Q1: What is the secret to maintaining a quality stud of budgerigars year after year?

GSB:

Unstinting good management and buying in outcrosses frequently, otherwise you produce small birds if a stud becomes too closely related.

Sell 10 birds and buy one.

Don’t put the sale money in your pocket or else the new buy becomes expensive instead of a swapping process.

Q2: What is your opinion on the modern budgerigar compared to all the different types you have seen throughout your career? Please refer to both the aesthetic part and the physiological part (size, breeding difficulties, vitality, and fertility).

GSB:

Good question!

Fanciers are apt to say:

The birds of yesterday were better than the birds we have today.

Not true at all. I have seen all the changes in progress in my 66 years at this hobby and the beauty of the top birds we have today far exceeds all predecessors.

The size of birds now is fantastic (look at the Best in Show Grey green of Les Martin’s at the 2010 Budgerigar Society Show, as well as his skyblue).

New standards are being set all the time – and now in the chase for width of face, we have what I termed “the Buffalo effect”, which has gone worldwide.

This faces us with an even greater challenge. Vitality and fertility, contrary to what many breeders think, with such big birds being infertile or difficult, is broadly incorrect.

It is a poor diet that causes such results and basically bad husbandry.

Yes, there are exceptions of course with individuals, but overall what I have said is correct.

Q3: Can you predict where the modern budgerigar will be in five years time? Have you looked beyond the “Buffalo” effect?

GSB:

Another good current question.

I am worried about the fact that I have seen birds that are already ugly with super heads, but dreadful carriage both of which are related to producing length of feather.

The word “Type” seems rarely to be heard, or even practised.

It is no use having “Buffalos” that exhibit drooping flights hanging below the body midline which exhibit narrow primaries and in some cases cannot fly.

I have seen it in several aviaries in the past few years, in the hunt breeders have for super head quality.

Without naming anyone, I know now where the long-flighted and long tails have come from – and it is not from the UK but outside the UK.

As Jo Mannes says, a budgerigar has to be a “charming budgerigar” – not a bag of long feathers and ugly faces.

Breeders beware!

Q4: September and March are the times when budgies are said to be in the peak of their breeding cycle. How do you build your birds up to get the best out of them?

GSB:

I do not, as such, as my feeding technique results, after my early mistakes and inexperience, are now near perfect.

Thus the birds come into condition naturally in September and March as the question states.

Why is this you ask? The reason is that there is still good natural light and this determines the condition factor. Artificial light is only on part of the day, so natural light is a massive factor.

This is born out by the chart in Dr Robert Marshall’s book “The Budgerigar” (it took 12 years to write) where he compares the northern and southern hemispheres as regards which are the perfect times to start breeding.

In both cases, he is dead right.

In the UK we drag our heels with decisions made by well meaning fanciers who stick to a ring date without thinking deeply. A 1st January ring issue date is fatal, as breeders work to that date and pair up for the rings for the early chicks.

Europe is far more advanced with a 1st November issue date so that pairing can be in September or early October – when there is still good light about!.

The great difficulty in budgerigar breeding is starting them.

Think about March as a month. For all my years, breeders have said it is better to start in March. It is of course the increase in light that makes it easier.

In my opinion the ring issue date and BS Show date, now being forecast to change back to November, should be re-visited fast, but then our BS gets itself strangled by the fact that rules can only be changed every three years!

Why do essential changes (that in business would be done immediately) take so long? Bizarre.

I am being constructive based on facts – nothing more – and if change is effected more rings will be sold as a result of more birds requiring rings!

Q5: What are your views on using birds with feather defects – in particular “tail less wonders” – or birds that do not keep a full complement of flight feathers? Do you feel this problem is genetic and by using birds like this could cause the problem to come out in larger numbers further down the line?

GSB:

“Tail less wonders” we obviously do not like – as it is associated with long feathers and the longest feather is the one feather that requires perfect nutrition in the aviary to grow to its full length.

Otherwise the tails succumb to borderline FM – which is what it is!

Such a bird will breed well and it will have no bearing on the chicks it produces – unless of course you haven’t paid attention to improving the diet and your husbandry.

It’s not genetic! It’s your fault!

Q6: Can you tell us a little of your selection process when looking for birds to retain for the following breeding season?

GSB:

I have a problem here.

I should have three flights and I only have two. You need three for sorting.

One for the adult keeps, one for young keeps and one for sales.

It is a big handicap here at “Tanglewood”, but I am too advanced in years to build another extension.

To answer the question is difficult for these reasons. I just have to use my eyes and decide what to keep along with plenty of quality reserves as backup.

Q7: You have been breeding exhibition Budgerigars for a very long time. If you were to start all over again, knowing what you do now, how would you go about it?

GSB:

Do nothing for a year.

In that time go round 50 aviaries in the UK and Europe and learn everything, without buying a thing.

Then analyse all your data on aviary design and quality birds and where they are and decide: What sort of budgerigar do I need to beat the rest? (That is ahead of any Ideal Budgerigar that is depicted.)

The one asset you need is DRIVE. Without it you will not get to the top.

Q8: Is there a particular fault in a bird that you just wouldn’t be prepared to work with?

GSB:

Long-flighted characteristics that can ruin a stud, which if present cannot be “worked out” by pairing to short feathered birds, back in, at a later date.

It is a terrible dominant genetic fault.

Q9: Do you have a number of different family lines? If so how many – and is there one more prolific than the others? Do you use lines as outcrosses, or do you go for outcrosses externally?

GSB:

There are three main lines here in the greens, grey greens and the blue series with, now, cinnamon being an important factor but used carefully.

My records are near perfect as anyone who has been here will tell you.

All lines are prolific with the odd exception here and there that we all get.

The longer I have been in the hobby the more I realise that quality outcrosses are a must.

The problem is where to get them and it is only the bigger breeders that have the numbers from which to be able to let you have what you want.

Existing lines are not used as outcrosses.

He had a “gut” feeling that the level of lighting some have randomly installed, could be more important than we think. However, being an amateur when it came to understanding the physics of the variable sources of such lighting, he was still in the process of researching the matter more fully.

On a personal basis, I also have no experience at all on this subject. I have read that all forms of ultraviolet (UV) light, whether from the sun or an artificial source, can trigger the formation of Vitamin D when it falls on our bare skin. But what about the effect on our birds? Perhaps some experienced fancier can advise me?

The matter was dropped until I was spoken to by a leading Red Eye breeder. He had built a new aviary and installed UV lighting – such as has been described in magazines around the world and is normally used by those who illuminate their aquariums containing reptiles or related species.

To his dismay, he found some red eyes going blind with these lights. Significantly, with three rows of breeding cages, there were more cases of blindness in those sited in the top row, than those in the bottom row. To date 13 high quality red eyes have gone blind and long term there could be more. Perhaps some still sighted birds have sustained some visual damage. Who knows?

This news of course relates to lutinos and the like and perhaps cinnamons. I stress I am no expert, but my feeling is that many fanciers in their rush to breed better birds with greater fertility, could run into serious problems in using this type of lighting. Here we have a fact of serious damage and loss of birds as a result of going blind. All I can add to the hobby worldwide is to be careful in the use of sources of UV lighting before such effects have been thoroughly researched by those who know far more about this subject. The normal black eyed varieties, so far, seem to be unaffected but one cannot be totally sure about such a statement.

As humans, we are continually warned today about long exposure to the sun – causing skin damage and cancerous melanomas arising at any age. This is because the UV strength has increased following the thinning of the atmosphere. We are also encouraged to use sunglasses to prevent eye strain and long term damage. So the dangers of UV are a fact we should all take on board – especially us as bird fanciers, who in some cases have rushed to install this type of lighting unaware of the dangers involved.

You can have the right blood, but it may still be totally inadequate for the correct features! The two have to be present – not just one.

Since that time, Neil has branched out by buying from Florian Böck in Germany, Daniel Lütolf in Switzerland and at home in the UK from Frank McGovern.

Neil was born in 1967, is married and has two young daughters. He is in the electrical contracting business so he has no time to show, but does attend the BS Show at Doncaster each year. His mentor is Bernard Kellett – no finer tutor exists, especially when it comes to information on directional feathering.

In this article the birds need no explanation – the quality is there for anyone with an eye for detail.

Neil’s early problems were lack of shoulder power and inadequate spots and it was Frank McGovern’s birds that sorted out those two problems. In 2006, he bought birds from Florian Bock and, following further visits to Germany to see Florian, he was introduced to Fritz Buttner, from whom Neil purchased birds which were great for outcrossing but objectively with what Neil calls the older “English” style. In 2009 birds from Alan Marchant and his partner Chris Huxley, were added to the existing lines with great benefit.

Today, Neil breeds some 180-200 birds each year, but very sensibly starts breeding in mid-October at the latest when there are still good natural hours of light available to overcome the difficult problem of “getting the breeding team going”.

Whatever rings are on the birds matters little to him – “Just get birds on the perch early and the rest will follow easily”.

An interesting, but unproven, change by Neil, is the installation of the ultra violet lighting normally used over reptile aquaria. He now has superb fertility amounting to an average (across the stud) of 8 fertile eggs per nest. That includes the fact that the ultra violet lights are at the top of the aviary which is correct for those birds within a metre, but he finds that the bottom rows, some two metres away, are just as fertile. 24 cages in all are installed in his aviary.

His next stage in the development is to not buy in outcrosses for at least another 12 months but to work with what he has at the moment.

Here is a breeder with “The Eye” for what is needed to progress. It will be very interesting to watch the progress of Neil Murray in the coming years.

Here are a small selection of Neil’s birds.

Many of you are likely to use fluorescent tube lights in your aviary….

Following the European ban of certain types of incandescent light bulbs, fluorescent tube lights have now come under the microscope. Standard T8 Halophosphor fluorescent tubes are being phased out, with production being halted and the importation of them being banned.

With these fluorescent lights being phased out, many people who use them are either unaware of the legislation or unaware of the best and most cost effective method of replacing them.

Below are some FAQ’s with answers to help T8 users avoid confusion and unnecessary expense.

• Why are these fluorescents bulbs being “phased out”?

  In the effort to reduce energy consumption, carbon emissions and to improve the performance and the efficiency of lighting, the European Union have agreed with European lighting manufacturers to cease the production and importation of standard Halophosphor T8 tubes (normal day to day fluorescent tubes).

• How does this affect you?

  As the European stock of these standard type fluorescent bulbs is exhausted, users of T8′s will be required to make a simple change to Triphosphor fluorescent tubes. Triphosphor tubes are a direct replacement for Halophosphor and negate the need to rewire, replace or in any way make modifications to your current light fitting.

• What’s the difference?

  Triphosphor T8 fluorescent is a direct replacement for Halophosphor T8 with no need to adaptor any part of your fitting. Triphosphor tubes are an upgraded version of Halophosphor tubes with longer life and better quality of light, using less energy and reducing carbon emissions.

• Why do they cost more?

  At first glance Halophosphor tubes look far cheaper than Triphosphor tubes, due to their relatively low purchase price. However, the Triphosphor tubes are much longer lasting than standard Halophosphor fluorescents and therefore they can end up costing as little as or even less than the bulbs they are replacing.

• Is there a difference in the quality of light?

  Colour rendering index (CRI) is the percentage of colour that would reflect from the light source to a object then to your eye. Standard Halophosphor tubes are around 50%, Triphosphor tubes are rated around 80% giving you much greater wealth of colour.

Second Birdroom Fails To Perform

The story was highly significant as the reader will quickly understand. It concerned a completely baffled fancier who had built a second birdroom alongside his highly successful existing structure.

The earlier birdroom had 16 cages and was breeding winners which were in high demand – hence the need to expand. The breeder decided to duplicate matters. The new structure also faced in the same direction. Some birds, upon completion of aviary number two, were transferred to the new room with a great deal of optimism.

After a few weeks it became obvious that breeding was poor and the question was “Why?”. The old birdroom was breeding at the same time and producing good numbers of chicks as usual. In the new room, infertility abounded and what chicks there were, were not being fed properly. Dead tiny chicks appeared regularly.

Possible Solutions

The situation was baffling. Heaps of thought went into determining the cause of the problem. Feeding was identical as were the night lights, heating and so on. There was also plenty of budgerigar noise so attention turned to the fitness of the stock in both birdrooms, but could a virus be affecting matters? Thoughts turned to a discussion with an Avian Veterinary Surgeon.

The vet pointed out that a new room would possess a colony of bacteria and viruses that would build up naturally after the “new” stock was transferred. However, it was feasible that a group of “bugs” had intervened and it was this factor that was the underlying cause of infertility and hatchability.

“Perhaps the aviary needs fumigating?”, was his suggestion.

It was at this point that I was approached. Our intrepid fancier called me. He went through the whole matter in great depth, with me, as I always do, making notes throughout.

He was thinking in terms of using a sulphur fumigation process, but I know this turns everything in sight a dirty yellow, as well as killing off most bacteria and fungi. (You cannot kill a virus!!)

I knew also, from experience, that because you are so committed to your problem, there will be blind spots that you miss, so you need to come at the problem from a different angle.

I rang down and thought about it for a few days. Everything was duplicated and I could not work it out which annoyed me.

We Saw The Light!

I rang him back.

We went through it all again, with me looking for a new clue in his chat with me. I then asked about his night lighting. His answer was fine – it wasn’t the night lighting.

Then he said, “the new birdroom main lights are on from 07.45 hours until 22.00 hours, non stop”. Suddenly I saw it. “Why are they on so long?” I asked. “Oh, it’s because the new room is in a darker area under some trees” was the reply. “And the old aviary lighting hours, what are they?”, I asked. “They are different because that aviary is unaffected by trees, so the lights come on at at 07.45 hours, off again at 10.30 hours until 16.00 hours, when they come on again until 22.00 hours and off for the night.”

There was his problem. His birds in the new birdroom were not getting any rest at all in daylight hours. They were hyperactive, but this did not mean that they were sufficiently rested to effect good breeding results.

All breeders of experience know that approaching midday, any aviary in standard timed lighting conditions as this breeder’s old aviary was timed, have a good two to four hours rest.

The aviary goes quiet for this period. Then once rested and the 16.00 hours lighting returns, the birds are active again. The hens come out of the boxes and excrete and are mated immediately.

Lessons Learned

There was the problem and in about 8 weeks both aviaries were churning out chicks as a result of this fancier’s good husbandry which was only spoilt by a small error.

Both of us had learned something in the process. It just illustrates how something small and innocent affects good breeding results.

Obviously I cannot guarantee this applies to sunnier climates – compared to those that we have in the UK, but the fact that birds have a requirement for rest periods should not be lost.

GSB: Remove any eggs that you do not want to transfer, but leave the box open for a day.

After a day close off the nest box entrance. Allow the pair to adjust to the new scene for another 2 days.

Then remove them to a stock cage along with others similarly affected, but make sure the pair are close together.

After two weeks there, both should be safe to place in the flights and the hen’s internal organs will have reduced back to normal. Treat hens very carefully at this time.

I came into budgerigars for the hobby – not politics which is depressing when it is destructive rather than constructive. Should I stay?

GSB: It is not a good answer, but it’s life everywhere especially in all forms of exhibition livestock breeding.

Successful societies are when there is a good chairperson who will not brook troublesome members who are out of order and do not know how to behave in a public meeting. A weak front table of well intentioned fanciers who form the officers of the society, is a measure for aggravation and loss of members.

The cure is obvious. You have a vote! The society is more important that an out of hand member.

Put another way, tennis was more important as a game than the irrational behaviour of John McEnroe in his heyday, which should have been stamped on immediately on the very first occasion it occurred.

Regarding artificial lighting, what extra hours does one allow for the aviary lights to be on when darkness begins to set in ?

GSB: In the northern hemisphere, as a generalistion, lights should come on in the summer months at about 17:00 hours until 22:00 hours.

In winter advance this to on at 15:00 hours and off at the same time as summertime. There’s no need for any other change unless you are about managing your stock and it is needed.

We cannot speculate about the southern hemisphere. Perhaps we can be advised please?