Alpha has had a nest of 4 chicks.  This is the first time that I have bred him.  He is Ballet Dancer's son from 2009 and is now less than 2 years old. I wanted chicks from him as he has a strong character, long soft curving tails and an excellent display.

When he molted from juvenile, he did not shed his tail feathers.  I had several unsolicited offers to purchase him but I was not keen to part with him as I felt that he might turn out to be something special if he grew long tails.

When he subsequently had his 2nd molt and shed his juvenile tails, his new adult tails exceeded 13".  It will be interesting to see how long his tails will be after his next molt.

Yesterday, I took his chicks from the nest as my inexperienced helper thought, whilst I was at work, that the parents were not feeding them enough.  In fact, Alpah and his mate were together feeding the chicks well.  Anyway, at 3 days of age the chicks are not too difficult to look after.  They are all doing well and I hope that there will be a spectacular shama from amongst them.