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.

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.

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

I first became interested in budgerigars in 1965 and at that time I kept about 5 pairs in a mixed aviary.

It was in 1986 that, after a visit to the aviary of Gerald Binks, I decided to breed budgies of show quality to compete in shows.

Since I was always fascinated by the colours, I decided to build an aviary for only “Rares”. This was not the easy way to start – but it was a challenge and I still have the rares today.

History

As a boy, I was always fascinated by birds and other animals, but I think it was in my genes because my grandfather was a well known racing pigeon breeder and my father kept canaries.

So, I was destined to do the same.

First, I started with racing pigeons, later on canaries and then I concentrated on budgies.

Many years ago I became a member of a local club and soon after that I became a member of the boards of several clubs. First the parrot clubs, then later on I started, with some other fanciers, the B.G.C (Belgian Budgerigar Club). I also became the first Vice-President and after that I became President. I was at that time one of the delegates at the W.B.O. for Belgium.

It was Gerald Binks who taught me the way to breed and keep budgies. After a while I became a correspondent for Budgerigar World for my country and I am still a member today.

Meanwhile, I became involved in the Belgian Lovebird Society as editor and judge and I still have the same interests in the “rares”.

I reorganised the BBS and was editor and member of the board. At that time I was also one of the two Belgian delegates at the WBO meetings and an WBO judge. BBS was one of the three budgie clubs
in Belgium. I left the club in 2008/2009 and in 2011 the club stopped its activities.

Breeding

Keeping rares is one thing, but breeding them is quite a challenge.

So I bought a lot of books and videos and attended as many meetings as possible to learn about other aspects of the birds – such as genetics, colors, feeding, standards etc.

I contacted Mr. Inte Onsman, from MUTAVI, and through him I learned about the genetic rules. Indeed, I was so involved with this subject that I became the liaison for MUTAVI in Belgium.

To breed rares you need to have a basic understanding of genetics, otherwise you will miss a lot. You can breed good budgies without knowledge but specialising in rares demands the knowledge of genetics.

In the past my aviary contained Slate, Saddleback, Texas Clearbody, Easley Clearbody, English Fallow and recently Recessive Pieds.

Breeding rares without some good Normals is not possible – you need them in order to obtain a better standard in the rares. That is why I always try to put a good Normal to a mutation – this makes the birds stronger.

My Normals came from two different lines namely, BA23 (Mr. Gerald Binks, U.K.) and RE 08 (Mr. Roger Reynders, Belgium).

Now I have also birds from German breeders Mr. Dieter Keller (100% Mannes line) and Mr. Gerd Bleicher (Anthracite line).

Every year I visit one of those breeders to obtain one or two outcrosses and, due to the mixing of bloodlines I used in my aviary from different breeders, I have developed new genes from Mannes and Moffat through the BA23 bloodline, Ormerod and Mannes through the RE 08 and Keller bloodline.

With that base I try to build up my own strong bloodlines.

For a few years I do not attend any of the shows with my birds in my country. The reason for that is a lack of time on my part and also a lack of co-operation within the Belgium clubs.

In Belgium we have 2 clubs. There is a lot of discussions and politics going on between those clubs and members – so I decided to leave that and concentrate only on breeding.

With the modern way of the Internet and websites I have no problems in keeping contact with breeders all over the world and selling my birds to countries like Germany, The Netherlands, France, U.K., Portugal and the U.S.A. (where I introduced the Slate).

I like to enjoy myself in this hobby and that is why I do this.

Slates

My first Slate came from a breeder in The Netherlands, who had stopped breeding Slates because of the lack of interest from the breeders in this mutation.

I concentrated on the normal Slates without darkfactor, one dark factor and two dark factors, I am getting rid of the Opalines because I do not like them.

Slate is a sex-linked variety, so if you want to start with Slates it is better to start with a visual cock or hen, just to be sure you have the mutation. Later on in your breeding program you can use split birds.

To improve the mutation I have never paired Slate to Slate and prefer to put a blue split cock to a slate hen.
It is also possible to breed Green series Slates – but in my opinion it is better to stay in Blue series birds.

Always avoid the grey factor as it masks the Slate. The Slate mutation is sex-linked.

Fallows

Breeding Fallows is a real challenge, not everyone is able to do this because it takes years of breeding to obtain a very good bird.

If you want to breed Fallows you must understand the differences between the three mutations:

• English Fallows
• German Fallows
• Scottish Fallows

Most common are the English and German Fallows.

English Fallows are supposed to have an iris ring with no white so the eye seems to be red. In fact, there is an iris ring but it is deep pink in color.

German Fallows, on the other hand, have a white iris ring and between the two mutations there is not much difference in body color.

Paring German and English Fallows together is not a good practice because the youngsters are all “black eyed” and split for German and English Fallow. The Fallow mutation is recessive.

Most Fallows are small birds, so when you are breeding this mutation you have to use your better Normal birds – this is why I said earlier that it is always good practice to breed back to a Normal.

I prefer not to use Cinnamon because I found that it did not improve the Fallow mutation.

In my breeding room I have only English Fallows and after 10 years of breeding I do not have the standard bird that you would expect.

In conclusion, I can say that the Fallow is a very attractive budgerigar, but is a bird for the experienced breeder.

Clearbodies

Here we have two types who are common, the Texas Clearbody and the Easley Clearbody.

The Texas Clearbody is sex-linked whilst the Easley Clearbody is dominant.

The Texas Clearbody is the most common variety to be bred in Europe. It has close links to the Ino mutation to which it is dominant.

An Ino cannot be split for Texas Clearbody, a Normal can be split for Texas Clearbody and Ino, but Texas Clearbody can be split for Ino.

In my aviary I have two different lines which can produce Clearbody. The first line is a mating between Clearbody and Ino, the second line is a combination between Clearbody and Normals.

Later on I have put the youngsters from the two lines together to produce a Texas Clearbody with the correct markings.

Texas Clearbody coming from the first line have a better yellow color but the wings are white, those coming from the second line have better wing markings and color on the flights. Putting them together gives me a bird who has a nice body color, good wing markings and a better standard.

I have had the Easley Clearbody in my aviary since 1999 and I am trying to breed a DF Easley Clearbody, so the challenge goes on.

Anthracites

Since 2007 I have introduced the Anthracite mutation in my aviary. You can read more about this in other articles on my website – didiermervilde.bestofbreeds.net.

Aviary

I have two aviaries, so to understand it better I will call them Aviary 1 and Aviary 2.

Aviary 1 is a wooden summerhouse with 20 breeding cages with no special facilities.

Aviary 2 has a wooden construction and isolated walls, tile floors and is just big enough to be managed on one’s own very effectively.

Inside the aviary I build breeding cages and a flight for the surplus birds and young. The breeding cages measure 30 x 30 x 80 cm, the inside flight is 4 by 6 metres.

In recent years I built a second flight which measures 3 by 3 metres.

I use outside boxes for the breeding cages and keep a record of all my birds on the computer so it is easy to see which pedigree and bloodline they have.

As seed I use a mix of 50% canary seed and 50% millets.

As additives I give Abidec (multi-vitamin solution) and Cytacon (vitamin b12 solution) – a product that I buy in the U.K. because in my country it is not available – and for the youngsters I use Biovit soft food. I also give grit and iodine blocs.

I give the additives continuously in the breeding season, and twice a week in the non-breeding season.

I give the soft food once a week in the non–breeding season, and every day in the breeding season.

An Enormous Challenge

Breeding rare budgerigars is certainly an enormous challenge.

After years of work and with a little luck, one day you will achieve success.

Enjoy your success and be aware that breeding budgerigars is a challenge but first of all it is a lovely hobby.

Photographs

All photographs below were kindly supplied to us by Didier Mervilde.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

Normal blue cock

Cinnamon blue cock

Australian yellowface blue cock

Full Crest cobalt hen
(Best Rare at the BBS show in 2007)

Lacewing yellow cock

Anthracite cock

Recessive Pied opaline blue cock

Normal Greygreen cock

Lutino cock

Normal grey hen

Recessive pied Opaline Cinnamon blue hen

Full Crest Opaline green hen

Dutch pied cobalt cock

Australian yellowface Opaline cobalt
recessive pied cock

By far the greatest wealth of knowledge in this hobby is stored in the minds of our senior breeders and exhibitors who have been doing this year in, year out, often for 30, 40, 50 years or more. These folks have enough knowledge stored away to write a multitude of books on our favorite subject but the problem is, with a few notable exceptions, most of them are quiet unassuming people who only share their knowledge one-on-one when they really get to know you.

Too often we see folks who have only been in the hobby a few years setting themselves up as authorities only to lead many folks who follow their lead down a path of disappointment and frustration.

Your challenge, if you really want to learn the hobby, is to seek out one or more of these “old time” fountains of information and use them as your mentors, and in the process act like a sponge to soak up as many of these gems of knowledge as you can.

I count myself extremely lucky that in the 50 plus years since I started keeping budgies there have been several outstanding guys who were my mentors to help guide me along the way.

Bill Petzke

I grew up in a family in Victoria, Australia where my grandmother and several uncles bred and exhibited budgies. Bill Petzke, my favorite uncle, was my first real mentor. As a youngster I loved spending school holidays at Uncle Bill’s farm because we ended up in his aviary for hours every day.

Bill was the one who instilled in me a real love for the budgerigar and a fascination for all the varieties and colors they could produce.

He was the first to teach me that, while we are trying to develop a bird that is physically far removed from the wild budgie, if we followed nature as closely as possible they would breed successfully and in numbers, This is the basis for many practices I still use today.

While many breeders set up their birds to ring / band for the early shows, Bill set up his birds throughout the year when the birds showed they were ready. I remember him pointing out signs the hens and cocks would exhibit when they were ready to breed. The cocks rapping their beaks on a perch, dilating pupils, and fighting other cocks that came near them. The hens laying flat on the perch, vibrating their wings, gnawing everything in sight, and calling to the cocks.

Bill experimented with different styles of nest boxes, always trying to come as close as possible to the holes the wild birds used. They were all shapes and sizes but had several things in common. They all had one large entry hole and no vent holes for extra air, just like a knot hole in a tree or rotten log. He sprayed the inside walls of the nest and placed soaked blotting paper under the nest concave block to keep humidity as high as possible “just like in that rotten log” as he would often say.

He also fed a much wider variety of feed than was common in those times. The regular seed mix was the staple diet, but he also fed plenty of seeding grasses, willow and eucalyptus branches, fruit and vegetables, and dishes of supplements that were used for growing calves, pigs and chickens he had on the farm. Although his birds lacked the head qualities we see today, I still recall his birds were frequently much larger than others we saw on the show bench, possibly as a result of the supplements he was feeding.

Frank Gardner

Frank Gardner, Melbourne, Australia was the leading “Budgie Man” of the era in the years after I graduated from college and started up with budgerigars again. My father, who did not know one end of a budgie from another, bought my first pair of budgies from Frank in 1959 while off on a business trip. At the time Dad had no idea who Frank was or what he was buying, but that Skyblue cock and Cinnamon Mauve hen produced several nests of cobalts that won awards at shows and got me hooked on the exhibition side of the hobby.

It was years later, after I had finished college, that Dad went with me to visit Frank and we finally learned where my first pair came from. The lesson from that experience…”You can be lucky and produce winners even if you don’t know where they came from or what you are doing”.

Frank was the first to explain the concept of line breeding within families to improve the overall quality of your stock.

He was also a stickler for sticking as close as possible to nature when it came to nest boxes and when to breed. He would frequently remind me that in nature the birds breed in spring and autumn (Fall) and after heavy rains when they know there will be plenty of feed for the chicks.

Above all else Frank instilled in me that breeding budgerigars is not a race. It is a journey that requires knowledge, patience and a little luck. I can still hear him say:

“If you buy these two birds and pair them together, and next year do this, the following year do that… In 3 or 4 years with a little luck you will be in the cards (winning) at the local shows.”

Note: In 3 or 4 years… if you are lucky! We need someone like Frank to mentor the beginners today. So many today go out, buy a few good pairs, throw them together, and expect to produce birds that win the following year. With a LOT of luck you may, but it will be the exception to the rule. It takes years to develop a line of winning birds no matter what you can afford to start with.

Eric Monks

Eric Monks of Lower Hutt was retired by the time I moved to New Zealand in 1974 and spent most of each day with his budgies.

Eric’s first love was the Cinnamon Opaline and he worked hard to keep them clean. Flecking was not the problem it is today, but Eric culled birds when the V in the saddle was not clean or the body color started to fade.

Eric fed a basic seed mix, with the emphasis on canary for the higher protein, seeding grasses and vegetables. He was the first I saw to introduce animal protein in the form of chicken carcasses left after a family meal… and he also fed dishes of mealworms in the flights when they were available.

He loved shows and spent hours preparing his birds, starting a month before a scheduled show date. His birds were always well presented and he openly admitted that his showmanship and preparation often won awards over better quality birds that were a little rough on the day. One of his buddies was a pigeon breeder who spayed his birds with water that had a little Listerine and Witch Hazel added and Eric did likewise, This is what I still use to prepare birds for show today.

Only birds that were entered weeks before the show could make it to the judging bench, so he always started with several for each class and put them back in the flight if they dropped tails, flights or spots, or started to moult.

Eric was the first to instill the idea of mentoring new folks who joined the hobby and he helped many get started with a few pairs.

Alf Ormerod

I started writing to Alf in England when I was living in New Zealand. I found it surprising that someone doing so well in the hobby would spend the time to write long letters on all aspects of breeding to a young guy thousands of miles away who he had never met.

Most of his letters related to breeding and matings, with heavy emphasis on line breeding. He felt strongly that the lesser birds from a strong family would often produce quality when paired together. I have heard comments from other English breeders over the years that they would visit Alf before breeding season and leave feeling he had lost his touch because the quality was gone… but if they returned several months later the baby flights had more than their share of stormers… and this apparently happened year after year.

He had a real interest in improving varieties. I remember in 1983 when he and Harry Bryan brought in their first spangles from Europe. They were not show quality initially, but both Alf & Harry bred them to their very best birds and within a year Harry won two Best In Shows with a Yellowface Sky Spangle cock that caused quite a sensation. In 1984, Alf sent me two of the youngsters (one with a B73 ring) so we could introduce them to USA.

In 1984, I visited Alf & Doris and during that meeting discussed flecking that had become a problem with opalines. I had bred a super young grey green opaline that had a huge golf ball head, but it was too flecked to show. They both immediately explained how to breed opaline to opaline within the family and the flecking would gradually move back over the crown and disappear down through the saddle. I assumed they were joking but later tried it… and to my surprise it worked, and in three generations I had some clean opalines that won consistently.

Harold Trethaway

When I first moved to USA in 1977, I found it a challenge to find anyone involved in the hobby, but fortunately when I did I was living within an hour of Harold Trethaway of Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. Harold was not your “usual” budgie guy.

In the US, many breeders keep their birds inside because of the extremes of temperature, hot as Hades in summer, and well below freezing in winter. Not Harold. He had two sheds up the hill behind his house. No heating and no air conditioning to keep it cool in summer. Yet Harold bred year around as the birds came into condition and he was a consistent winner at the North East shows.

In the summer it was so humid in the breeding shed you would break into a sweat while he showed you the youngsters and pairs he had just put up. The nest boxes were actually damp inside but his fertility and hatchability was excellent, and although I recall seeing birds panting from the heat, I do not remember any parents or young dying as a result.

Winter was the opposite extreme. It was quite a challenge to make it up the hill after a snow fall. The breeding shed had a little insulation in the form of plastic sheeting over the flights, but you still needed to be rugged up if you planned to stay for long. Again the breeding pairs and chicks seemed to thrive, although I remember the hens would not spend much time out of the nest when feeding.

The second shed was aptly called “The Ice Chest”, wire mesh over the windows and no insulation at all. First trip up in the morning Harold would break the ice in the water dish and pour in some warm water and within minutes all the birds were down at it for a drink. I often marvelled that the birds in this shed survived any winter months but they certainly were hardened to it.

Despite some of his unorthodox methods Harold taught me that budgies can survive and breed in extreme temperatures if you have fit, healthy and hardy stock.

Harold kept amazing records in notebooks for each year and within a few minutes could give you the pedigree of any bird in his flights back several generations. He spent hours checking pedigrees when he was pairing up for the next breeding season. In the 80′s, I bred a light green clearwing from a pair of Trethaway birds. Harold could not believe it initially, but started going back through his pedigree notebooks. Several days later he called to say he traced both parents back to an Ormerod cock he had purchased from Ken and Libby Tefft in Rhode Island, and when he called Alf he was told that bird had been split for clearwing in the one season he worked with them. Amazing what pedigrees can tell you.

Don Langell

Don Langell of Boxford, Massachussetts was nicknamed “The King” of budgie breeders in USA. The King had by far the biggest impact on my knowledge of the budgerigar and my success on the show bench.

I was fortunate during the 80s and 90s to have a job that enabled me to travel to New England several times each year and I always adjusted the schedule, so I would spend a day or two with Don and Jean at Boxford.

During these visits, countless hours were spent in his birdroom and talking birds around the kitchen table. Don was a master breeder and once he got to know you, every trip to the birdroom was a learning experience. Always ready to give advice and discuss his management practices and breeding techniques, Don would often challenge you to check your knowledge or to test if you really understood why he did certain things with and for his birds…. and there always was a reason for everything.

More than anyone else, Don was instrumental in developing my eye to see specific features in a bird. He did this by having me catch up birds and evaluate them for specific reasons. Much related to the various families he bred, but could also be used with budgies in general.

You knew you had made his inner circle when he would leave the keys so you could access the birdroom before he was home from his job at the bank.. but there was always a test in store… catch up 5 pairs you would breed together and explain why you would mate them that way… place the youngsters you thought would develop into the best show birds or stock birds in show cages and discuss your reasoning (and write the band numbers of any you thought would be outstanding on a wall so you could check the bird again during future visits).

Don had several families of birds in his aviary, the most prized being his “Black Band” family that produced the majority of his Best in Show winners. Another test was to catch birds from the main flight you thought were from the “black band” line and tell him what features you saw that were dominant. Initially this was a tough assignment and if I picked one or two correctly, I was happy. As years passed it became easier and easier as you saw specific “black band” features or even mannerisms. Even today, years later, I will often walk into an aviary or check a show cage and pick out a bird or two with “Langell blood”, to the surprise of the owner.

Another key ingredient to the puzzle I learned from Don was to spend plenty of time observing your birds. Don spent countless hours in his birdroom, often sitting in a rocking chair while he puffed on a cigar and watched the birds for signs they were getting ready to come into breeding condition.

He bred year round when the birds were ready to work and paid little attention to the calendar.
He often reminded me of my Uncle Bill Petzke years earlier,while watching for the cocks to start fighting, rapping the perch with their beak, and calling to hens in a distinctive tone that is more shrill and different to normal chatter. The hens would be calling too, laying flat on the perch while pulling their feathers tight till they had a “snakey look” as Don put it, and gnawing any piece of wood in sight. When the appropriate pairs showed these signs, into the breeding cage they went. I am certain this was a major reason why he had such high fertility year after year.

Nest boxes were another pet subject with Don that again brought back memories of my Uncle Bill back when I was a teenager. Don’s nest boxes were a box-inside-a-box design which was somewhat radical in the 80s, but quite common today. They hung on the front of the cage so the entry area was shaded so the hen felt secure. A handful of pine or cedar shavings was added to the nest to help stimulate the hen into breeding condition when she cleaned most of it out. The nest had the usual entry hole but no vent holes to allow extra air circulation. The outer box was varnished (for appearance) but the inner box was always uncoated wood so it could absorb moisture and keep the humidity level inside the nest high. After eggs were laid Don would cover the eggs in the concave with his hand and lightly spray water on the walls of the box to further increase humidity during his twice daily inspection. He would also mist both parents when they were out of the nest so they would transfer additional moisture to the eggs when started sitting again.

Gary & Kathy Hicken

On returning to the hobby (in 2009) it was quite a challenge to get reasonable quality start-up breeding stock. Fortunately several friends, who had been in the hobby when I left, were able to help out with a few pairs. With USA being so large and serious breeders in far off cities, most of the birds were sent in sight unseen. Fortunately the guys did well by me and shipped in some fine birds that have bred well during the first two seasons.

One aviary I have been able to visit is Gary and Kathy Hicken at Logan, a suburb of Salt Lake City in Utah. Gary has been showing budgies since 1975 and is a judge in high demand.

The Hicken’s have developed their own line of birds over the years and today have arguably the best stud of birds in the US frequently dominating the top bench where ever they show.

They have selectively imported every 3-4 years to maintain vitality and bring in or develop certain features they want in their stud. Breeders like Fred Wright, Molkentein and DeBeers are common in the pedigrees of their birds today. In the past year they added birds from the Lastella stud which had been influenced by imports from Daniel Lütolf a few years back.

Once again there is a lot to be learned by spending time with breeders like the Hickens and picking their brains. Kathy handles much of the feeding and day to day management of the birds while Gary, who is always busy with his duties as local Chief of Police, takes care of most pairings and the breeding season.

A few things stand out apart from Kathy’s regular schedule. They always buy the best quality feed available and buy in relatively small quantities so it never sits too long or goes stale. The birds are fed soaked seed and greens/veggies each morning.

The entire aviary is misted with a “fogger” every morning with a solution of water and disinfectant, and birds are misted too.

Gary strongly believes his best birds consistently produce his best youngsters so his breeding team is also his show team. To get full advantage of his very best cocks he runs the best five with 4-5 hens during the breeding season. Chicks are fostered soon after they hatch, the original hens gets to rest a while, and a new hen is then introduced into the same cage where the cock is waiting.

To keep numbers in check, Gary is constantly culling throughout the year. He limits the maximum number of cocks and hens, so if he wants to add one of the young cocks to the breeding/show team for next year he cuts one of the older cocks and it heads to the sales flight. This ensures he always has his optimum number of both sexes and that overall quality is always on the improve.

New Ideas & Techniques

As you can see, even after 50 plus years in the hobby, there are always new ideas and techniques to consider introducing into the day to day management of your stud.

Absorb all you hear, then select those that make sense in your situation and give them a try.

You will be amazed what you can learn from these mentors with years of experience in the hobby.

This article was kindly supplied to Budgerigar.co.uk by Barrie Shutt

The First Purchases

When making these first purchases don’t expect to buy a champion’s best visual birds, remember he/she has probably spent many years of time, effort and money building up the stud to its present standard.

What perhaps you should look for, are those which I call stock birds. These birds will, with luck, be closely related to the seller’s show team. They will show good features but also have some faults. Look on these birds as being like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle – your job is to put these pieces together to make the finished article.

Perhaps it is worth mentioning that these first purchases will form the foundation of your future stud – so the better the birds you start with, the fewer the faults you will have to improve.

I would suggest that you don’t buy all fine feathered birds – try to obtain one or two that are coarser feathered, even if they are of a paler colour. Look also for good head quality – this I consider to be the most difficult feature to establish and maintain.

The First Few Breeding Seasons

These first purchases will form the basis for your new stud and, because the birds are likely to have common backgrounds, after the first breeding season you should have a few birds that are better than those you started with.

My suggestion would then be to select the best three or four young hens – consider their strengths and weaknesses, then go back to the original breeder and try to purchase two cock birds that are very strong in one or two of the areas where the hens are weak.

Don’t be tempted to buy birds that are just a bit better overall than the hens you have.

What you are looking to do, is to buy the features you want.

For these two cocks I suggest that you would expect to pay at least the amount you paid for the first two or three pairs.

The cocks should be used across all the hens.

The following breeding season, cross-pair their chicks – which should show an improvement in the features you require.

If one then carries out the same procedure, trying to improve any other faults, gradually the standard of one’s birds should improve.

Progress to me is all about selection and it’s no good just pairing two birds together with no purpose in mind.

Mixing it with Normals

When visiting most top UK shows it is obvious that even most of the best Lutinos are some way behind the top “Normals” with regards to size, feather and head quality – so at some point I consider it would be wise for the Lutino breeder to ‘dip’ into the Normal.

However, my view is that it’s pointless doing this unless your Lutinos are already of a pretty high standard.

Bear in mind, when one does this one should be using top quality Normals, excelling once again in the features you require.

It’s worth bearing in mind that these pairings may not be the perfect answer – because many times, not only does the Normal bring in the good features you require, but they can also bring in faults such as wing markings and green suffusion – so beware!

The challenge for the Lutino breeder, is to produce birds that are equal to the Normal in stature, but also have the deep buttercup yellow colour that the variety is all about. This is no easy task to produce this type of bird in numbers.

Defining the Lutino

I have described below some of my thoughts on what a Lutino is – and some of the faults that occur – which may be of help.

One tip, that may be useful, is if one avoids pairing two light shade birds together – one will always produce some offspring with a satisfactory depth of colour. Light shade to light shade always means pale youngsters.

The Lutino is the Albino form of any green series bird. The fact that the Albinoism generally hides the variety involved, means that the bird should appear “clear coloured yellow”.

The shade of yellow will be either – light, medium or dark because the bird will carry either:

• No dark factor – light
• One dark factor – medium
• Two dark factors – dark

This would equate in normal green series birds as follows:

• No dark factor – light green
• One dark factor – dark green
• Two dark factors – olive green

The actual colour will be the background yellow colour of the individual bird being masked and would, therefore, match the colour of the mask, wing feather edges, background colour on nape of head – all green colour and black pigmentation having been taken away by the Albinoism.

There will be no totally white feathers on the bird apart from the cheek patches.

The only other things that I believe affects the colour of the Lutino are:

• By adding the grey factor, one would produce a dull version of the yellow
• A fine feathered bird gives the impression of being a better colour than a coarse feathered bird
• The light in which the bird is viewed can also affect the appearance of the colour

Faults in the Lutino

Faults from a variety point of view are:

• Markings of any sort anywhere on the bird -this includes Cinnamon markings and throat spots
• Violet cheek patches
• Green suffusion – this can vary depending on the light type in which the bird is viewed

In my opinion, birds displaying these faults should be penalised very severely – even if the budgerigar content is good – because they are breaking away from the whole point – that the Lutino should be a clear bird.

I would point out that the above views are based on my experiences and in no way would I pretend to be an expert.

Gallery

The author wishes to thank Terry Tuxford and Ghalib Al-Nasser for the use of their photographs in this article.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

Lutino cock - another member of
the 2011 show team

Lutino Cock, Colour Champion

Lutino Cock, Son of
Colour Champion

Lutino Cock, Breeder CC Winner
S&RV Show 2011

Lutino cock - a member of the
2011 show team

Lutino Cock, Any Age CC Winner
& Best Red Eye S&RV Show 2011

Lutino Cock, never shown

Lutino Cock, Nephew of
Colour Champion

Apart from the unexplained and instinctive attraction we feel for their brilliant colours and delightfully biddable ways, there are probably as many different contributory factors that motivate the hobbyist as there are hobbyists.

For some, getting the knowledge is almost the next logical step after learning first to walk, then to talk.

Others take their greatest satisfaction from the sense of community they get from local groups, almost like the camaraderie shared on the terraces by lads in matching scarves.

Observing the outcomes of selective breeding is what might motivate others, while seeing the hardware stack up after the wins at major shows may be the driving force in some cases.

An Accidental Fancier

For me, what became a lifelong fascination and source of great pleasure began almost accidentally.

More than fifty years ago as an animal-lover with what was left of his first meagre pay-package burning another hole in his holey trousers pocket, I was desperate to own a pet.

There would have been no question of being allowed to keep anything that took up house room, and it was love at first sight when I came upon the pair of red eared waxbills in a local pet shop.

But despite what the songs say, love is not always enough. Ignorant and unable to find any resource that would inform me on their needs, I learned the hard way that some things are not hardy enough to withstand the Cumbrian climate and a well-intentioned amateur touch.

After a decent period, I decided to do things a little differently and my next venture began from a different starting place.

New Found Knowledge

The local library, a conveniently free source of knowledge, had a tiny section that included information on budgerigars, and I read every word.

If I had learned my subjects as keenly at school I could have been the Chief Executive of a blue chip company by the time I was twenty one!

As it was, I was supplementing my income by doing a paper round for the local newsagent, upon whose shelves I came upon a publication called “Cage Birds”, which became my mentor’s voice.

Equipped with my new knowledge and a cobbled-together shed, my life as a breeder and exhibitor of budgerigars began. And the learning process is a life’s work. Like many, I had neither benefit of an experienced mentor nor virtually unlimited resources to encourage and enable me to breed world class birds.

Having started from that place, I have a particular passion to develop support networks that will enable this season’s pet owner to become next year’s top-class breeder.

Identifying Good Information

Information has never been more widely available and the Internet is an extremely important source.

It does not need to be said, however, that identifying reliable, informed advice and opinion is a skill by itself.

There is good stuff out there, based on learning, experience and quantifiable evidence and there is less trustworthy stuff that ranges from the purely anecdotal to the downright bad.

Of course, we have to guard against reading opinion as fact, for those two things can be very different.

Potentially, the various on-line forums are capable of being a valuable source of information and support, because they enable us to “meet” and share information with breeders from a wide range of backgrounds and abilities.

One example is “Budgerigars.co.uk” – with a history that dates back to April 1999, this well-established site is the source of a vast amount of information and its interactive forum, established in July 2006, currently gets over 60,000 visitors per month from over 100 different countries. The budgerigar breeder community is now truly global.

Changing Times

We have seen massive changes in the hobby as it evolved and adapted to enable survival in the 21st century.

Yet despite the eugenics and bird-room technologies, and the high-end competitiveness that has attracted interest from businessmen and entrepreneurs (who would seek to make a profit or even a livelihood out of the hobby), budgerigars are still budgerigars – and for most breeders the interest, the joys, the rewards are the birds themselves.

Some things have never changed. The fact that we all start somewhere is self-evident but for a young person with his pocket-money budgies, the world of the top breeders and the world-class show can look a pretty daunting place.

It is also self-evident that without new blood the hobby will eventually die out and that, in my opinion, would be very sad.

Keeping the Hobby Alive

How do we attract new people into the hobby? How do we support their start up? How do we encourage beginners to stick at it and enjoy what they do? How do we encourage and enable them to move, if that is their ambition, from pet-owner to champion breeder?

Promoting the hobby is not something that necessarily requires a degree in marketing techniques.

Promotion begins with word-of-mouth communication – come on, you must remember it? Old fashioned talking about it!

Either as an individual to your mates and neighbours, or in association with your local club, you can help spread the word, generate interest and share your enthusiasm by taking presentations to community forums who are always looking for guest speakers; examples might include schools and colleges, elderly care residences, women’s, church or hobby groups. (Don’t be offended if they ask you to provide your personal details as we all have a duty to protect the vulnerable in our society.)

Talk to the local press. Let them know when your meetings are and invite them to your shows. They may ask for features to provide a background, which provide extra publicity.

Have an open day. Run a free course at the local college – it could be just a one-off couple of hours, or something that can be developed to run over a few weeks.

See if you can have a stand at any local events and arrange to staff it with your most approachable members.

Arrange visits to clubs outside your area and invite them back to yours.

Most importantly, make sure that any new faces are made to feel properly welcome.

There are lots of ways of spreading the word. Ask your club colleagues for their ideas. Of course, if you do happen to have a degree in marketing, it couldn’t hurt!

Breeders Benefit

There is an important spin-off here for existing breeders, by the way, and that has to do with how we generate and maintain a market for our surplus birds, which may not be good enough to exhibit but may be the accessible, affordable starting point for new owners.

Similarly, you can forge links with local pet shops and veterinary surgeries that may hold a list of local breeders, both of which can point potential buyers in your direction.

Supplying birds and equipment to new starters either at low or no cost is a win / win situation, as you increase the size of your network and the beginner does not have to invest his life savings in something that he may find is not for him after all.

Mentoring

At the General Council Budgerigar Society meeting in February 2011, the Budgerigar Society approved a proposal I had submitted for an idea that would establish a list of those members who would be interested in becoming mentors to support beginners.

The list would be made available through the Budgerigar Society web site.

Mentoring can include aspects of guidance, help, advice and teaching, dependent upon the resources of the mentor and the needs of the mentee. It might be one-to-one in person or based on friendly chats over the phone or internet.

For the beginner the mentoring system is a genuine opportunity to feel supported and a part of something.

For the mentor there is the chance to share your knowledge and experience and to know that you are genuinely helping.

Any BS member who is interested can contact the society secretary including your details.

As a member, you can encourage all Area Societies to adopt the mentoring scheme by following the example set by The Northern Budgerigar Society, who brought the proposal to its members and agreed to take it up through the democratic voting system at their meeting.

If the idea were taken up by the World Budgerigar Organisation, people elsewhere in the world could access accurate information that had not become distorted through translation.

Spread the Word

If you care about the future of the hobby, you have a part to play in securing it; as an individual, at local club level and through the Budgerigar Society.

Share your ideas instead of jealously guarding your acquired wisdom.

If you are one of the lucky ones who is time and resource-rich, think back to your first days and have some compassion for the tentative first steps of the new starter, as one disparaging remark can cause his/her interest to be stillborn.

Spread the word – on the street, on the forums and on the social networks.

Below are a few of Barrie’s birds – click on an image to enlarge it.