Q1: Please explain your feeding regime – including any extras you may give for the breeding season, and do you stop these extras at the end of the breeding season?

GSB:

Keep a variety of seeds so that the birds can select what they want, but keep the canary seed content high as it contains the highest protein.

Extras are a multivitamin (Abidec here in the UK) and vitamin B12 (Cytacon here in the UK), plus the seed mixture is given a low dose of cod liver oil (vitamins A & D) all year, to ensure that the birds’ metabolism is high and they then breed well, rather than sit there and do nothing.

I also give Hormova and essential minerals.

Routine is year round. Budgerigars object to changes in diet.

Q2: Please explain the importance of giving grit in our birds’ diet

GSB:

Whatever else you may have read about grit not being needed, forget it.

Nature provides an organ in the digestive system called a gizzard. It is a very strong muscular organ with a tough lining. Its purpose is to muscularly move and – provided there are two types of grit being provided (soluble and insoluble) – it will work perfectly to grind down the seed intake so that it is easily digested.

No grit – no proper digestion.

Grit must be replaced weekly – no longer than that.

No grit — no teeth!

Q3: What single product do you consider the best you have used throughout your breeding career? Also do you think it is still a strong contender among the other maybe more modern, products?

GSB:

Undoubtedly Hormova – not Hormoform.

It is sold by Harkers in the UK and used by some European breeders.

It recently changed its base powder from a red appearance to white. Some breeders find the birds reject this and I have passed that back to Harkers and they are looking to change it back again.

I thought it would make no difference and said so – but I was wrong.

Fed in finger drawers, the overall vitamin content is perfect and I first saw it 55 years ago in Joe Collyer’s aviary. Fertility and chicks were there in bucket loads.

Many modern products are made by well meaning manufacturers – but they are in the main, not budgerigar breeders.

Robert’s query:

After visiting and discussing the birds diet, I was alarmed at the suggestion by my friend that chlorine in the water kills most, if not all, vitamin supplements that we administer in water. This to include Cytacon, Abidec and I imagine others.

This was passed on to him by a pharmacist.

Your views please.

For the correct answer, I wrote to Dr Gloria Havenhand of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, UK. Gloria is known throughout the hobby and is fully qualified to answer. She is married to top budgerigar breeder Don Havenhand.

Here is Gloria’s answer in full:

As we all know, most councils add chlorine to our drinking water – and if the council says it is okay – it is okay is it not?

Mainly, chlorine is added to stop harmful bacteria growing at a rate of knots in our water supply.

Remember, our drinking water is mostly recycled sewage water!

Chlorine is the “chariot of carnage” for bacteria like E.coli – but do remember that if chlorine can affect one organism, it is as likely to affect another, and another, in some way or other.

Remember all of you – chlorine gas was pumped into the faces and lungs of your great grandfathers in the First World War (1914–1918). It killed and maligned thousands on the battlefield by destroying lung and throat membranes within a few short breaths!

Chlorine is a halogen – in the same group as fluorine, bromine and iodine. These are never naturally found in nature! They can be killers above a dose of 1,000 parts in 1 million in humans and less than 100 parts per million in birds and small mammals.

They have highly unpleasant and suffocating fumes, can burn flesh and are certainly toxic. That is why they decimate bacteria!

DDT, the disaster chlorine-based pesticide of the 1960’s, was eventually banned in 1973 in the USA – it was cumulative in muscle and hence the meat and fish we all ate. DDT caused hormonal and central nervous disruption in humans and a multitude of animals sledging down the food chain. Guess what – DDT is back again today and used against the malarial parasite.

It is difficult to sit easy about any chemical – it has the habit of déjà vu!

So, where does this leave us with chlorine and the question of its effect on vitamins?

Take heed that chlorine slays most of the good bacteria in our intestines and probably that in birds too!

Bacteria spearhead the production of vitamins like vitamin B12 and vitamin K within the intestine. This is why we have so many ads on TV for Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli – good bacteria which elbow out the nasty pathogens our gut develops when slaked with chlorine, fluorine and antibiotics of any description!

You all apply and dose ill birds with antibiotics, slaying vitamins and good bacteria at a swipe!

So you choose.

Less is more – I would advise.

This is why so many bird fanciers use bee propolis essence – the natural antibacterial from the beehive – essential to apply to feather problems externally and immune boost internally and which has no detected effect on vitamin and nutritional absorption.

Vitamin absorption and use by date are singularly time based – so a daily supplement is okay – but is just waiting around the intestinal bend to be devastated in its form!

Use you head and your heart.

Further Reading:

• Halogens
• Bee Propolis Essence

I also know that some breeders just do not think it possible to do this easily with the larger birds we have today by comparison to those bred in the past. I beg to differ, when one takes a stud of birds as a whole.

I am not talking about individual birds which just refuse to breed at any price. I am discussing the total number of birds bred on the perches at the end of a complete breeding season.

This however has to be related to the actual number of pairings that have taken place. It is not good enough to say you have bred, say, 100 chicks and divide by 10 breeding cages, to get an average figure per pair produced. To be accurate you have to divide the total chicks by the actual number of pairings that you have made. This gives you the full reality of the success or failure of a season.

Evolving a System

It is of vital importance, particularly post the Millennium, that one has to create a system of breeding big budgerigars along with all the other desirable exhibition features.

A big budgerigar will always beat a smaller one given other similar character features when judged.

The old phrase is that you are better trying to breed “rats” by comparison to “mice”.

Some fanciers will only buy the bigger-framed birds and there is a lot of merit in that, but that said the value of a bird is primarily related to the qualities of the head overall from the base of the mask upward.

It is no use having a big bird with very poor head features.

Breeders generally, in my experience, develop their own techniques and believe they have found a “secret” to do well and breed birds of quality year in, year out.

It has been known that some who have struck lucky and bred a nest from some outcrosses, that turn out to be really outstanding, describe themselves as geniuses as livestock breeders – that is until a few more seasons have past and the full realisation that they are no such thing brings them crashing down.

We are all “playing” with different systems, inbreeding, outcrossing and so on, in the hope that super winners emerge. Great when one does, but sustaining it, is, dare I say it, “The Challenge”.

Establishing a strong feeding system has to be coupled with your breeding system. this. One cannot succeed without the other.

Selective Breeding

Selective breeding has resulted in the development of the budgerigar from the 1840′s to what we see on the bench today in certain colour forms.

This is mainly in the grey, grey greens, light greens and skyblues as a generalisation.

In photographs seen on websites, as well as in books and magazines, we can see a super quality bird, but cannot assess its size overall. It may look a wonder bird but may be very much a medium sized bird.

An analogy is that you cannot gauge how big or small a person is on TV. Nobody realises, for instance, how big was Les Martin’s Best in Show at the UK Budgerigar Society – both as a breeder in 2009 and as an adult in 2010.

My own Grey Green cock BA23 43 86, which won against a field of 4500 entries was very similar in size, but not with the directional feather that has developed in the past 7-8 years. To achieve such size, or power, as I prefer to call it, one has to have a perfect feeding system that works. Without it you are sunk as you can breed that potential super bird, but if it is badly fed it simply falls back into the pack.

To Beginners & Novices

The finest advice, especially to the beginner, is to do next to nothing in the first year once you have decided that this is the hobby for you.

Why? Simply because you have not the experience to design the right aviary and buy the right stock to start with immediately.

A year can be a long time when you are keen to get going, but believe me by reading, listening to lectures, going round as many aviaries as you can and developing the “eye” for quality and the prices for quality birds, this approach will give you a head start and save you a great deal of unnecessary expense in the long term.

Learn the basics first. It is a technique that you have to learn and where assessing quality on a budgerigar is concerned, some never learn it. Many so called judges prove that from time to time.

When you have done your apprenticeship, buy big birds if you can, but be wary of buying hens that are not only big but thick around the vent area – this is usually a sign of previous attempts to breed with them. They can be trouble.

All breeders should have a pedigree system. Amazingly very few fanciers ask for a pedigree and certainly sellers don’t offer them unless asked, because they can take up a great deal of time to complete unless they have a computerised system that can faithfully be completed all the time.

Better to start a system from the beginning and insist on obtaining a pedigree, even if only two generations back. If you do not have a system you cannot know what you are doing and neither can any subsequent buyer have any confidence in purchasing stock from you.

The Feeding Book

All fanciers should have a “Feeding Book”. You have to record your feeding system down to the minutest details. If you have a poor season you can look back at how your stud was fed in the previous season and conversely if you have a super season, you again look back and stick to that technique.

If you have a copy of “The Challenge” and you are in trouble, may I recommend the two chapters on “Feeding” to you.

At first glance they look complex, but study them in depth and you should be able to see what your diet lacks or where you have force fed too many vitamins and other faults. It’s all there if you take the time and trouble to digest the contents to achieve better and final good results.

One easily created fault is that it is so easy to forget buying this or that product that is part of your system and it is only when you look at your Feeding Record book that it reveals the mistake(s).

Lastly, record any changes that you make in the diet when you do them – not later as they get forgotten.

Feeding Technique Advice

If you are a raw beginner, you will have been around aviaries in that first year and listened to the feeding advice from very experienced breeders who have been breeding budgerigars for years.

Do not necessarily expect all of them to reveal everything they do!

Some may leave out an item which is a “key” factor in their technique. Others will be fully open.

The breeders you are looking for are those who have, say, 40 pairs of cages which are nearly full of chicks, year in year out.

Now here is the important point. Keep your eyes wide open. Look at exactly what is being fed in each cage and also what has been consumed and look for the leftovers that are still in evidence. What minerals and vitamins are going in, both in solid and solution via the drinkers? What packets are on display and what bottles are present?

The seed mixtures everyone looks at as though that is the main clue. Unfortunately it is only part of the whole input and frankly I feel that, provided you have a high percentage of canary seed, which has the highest protein content, all the other conventional seeds we use are just the fillers to the diet – but they have to be there.

Reproduction – what you put in you get out

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Are your birds looking as though they are active and keen to breed?
2. Are you hens calm and relaxed and good incubators?
3. Do some hens scream their head off when you open the boxes and scatter the eggs? If so make a note to not use them again.
4. Is feather plucking a problem indicating the hens are nervous?
5. Do the hens emerge from the boxes when slightly disturbed or not?
6. Is the fertility good or spasmodic? Are the cocks too young and lacking experience?
7. Are the hens basically all feeding well apart from the odd pair that produce scrawny retarded chicks that eventually die?

Such questions are limitless, but are all basically geared to: “what am I doing wrong?”

In 99 per cent of cases it is your husbandry and lack of attention that is at fault. You are the provider and in full charge of your livestock. If you are not prepared to put in the effort – why bother being in the hobby at all?

If things go wrong, it’s your fault, not the birds – apart from the standard irritations they dish out in this or that nest.

I have personally made many mistakes over the years and have tried to learn in the process, but when I make the same error twice, I really get angry with myself!

Check the Temperature

When your birds are breeding in the Northern hemisphere a temperature setting should be 10 degrees Centigrade (50 degrees Fahrenheit) from experience.

Lower than that and eggs get chilled very quickly when a hen is off the eggs for any reason for a period. It takes time for them to excrete, mate and fill up their crops and addled eggs can appear later on quite easily.

In warmer countries, breeding is far easier, as Reinhard Molkentin in South Africa confirms having previously experienced breeding in Germany.

Of course heating charges get worse year by year and you can run up big bills, but you have to balance your affordability against the results you are getting.

In conclusion, remember that the first round chicks are not always fed as well with the rich crop milk required – especially from young hens. Their crop milk does not flow as well until the second or subsequent rounds when the chicks are much fuller in the hand when still in the nest at four or five weeks of age.

It is these latter rounds that are frequently the rounds that produce those “Rat Sized” birds!

One of these in the hand gives great pleasure and makes the efforts and overhead expenses worthwhile.

Happy Breeding!

Please be aware, that some of these may be unique to Australia or available in other parts of the world under a different name.

Pro-biotic

Plain yoghurt (warm) is a good source of introducing gut flora (good bacteria or intestinal microbial balance) for newly hatched birds, birds that may be ill and/or not eating well.

The yogurt will “reboot” or “balance” their “good” stomach flora.

You can buy pro-biotic in powder form that is water soluble, one being “Probac Soluble” from The Australian Pigeon Company, and it is recommended that it should be given to the bird for 2 days after any antibiotic treatment.A pro-biotic can be used during periods of stress or generally as a ‘pick me up’.

DO NOT over use anti-biotics as they can (in some cases) do more harm than good.

I treated a number of budgerigars over a long period of time with anti-biotics plus “sterilised” the aviary to the point that the birds became “ill” and lost condition. A sample of faeces was kept prior to this process taking place. These faeces were crop fed as a “slurry” to one of the birds and within days it was bordering on full health – it basically helped to get the gut flora back to normal.

Some people like to have spotless aviaries / breeding cages. It is better to leave the birds faeces in the aviary / breeding cage (within reason and as long as not in the weather enabling it to get wet) as the faeces is a source of Vitamin B12 after a period of time.

Iodine

Iodine in the water creates a number of positives:

• it kills any bad bugs (organisms) that may be in the water
• helps warm the blood – great for winter
• (potentially) a more prolific breeding season as it helps the thyroid gland to remain ‘healthy’. The thyroid gland regulates many metabolic processes, including growth and energy use.

Treatment is 8 drops (1 drop = 0.05 ml.) of Iodine Tincture per litre of water 3-4 times a week (continual days). Disinfecting or purification time is around 15 to 30 minutes depending on water temperature.

Vitamins, Calcium & Grits

Natural sunlight produces Vitamin D and is required to assist the absorption of calcium along with other benefits.

A Vetafarm product “Soluvite D Breeder” is a water soluble formula with a variable of vitamins that are suitable for all species of birds. Liquid calcium can be added to this mix in the form of “CalcivitePlus” or “Calcivet” or similar products. This “blend” can be used to help prevent splayed legs, soft shelled eggs.

Mount Gambier water is full of lime and should be a suitable source of calcium to the birds. Some time ago, during the breeding season, I decided to change my water source from Mount Gambier water to rain water.

Within a week numbers of eggs were being produced with soft shells! What had I done?

A complete removal of the very thing they needed for egg production had been removed. A quick reversion to Mount Gambier water had things back on track in a short period of time.

If you are feeding more than 20% oil seed, then “CalcivitePlus” or similar might be needed, as this high intake of oil seed may interfere with the calcium intake of the bird.

Calcium Gluconate made up to 1.375 mg per ml of ‘water for injection’ is a good source of calcium. Inject around ½ ml to the chest muscle (budgerigar size).

Grit is great to give to the birds it helps them to grind up their seed, like teeth, the grit stays in the gizzard until it breaks down. Beach sand and shell grit are often used but they ‘dissolve’ a lot quicker due to the acids within the crop. Beach sand is of benefit as it contains salts and a variable of minerals.

Soft dolomite and/or limestone are also good for the birds as a source of calcium and will assist in beak ‘maintenance’.

Cuttlefish is high in calcium but it is more of a toy, the birds just break it up and leave it on the floor – they may get a small amount of calcium from it.

Be very careful where you get your Cuttlefish from as it is a great sponge and can absorb toxins that may harm or potentially kill your birds. I also suggest that if the Cuttlefish is powdery to touch, it should be thrown out. There is no substance in the Cuttlefish for one, and I fear some bacterial or other action has caused this breakdown and if the bird does have some intake I would not be certain of the end result for the bird.

Charcoal is a good toxin absorber and I feed this to the birds readily.

Silverbeet is a source of iron and Vitamin A and will help with cell production, the growth and repair of tissues and excellent for skin, bone, egg and feather health. Not enough Vitamin A can result in poor feather production.

Sprouted Seeds

Sprouted seeds are more valuable for the birds. They are rich in digestible energy, bio-available vitamins, minerals, amino acids and proteins noting that these are necessary for a germinating plant to grow.

Chavan and Kadam (1989) concluded that –

“The desirable nutritional changes that occur during sprouting are mainly due to the breakdown of complex compounds into a more simple form, transformation into essential constituents and breakdown of nutritionally undesirable constituents.”

Gum Branches

Fresh gum branches, including leaves are a good source of ‘sugar’ – and I should mention in particular for psittacines. I prefer to use sugar gum, but now find it hard to access.

The cambium (a layer of cells) produces sap conducting tissues:

• Xylem – carries water and dissolves minerals from the roots through the stem and leaves
• Phloem – carries the nutrients to all parts of the plant

This is a ‘natural’ for the birds but is best presented freshly cut to enable the birds to access the positives from within.

Medications I Keep on Hand

Doxyvet

“Doxyvet” or any Doxycycline water soluble product that is manufactured for birds is the first treatment that I give any new birds once they arrive at my establishment, for 7 days in the warmer climate and 10 days in the moist climate noting that some birds will take the ‘moisture from the air’ in lieu of drinking. Some birds can go for many days without a drink.

This product is also used for the treatment of Chlamydia or Psittacosis, a vet will diagnose this and then a 45 day treatment is required. Humans can get quite ill from Psittacosis and if you are having continual flu-like
symptoms, it is wise to inform your doctor that you keep birds so a simple blood test can be taken to assess if it is present within your system.

Ronivet-S

“Ronivet-S” to treat Canker (Trichomoniasis). I thought this issue was more of a Queensland problem because of the humidity.

Wrong! I had an outbreak last year that impacted my aviary, the birds were from Queensland, had been quarantined and were paired up and had chicks. The issue was with the chicks.

Luckily a local vet was vigilant and identified the problem and the loss was one bird. One bird too many. Now I treat every 3 months as recommended by the vet and on the label.

Emtryl

“Emtryl” is another product that treats Trichomoniasis but I would suggest use with caution.

It has been suggested that this product renders the cocks infertile for a number of weeks as well as being dangerous to use in hot weather as too large a consumption may kill the birds.

Use in winter or if it must be used during summer make sure it is a very weak dose – noting again that 4 treatments a year would be recommended.

I am talking budgerigars here and am not sure about other species.

Baycox

“Baycox” is used to treat Coccidiosis. Treat for 2 days and every 4 weeks if an ongoing issue. Aviaries that have dirt floors are more at risk of picking up this infection as it has the perfect environment to live in. The Oocysts can lay ‘dormant’ for years and with the right conditions, another outbreak.

One thing to remember with all of medicinal treatments is to NOT feed soft or green foods. The treatment should be the only source of ‘liquid’ available.

F10sc

“F10sc” is a veterinary disinfectant that kills off certain Gram+ and Gram- bacteria, yeast, fungi, mould, viruses including Newcastle Disease and avian influenza I have read. A very important addition to any establishment.

Moxidectin

“Moxidectin” wormer is a product manufactured for birds as is Combantrin for humans.

Fanciers use sheep and cattle products with great risk. Get the dose wrong and the end result can be disastrous.

Would you take a sheep or cattle product yourself in lieu of for example Combantrin? I suggest not.

Linco-Spectin

“Linco-Spectin” Anti-biotic Injectable Solution has probably saved more birds for me than any other product.

The correct dose injected into the keel muscle is the best way to administer.

Tricin – eye ointment

“Tricin – eye ointment” also used for ear problems in animals.

Tricin – Triple Anti-biotic Powder

“Tricin – Triple Antibiotic Powder” treats wounds that have infection from Gram+ or Gram- bacteria.

Avian Insect Liquidator

“Avian Insect Liquidator” or “AIL” a residual insecticide that is able to be sprayed onto the birds and lasts around 6 weeks.

I use in the nest boxes, on the perches and have great success with this product.

Before Treatment

Before treating any of my birds with a water soluble medication, be it preventative or a treatment, I remove the water container the afternoon prior to the treatment and give the ‘water’ as late as possible in the morning (late morning to early afternoon) so they ‘hit’ the container readily.

I DO NOT USE bottles to drip feed water. This is in my opinion a disaster waiting to happen. Open bowls only gives access to the birds to share the drinker plus minimises the risk of transfer of disease from one bird to another.

Caution

These are products that I use on my birds as required and take no responsibility for any other person using these products for whatever reason.

Personally I would prefer “looking after the hens” in the first place as being a far more positive way of looking at this problem.

This is the second of a two part article – you can read part one here.

Additives

I am no great user of additives. For many years, I used probiotics every week, but I use them less frequently these days and there are no obvious difficulties.

I do sincerely believe that if it is necessary to use antibiotics at any time, a good probiotic however is essential to replace the good bacteria in the gut systems after treatment.

As far as a vitamin supplement is concerned, I would use a multivitamin solution such as “Abidec” (obtainable from most pharmacies). This will bring the birds into solid breeding condition just before pairing. Used in the water a couple of days per week will make a huge difference to the hens.

Spraying Your Birds

I do not use outside flights these days as I believe our larger hens do not benefit from the outside stresses that can occur.

I prefer large inside flights, but I do spray the birds regularly. Once those young birds start to molt, as I have said earlier, this gives great benefits as described. Certainly their condition improves drastically.

I often visit other birdrooms and see the birds on display. Almost every time I look into a flight I think, “These birds could do with a good spray”.

Birds that are not sprayed appear to have hard, dry feathers, in contrast to a sprayed bird which appears to exhibit a softer look.

Breeding Ages

For myself, young hens always breed better than over-year hens.

I remember the late Harry Bryan telling me to use hens as young as 5 months of age when they were fit and in condition. He said at the time that they breed well at that age, but might not do so later if left after the conventional age of 9-10 months minimum.

I tried it for several seasons with success, but when used later, those hens were spoiled and became almost useless in a second season.

Today I wait longer and let such young birds mature internally and take such care with them that they breed well in their second and third seasons. A lesson to be learned when buying. Ask when were they first used and at what age?

Preparing to Breed

All the good management I have discussed, but now the trick to use, when the birds approach breeding fitness, is done by increasing the artificial lighting hours and steadily increase the fully lit day to which the birds will respond.

A good spraying on selected hens will also help advance their fitness to breed. It works!

In the winter months you can increase the heat to say 50 degrees F (10 degrees Centigrade) which is sufficient for the birds and yourself .

Pair Selection

In my opinion it makes no difference if the pairs are placed into the breeding cages together immediately.

Some fanciers prefer to select the cocks and they go into the cages first, followed by the hens later.

Others do the reverse.

I am not fixed on any system, but I do like to see the pairs reacting when introduced. I then know they are fit for breeding.

There has to be a reaction of some sort. Some mate instantly, others may just “kiss” and others may be aggressive to one another. If there is no reaction at all I leave them for a few days and watch. If still nothing, I break them immediately and try them later.

Post Breeding Procedures

After breeding, your birds need rest, time to recover and re-build those muscles used during the breeding months.

I try to have two rounds from a pair, occasionally three. Feeding too many chicks by a pair is too stressful for the hens and my preference is four similar sized chicks to each box.

Two rounds of four is enough for most hens and good sized chicks will result.

Taking a third round from a hen is satisfactory, but I do not let such hens rear their chicks. If you do, then your hens are virtually useless the following season.

Taking down the Pairs

When I split up the birds, or what some call “taking down the pairs”, I like to put the hens immediately into a double breeding cage and this is the “Rest Cage” where they can build up their stamina again and particularly their muscle tones.

Taking them straight from the boxes and direct to the big flights gives them little chance to re-form their bodies for the next season.

Once they are well rested, then they go into the big flights and can withstand the competition and get full exercise along with top grade feeding.

The Over Year Hens

I leave the over year hens in the flights and tend not to show them.

I believe firmly they need months of rest before returning to another two rounds of breeding.

First time breeding hens (and they are often 8-10 months old) do not seem to know what to do when their first chick hatches.

A solution is to quickly put in a slightly older chick that has been fed and calling for more food and that stimulates the “novice hen” to feed both. Once she has the message, the older chick can be replaced in its original nest.

Egg Binding

I am fortunate in that I never seem to get a case of egg binding in my stud.

This is because of the preceding good husbandry that I practice.

They always have access to cuttlefish bone and oyster shell grit. I am not a fan either of calcium supplements as from what I have seen, the shells are so thick that it causes dead-in-shell because the chicks cannot fight their way out at 18 days.

Problems – Internal Layers – Prolapses and “No Interest”

The above are all serious problems, but again I say that if the hens are well prepared, they will avoid such matters and breed very well.

Good preparation avoids such problems.

Internal layers (hens that have the normal copious droppings but do not lay eggs) need to be replaced in the flights and put on standby. They are useless as breeders.

Hens that show no interest are different. You have to look at the bird and decide what the reason could be?

If she looks fit, she should breed, but if not put her back in the flight, watch her with others and it may be she has a liking for a certain cock bird and that is the reason? Think it through!

Buying Hens

This is never to be recommended, but we all have to do it sometimes especially those who are starting in the hobby.

Always try to buy young untried hens, the younger the better.

If they are young, perhaps bar-headed hens and unmolted, they then molt in your aviary and breed very well as they feel they have been born there. Hens always breed better in the aviary they have been born in.

Buying over year hens has to be a process of caution. Most are unreliable. You must trust your seller, check the design of his nesting boxes and if you have the same design, but still she will not breed – make a different design and the result can be amazing.

The Last Word

My last tip about hens that refuse to go to nest is simple.

Is the nest box open?

It has happened to all of us at some time or other.

Rarely do our birds let us down, but they will if you have not followed all this advice about your hens, so be warned.

Personally I would prefer “looking after the hens” in the first place as being a far more positive way of looking at this problem.

Caring for Your Hens

In my opinion, it is a matter of caring for your hens really well if you want success in the nest boxes.

You have to allow them to develop properly after they leave the nest as young chicks. Wean them slowly and allow them to molt in small flights where they are not stressed. Be patient and let them grow and build up muscle and never keep them in the stock cages too long, thinking you are preparing them for shows.

Remember never, never over show hens! Always think about showing the cocks and have a reluctance to benching your valuable hens, which are the key birds for your coming breeding season.

Hen management is not easy –it does not just happen without effort. And it`s not entirely about feeding lots of additives, but rather giving natural foods, good lighting, exercise, and heat during cold periods when necessary. We all want to produce top quality budgerigars in good numbers, so forget showing week in week out.

Care for those hens and they will reward you well.

The Weaning Process – Part 1

I always think about weaning the chicks from the moment they are about to learn how to feed for themselves.

At three weeks of age, I start to put pieces of soaked millet sprays in the appropriate nest boxes. This allows them to learn to feed much earlier than usual and once they leave the nest box, they know immediately what a millet spray is and feed straight away.

A sure sign is that they do not lose that weight they have acquired in the nest box quickly – a big advantage. Fast self feeding retains their weight. If they lose weight, their development is checked and they are quite simply knocked back for a long time.

Care and management is everything from the start of weaning.

I take chicks away from their parents earlier than most other breeders. I do this to reduce the chances of them being attacked by either of the parents. I use double breeding cages as weaning cages with about 8-10 birds in each section.

It is here that they will stay until they are almost three months old when the “bars” on their heads are starting to disappear and break. The first molt is making its appearance. It is now that I transfer them into a small inside flight.

The Weaning Process – Part 2

As I transfer these young babies, I check their flights and tails, removing any broken ones. They then get sprayed early in the day and then dry off in their new small flight, placing them on the perches as I do so.

I prefer inside flights and never longer than 8 feet (2.44 metres). Anything longer is too stressful for them.

They are then sprayed at least twice per week. Never a thorough soaking – just a light spray. This allows the water to assist the new feathering to grow through by keeping them soft and clean. It also encourages the birds to preen themselves by training them in this essential operation.

Obviously both hens and the cocks are treated identically at this point in their growth – it’s just good husbandry and aviary management.

It is the exception rather than the rule for me to run such young babies into show cages so early. I think it causes stress far too much and the only time I run a baby into a show cage is when I have a visitor in the birdroom and I want to show him something special.

My aviary is about producing breeding stock for the following season and not birds for the show bench.

Perhaps I have the emphasis wrong but showing never seems to improve my stud, but a successful breeding season, by contrast, takes me forward.

The Early Months

In the small inside flights the birds are molting steadily.

Keep up the spraying and never be reluctant to handle your birds at this time, running them through your hands so they are used to it. Check each bird as you do so for broken feathers and remove appropriately. This applies particularly to the tail feathers.

Massive flights tend to result in “wild” young birds that are unsteady when we do want to show a few or even start them breeding earlier than usual.

The modern post millennium budgerigars are bigger and more densely feathered than the birds of the past and are certainly more difficult to breed with – especially the hens of course.

Such big hens can be reluctant to fly from end to end in the big flights. It is not that they cannot fly at all, they just like to climb and perch rather than using their wings. I encourage such hens to perch by having perches closer to the floor area.

Many birdrooms have the lowest perches about 4 feet (1.2 metres) from the floor. Lower perches at least encourages these bigger hens to perch rather than gain too much weight on the floors.

Over Showing

Over showing seems to knock back your budgerigars.

It takes a lot out of a bird being out of its normal “home” and this is one reason that one-day shows in the UK have become more popular.

If the birds are really fit and well, the cocks can recover quickly, but the hens take far longer.

Show a hen several times in a show season, especially on consecutive weekends, and it is enough to jeopardise its breeding performance.

It is the experienced fanciers who show the cocks frequently. They protect their hens and only bench them at the top shows when necessary.

My Feeding Practices

This is really not the right place to discuss feeding, but its importance is obvious.

I do not believe that a simple mix of 50% canary and 50% millets is enough.

If you decide to feed what we call a 50 / 50 mix, it’s important to supplement it with a tonic seed containing a variety of other seeds including hemp and rapeseed, but I prefer a basic mixture that includes the seeds found in a tonic seed.

I am not a fan of feeding soaked oats, but I do feed them dry, or even unsoaked, as groats.

Softfood

I feed a quality commercial softfood throughout the year.

I use, what I believe to be the best that I can buy and then add hard boiled eggs and grated carrot.

Some breeders just feed this “extra” during the breeding season, but I feed it throughout the year on a daily basis.

Our heavier birds (and that of course includes the hens which are buff feathered) need more protein, and that begins with the eggs that are laid.

Hard boiled egg also improves the feather quality and colour of the finished articles.

Good sound feeding helps to build up the hens and combined with exercise, it gives muscle rather than just added weight which can be just fat.

Throughout the year, my birds also get an amount of spinach twice per week.

Part two of this article can be read here.

From: Bill Gillen, Australia

Hi Gerald,

Page 78 of your book “Best In Show” lists purified yeast powder.

I’ve asked all over Australia about it – but to no avail.

A company in Luton (UK) advertise it – 1kg for 398.80 UK pounds – is this the yeast you speak about in your book, or, is there another type of yeast powder (that is not so expensive)?

I have had the worst 2 years breeding ever and I now wish to try cold liver oil and yeast as recommended by you.

Gerald responds:

Dear Mr Gillen,

You are safe to obtain Brewers Yeast from any source.

You may find that health shops are the places to visit – you will get small quantities from there, or an enquiry at your pharmacy may bear fruit.

However, do remember that “Best in Show” was written by myself in 1974 and I would strongly advise you obtain “The Challenge” from me first so that all that you read is fully up to date.

That is not a sales pitch – just a sensible recommendation.

I still give cod liver oil, but not yeast these days!

Gerald S Binks

As most established readers will be aware, I have been in this hobby for 67 years from the age of 12.

In my own area of operations I doubt if there are many who have devoted themselves so much to trying to bring the hobby into the 21st Century, as much as myself. The great difficulty was surmounting the politics of less than 10 others (in my case) who chose to undermine anyone who dared to try. They possessed an ostrich like mentality that wanted to adopt the policy of “We have always done it this way”.

But of course they got the results they have always had and the hobby is where it is today – shrinking! They refused to accept change where change was and still is screaming at the hobby to be effected. Where is the marketing of the hobby? It is totally useless preaching how good the hobby is to ourselves when the public at large know nothing of our existance.

Let me give you an up to date example which I have written about before in other publications.

Take the Budgerigar Society World Championship, for example. Outside the Dome (in Doncaster) is a massive branch of ASDA. There is not even a tiny notice saying this great show is taking place, yet there are hundreds of cars with families inside the zone passing that point. So they don’t even know they could take their families inside a big show and perhaps lead their children into a hobby that could keep them off the streets and enjoy something of what essentially would become their own personal interest.

Inside the hall, I would delegate experienced fanciers to be introduced to them to explain what the hobby is all about and what a challenge it is. It would also be promoted around the local papers – all of them! It would be promoted on local radio and even TV – but where is the attack on this area? Basically nowhere.

This is not an attack at all on the Budgerigar Society. Today all nice guys, but all looking inward instead of outward. At my age it doesn’t matter to me personally, but I sometimes cringe at what might have been today if I had been fully backed in the mid 1980s. I have mentioned this item for several years now to the Budgerigar Society – but still nothing is done. It is the first thing I do when I drive in to the Dome area – look for the show promotion.

The same applies to all shows. In the south, I see exactly the same. Nobody is delegated to take a grip and given a free range to take action. It really is a great shame after so much effort goes into the show build up by the hard working officials, whom I always greatly appreciate having run the massive Budgerigar World shows on a personal basis.

To Budgerigars

To quote my great Scottish friend Jim Moffat who sadly is no longer with us, “I am still as keen as ever on quality budgerigars”.

In recent years since stepping aside as the Budgerigar World editor and writing “The Challenge”, I have attacked the birds like crazy and have been prepared to travel anywhere, even long distances of 6000 miles, to get what I want in terms of outcrosses.

Some folk have said I am expensive but in what I term the REAL purchasing outcross world, I am not in the same class. lf you have not travelled around much you would not realise what is being charged for what essentially are visually beginner / novice type birds.

You have to use your head, go alone or at most with one friend ideally, and never in a coach! In a large group you are helpless and you can get carried away trying to buy from someone with a famous ring number or whatever after travelling a long way. So be advised. Within numbers you cannot negotiate. Remember that.

At Tanglewood

As everyone knows you cannot stand still in the hobby. From recent visits to two top shows in the south this year it is abundantly clear that apart from perhaps six birds at most, quality has plummeted on the bench and that is out of 500-700 benched.

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.

Where the Moffat birds were concerned when I was gifted 50% of the stud by Jim and his family, there were some super cocks among them. They formed the basis of my red ring line today which has been taken to greater heights after working in new outcrosses. The hens at that earlier time were not quite as strong but still ideal to breed with. Jim was always looking for hens whenever we went anywhere. I wish he could see his line today. I wrote as much to his wife a short while ago saying as much – but it cannot be.

Moffat line aside, I was, and still am a grey green fanatic. The grey greens carry the size and quality so well that if you can win a big grey green class in the champion section, or intermediate section, you can go on to be a serious contender for Best in Show. So I bought in grey greens initially from Daniel Lütolf in Switzerland. I lost some which was a blow but pressed on until in 2005 I bought three young cocks which all did brilliantly and set the pattern for what I have today. They are all massive birds, great depth of mask and big spotted with 80% with round spots. Width across the cere level is excellent now and in my terminology “the buffao effect” is present in good numbers and increasing fast numerically.

Modestly he says “I am now in the position that I am uncertain where to go to bring in essential birds to prevent losing size and punch that is now fixed to avoid losing size, as happens, if you don’t outcross.”

Lütolf is a breeder who buys all over the place and produces super birds in the process and turns out massive big headed stock, which I find very interesting.

A Change of Style!

At this point the reader will begin to think “This is a different Gerald Binks to what I am used to. He’s boasting about his stud.”

I agree it is not my style at all but it arises from Robert Nawarauckas, persuading me to write about myself and my birds for the first time in my writing life.

I have never pushed or have ever been promoted in any UK magazine in this way, so allow me a bit of licence please for once in my latter years.

Two Points

Two matters to mention.

Firstly I no longer have any involvement or control over the Budgerigar World Magazine since I passed it over to Gwyn Evans at County Press in North Wales after the first 100 editions. I felt that I had to do so, both for being let down by the previous printer at a critical time, but mainly because I was feeling that I had come full circle with writing about the hobby and a fresh person should take over the editor’s role – which of course happened.

Secondly, I have not shown for many years, as is generally known. Why you ask? Well I became very disenchanted when on two occasions I was in competion at topmost national level to win Best In Show, BUT the establishment regarded me as Mr Budgerigar World and couldn’t swallow the thought of Mr Budgerigar World taking the top award and in one instance put up an awful old fashioned keyhole exhibit up instead. I couldn’t see the point after that of showing if certain folk were putting their personal vendetta politics in front of what was morally right.

Happily those few are no longer to be seen. Derrick Bowley and Mick Freeborn will verify this at any time, if asked. Both were disgusted and those involved never regained their credibility.

It is a fact that all who come here now will at some point start saying “Gerald you have to get these birds on the bench and get over the past”. So far it has not happened, but I have bought new Basil Thomas made show cages recently so I am perhaps weakening a bit. 2010 may see a difference?

The Challenge

In 2006 I was flattered to read that a signed first edition (in good condition) of “The Challenge” was advertised at £240. This was of course before the 2nd edition came out so I guess the demand value will be less for a first copy. The new edition created another 8 months work, but has already nearly sold out. I am not certain if I will produce a Third but time will tell.

There are two chapters in the book I would draw your attention to. These are the chapters on feeding. They are the most important chapters by far, as they are the clues to successful breeding. Two consecutive bad seasons and you are virtually dead in the water and may leave the hobby.

Why do I mention this? The reason is that I have continual e-mails and calls asking for help. When I ask “Have you read those chapters?” the answer is normally in the negative. Readers love to read and look at what they regard as the “juicy” bits, but don’t get down to feeding since they glance at them and feel they are a bit technical. They are not and are easy to understand in plain language. So if in trouble – get serious!

Scottish Fanciers are Travelling

These days I am pleased to say that some serious Scottish breeders have realised the quality here and are visiting annually. So far they have all been satisfied with results and recently I heard that a skyblue bred from a BA23 bird had won Best Breeder at a major show.

Reflecting on travelling a distance to buy new stock, what with fuel costs and B & B’s, I will sell, say 5-10 birds and buy one. I have done this all my birdlife having come from humble beginnings. I realised early on that it was useless buying within a distance of a 100 miles as all the stock was basically inbred as it was just circling around and it was only when I broke out of that mould that I made progress.

Today, I travel any distance to get what I want. I have just been to Germany again – a round trip of 1200 miles to obtain new birds. There are others like Roger Long, Les Martin and Brian Sweeting who do the same and it’s great fun and pleasure in seeing great birds around Europe and in my case also South Africa.

What is totally worthless is travelling in a big coach with 30 others and drawing lots as to who has the first choice on any birds available. You cannot get to personal grips with the breeder really well and it’s all a scramble. That is not the way to spend hard earned bird money. Another thing – what is the use of buying new outcrosses if your feeding system is at fault and is not reproducing numbers at home?

Tora ! Tora ! Tora !

You will all recall the film about the Pearl Harbour debacle during the second World War – “Tora ! Tora ! Tora !”. The title (effectively) meant “Attack, Attack, Attack”.

That is my attitude to this hobby and there are quite a few who do likewise – but not enough. So many just “drift” as I term it and the quality of the shows has dipped as well as numbers benched. Fanciers will only bench their best and if they feel thay have not bred the quality – the answer is obvious.

The BA23 Stud Quality

Unlike periodic fanciers who enter the hobby, have quick success and it goes to their heads, I prefer to let the birds do the talking.

This article is well illustrated. The birds can speak for themselves – you like them or you can fault them, as all birds have faults. The challenge is to reduce them to the minimum and that is the great pleasure of the hobby.

Enjoy – as they say.

Aviary Maintenance – External

Let me take this year as an example. It is November. In the last 6 weeks I have been working to get the aviary “winterised”. A very cold one by UK standards is forecast. So, having a cedarwood exterior, it needs treating every three years without fail. That has resulted in it still being as good today as it was when I purchased it in 1971. It would be massively expensive to replace as it covers 1200 square feet (110 sq metres).

The window frames need constant attention (I hate painting!) and the roof needs to be checked for leaks. Virginia Water is heavily wooded so leaves are a constant problem, hence the gutters must be checked too. Elbow grease is essential. What all this is about is not having to attend to problems that could arise in very bad weather. Dealing with a leaky roof in wet conditions is not funny and the disturbance to the breeding pairs also has to be anticipated.

Aviary Maintenance – Internal

Moving inside, I am fortunate to have bought my cage units from Reinhard Molkentin back in 1988. They are made of a composition of a plastic nature (very heavy) with a aluminium framework. They never need painting (I like that) and just need washing to bring them back to new. They are in many aviaries in Germany, Jo Mannes’s aviary being but one example. Expensive, but in long term well worth it.

All electrics are checked, especially the heating systems and thermostats. I used to have tubular heating but this was far too expensive to run and inefficient as the air was not circulated well. These days I use (Dimplex) fan heaters which work very well provided you are attentive to de-dusting them out regularly.

Nest Boxes

Coming to nest boxes, of which there are currently 56 in use (and being double boxes with one inside the other it means 112 really have to be cleaned), I use “VIRKON® S” a great deal. All are finally dipped into this solution and allowed to dry off. This appears to contribute to a maximum of 5 or 6 minor French Moult birds only, from approximately 300 bred per annum. They are affected very little and if stripped from flights and tails at 4 weeks, then recover fully.

Incubator

Some time ago, I bought an incubator. I use it to keep oversize plastic eggs warm at the same temperature as real eggs. When the first egg is laid, in goes a plastic one. Use of false eggs has the following advantages:

• They prevent those strong day old chicks being crushed before you can get to them if they have not been fed. Note: Weak chicks because of poor management techniques will not survive anyway.
• They can stop a pair smashing their own eggs – they get fed up trying to break a plastic egg.
• They retain heat while in contact with eggs that have been left for too long thus saving the developing embryos.

Increasing Fertility

I am often asked what I do to prepare for increasing the fertility in my stud. Here are several thoughts for you.

• Make sure you have a round-the-year source of vitamins A & D – in moderation. Overdo it and you will be in trouble, as both are stored in the liver and not excreted.
• I use a powder product called Hormova. It again is present in the flights and cages all the time.
• A certain “X” factor which you can buy in specialist horse tack and feeding shops – but that is up to you to think out and track down. Sorry, but we all have our little secrets!
• Never give massive doses of antibiotics across the board with the exception of treating accurately against “yellow belly” in tiny chicks before breeding and the same again when breeding stops. This practice also improves fertility in my experience. I only treat a health condition which is preventative. If you start playing around with growth promotion then you risk ruining the whole stud – and it is banned anyway and rightly so.

Seed Mixtures

I now turn to the seed mixtures which we all use. I am after every chick I can get by every means possible. Seed that may have been harvested too early (and that applies to millets sometimes), is at risk of having micro fungi attached because of the dampness. Note: You can always test a bag of seed for ripeness by making a fist and plunging it down into the bag. If you meet resistance you know it is not fully ripened. Add any mites to the fungi, especially in millet sprays, and you have a recipe for loss of chicks. To kill off everything mentioned, use a super product from VETREPHARM (in Hampshire). This is put in the bottom of each bin before loading and fumes over 48 hours. The seed is unaffected and 100% safe to use.

Avian Flu

To conclude, a word about Avian Flu H5N1. Either keep the stock under cover or make certain that any indigenous wild visitors cannot excrete into the outside flights. As of November 2009, DEFRA has designated that the UK is free from any reports of Avian Flu. However fanciers should check the DEFRA website for any changes.

I am one of those breeders who believe in the old fashioned tried and tested methods of feeding. When it comes to feeding, it is THE vital factor to success. If it (the feeding) is out of balance by the smallest amount and by that I mean it is changed frequently and has an absence of essential vitamins to support the seed input, then failure will result in the number of chicks bred and FM will arise easily because YOU have allowed to do so!!

Let me suggest some points to you. Your seed is grown in different parts of the world. African sources are often grown in poorly fertilised land and harvested early so that it ripens during shipping. That means it lacks in particular vitamins A & D. These two are more vital than anything else in breeding budgerigars and if you have two bad seasons on the trot, you are virtually dead in the water. So, you have to supplement artificially. In my case my solution is to administer small amounts of cod liver oil to the seed all year (remember it is stored in the liver and is not excreted). That covers the situation. I also give a multivitamin solution and cytacon (obtainable from your chemist). Over and above those they get Hormova in finger drawers and in the flights all year. Another old product – that works superbly. With this system plus grits being changed every week, and cuttle the only other additions are soaked seeds and biovit soft food. That system breeds budgerigars. Only if I depart in any way from this routine do things go pear shaped. Where does the FM come in, I hear you say. Well here it is:

FM will appear certainly here at Tanglewood every year. Shocked are you? Ah, but let me qualify that. It appears right at the very end of the season with the odd chick that hasn’t been fed properly and no more than that. The final pairings are tired and they sense they have had enough, so feeding becomes a chore in a few nests. However it is never the sort of FM that, in addition to all flights dropping, the body is affected as well and the chick looks retarded. That I honestly say. What I do do, is to be very observant from May until I stop and I check all the flights and tails every day. lf I see a big headed chick around this time I also “play safe” and remove one tail feather. That is purely an insurance. If I find any flights affected at this time, the bird has every primary and secondary feather removed as well as the tail and I get the affected chick out on the cage floor immediately so that it starts to get better nutrition for the replacement feathers just removed. The new growth will be fine – provided your principal dietary input was super to start with!! You should have had a very good season by the time a few FM’s arrive at the very end. Let’s face it you can live with that by that time. Remember it is the longest feathers in the body that are affected starting with the tail. Big headed birds in the nest towards the end of the season are likely candidates (long feathers). Watch them very carefully.

FM is like the cold virus in behaviour. Like a cold it doesn’t last. Taking out the flights etc clears the follicles which allows new growth to get through. This proves that the “FM virus” is a passing matter. So far I haven’t found a better technique to overcome FM problems but I do miss out when I am on holiday should any arrive. With good management practices success will be the reward — but that brings me back to not telling the public what a great hobby this is.

To finish on a promotional note, if your editor will allow me, I have heard it said that because I don’t show today, I cannot have good quality stock. If you don’t know, the Moffat stud was willed to me and was combined with my winning grey greens that emanated from pair 16 in the mid eighties which won Best Breeder at the B S and Best in Show at BW in 1988. To that, I have added super quality stock at great expense from Jo Mannes, Reinhard Molkentin and another line which has just started last season. If you hear such comments, would you be kind enough to ask them a question? The question to be put is simple. “Have you been to Gerald Binks’ aviary and seen for yourself? ” A lot of Scots have already made the trip and take a vastly different view. Think about a visit next year.

My new website is now up and running which those with computers should find interesting as it includes among many headings my previous “Thoughts from Tanglewood” which seemed very popular when I wrote it in my magazine Budgerigar World. The web address is www.budgerigar.co.uk.

Finally, to all the Scottish societies and clubs, can I leave you with the suggestion you contact every local paper you can think of and promote the hobby as being one to get old and young alike interested in. People are getting fed up with watching a computer screen as well as TV. They want something more stimulating or as parents they want to get their growing children off the streets. Local papers will jump at the opportunity to fill their columns if they get articles about a “new” hobby people have not heard about. Remember I started at the age of 12. By 14 I was committed to the hobby and the satisfaction of ME breeding a GOOD one has never left me.