Genetics Tutorial

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Record Keeping for Bird Keepers

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Bird keeping can be more rewarding with record keeping. Record keeping for bird keepers is maintaining information about each bird, each pair, each clutch & each egg. Furthermore it's about recording your actions related to bird set up, diet, medication etc and the results they produce. Getting Started A few things that you need to get started The first thing you need is the ability to uniquely identify each bird. You must be able to identify every bird listed in your records. If you have only a few birds and their physical appearance makes it straight forward to identify them then you need not worry about this. However, if you have dozens of birds that closely resemble each other you may need a way to positively identify each bird. This process is made easy through the use of leg bands or microchips. A leg band assigns a unique number to a bird which can be used to identify that bird. Microchips may also be embedded in larger species which can be read by an electroni
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Getting Started with Breeding Ringnecks

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First of all you need to pick the right cage. Ringnecks require a minimum cage size of 24in x 24in x 48in. The front of the cage should be 24x24 with feeding stations. The depth should be 48inches with the nest box installed outside at the back of the cage. There should be a perch about 1.5-2in in diameter 6-8in from the back wall and just below the opening to the nest box. The logic behind such a setup is that the nest box should be farthest from human approach during feeding times. Birds feels secure in such an environment and are more likely to breed. The illustration below shows this setup. The mesh used for the cage should be rectangular weld mesh and not expanded metal mesh as shown in the picture. The nest box should be filled with white pine shavings 3in deep. The cage should be protected from direct wind and prolonged exposure to sun. While sunlight is great for birds, a shaded area in the cage should always be available to them. Once you have the setup in place, you
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Breeding Alexandrine Mutations: The Lutino

Introduction The Alexandrine is a beautiful bird similar in appearance to the Indian Ringneck. The characteristics that distinguish an alexandrine from an Indian Ringneck include red-brown shoulder patches, a wider neck ring and larger size. While the Indian Ringneck is available in several color mutations the Alexandrine is generally available only in the normal green. It is possible to produce Alexandrine  colour  mutations by hybridizing the Alexandrine with the Indian Ringneck. Such a program however requires a long term commitment, space and responsible breeding practices to be successful and to preserve the purity of both species. In this article a breeding program is outlined that breeds a sex-linked mutation such as Lutino into the Alexandrines. To start the breeding program you need a good normal Alexandrine and a Lutino Ringneck. There are two options at the start of the program. 1) A Lutino Ringneck cock paired to a normal Alexandrine hen 2) Normal Alexandrine c
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