids, hydrogen ions and surfactants, is added to drinking water to not only keep the water free from germs but also to protect birds from germs. By acidifying their drinking water and thus also the contents of the crop, it lowers germ count in the water and promotes natural health while nurturing a strong natural resistance in the flock.

During most of the year, I treat the water on two consecutive days with KD powder. Typically, some of my birds would try to continue nesting on the floor and some would look shaggy and out of sorts during the molt. I am very impressed by how much better the birds are when given their weekly KD treatment in the water!

I am still learning about how to use the product but it seems to me that the only time I am not going to use it weekly as described is when the hen is setting. I observe them not sitting as well when given to a setting hen and it does help discourage hens from sitting after breeding season. It is invaluable for the feeding hen and I start it on them as soon as the clutch is hatched and continue daily till chicks are weaned. I think that sometimes the hens digestive system can be upset by the soft food and by giving the KD powder daily in the water she will feed better.

KD is helpful in treating "carrier-type" diseases such as E. coli, Black Spot, Megabacteria and Strep infections. KD protects healthy members from scumming to the disease and strengthen the flock's natural resistance against them. This enhanced natural resistance does not occur when antibiotic-type medicines are given in the early stages of an outbreak.

I purchased my KD powder from ladygouldianfinch.com.



Lucca doing a play bow. I am his favorite toy!!



Happy but ready to go inside out of the heat.



And ready for a morning nap!

Hot Hot Hot But Still Hatching

107 degrees outside and still one more German Roller chick hatched July 22nd!! This definitely is the last one for the season!!


Hatched July 8th! This special pair, failed to produce any chicks all season until given Orlux Fertility vitamin daily in their water.



The larger of the two German Roller chicks above turned out to be a good looker with the special mark on the side of its head.

Current Pictures Late Chicks

Colorbred Chick #1, yet to be identified! Clues Notices the white outlining the feathers and although it is red ground color it is not color fed until the baby molt.




Congratulations Ralph who was the first person to correctly identified the Stafford (Chicks number 2 and 3) as Crested chicks!! Way to go Ralph, he correctly identified them from the earlier picture post!!!

Hats Off To The Ladies - Feeding Co-op!!

These are Mario's five chicks hatched June 21st. Unfortunately, with hot weather and temperatures soaring outside over a hundred degrees, Sunday evening my aviary heat pump/AC decided that after 14 years it just could not do it anymore. Thanks to prompt services, I got a new digital one installed Tuesday morning. That sudden burst of heat caused any sitting hens to loose interest in breeding and setting, so the ladies have had it for this year too!!

The hen that hatched Mario's five chicks, has continued to feed through the crises. This is a very unusual nest in many ways: Mario fertilizing the eggs, Five out of five hatching so late in the season, the second hen accepting two of the chicks as her own even though she did not hatch any, and now the third hen with the heat has deserted her eggs and to my delight has started helping feed both nests!

High Five - Five Out Of Five Hatch June 21st

Mario has done it again, five of five!!!



It is really getting late now for pairing. Mario's wing butts show new feathers, he is clearly molting. But I could not resist trying to get a few more chicks from him....so I put four extra hens who had not been paired this season in a breeder cage and four nests. Three immediately built nests and the fourth I lost patience with and removed her. The first hen laid five eggs and hatch five!!

The second hen only laid two eggs and to my surprise, once the other hen hatched these five chicks, she abandoned her eggs and was trying to sit with the other hen on the five new chicks! So I moved the two smallest chicks to her nest and she is feeding them in her own nest! It is much harder to get a hen to foster chicks when they did not hatch under her.


Prolonging male fertility can be a challenge but I credit molting Mario's fertility to using ferti-vit (orlux parent company - ordered from Bird Supply of New Hampshire). This product has vitamins and amino acids and so effective but not overpowering. I plan to use it next year for conditioning. I will also use it on short term (likely three consecutive days, now and then) to tighten up feathers on the show birds.


Lucca loves to open the boxes of bird supplies arriving frequently at our house.


As I write this post, Lucca is helping me?


Maybe this chew toy will keep him pacified while I write.

Identify These Late Chicks

Chick number 1 is a colorbred. What kind is it?


Chick number 2 is a Stafford. What is it?


Chick number 3 is a Stafford. What is it?


Chicks number 4 and 5 are German Roller canaries that are very special as they are Mario's last two chicks with a hen from Almin!!


Lucca loves to play in the hose and tub in our back yard!


A quiet moment chewing!