Funky's younger brother

This is Funky's brother from the nest after him. Like his 2 brothers before him, Cochise and Funky, he shows exceptional courage and character. He still has 2 brothers from later nests then him, who are now only entering their molt. From the looks so far, they will probably also not disappoint.

2009 Breeding Season

I had a bumper harvest of 40 shama chicks last year, half of which were male. The work was just too much for my home and for this year, I had decided that there would be minimal breeding and only 1 to 2 specially selected pairs would be bred.


Apache and Super Model’s Daughter’s offspring

The first pairing was Apache and Super Model’s daughter. This pair had produced only 1 male chick (Cochise) in 2008. He was outstanding in character, display and song and my friends, Michael and Jeffrey, expressed interest in each of them having a male chick from this pair. I of course tried to oblige. Altogether, I took 4 nests from the pair this year. There was only 1 male from each nest of chicks.

The first male, Funkie, went to Jeffrey. He proved to be almost all that we could have hoped for with first molt tails of 11 1/4". I kept the 2nd male, DDS243. Until 2 weeks ago, I thought that DDS243 was not of the same quality as Funkie. The main reason was that he had a large chest and seemed to be the Medan type of shama. Surprisingly, the chest has slimmed and he now looks like any other Malaysian type shama. He primary tails after the first molt seem to be slightly more than 9". Like Cochise and Funkie, he is fierce and also has beautiful song.

I had molted DDS243 in a cage instead of in the aviary. as I usually do with my birds To ensure that he was not disturbed during the molt, his cage was covered with a light coloured cloth at all times except when he taking his bath or his cage is being cleaned. His cage cloth was seldom removed during the molt as he would immediately start to display and sing even if his cage was being carried.

The 3rd clutch of 2 chicks (a male and a female) from Apache and SuperModel's daughter went to Michael. The male looks promising but it is too early to be sure how he will turn out.

I had wanted to separate Apache and his mate after the 3rd clutch. However, having seen how Funkie was turning out I decided to take one more clutch from them. Unfortunately, I was replanting my front garden and there was constant movement of 6 gardeners around the aviary during the time that the female was sitting. On the day that the first eggs from the 4th nest were due to hatch, I was told on returning home that 2 of the eggs had hatched but the parents had removed the chicks and placed them on the aviary floor. They were dead.

There was 1 egg left in the nest. As the parents would probably have also killed the chick that hatched from the egg if it was left in the nest, I removed the egg for hatching in the incubator. Before placing the egg in the incubator, I checked to make sure that there was indeed a chick that was about to hatch.

I first candled the egg. I could tell from the dark mass in the egg that there was an almost fully developed chick. To confirm that the chick was alive, I prepared a bowl of slightly warm water and placed the egg inside. After the ripples caused by the placement of the egg in the water had subsided, I noted gentle ripples moving outward from the egg. These ripples are caused by the unhatched chick moving in the egg and this in turn causing the egg to move. Satisfied that the chick was alive, I placed the egg in the “hospital cage” that has proved itself in my use for the past 10 years.

Below is a photograph of the hospital cage with the egg in the container.

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At about 1 a.m. that night, I happened to be awake and looked into the incubator. The chick had just hatched. I knew from past experience that there would be no need to feed the chick until much later in the morning if it was kept quiet and in the dark. The chick was fed in the morning and this is what he looked like on the 2nd day:

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The chick has grown well and he has been transferred to an aviary for exercise to ensure his full and proper development. Before I leave off, I should acknowledge that although my dear wife has no interest in my birds, she ungrudgingly takes care of the chicks from day 1 until they are able to eat on their own when the need arises. I am really grateful to her.

Ballet Dancer’s Progeny

The other pair that I bred this year was Ballet Dancer and a female that had not been tried with him in previous years. I took only 2 nests from him and obtained 2 male chicks. The chick from the first nest seems really special and seems superior in structure to Apache’s offspring.

The other male chick from Ballet Dancer is still too young to access his potential accurately.

After 2 nests I separated Ballet Dancer and his mate although they were still in top breeding condition. In retrospect, in view of how his eldest male chick is turning out, I must say that I have some regret at having done so.

Ballet Dancer's son, Toadhead, practising his line dancing moves at 21 days of age

DDS243

This is DDS243 at 32 days. As suggested by his many photos on this blog, I am glad to have him.

This photo shows the type and structure of most of the birds I breed nowadays to a greater or lesser extent.

DDS243 is well proportioned. His outstanding features are an exceptionally strong large head (which is highly desirable in a male) on a long neck with a body on also long and graceful legs. This combination is one of the most difficult things to find in shamas, whether captive bred or wild-caught. Just have a look at the photos of shamas on the forums and the web and you will know what I mean.

DDS243's parents are Apache and SuperModel's daughter. He is the result of a repeat mating from the pair that was bred last year, when Michael obtained one male, Cochise, from them. Cochise's character, display and song are so exceptional that everyone who saw him (including myself) wanted a son from his parents. Insofar as structure is concerned, the shorter neck of Cochise is corrected in DDS243.




Even when at rest in the photo on the right,
his large head and well defined neck can
be seen.


So far this year, the pair of Apache and SuperModel's Daughter have produced 2 males. One went to Jeffery and I have one. I still have to try to get a nest from the pair for Michael. After that, if they are still in breeding condition, I may try for a final nest to see if I can have 2 male chicks from this pair for myself.



There is a slow motion video of Jeffery's chick DDS239 on this blog which I have reproduced below as it gives some idea of why I regard its parents to be exceptional producers of highly desirable shamas.





The pair not only produce males of the desired type but DDS's 243's sister also seems to be that special "one in a million" female. In all my years of breeding shamas, I have never seen as promising a female at one month of age as this. The photo below shows her at 22 days.





There was a small gathering at my home this evening and I could see the jaws of my friends (who are knowledgeable shama owners) drop when they saw her and her display. She really looks perfect. I hope she turns out well and will be able to pass her genes to her offspring.

I am sorry to have to inform that whilst I have had many enquiries to acquire my captive-bred shamas, I will regretfully have to disappoint. I keep and breed shamas only as a hobby and for this year,I have decided to breed only for my close friends and I so there will be no young birds for sale. The decision was made earlier this year as last year showed me that having many chicks meant that a large part of the time was spent tending to them. This left me less time for the adult birds and the hobby was less enjoyable.

The intention so far this year is only to breed those pairs that are likely to produce exceptional progeny and which have not been bred to any great extent in previous years. As mentioned, Apache has produced only one male chick and so has Ballet Dancer. By the way, Ballet Dancer is the bird whose photo is at the top left corner of this blog. The only son I still have from him is Gifted, whose recent video is on this blog and who is the father of one of my favourite shamas, Pretty Boy. As I am not breeding Gifted at this time, I have loaned him to Michael to breed and I hope he does not disappoint.

For the above reasons, I intend to breed only Apache and Ballet Dancer and give the other birds a rest this year. Males, such as Icon, which was a fantastic producer last year with 24 chicks, several of which were outstanding, will not be bred this year as I have sufficient of his progeny. As soon as my close friends and I have the birds that we want for ourselves, I will stop breeding the birds for this year and take the time to enjoy the birds that I already have.

DDS242- 19 days

Apache's third nest

After the Apache pair's 2nd nest of chicks, I removed the box and destroyed the nest which had become a little soiled. The box was cleaned and this morning I replaced the box and put new nesting material in the aviary.

The photo below shows SuperModel's daughter answering the gentle calls of Apache who is in the box. As can be seen, she is still in top breeding condition after 2 nests.



Here, Apache is entering the box under the watchful eyes of his wife:

DDS241

DDS240 and DDS241

At 39 days of age. DDS239 was selected by my good friend and it has gone to its new home.

Apache's 2nd Nest

As can be seen from the earlier photos, the 3 chicks from Apache's first nest are developing well. Below is the 2nd nest of chicks. They are 3 days old.



There seems to be 2 males from the first nest. A close friend will have his choice of the males. I will keep the remaining 2 chicks as well as the chicks from the 2nd nest.

I will breed the parents once more as I have promised the entire third nest to another close friend who will take all the chicks when they are about 8 days old. I will then separate the pair even though it appears from their high form at this time that they are capable of having several more nests if I allow them. Thereafter, I hope I will be satisfied for the time being with what I already have and will not be tempted to breed more shamas this year.

Apache and SuperModel's Daughter's Chicks(6)

29 days of age:

DDS239

Here is DDS239 at 28 days of age.



Two of the 3 eggs from Apache's 2nd nest have hatched. The chicks must have hatched yesterday as they look a day old today. I left the unhatched egg in the nest and did not carry out checks to find out if it is fertile and about to hatch. I could if I wanted to. The process involves holding an egg candler (I use the Brinsea Egglume) against the egg and shining a light into it.

If there is a chick in the egg, the light will not be able to shine through but we still need to know if the chick is alive or if it has died without being able to break through the shell.

To check, take a bowl of slightly warm water. Wait for the water to settle until the surface is completely smooth. Then gently lower the egg into the water taking care to disturb the water as little as possible. Wait a few seconds for the water to completely settle. If there is a live chick in the egg, it will move. This, in turn will cause the egg to move slightly in the water and you will see slight ripples on the water surface moving outwards from the egg. If the chick is dead, there will be no movement and no ripples.

Apache and SuperModel's Daughter's Chicks(5)

At 22 days, the chicks are already looking for food and eating confidently on their own. They still need to be fed by hand but the period between hand feeds is progressively increased to encourage the chicks to feed on their own. Within a few days more, all hand feeding will stop. The chicks will then tend to become wild if there is no human interaction



As can be seen, the chick is healthy and has developed well on a diet of froglets, mealworms, crickets and fish. The bones have grown strong without any avian calcium supplementation (liquid or otherwise). If the diet is complete there is no need for supplementation of vitamins and minerals. It is best to supplement only where there is reason to believe that the diet may be deficient as problems may result from over-supplementation.

Apache & SuperModel's Chicks(4)

Here is 1 of the 3 Apache chicks being hand-fed with a cricket today.



The last photo on this blog showed the chicks at 12 days of age. This was shortly after they had left the safety of the nest. At that time it could be seen from the looks on their faces, that they were bewildered by the world outside their nest. Two or three days will need to pass for the chicks to settle down. Meanwhile, their feed should continue in the same manner as before they left the nest.

When feeding chicks in the nest, it is necessary to place the food directly in the beaks. The chicks will stretch in the direction of the food they see but they expect to have the food placed directly in the beaks and will not peck at the food. For the first 2 to 3 days after they leave the nest, they should be fed the same way.

Around the 14th or 15th day after hatching, they will have settled down and will begin exploring the cage or aviary. This is the time that I place some dry food and live food directly on the floor of the cage. As the chicks wander around the cage, they will inquisitively peck at almost anything they see. Anything that moves slowly, such as a crippled cricket or molted mealworm will attract attention and receive a peck. Dry food on the floor will also be tasted and a little eaten.

The above photo shows the chicks today, at 19 days of age. By this time, the chicks are taking about ½ their intake of food from the floor of the cage. They will be calling less for food but they will still need to be fed now and again. Chicks that are very hungry will not explore and look for food but will just sit and call. They will start looking for food somewhere between hand-feedings. To encourage the chicks to ‘hunt’ for their food, the time between feeds should get longer and longer but always taking care to feed them before they get too hungry.

As soon as the chicks start pecking at food on the floor, the manner of their hand-feeding should change. Instead of placing the food directly in the beak, the food should be held slightly away so that the chick will have to reach out and peck at the food. It takes a few days but by the 19th day (as can be seen in the above photo) the chicks have become quite adapt at it.

The method of feeding chicks set out above is similar to the way that the chicks will be taught by their parents to eat on their own. By doing what the parents would do, we are bring up our chicks in a somewhat similar fashion.

If the chicks are not taught to eat in the manner set out above, it will take much longer for them to learn to eat on their own and even when they are more than a month old, they will still gape for food. Such birds tend to become over dependent on humans and not the type that hobbyists in Asia look for.

Apache & SuperModel's Daughter's Chicks(3)

Apache's first nest of chicks at 12 days of age. Two left the nest yesterday. The youngest, by one day, left the nest this morning. He is the third chick on the right of the screen. The feathers on his head have not completed their growth.

The world outside the nest is new to them as can be seen from the way they look. Within a few days they will become very assured.

Apache & SuperModel's Daughter's Chicks(2)

Photo shows Apache's chicks being fed a cricket by my wife. They are 9 days old.

Apache & SuperModel's Daughter's Chicks

After breeding 40 shama chicks last year, I decided to take a rest this year and only breed those pairs that I or my friends really wanted to have chicks from. The chick that impressed us the most last year was Cochise, from Apache and SuperModel's daughter. Even when he was very ill, he would sing and display as though there was nothing wrong with him. My friends requested that I breed his parents again this year in the hope that more males like Cochise will be produced.

Cochise's parents are the only shamas that I have paired so far this year. Below are their first nest of chicks for this year. The chicks are 5 days old.