Bill, a long established fancier, died on 12th September 2011 after a long illness and time in hospital with breathing problems. He was 88 years of age.

Bill came from a pigeon racing family for generations and he initially started in pigeons as well, but after army service he started with budgerigars when he joined the London & Southern Counties Budgerigar Society in 1946 followed by the Budgerigar Society in 1951. He became an honorary life member of both.

When Bill started his hobby in 1946 he was living in the Ilford area and soon after promoted himself to champion status and became a well sought after judge.

He had a wonderful stud of Light Greens during the seventies when he was in partnership with Fred Wright; however, before that he had two previous partnerships with Don Hart and then with Ralph Wickens.

The partnership with Fred took them to a very high level winning many major awards including BIS with a young Light Green cock at the London & Southern Counties BS show in 1972.

The strength of the stud was evident at the 1973 Budgerigar Society Club Show when their Light Greens won a large class and also 2nd, 4th, 5th & 7th in the class.

After the dissolution of that partnership, Bill showed on his own for a short while, and then went into his fourth partnership with Ron Sellen during the 1990s till Ron passed away.

As mentioned, Bill was a life member of both the Budgerigar Society. and London & Southern Counties Budgerigar Society and in 1993 the London & Southern Counties Budgerigar Society honoured him by making him President.

Bill will always be remembered for his great knowledge in budgerigars and the strength of the stud that he carried over so many years until he gave them up few years ago because of his health.

Our deepest sympathy is extended to his wife Anne, son Michael, his 2 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.

Mrs Berry states that her brother, who works for the local county health department, received these photos from a colleague while he was traveling in the area of The Billabong Roadhouse – located between Geraldton and Carnarvon in Western Australia.

They were taken when he spotted a flock of thousands of budgerigars on the wing, flying around a dam nearby.

He stopped and no sooner had he done so than good numbers descended on his car and also entered the car with the doors having been left open. The group of people with him also found the birds were landing on them as well!

It is interesting to realise they had no fear at all of humans in this case.

One has therefore to speculate why this was so.

What were they looking for? Was the dam dry and they were after water from anywhere – who knows?

Australian Wild Budgerigars

Australian Wild Budgerigars

Australian Wild Budgerigars

Australian Wild Budgerigars

Nevertheless, my thanks for these photos for the pleasure of our enthusiasts, but forgive me if I allow myself a bit of license by saying:

They could use a bit more width and buffalo effect or they might get out through our standard cage fronts.

That aside, a delight to see such photos in all seriousness.

The amount of care and affection that they devote to their birds is immense and their dedication to the hobby is the same.

Their stud is located in a beautiful rural location near the town of Ballybay in County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland.

They are always happy to share their knowledge of the exhibition budgerigar with visitors, many of whom regularly travel from as far away as the U.S.A., Europe and the U.K. to purchase birds from this high quality stud.

The Birdroom

The Emerald birdroom is a superb building measuring 70′ x 25′ (21 m x 8 m) and is described by many visitors as 5 star budgerigar accommodation.

The birdroom, among many other things, contains:

• 4 full height flight rooms each being 10′ x 8′ (3 m x 2.5 m)
• 2 nursery flights each being 10′ (3 m) long
• 2 breeding rooms which contain 50 breeding cages

All wire breeding cages are preferred, not just for their cleanliness, but so that all birds can enjoy a colony atmosphere.

Wooden, outside fitting nest boxes are used, sprayed inside and out with disinfectant and an anti-mite solution, before copper coins are put under concaves for their anti-fungal properties, with a handful of fine wood chippings added.

Stock

Emerald Budgerigars line breed and keep all the mainstream colours, specialising in Lutinos and Albinos.

Fine examples can be found in all colours.

The stud’s original mainstream colour stock came from Eric Lane and Ormerod & Sadler bloodlines.

The “ino” original stock came from Margery Kirkby Mason, Reg Watts and Rick Watts …. that was about 40 years ago!

In more recent years, very strong blood lines have been built, based on Daniel Lütolf, Reinhard Molkentin, Jo Mannes, Huxley & Marchant and Willi Dokter.

Eileen and John’s birds are well known for their overall quality and especially for their strength in width of head, length of feather and directional feather, which they have also managed to put into their “ino’s”.

Management

Daily management for Eileen and John includes changing the birds’ water and cleaning the utensils. Bottled water is used – not tap water – due to the chlorine content.

Another daily job is to make and provide every bird with fresh soft-food. This is made from boiled eggs, soaked oats, Orlux moist eggfood, vegetables, honey, garlic oil, ‘Panta-20′ (supplement), a small amount of salt, cod liver oil, wheat germ oil, ‘Frucht-mash’ (supplement), calcium / D3 powder, love bird seed mixture, and the most important ingredient ….. “EB.1 complete” – a magical mix that is used by many of Europe’s top breeders.

Eileen and John will provide more details and quantity information to any breeder requiring the same (see website link at the end of this article).

All birds, at all times, have access to 4 different seed mixtures:

• An “A.1.E.” mixture that contains 60% canary and 40% mixed millets
• An “E.B.” feather growth promoting seed mixture
• An “E.B.” conditioning and herb seed mixture
• An “E.B.” Japanese millet and fruit pellet mixture

Again, Eileen and John will provide more detail to any breeder requiring the same (see website link at the end of this article).

Grit and mineral utensils are changed weekly and all flights and cages are cleaned and disinfected weekly.

Cuttlefish and iodine blocks are provided to all birds and the bird room is cleaned with a vacuum cleaner twice per day.

Once a year, all birds in the Emerald Budgerigars birdroom are treated with “Tricho Plus” as a preventative against Trichomonas.

Also once a year, all birds are treated with “Doxycycline”, before pairing-up, to ensure the birds optimum performance.

Breeding

All birds are kept in the stock flights unless breeding.

Cocks and hens are kept together to encourage exercise and eucalyptus branches, ladders, tumblers, balls and various other play things are provided to stop the birds becoming bored and to encourage additional exercise.

Ring issue dates are ignored, as pairing commences every year in September. Eileen and John say that September is the best time to pair up exhibition budgerigars. If the birds are in condition, 50 pairs are put up in this month.

Both cocks and hens have their vents plucked and both birds are put into the breeding cage at the same time with the nest box already attached. Nest boxes are inspected daily, but only once.

When pairing birds, Eileen and John attach much importance to pedigree, and try to pair the best visual cocks to a lesser visual sister of their best hens, so long as the pair complement each other visually – i.e. if one of the pair lacks in a particular feature, the other in the pair must excel in this feature, and so on.

Showing

Eileen and John have won many “Best in Show” awards, “Major Specials” and “C.C.’s” at Championship, National and World Championship level.

However, in recent years, they much prefer breeding budgerigars than showing them and now, regrettably, show very little and do not show at all in Ireland.

However, they say that they will always support the B.S. World Championship Show whenever possible.

Tips for Beginners

Here are some of Eileen and John’s top tips for beginners:

• Budgerigars do not always breed when paired up for the first time. Some birds can go 2 or 3 years before they breed for the first time, so it’s worth persevering with a quality bird.
• Try to buy one outcross, or two, every year to add quality fresh blood and always buy the best that you can afford with the desired feature(s) that your own birds require for improvement. Do NOT be tempted to split the money you have available over say 3, 4 or 5 birds – spend all the money that you have available on just one or two birds and buy the best that you can obtain. Quality is more important than quantity.
• Some budgerigar hens will not use a nest box if the entry hole is facing direct sunlight, as it will not be dark enough for her inside.
• Every evening before the main lighting changes to night lighting, fine spray the bird room (NOT the birds), with an F.10, Virkon-S, or similar solution, to kill possible airborne germs.
• When preparing your birds for a show, spread the de-spotting process over many days. Do NOT de-spot a bird completely in one attempt, as you run the risk of a good spot falling out later due to bruising around the area.
• It is good practice to spray the inside of a nest box that has chicks, in the same way using an F.10 or Virkon-S solution. Simply cover the chicks with your hand when spraying to protect the chicks from the spray.
• Have patience! If your birds are not performing as well as they could, seek assistance from an experienced breeder. If things are going wrong in your birdroom, it is probably not the fault of the birds, but your fault!

Further Information

For further details about the Emerald Budgerigar Stud, please visit Eileen and John’s website:

• www.emeraldbudgerigars.4t.com

Photographs

All photographs below of Eileen & John’s birdroom and birds were taken and kindly supplied to us by Eillen & John Hall.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

Emerald Budgerigar birdroom
- external view

Emerald Budgerigar birdroom
- internal view

Breeding cages are on the all wire system

The Hall nest box design

 

 

 

 

For example, I had no idea that among the now 140+ countries that access this site (for news and information on exhibition budgerigars) is Russia!

Imagine my surprise then, when I as contacted by Tania from Russia (she declines to reveal her surname being a relative novice by comparison to the fancier she wishes me to feature). Tania has asked me to feature her fellow Russian breeder, Svetlana Folomeeva.

Svetlana Folomeeva

Like myself, Svetlana Folomeeva became interested in our international hobby at the age of 12.

Visiting an exhibition at Karlsruhe in Germany, she witnessed super birds for the first time and became totally bitten by the challenge to breed quality budgerigars.

Her first buying venture was to buy birds in the Czech Republic (Czechia). These were modest birds so she branched out and has now visited many of the top European fanciers, among them Jo Mannes, Daniel Lütolf, Rein Dul, Florian Bock, Gyerkon Tibor and Willi Dokter. She now possesses a stud of some 150 birds!

I asked Svetlana to tell me where her main interests lay – where colour is concerned – and it proved to be broad ranging. Normals, Spangles, Yellow-faces and Red Eyes were the main favourites, but Opalines, Texas Clearbodies and Lacewings were present as well.

Breeding in Russia

I then asked how Russian breeders gained experience initially. It appears the Internet is a massive help and no doubt the Google Translation Service on this website proves of considerable assistance.

Next was the matter of foods that are available and the essential vitamins and minerals. What was the quality and availability? Again, I was surprised as there are good seed brands around, one of the best being sold under the name of “Rio”. That said, vitamins etc. are difficult to obtain as well as relevant disinfectants, both being in short supply. So these are obtained from within the EU and imported by individuals for themselves and their fellow fanciers.

Lastly the notorious Russian winters. How do they cope in such low temperatures? Yet again, no problems. All aviaries are fully equipped with heating to sustain breeding and general comfort.

A Seminar

The Moscow Budgerigar Society is called the “Apogee”.

There are currently just 14 breeders who have registered so far since 2011, so it is a young society which will undoubtedly grow.

Perhaps they will carry out some marketing to the public at large? Certainly they are spreading the word that they exist and that the challenging hobby of breeding exhibition budgerigars is now in existence in their vast country.

Three years ago, this go-ahead group, including Svetlana, organised their first seminar and invited Gyerkon Tibor to attend. Svetlana herself reciprocated by representing the Russian breeders at the Budapest Convention Meeting, where she met many well known international breeders and judges, including Ghalib Al-Nasser, the WBO Secretary.

Feeding Techniques

Because of the newness of the hobby in Russia, all outcrosses are bought in Europe – without exception.

When it comes to the seed and vitamin suppliers referred to, “Versele-Laga” features strongly as a favourite source (from a branch in Germany).

In addition to the basics, the Russian birds are fed with sprouted seeds, wheat, oats, barley, clover, lucerne, sunflower, corn, buckwheat, thistle, flax and safflower. A very broad range to say the least, but they cover collectively most of the vitamins etc. that the birds need to sustain the size and fecundity.

Welcome & Thank You

May I, on behalf of all fanciers worldwide, publicly welcome The Apogee Russian Budgerigar Society to the international fold.

Added to that is our appreciation to Tania for approaching Svetlana Folomeeva for an interview for this website.

It is a great opening for breeders outside Russia to learn of the existence of this society and may it go from strength to strength in the coming years.

Appeal

Is the breeding of exhibition budgerigars a newly growing interest in your country? If the answer is yes, then please contact us at Budgerigar.co.uk and let fanciers worldwide know of your existence.

Photographs

All photographs below of Svetlana’s aviary and birds were taken by (TBA) & kindly supplied to us by Tania.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

The aviary

The aviary

Young bird

Young bird

Young bird

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were close and in my budgerigar career I have much to thank him, not only for his friendship, but for his help on so many occasions.

Introduction

Fred Sherman was instantly likeable with a charisma that few possess.

A top fancier in every sense, but also having had a marvellous career in business, Fred passed away on the 29th December 2011 at his home in George, South Africa, which is located in the South African Cape region.

Fred and his wife Ailene, first came into the life of my wife and I, some 34 years ago. He arrived initially on his own at “Tanglewood”. I opened the door and as with all fanciers who met him, took an instant liking to this charming man. When his wife, Ailene, appeared a year later, again the bond with the four of us proved long lasting.

One of the major episodes for Joyce and I was Fred opening a massive door to South Africa for us. It was he who was the driving force to invite me to judge there and tour round aviaries in both Zimbabwe and South Africa – and for those who have never had that opportunity, Africa certainly grips you.

We were certainly gripped by this wonderful continent and have never ceased to appreciate Fred’s kindness and the considerable hospitality shown to us by all those we met.

Before the political unrest in Zimbabwe, our first visit occurred when it was still Rhodesia and its capital, Salisbury. Fred being the man he is, arranged for me to be on Rhodesian TV as there was a composite show being held in Salisbury called, “Mainly for Men”, with all sorts of displays to fit this title, including birds – a wonderful advertisement for the budgerigar hobby.

Leading Businessman

Fred began life in business at the age of 16 working in one of South Africa’s largest companies in a very junior capacity, but soon made his presence felt by having a passion for his work from day one.

His personal drive and ambition were to eventually lead to him being Managing Director of the Zimbabwe Associated Company.

Fred, on one occasion, was asked to host Robert Mugabe to lunch such was Fred’s position in Zimbabwe.

He then spent four years in the UK as chairman of his company, so having bought a home in Virginia Water we were able to share our hobby and friendship. This was a great help to us both as we covered both studs between us when either was away. He built a truly superb aviary with no expense spared.

On return to the company in South Africa, Fred was to find himself appointed to the main board.

Quite a rise having started as a lad of 16 years old and it shows what can be achieved by dedication and hard work.

In Retirement

In retirement in Johannesburg, he again renewed his attacking process with budgerigars and re-started, his UK Stud having been sold to Australia.

Budgerigars were imported by him from the UK to Johannesburg on completion of another smart aviary and of course Fred knew exactly what to expect – having the experience of breeding before when located in Zimbabwe.

I recall speaking later to Jorge Depina, the top Brazilian fancier known to many of us. Jorge is one of the great travelers in the budgerigar hobby and visited Fred three years later. I recall Jorge telling me that the birds Fred had by then, were to use his words:

“The finest adult birds, and young birds, that I have seen anywhere.”

Such was the skill of the breeder.

Nature Intervenes

A problem with a hip joint with wear and tear, turned very nasty after the new replacement connection became infected. The hip had to be re-opened and dealt with again and eventually re-joined again, only for the same infection to return once more.

Each time Fred was confined to bed for 3 months.

Finally, he decided enough was enough and he had his leg swinging freely after that, but could still drive very well.

He put the infection down to being bitten years before by, I think, a spider.

This situation, of course, left him with no alternative but to give up his passion for Show Budgerigars, being unable to stand at the same time as ringing chicks for example. Nevertheless, he was fit and well and that remained until he moved to George a few years ago. In recent times he unfortunately had further health problems.

Conclusion

Fred Sherman was a fine judge with a first class eye for quality to the millimetre. Few have that ability.

A regular lecturer, he was always good to listen to and collect ideas to apply to one’s own stud and with his business background had strong ideas on how clubs and societies should be organised.

As with all societies, be it budgerigars or golf clubs, changes for the better are sometimes rejected – something I know personally about in the UK.

However, that is life and Fred was aware of the phrase – “If you continue to organise a hobby in the way it has always been done, you will continue to get the results you have always had”. So true, all over the world.

Fred Sherman has been a great asset to our hobby.

He loved it and loved breeding a super bird as well as being a very good showman.

As it says in The Challenge – “A man who doesn’t lose his mind over something, has no mind to lose.”

Finally, on behalf of all fanciers worldwide, I send our deepest sympathy to Ailene and her children and grandchildren.

My abiding memory of Fred Sherman will always be of a fine South African gentleman which I am sure all who met him will endorse to the full.

We will miss you greatly Fred.

The show was organised by ZOOCVIT and took place at the House of Nature in Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine (Kiev is situated in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River).

Approximately 80 birds were benched from 5 regions in Ukraine.

Results

The major results were as follows:

• Best Any Age & Best in Show – Sergiy Ustenko
• Best Young Bird in Show – Vladimir Karpenko
• Best Opposite Sex Young Bird – Aleksandr Danyliuk
• Best Opposite Sex Any Age – Sergiy Ustenko

Judges

The judge was:

• Gerd Bleicher (Germany)

Photographs

All photographs below were taken by (TBA) & kindly supplied to us by Terry Tuxford.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

Best in Show & Best Any Age
S Ustenko

Best Young Bird
V Karpenko

Best Any Age Opposite Sex
A Danyliuk

Best Young Bird Opposite Sex
S Ustenko

I breed both the English quality budgerigars and also the Japanese Crested variety – it is the latter that I refer to in this article.

Six years ago I managed to buy three of these fascinating budgerigars in the local market place.

One was a cock and two hens were also available.

Breeding Technique

I have now managed to extract many new colours in that time in this way, stage by stage:

1. I obviously mated the male to the two females
2. I then crossed the two lines together with the chicks that had been produced
3. I then mated the original male to normal hens as well as to another full crested hen I found and cross bred these English and normal results with other various colours
4. I mated Japanese crested hens to another group of normals and other Full Crested males with more different colours
5. I mated the two original crested hens to the new Japanese males produced from previous clutches

My project was to select birds with the highest quality bloodline (full circular crest on the heads with a large back frill and feathers on both wings).

All my surplus Japanese Crested are sold to a contact from Dubai who knew of me via an Egyptian forum.

Feeding Technique

• Canary and millet seeds
• Boiled radish seeds and sunflower seeds
• Green fresh clover which enhances breeding because of its vitamin content – which acts like Viagra, hence breeding is easy!
• Lettuce and cress also has the same effect – particularly the cress
• Sweet potato — one slice / week when there are no eggs around and I increase it to two slices once eggs are present
• A few drops of honey and black molasses each week
• Boiled eggs with grounded up toast
• Minerals and vitamins from a pharmacy

Now, in this region, this specialist variety favoured by many, can reach $500 – depending on colours, sizes, full circulars, back frills and feather distribution – as it is so difficult to get the desired result all together in the one bird.

Rare, near perfect ones can reach double that if they are ever sold.

Photographs

Click on any image to enlarge it.

Japanese Crested 1

Japanese Crested 2

Japanese Crested 3

Japanese Crested 4

He shows in partnership with Les Chadwick, another long term fancier.

They both live in the North East of England.

An interview by Barrie Shutt

BS – When did you start up in the hobby Bruce?

Bruce Ross:

It seems a long time ago when I used to take my children to the local park in Redcar in the early 1970′s to see the birds in the aviary.

I was very taken by the budgies flying about chattering and I was bitten by the budgie bug.

Since then, although I took time out for a couple of years in the 1990′s, I have always been involved at some level.

BS – Tell us how you became a committee man

Bruce Ross:

It was shortly after I purchased the Cage Birds magazine and found out that there was a society in Redcar.

It was 1974 and the secretary at that time was Dave Kempen who I had been in the same class with at the local primary school.

Less than a year later, Dave went to work abroad. The secretary’s role needed to be filled and my background in administration prepared me in some measure to take over.

It was a case of jumping in at the deep end, but I enjoyed it – we even ran our first open show.

At the same time, I also joined the Budgerigar Society (BS), Yorkshire Budgerigar Society (YBS) and the Northern Budgerigar Society (NBS) and I am still a member.

To this day I am Assistant Secretary, Publicity officer and Web Master of the Northern Budgerigar Area Society.

BS – Sadly Redcar eventually disbanded, which surprised me as the North East had such a large influx of breeders in those days, did it not Bruce?

Bruce Ross:

It is always sad to see the small societies close, but with some of the other members from Redcar I joined up with the Teesside BS, which was located close by, in Middlesbrough.

They welcomed my skills and experience on the committee.

Since then I have held, I think, every committee position. Just recently, I stood down as secretary but this year I hold the office of president.

BS – It is clear that you are very proud of that, Bruce

Bruce Ross:

It was a very great honour.

I was doubly honoured, because as well as being president at Teesside, I was also presented the Golden Bird Award for work with the NBS.

I am proud to be associated with a group of such a hard working group members who go the extra mile to keep the hobby alive and the region strong.

BS – I could not help but notice that you’ve moved on from your old brownie camera

Bruce Ross:

Progress!

A few years ago I bought a camcorder with which I took footage of the local shows and members’ bird rooms.

With the permission and backing of the members, I then make presentations to local societies and act as a panel member with colleagues from NBS when needed.

I enjoy this part of the hobby.

It is a great way to show off the calibre of our members’ birds, and also to get to know the members better.

BS – A few words to sum up then, Bruce

Bruce Ross:

Since starting in the early 1970′s I have made some lifelong friends and it is great to be able to meet up with them at the club show and the local shows.

Behind any contented budgie man there must be a good woman and my wife has always been there for me to suffer my ups and downs. I am so grateful to her – she even puts up with me treading seed into the house!

A Note from GSB

The show took place in the market town of St. Georgen am Ybbsfelde in Amstetten (a district in north east Austria).

Approximately 280 birds were benched.

Results

The major results were as follows:

• Best in Show – Ladislav Groda
• Best Young Bird in Show – Karl Eben
• Best Opposite Sex Young Bird – Mario Bizour
• Best Opposite Sex Any Age – Jiri Rejha

Judges

The judge was:

• Tibor Gyerkó (Hungary)

Photographs

All photographs below were taken by (TBA) & kindly supplied to us by Terry Tuxford.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

Best in Show
Ladislav Groda

Best Young Bird in Show
Karl Eben

Best Any Age Opposite Sex
Jiri Rejha

Best Young Bird Opposite Sex
Mario Bizour

So I was not in the least bit surprised when I recently had a discussion with a very nice lady, Mrs Nicole Mitchell, at a show in the South East of the UK.

Nicole justifiably expressed her irritation, as a raw beginner, to what she saw as gaping holes in the structure and attitude of the show participants when she had attended our top shows in the UK.

Her gut feeling came down to:

Nobody has the foresight or common sense to deal with visitors to a show who know nothing about what we breeders actually do.

All the visitors can see are rows of birds which mean nothing to them or their families. And here we are trying to get new members for goodness sake!

I asked her to put her thoughts to me in writing and I would do my best to shock the hobby into action. Here are her observations.

From Mrs Nicole Mitchell

Dear Mr Binks,

Here are some points of the experiences of myself and my husband – as beginners in the exhibition side of budgerigars – who attend shows to become involved.

1. Assumptions are made that ALL visitors at shows are knowledgeable and well informed – this is incorrect
2. On attending several shows, we have found that there is NO information on what the “perfect” budgerigar of any given type should be like
3. What is a Lutino, Spangle, Cobalt, or Feather Duster???
4. Why aren’t there posters, drawings or models of what the judges are looking for?
5. Why is there no mentoring/education for beginners by an appointed member who can explain even the basics of quality of this or that bird and explain what the experienced breeders are trying to achieve?
6. Abbreviations are not explained
7. If you don’t go looking for shows or know they actually exist in a town or village on a given date, you cannot expect interested visitors to come through the door and even when they do (by chance ?) nobody is appointed to look them out and help them. It is obvious there is either nil (or at best very little) marketing outside the hobby
8. The UK Budgerigar Society could be more user friendly – even offering a “buddy” / mentor scheme for the inexperienced. What better way with computers to be able to ask “stupid” questions to your buddy than to e-mail him/her and ask away?
9. Experienced fanciers may have difficulty understanding what us newbies don’t know – simply because they do know! ‘The experienced’ walk in to a bird sale or show and fully understand what is happening. They understand what the abbreviations are all about; they understand what the judges are looking for. Us newbies don’t!
10. When you arrive at shows/bird sales, no-one asks if you need any help or what you are even there for. We have witnessed young families turning up at shows without being acknowledged, welcomed or indeed helped. They are left to their own devices to look around at cages of birds, not having a clue what they are looking at or for – and of course they leave within a few minutes.
11. It has been noted that experienced fanciers stick with their friends and do not make any attempt to introduce themselves to newcomers or strangers in order to offer their help. We have been at shows for several hours without so much as someone saying hello and apart from being asked for your entrance fee, no one speaks.
12. As for improving the appeal of the hobby, why isn’t there more publicity? Surely some of the high achievements made by top birds are worthy of a mention in the press or local news channel? As with anything in life, if you want quality you have to pay for it – this is news, and anything that can get parents or their young children interested has to be a good move towards increasing membership.
13. Why not supply magazines free of charge to places where there is a captive audience – doctors, dentists, coffee shops?
14. Publications, both hard copy and on the Internet write of help for beginners – but then don’t give full details. An example of this is soaking seed for it to sprout. We have seen ‘soak seed overnight’ (tried that, it just leaves damp seed); ‘Don’t leave sprouted seed in with birds for too long’ (how long is too long)? We need advising step by step, don’t assume we know anything – because we don’t.

Gerald Binks comments:

I recently wrote an article entitled “Hobby Participation: Halting The Decline?” on this site, which received the greatest number of replies to any single article.

Everyone who commented on the article fully backed all that I said, without exception, but how does one get action when so called “leaders” in the hobby worldwide simply do not promote the hobby outside of itself to the public at large.

There is a lack of drive from the top in all societies and clubs – given perhaps a few exceptions.

Mrs Mitchell makes justifiable observations. How many more like her is the hobby losing because it is failing to engage with those new to the hobby or visitors to our shows?

As a bare minimum, I suggest that every show needs:

• A small stand to be present giving advice and information to visitors
• Experienced fanciers should be appointed to take visitors around and explain “The Challenge” we all face – and the pleasure we receive from being involved in breeding and showing budgerigars.

Next time you champions are standing in the aisles at a show, turn round, and if you see folk you do not recognise, introduce yourself and ask if you can help?

You get that in a store from the most junior of staff – why not at a Budgerigar Show?