Latest fledglings

4 of pair 4's chicks have left the nest. Probably the best birds this year. I wasn't going to keep any young this year, but I may be tempted with the very red cinnamon opaline hen in the first picture.

Red opaline cinnamon hen

Red fronted opaline cock

Other red fronted opaline cock in the middle

Other red cinnamon opaline hen (slightly more orangery than the other)

A fed fronted cinnamon hen still needs to fledge

And here it is, pair 3's single chick. I'm very disappointed with the parents doing this. However, the chick is a big strong bird and will have its feathers back in a few weeks or so.

latest pictures of the reds

 I was wrong. A cinnamon hen in the middle, between the two cinnamon red opaline hens and the green opaline cock in the corner.

The other green opaline cock at the other end of the box.

The next pictures will probably be when they fledge.

Cinnamon makes sexing easy

Due to the sex-linked inheritance of cinnamon, both cinnamon opalines on the right will be hens, the green opalines (a third is at the other end of the nest box) will be cocks.

Assuming dad is not split for yellow (he may be);

Red fronted cinnamon / opaline cock x red fronted yellow opaline hen gives;

Cocks

50% Green opaline / yellow cinnamon

50% Green /yellow cinnamon opaline

Hens

50% Cinnamon / yellow

50% Cinnamon opaline / yellow

All red fronted. But why some are more red than others...I don't know.

Amazing colours

Very excited about pair 4's chicks. Cinnamon opalines. But why is one showing such are darker red than the other? It's not the addition of yellow as the flight feathers are to dark.

However, I'm not to happy about pair 3. They have servery plucked their chick.

more red feathers

Pair 3's chick is doing OK, but does not look like it's going to be that red.

Pair 4's chicks are doing very well. Looks like dad is split for opaline, not sure about yellow yet but the two on the right (in the bottom two pictures) are starting to show a significant amount of red feathers.

Taken Friday

Taken today

Acrobatics