Archive for December, 2009

Breeding Pairs – Go or Stay – Artificial Lighting

Remove any eggs that you do not want to transfer, but leave the box open for a day. After a day close off the nest box entrance. Allow the pair to adjust to the new scene for another 2 days. Then remove them to a stock cage along with others similarly affected, but make sure the pair are close together.

Worming – Purchasing – Vitamin D – Showing Hens

Vitamin D that is lost in this way should be replaced artificially via multivitamin solutions and / or cod liver oil bought from your pharmacy.

Flecking in Chicks – Ionisers – White Ceres – Cod Liver Oil

Cod liver oil is seriously valuable for its vitamin contents as these give health and great energy to the stock, as well as the iodine content for the thyroid – without which budgerigars do not reproduce easily.

Getting The Best from Your Stud

The desire to breed super exhibition budgerigars is the ambition of every fancier in every country. I am well aware of the fact that the Australian show scene and its structure and administration is different to the UK. That aside, we all have the same aim as it is the finest birds on display that we wish to breed and own for the simple reason of pride in having achieved something that money cannot buy.

Daniel Lütolf – A Breeder Ahead Of His Time

In my time, I have interviewed hundreds of very good breeders in their aviaries in many parts of the world – all have contributed good ideas. Occasionally I come across a few breeders who seem to think more deeply than their contemporaries. One such breeder is Daniel Lütolf in Würenlos, close to Zürich, Switzerland. Lütolf [...]

Every One Counts

There is no doubt that the start to any season is the most difficult. I can tell that the birds are ready to breed by looking at the behaviour of the hens as well as their condition. All my flights have the sexes mixed year round. This is because the current year stock learn their sexual habits very early. If you keep the big hens separate they just sit in the flights and get overweight with predictable poor results. Mix them and keep them active.

Breeding Advice

One has to remember that today we strive to breed bigger and better birds. General feeding apart, you must always provide grits which possess granite like particles (insoluble) and shell particles (soluble). Not only should it be given but it must be changed every week to every pair.

Avian Influenza

In 1997, the first reports of a human death from avian influenza originating in the Far East appeared in the press. By 2003 it reached a more noticeable level.

This was attributed to a specific avian flu form in poultry which also occurs periodically in wild birds. The particular strain of avian flu involved is called the H5N1 variety and is pathogenic.

Timber Value Affects Fanciers

Forestry owners have seen their woodlands increase in value by two and a half times since 2006 owing to rising timber prices and a market that outstrips supply.

This is why anything made of wood for the hobby – be it cages, show cages, nest boxes and aviaries of all kinds – has suffered directly from these world wide increases. Manufacturers are all affected so such prices have to be passed on to even make a reasonable profit for any labour involved.

New Publication “The Budgerigar” by Dr Robert Marshall

Fanciers will have seen a bird(s) with the nostrils within the cere exuding a fluid. This is often associated with darkened feathers immediately above the cere. The fluid can also possess a foul smell. At the same time, the nostrils can be seen to be closing as the fluid slowly hardens around the nasal apertures.

Accident at Daniel Lütolf’s Aviary

Daniel Lütolf accidently lost 18 cocks, mostly 2007 and 2008 birds, while breeding very recently. No hens were affected, but naturally eggs and chicks were lost as well. Eggs opened later with embryos in them, were found to have black heads on every embryo.

Importing & Exporting Budgerigars

It is inadvisable to return to the UK without having conformed with the rules. To do so risks the birds being impounded / destroyed at the exit port or port of arrival by the authorities and future imports by you will be affected.

Attack, Attack, Attack

There are a few breeders who have woken up that they have to attack quality now or give up. That is why I have attacked that myself and built up a great depth of quality so that breeders know they have a good chance of getting something to improve what they have at home. There are few aviaries around with the quality depth – perhaps only 10 in total in the UK.