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?

As fanciers familiar to this website understand, in Dr Rob Marshall, we have on board, arguably, one of the finest avian veterinary surgeons in the world.

His book The Budgerigar should be to hand for all serious fanciers for the answers to all the disease conditions that exit in parrot-like forms (but specifically on budgerigars), when it always seems as though it is the best ones that succumb to “going light” and we struggle to help them.

Below are two examples of sound procedural advice on what are mysterious problems for even the most experienced of us.

Neither fancier wishes to be named.

Problem #1 affecting cocks only

Question: I get occasional birds that do not exhibit any external fluffing up features or nasal discharge or vent problems. However they do not look 100 per cent and their crops are almost empty. They require a heat source to help as there is some loss of weight. No signs of wetness around the beak and no regurgitation is evident. It can occur in flights or breeding / stock cages but seems worse as the colder weather begins. Can you make a calculated guess as to what it could be and would it be helpful to crop feed them using one of the powders made for this purpose?

Dr Rob says:

These birds are birds that come into breeding condition, so sexually they are on the rise (see pages 270-273 in The Budgerigar). You may see a very blue cere(s) and as you say, involving a cold spell (see pages 322-323) – there may be pin feathers on the head as well?

What happens is that under the effect of testosterone, their immune system is affected which causes an acute Streptococcus infection (see pages 374-376).

Check also for quill mites around the tail region in particular (see pages 390-291).

Preventative treatment is by using “Quik Gel” to support the breeding condition while it is chilly and using a penicillin based product containing amoxicillin from your local veterinary surgeon. Administer via a crop needle. Both of these products are obtainable from my surgery or through Riversway Avicultural (see advert on this Website) in UK.

No action and the result is infertility in the next cycle in 7-8 weeks and of course possible death at any time.

Associated images from “The Budgerigar” – click on any image to enlarge it:

 

 

Problem #2 affecting hens only

Question: Many of my hens develop watery large droppings with a few having caked vents during the breeding season, in and out of the breeding cages. All the cocks are fine. There is a smell to the droppings. Can you advise please?

Dr Rob says:

The most likely cause is stress which all breeders seem to dismiss, probably because we as humans all suffer stress in the modern world.

Where birds are concerned, stress occurs during the breeding cycle of the hen(s) (see pages 285-287 especially figure 22b). Not all hens are affected because this problem affects only those breeding hens when the stressful factor arises at the critical stage of the breeding cycle (e.g. a cold spell, wet weather etc. See pages 380-384)

Look especially at fig. 30a and figs 30b and 30d and examine the stress factors outlined.

Treat the complete flock with “Quik Gel” for two days to counteract the stress across the complete stud.

Isolate and treat hens with dirty vents and treat them also with an appropriate antibiotic medicine. Such hens require additional nutritional support (e.g. a liquid calcium and “Quik Gel”) during their recovery and once recovery starts such patients must be rested and fed well for 2 months (a complete breeding cycle).

Associated image from “The Budgerigar” – click on the image to enlarge it:

 

Additional comment by Gerald Binks

A warning to the inexperienced!

Do be aware that many items sold as “Hospital Cages” can quickly cause death by dehydration as the patient is incapable of drinking itself because it is so ill.

Many fanciers today use a show cage placed on a heat source so this sustains the body during treatment plus frequent topping up with water direct to the beak or via a crop needle.

Hi,

I am a member of BAA and ABS here in the USA.

I live in Georgia.

I have an unusual marked bird that has been labelled frosted pied. I am a novice and turning intermediate next year – due in no small part to this bird whom I have named “Jack Frost”.

I can find no clear statement as to what a Frosted Pied is supposed to look like. Jack’s crown is white and his mask has violet patches, with large round black spots. His body color is a soft blue somewhere between sky and cobalt & brighter sky color on back between wings.

There is some mottling of white through blue on chest. He has a spot on the back of head like other pieds.

His feet are mottled blue/pink.

His wing flights are mostly white with a couple of dark/black feathers. The tail has 4 central long feathers. Two underneath are about 3/4 length and white, while the top 2 are full length and dark blue.

He is unusually large for a baby 8+ months old. The black/white wing markings are somewhat blurred like snow on them – there is no blue wash into the wing color.

His cere seems to be developing into a normal blue.

Two world budgerigar judges, David Collier, formerly from UK now residing in US, and Mr Al-Nasser of the UK seem to think he is a Frosted Pied – as well as other US judges – but I can not find a clear standard of what a frosted pied should be.

The mother/hen is a white DEC from Gorden Davis’ aviary in Florida. The cock is a dark green recessive pied split from Maureen Broderick here in Georgia.

His line also traces back to Gordon Davis.

The clutch produced a white DEC hen, a recessive pied, 2 green clear flights that died as babies of unknown cause, and Jack – the largest and first to hatch. Will repair them this breeding season.

As a novice I need a real clear statement of standard for a dominant/Australian pied, a Dutch/clear flight pied, and a frosted pied as well as how to tell the difference between them.

There is currently a pied here in the USA that is in question – Dom Pied or Clear flight.

We are due to go to a show in December in New Orleans. Hopefully Dr Travenechek (sp?) will be able to look at him then.

Still somewhere there must be a standard to follow?

Many Thanks,
Jo Ann Boyle
Georgia, USA

Photographs

Jo Ann has now kindly taken and sent us photographs of “Jack Frost”.

If you can help Jo Ann, please add your comments to this post.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

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jack-frost-4

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jack-frost-7

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

GSB:

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

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

I also give Hormova and essential minerals.

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

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

GSB:

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

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

No grit – no proper digestion.

Grit must be replaced weekly – no longer than that.

No grit — no teeth!

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

GSB:

Undoubtedly Hormova – not Hormoform.

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

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

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

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

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

Q. If you were shipping a group of birds abroad, across the USA, or via road, involving a long number of hours in excess of a day, is there any merit in putting them on amoxycillin trihydrate before they leave an aviary to assist with stress?

Similarly, if a breeder was buying a bird in Australia from a top champion in, say, Queensland and driving back to South Australia, would he/she be advised to crop “feed” amoxycillin before departure?

The stresses of such journeys are obvious involving crating, unfamilar noises en route, changes of seed and water on arrival in new premises and the rise in streptococcal infection as a result.

Jim Carter
Texas, USA

Our resident veterinarian, Dr Rob Marshall, answers as follows:

A. This is a very insightful question.

My approach to this situation is to give “Quik Gel” in drinking water a day before transfer and again via crop needle three hours before departure.

On arrival at the destination, place the birds in a holding cage, separated according to sex.

Monitor each bird closely for signs of acute stress as they enter the cage – i.e. look for pectoral muscle weight loss (see pages 226-7 “The Budgerigar” book) and wet vent (see pages 227-8 “The Budgerigar” book).

If these signs of acute stress are present, then crop feed with food and “Quik Gel” and a penicillin antibiotic (e.g. amoxycillin) and repeat this process for two days.

If no signs of acute stress are found, then give normal food and “Quik Gel” in drinking water for one day, then monitor the birds for five days whilst they acclimatise to their new home.

Note from Gerald Binks:

I cannot speak too highly of Dr Marshall’s book and, in particular, his product “Quik Gel”.

The latter is superb for administering immediately to a sick bird under stress.

My personal use of “Quik Gel” has been outstanding in the aviary, when needed, associated with a heat source.

Full details on “Quik Gel” can be found in this article.

Full details on “The Budgerigar” book can be found in this article.

Both of the above can be obtained online as detailed in this article.

I am interested to know more about feather cysts in budgerigars as I have a bird with a cyst on one wing butt. It is a 2008 bird.

This arose after a moult and I now see some of his tail feather follicles look rather swollen and resemble what can be described as an “ingrowing look”.

There are also a few “stumpy” feather tips protruding from these tail follicles. Should these be pulled out?

This problem has only started after full maturity – so my concern is, should I discard this bird from future breeding now, or persist with it as it is certainly fertile?

I am trying the Binks “Attack, Attack, Attack” principle, but I am frustrated by this recent setback.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Here are responses from Gerald Binks & Dr Rob Marshall:

GSB Replies

Let me give my opinion first of all, as the enthusiastic amateur on matters medical. I e-mailed Rob Marshall for his expertise and this can be seen below.

I think this is an excellent question which bothers a great number of fanciers, myself included.

While common with aged pet birds, such cysts do appear in the areas described by Jon on a fairly frequent basis in the exhibition world.

It is sometimes associated with build up from a blocked feather follicle – which, if lanced with a sterilised scalpel, releases a cheesy-like mass that has accumulated around the follicle and the protruding stump of the feather, or feathers.

There may be a group of feathers or stumps involved, not just one.

This applies to both areas – namely where the primaries are seated and the tail follicles sited as well.

My problem personally with this type of cheesy cyst, is that, after clearing the mass, it returns.

There is some blood loss while clearing the mass, but not a great amount – but here comes the next problem!

It returns after the scalpel wound has recovered. (I should perhaps mention here, that I was trained in zoology at school and also learned a great deal while in the Royal Army Medical Corps medical centre under various doctors. So despite being an amateur, I do have some anatomical experience behind me.)

At this point, I’ll hand over to Dr Rob Marshall (…whose great book, The Budgerigar, should be on everyone’s bookshelf. I refer to it very frequently even after 65 years at this hobby!).

Dr Rob Marshall Replies

I often see a caseous (a sheath-like cyst) infection at the base of the tail that involves the follicles of the long feathers, specifically both areas where such long feathers grow. So that includes the zone from where the long primaries grow!

This type of infection is nearly always associated with the preen gland in the case of the tail area.

In my mind it reflects an inherently (note that word) weak bird that is not preening itself adequately due to a lack of vitality – hence not all birds in a stud are affected, as in other variable diseases.

Lack of nutritional balance and other conditions that suppress immunity to this problem are often a cause.

That is an environmental change that is too moist, dusty or where there are fluctuating temperatures and humidity.

The use of Ivermectin, which many fanciers use for the clearance of mites, is a solution and has a propylene glycol base which is great for clearing up cheesy-type infections as described earlier.

Conclusion from GSB

This last observation from Rob Marshall caught my eye!

I knew that Reinhard Molkentin, one of the great thinking fanciers in the hobby, places a small drop of Ivermectin on the dorsal (top) side of the tiny area where the tail grows with a “00 brush” – when he rings each bird.

I called him and he states that they have a trolley which has all the food, rings and tools on it, but also a bottle of Ivermectin! As he and his son Holger go round on their daily routine, they put a drop of Ivermectin on the tail area of birds being ringed that day. That routine never changes.

Reinhard also added that this idea came from what happens with cattle – such as the small Dexter cattle that get ticks and worms, as well as other variant bugs. It is general practice with all the farmers to do this, obviously using larger doses.

So, as Dr Rob Marshall observes, Ivermectin can be very useful to have on hand.

Reinhard is adamant that for the past few years they have not had one case of cysts and they are breeding with 200 pairs per annum now.

This article should stimulate not only Jon Ashby, but us all in general.

Jon Ashby should therefore breed with a bird with cysts and seriously consider taking the combined advice of Dr Rob Marshall and Reinhard Molkentin.

This seems a sensible move in view of the major winners being hounded by flashes for two days on the run – even though the scientific published material in Scientific American stated “Flash has no effect on the eyes according to the latest research”.

Tuxford uses a Nikon Coolpix 5600 with a macro setting with the flash off!

This camera has a very short shutter lag (which is a must for this specific type of work), with the camera lens close up to the bars of a standard show cage.

Credit is acknowledged to Les Martin’s BS Club Show Winner in 2010 (the super Grey Green cock) and to Mrs Sheila Burne’s wonderful Spangle Skyblue cock bird (which sadly passed on recently).

Our thanks also go to Terry Tuxford, for passing both photographs to us as well as helping fanciers to choose a camera that allows great pictures to be taken where a ban on flash is in force.

Please click on the images below to enlarge them.

Sheila Burne

Les Martin

Dear Sir,

I live in Ankara in Turkey and I would like to import some English budgerigars.

Which company would you suggest I use?

Best Regards
Murat Soydan

Redsea Co.
Ankara,
Turkey

Gerald replies:

Dear Murat,

The choice of company really depends on whether you want to import commercial numbers of pet-quality birds, or, you are looking for exhibition-quality budgerigars from an English source.

Regrettably, we cannot advise on any commercial suppliers at all, as we are confined to the exhibition budgerigar bobby only on this website.

That said, please send an e-mail to myself (binks@gerald-binks.co.uk), and depending on the colours you prefer, I will advise accordingly.

GSB

I have been trying to find someone who breeds English budgerigars.

I have waited through 2 hatchings. Your birds are GORGEOUS. They are probably out of my price range. I would still like to see more pictures.

I have been looking at breeding on the Internet and find it fascinating.

I want a male so that I can teach “Captain Morgan” to talk.

I live on the south west side of Houston, Texas.

Could you please refer me to a good breeder? I would be so grateful.

I would like a larger English budgerigar and not mixed with an American one.

Thank you,
Nancy Broadhurst

Gerald’s reply:

Dear Nancy,

We advise you contact Larry Moore (Softwinds Aviary) who has English stock among others.

He will probably be able to advise you.

Larry’s contact details are to be found on this website in the Breeders’ Directory under USA.

GSB

Why is only the top end of the bird(s) displayed in budgerigar photographs?

As I was the founder and editor of Budgerigar World Magazine, I perhaps was also “guilty” of doing exactly the same as many other photographers in concentrating on the bird(s) from the perch upward, but I had my views at the time which I will come to later.

Mick Freakley. leading breeder and official Budgerigar Society photographer, kindly supplies me with a great many photographs, so I decided to request him to answer this good question on behalf of Budgerigar.co.uk .

The Freakly Point of View

Below are four pairs of images to illustrate why, in my opinion, the camera concentrates on the top end of birds for public viewing.

Four are full length and four are cropped for comparison purposes.

As far as I am concerned, any full length image lacks impact.

The Grey Green cock featured here is the Best in Show bird from the 2010 Budgerigar Society Club Show – shown by Les Martin of Studham in Bedfordshire. A bird in the super class.

In the full length view you can clearly see the two tails are present. If it did not have these in the first place you would not be looking at the major part of the bird.

My personal choice is to see all birds from the perch upward in a photograph.

I did a series of full length photographs at the request of the UK Budgerigar Society for them to consider their possible use in their magazine. This followed a complaint that only “cropped ” images were being used all the time.

Obviously all judges will have penalised any suggestion of a dipped tail or a badly hinged tail while judging, so as winners are always the subject of published photographs, it can be accepted that the tail is / was right and in line with the body axis at the time.

The other three birds featured in this article clearly illustrate my point.

Please click on an image to enlarge it.

Summary by Gerald Binks

I have to say I am in full agreement with Mick.

Anyone can breed a body, whether big or small, but it is the detail in the head and top end that is essential to be pictured in all photographs.

That said, when I was the editor and photographer of Budgerigar World magazine, I began the series of featuring, say, four birds to a page and either judging them myself or inviting other judges to do the same: pointing out the good points and bad points on each bird – and, on occasion, complete with tails!

This feature was very popular with beginners and novices, so I propose to introduce it on this website at a later date.