This is the new white ticked hen. You can see some yellow feathering too. She's a lovely shape.

The new white cock bird is harder to photograph - he doesn't like the camera!

The new yellow ticked cock is a stunner - he is very nervous and not keen on the camera. I have him in a cage with Elizabeth's brother and No 9 and I can't actually tell the two yellows apart easily.

And a short movie of my birdroom this evening. There is a lot of singing going on but I made a real rookie error in reducing the light which has put a lot of my birds into a moult. I am now leaving the light timer alone!

The new cock bird from John Morris arrived this evening. He's a long bonnie bird.

He's had a long journey and is a bit flighty this evening so I am letting him settle in. He's found the food and water so he'll be fine when he can have a sleep shortly when the lights go off for the evening.

The white hen is looking good this evening - more relaxed.

Happy New Year, 2013!

I have bought in some outcrosses - birds from an entirely different gene pool which will, hopefully, maintain the vigour of my birds and help me to establish my own stud. I have admired the white (known as blue) birds for some time and today acquired a pair from Sandy Innes, a champion breeder and exhibitor. They are really lovely birds. Tomorrow they will be joined by a bird from John Morris, another champion. I want to bring in some longer birds which will improve mine which tend to be smaller and shorter - like me! So more pictures tomorrow.

This is the hen - I like her grizzled cap.

And this, the cock bird. They are dominant whites which means that they must be bred to another colour or you will breed at least 25% dead in shell. It's a probem of the white mutation.