John did an initial simplistic presentation specifically for the Australian National Budgerigar Council to show where the Yellow Faced should sit within the Australian Matrix, just below the Normal blue series. Nigel expanded this presentation, inclusive of photos, percentages, examples and had John review to ensure that he was okay with the changes.

Each country MAY have the Yellow Faced variety ‘mixed’ with a particular variety, when we would argue that the Yellow Faced ‘Normal’ should be shown as the Yellow Faced in a class of its own and all others with a Yellow Face be exhibited within the variety.

I use as one example, the Albino. In Australia this is shown in the Yellow Faced class, we would argue that it is an Albino first, with a Yellow Face – thus should be shown as an Albino. This example could be used for all varieties in the blue series.

I trust fanciers enjoy the presentation and consider the reasons behind it.

To view the presentation, please click on the slide below (left).

The show was held on 28th May to 3rd June 2010 in Rockhampton (Queensland) and was hosted by the Queensland North and Central Zone Budgerigar Council.

Below are the results from each of the 22 classes.

Each result features:

• Photographs of the top 3 birds
• Breeder(s) name(s) of the top 3 birds
• Judges comments on the class
• Judges comments on the top birds

To view the results of a particular class (2 page document in Adobe PDF), simply click on the selected class photo – the results will then display/download.

The 37th Annual Show will be held in Canberra and full details can viewed here on Budgerigar.co.uk .

This original version, now edited for international appreciation, was written by Jean Horrobin and Marilyn Harrington and is reproduced with their kind permission and acknowledgement to the BS of New South Wales and The Budgerigar. My appreciation also goes to Keith Gough for the accompanying photographs.

GSB

Introduction

Henry George lives with his wife, Diane in a stunning area just north of Brisbane in Queensland. He is arguably one of Australia’s pre-eminent budgerigar breeders and his results at national level are second to none. For the record, Henry was the driving force to get 4500 birds into Australia from the UK so many years ago and the leader of the first syndicate. Incidentally, Henry was not Australian born – he comes from Yorkshire, UK!

Henry George – In His Own Words

My wife Diane and I live on a property situated in a picturesque valley with a mountainous backdrop. The aviary is large and is situated towards the middle of the property and is surrounded by horse paddocks along with 40 horses – which are my wife’s passion. We have a German Warmblood stud of horses with arguably the best bloodline in the country. Germany has the best dressage horses in the world. Our horses are headed by our stallion Donnatraum (Donny for short) who is unbeaten in the show arena.

My Budgerigar History

I started with budgerigars in 1975 when my daughters expressed an interest, but, like others experiences, they eventually took a different route – but I continued. I discovered the Queensland Budgerigar Society (QBS) and went to meetings and obtained advice on aviary construction. We learned a lot about budgerigars at the same time.

I moved through the ranks to Open Status in the minimum time after successes on the show bench and then took the judges course to become a Queensland judge in May,1979. By 1991, I became a National Judge and have subsequently judged at the nationals on four separate occasions.

My major achievements included winning, at first, Champion of Show with a cinnamon grey cock at the QBS Annual Show – when still a beginner! However, the achievement that ranks highest in my mind was winning my first national with an opaline light green cock in 1982. Since then, my achievements include 27 firsts at national Level and include greens, blues, yellowfaces, dominant pieds, lutinos, opalines, spangles, lacewings and clearwings, all of which varieties I still keep.

My Stud

My aviary is 25 metres long by 9 metres wide (82 by 30 feet). It has four major flights, 75 breeding cages and a walkway from where to enter the flights easily. The aviary contains a store, an office, a 5 metres wide (16 feet) birdroom fitted with food storage bins, a bank of 16 show cage training cages and a further 12 more cages for newly weaned youngsters and birds being prepared for shows. There is also a quarantine room for new purchases and any sick birds that arise with a heated hospital cage to hand. The room also contains two glass-fronted trophy display cabinets.

Since our water comes from a borehole, all water has to be boiled and filtered before it is pumped around the property. In the aviary, various vitamins are added for half the week, and a water cleanser for one day a week – mostly KD powder. (A product from Dr Rob Marshall – click here for more details.)

The birds receive a softfood mixture daily. This comprises soaked wheat and oats, an animal protein called Hi-Pro supplied by the veterinarian Ron Woodhead; grated carrots or silverbeet and a square of multigrain bread which is dampened with milk, over which I sprinkle canary egg biscuit and Budgie Starter. Seed is soaked for 24 hours and rinsed, put back and KD powder added to kill off any bacteria. It is drained and then fed.

Breeding

Nest boxes are checked daily and my system is to have record cards on the boxes after which the vital details are recorded in the year’s main record system. Breeding time for me is spring and summer, not winter as winter gives bad results. I check that every bird that is possibly fit to breed is exactly that, starting with a hen and then finding the right cock that is related and looks visually suitable. My favourite pairings are aunt to nephew; uncle to niece, first or second cousins and half brother to half sister, providing that the cock or hen that I am breeding back to, was not closely related to the birds that produced the half brother or half sister involved. I never closely inbreed as it never seems to work for me.

With my selection process, it is rare to have a hen refuse to nest but if this is the case then I allow her three weeks to lay. If no results, then the pair is broken up and returned to the flights. I normally allow for two rounds, but if a pair produces real quality in their first round, I foster out their second round eggs and let the pair rear their third round.

I check all eggs for fertility using a laser torch. In hot weather, I get a bowl of warm water and place all eggs that are within two days of hatching into the bowl for 10 seconds. This is enough to soften the inner membrane and it increases the hatchability. Other fanciers seeing this have remarked how much this has helped them as well. Feather plucking can be reduced by putting a lump of rock salt in the breeding cage concerned – it sometimes works. If not, remove the offender and leave the partner to finish the rearing process.

He is arguably the finest and most experienced veterinary surgeon in the world currently highly active in the field of avian diseases.

An Australian, he has his own small veterinary practice in Carlingford, Australia. His knowledge, supported by his extensive Curriculum Vitae, plus papers and books on avian health, is unequalled.

His latest publication “The Budgerigar” was published in 2009 and took 12 years to produce. There has never been a more extensive volume to help our birds survive when ill. It is a perfect volume to have to hand. (For further details see “The Budgerigar”)

As part of his relationship with this website, Dr Marshall has provided an emergency first aid treatment process, so that any fancier can perform a step-by-step diagnosis of any sick bird, to see exactly the right course to follow and drug(s) to give.

Any prescription drugs that are required have to be obtained from your local veterinarian but can be supported by information that will be on this site for any fancier to download.

Full details will appear on this website (see “Health“).

Dr Rob’s Products

Dr Marshall has also arranged for supplies of the relevant approved drugs to be available.

His book and drugs may be obtained as follows:

• For UK & Europe customers:
   
  • Order from Riversway Aviculture: www.riverswayonline.co.uk

 

• For Australia & Asia customers:
   
  • Order from Bird Health: www.birdhealth.com.au

 

• For The Rest of the World:
   
  • Order from Lady Gouldian: www.ladygouldianfinch.com OR www.ladygouldian.com

I began breeding this marvellous Australian Grass Parakeet at the age of 12, immediately after the 2nd World War – 67 years ago!

I am still as fanatical today about breeding top quality exhibition budgerigars though I do not claim to be so obsessed to the exclusion of my family and golf – the latter modestly. Over the years, many hundreds of Australian and New Zealand fanciers have visited my home in Virginia Water and all have been welcomed.

With my administrative background, I was also privileged to have been the UK co-ordinator for the nine Australian shipments of some of the UK’s finest budgerigars to Melbourne, before a ban was instituted as a result of infected ostriches arriving from Canada at the Spotswood Quarantine Station in Melbourne. That ban has not been lifted for budgerigars, but I believe pigeons were permitted until the Avian Flu outbreak arose.

Luckily 4500 budgerigars did pass into the Australian hobby which has helped enormously with head quality improvements and many fine birds are to be seen these days on the Australian show benches.

The Attack Principle

The desire to breed super exhibition budgerigars is the ambition of every fancier in every country. I am well aware of the fact that the Australian show scene and its structure and administration is different to the UK. That aside, we all have the same aim as it is the finest birds on display that we wish to breed and own for the simple reason of pride in having achieved something that money cannot buy.

That said, there always comes a point where you have to “speculate to accumulate” and buy the essential outcrosses to avoid losing size as well as quality.

Sell ten birds and buy one has always been my philosophy.

The Early Years

By the early years, I mean the first ten – perhaps even longer. There is so much to learn from each breeding season, particularly establishing a feeding regime that really works well and breeds many budgerigars each season from the best birds you possess.

I cannot stress enough how important that is. Two consecutive bad seasons can destroy a stud. That is the danger we all face as it brings you to your knees and so many leave the hobby at that point. If it happens there is only one person to blame – you! This is the point when the strongest characters refuse to give in and “attack”.

In “The Challenge”, I have listed in depth many proven successful diets, including Australian diets, that have stood the test of time. Those diets should be unchanged in their entirety and not added to with something that “so and so” is feeding at your club. If you do then the stud as a whole is rocked and as budgerigars object to change, it will show adversely in the breeding cages later on.

Once you have your proven diet working well, may I suggest you write it down and place it on file because it is so easy to forget an item(s) from the daily routine – then trouble arrives and your memory for what has gone wrong will fail you.

Get the feeding right and you can progress to look elsewhere if another problem appears. Remember, you need to produce quantity as well as quality from a nest so that you can select the best two and sell the rest.

Establishing The Basics

Like a great house, your stud has to be built on very solid foundations. Your initial problem may be financial. If not then you may be lucky, but if you are financially strapped you may well be better off in the long term, so do not despair.

This is the way I began as a boy, but I learned the hard way and was the better for it. The hobby is filled with a cross section of characters. Happily most are honest and will help beginners in a constructive way, but a few are depressing.

I clearly recall my first attempt at buying from one of the top ten UK fanciers when I was fourteen years old. It was my first lesson. I travelled a long way by train to this “famous” fancier. He asked me before I had even seen any of his birds, how much I had to spend. I had saved all my pocket money and I said (this was 1948) I had £20.00. His reply was stunning to a beginner. He said “You won’t get much for that young man”.

My father, having taught me well about the world being full of good and bad people, prompted me to say: “No problem, but I am not interested in your birds” and I left immediately. He never forgot me and always came up to me at shows after that, obviously ashamed. A lesson learned regarding buying and selling and how to treat people decently and fairly.

By contrast, you can have the odd well off fancier who likes to enter the hobby with a bang. He knows little but thinks money will get him to the top. They rarely last the distance and every country will have such examples. They might win for a while but their lack of experience results in their quality dropping, with poor results, and out they go.

So be encouraged that if you have a small pocket, as I did then, you will make a better fancier if you attack at all times as best as you can. If you are patient and sensible, it is a valuable lesson not to spend anything for 12 months, but in that period visit all manner of studs and shows to get your “”eye for quality” well established.

You will also see all manner of aviary designs and that will give you a good idea for construction of your own aviary. Remember that an aviary has to be designed for what is the best for the birds, not necessarily for what is best for you.

Have You The “Eye”

This title means: have you learned exactly what is wanted in order to win at top level?

The next question, if you want to save a great deal of expense, is “if not, why not ?”. With long-standing experience let me tell you that top quality judges, and there are many of them, also breed top quality birds. By doing so, they keep up to date with new features that are difficult to achieve. They can see faults to the millimetre and that isn’t very much. If he / she cannot do so they are second grade judges and there are even more of those.

It is my contention that the top national show, in any country, should be judged by the former group at all times – as breeders have been striving all year to win and thus deserve no less a compliment. Officials just working through a list of “qualified” judges to please all the judges, irrespective of their individual ability, is an insult to every fancier and indeed any non-exhibitor looking around the show.

I digress, but I make the point to illustrate how essential it is to possess the eye for every detail.

How Width Of Face Appeared

From the 1950′s until the 1970′s, the majority of us were breeding very good birds – or so we thought!

Somewhere towards the end of that period, a few fanciers realised there were far better birds around that were streets ahead of the so called “Ideal Budgerigar” as depicted in drawings.

One fancier in particular, Ken Farmer, wanted to capture the look that the Norwich canaries possessed with their lateral feather over the head and eyes. Until that time, the UK breeders had all their birds with their head feathers growing from front to back over the head. So now the hunt was on for any birds that possessed what is now called “lateral directional feathering”.

By the 1980′s, the numbers of such birds had increased slightly. The late Harry Bryan was a breeder who would scour the country for birds with “width of face”, as well as not losing the quality features already established. Not easy.

In 2010, that feature has become somewhat more common, but almost every fancier that comes into any aviary is looking for width – and it is that feature that by its very nature is expensive to acquire.

In 2005 I named it “the buffalo effect”, which is a descriptive wording that has gone world wide as a result of “The Challenge” book. Everybody in the UK who arrives at my home wants “buffalos” but so do I – and it is a struggle to keep them!

Focusing The Super Bird In Your Mind

I will now assume you have progressed a little. So now focus on the finest bird you have ever seen – forget “The Ideal” as it is probably behind what is actually being bred, but it has helped as part of your apprenticeship.

Carry that image of the finest bird in your mind. It is vital as you are now going out to buy birds to build that bird yourself from hundreds of good birds that may be on offer. Even better, you may have the ability to see beyond the best birds ever seen, but such fanciers are rare. Exactly what financial level you enter the hobby is personal.

Buying The Foundations

Your two selected breeders for purchasing should have a common genetic denominator – so establish where their original stocks came from. This is important because otherwise you will be buying unrelated birds which all have hidden faults that emerge in droves. By comparison, super quality birds will suddenly appear from pairing related stock.

I also stress that you should get pedigrees immediately you purchase the new birds, so that you know exactly what you are doing over the coming years. My records go back to 1950 (believe it or not), but in practice one never goes back that far of course.

Another tip – when you go to buy, go alone. You are in a much stronger position to deal with your seller on a one to one basis and you will not get distracted from getting what you want, bearing in mind what I mentioned earlier. You also have much greater leverage in the process.

Starting The Breeding Season

It is a fact that South African, Australian and New Zealand fanciers have it far easier to breed budgerigars compared to those in the Northern hemisphere. This is due to the sun and far better light that is available in the south. Reinhard Molkentin in South Africa confirms this as he has bred in his own country (Germany) as well as in South Africa where he now lives. So you all have a big advantage.

So let me assume you have bought three cocks and four to six hens, as not all will be in condition to breed simultaneously. The cocks should have been selected on the basis that any one can be paired to any of the hens you have chosen.

Watch the hens closely, as it is the hens that have to be caught up as they rise up to a peak of “itching to breed” and are chewing branches at every opportunity. I prefer to place the hens in the breeding cages with the boxes open, so they get used to their new territorial area for 48 hours before the cocks are introduced. Then you get great fertility results. Your season has started.

Looking Ahead

Assume you have now bred say 16-24 chicks.

Remember to feed them as well as you did when they were still with their parents. So many fanciers drop off the vitamins and soft food intake and wonder why their birds are not big after 18 months growth. You should be able to have big birds, certainly if they are Normals, by the age of 10 months and then you will know that by 18 months you will have a massive handful later on.

You now have to select what to keep and what to sell. With the income, go back to the original sellers and buy just one super bird – far better than any of the first group. You then move this bird, a cock being the obvious choice, into the genetic pool you have started. Then in the following season get him paired to as many of the best hens available as is possible, while transferring the fertile eggs out to other less important nests.

Now the excitement starts as the quality being produced suddenly shoots up and in nest after nest some great chicks start appearing. Other fanciers now become aware of your stud and begin to come round and try to buy from you. A great time, but keep it going and refuse to sell what  you want for next season – bearing in mind you need one third cocks and two thirds hens. You are on the way to the top!

Conclusion

Never forget, that when you get serious setbacks, you are in livestock and they have a habit of losing their breath – permanently. That is the time to forget it and in 24 hours go back on “the Attack!”.

Zoology was however to prove a very useful source of knowledge in understanding the basics of animal and human anatomy. I could see that having started breeding budgerigars at the age of 12, that this subject could prove useful but I did not realise, and still do not, how difficult the external diagnosis of disease in our birds was going to be.

Avian Veterinary Surgeons

As I grew older, I naturally lost birds from time to time and I quickly found out that the veterinary profession was sadly lacking in advice and help when I needed it. Subsequently, I was advised that the veterinary colleges only spend about a week on all birds in a five to six year course. Perhaps I am being cynical, but I think many students must have taken leave during that week because so many vets that I have tried over the years, struggle to help you. One actually said, “You obviously know more than I do so what drugs do you want?” Hardly comforting, so I quickly dropped him.

Today, I know that there are specialist avian vets upon whom to get some help but usually they are at a distance and getting a bird to them is near impossible to be of use. Unfortunately such credible vets are rare and you need a vet who has the vital laboratory equipment backing him / her. I worked in laboratories for BP for many years so I fully understand what is required and there is a great deal of expense involved in acquiring essential back up equipment. This will reflect in charges that are levied in addition to the avian expert’s knowledge. When I left BP to start BW Magazine in 1982, my charge out rate for work carried out for other companies was, even then, £170 per hour. What it is today I can only guess at, but the moral is that you only get what you pay for.

All of us need to understand that following the death of a bird(s), a carcase starts to degrade and deteriorate rapidly. I will give you an example later. So sending a bird via the postal services however speedy is useless and I quote David Jones (former Chief Veterinary Officer at London Zoo and later Director of London and Whipsnade Zoos):

“It is far better to get two ailing birds that can be euthanized and the body tissues examined immediately if you want accuracy and correct diagnosis to be the order of the day”.

Many UK and European fanciers will remember the late Mick Mapston who was not only one of our finest judges, but who also possessed a great sense of humour. Years ago the UK Budgerigar Society used a veterinary service for its members (no longer) and pretty well every diagnostic report that the member would receive about his dead bird contained the assertion that “Cranial Haemorrhage” was a cause.

Mick said:

“I know the answer to that. When you take the bird to the post office addressed to your vet, it’s the woman behind the counter who bangs the package with the post office stamp!”

Mick’s humour is sadly missed.

Primary Cause Of Death

I referred earlier to the immediate changes that start to occur in a carcase after death. The proof of this, to give one example, was that in 1970 I was approached by a lady fancier of note to help her solve a major problem with her stock. Unfortunately these sick birds exhibited the same symptoms as 15 other diseases we know about. Fortunately they also were noticed to be creating “dust” in their seed bowls and were constantly eating by grinding up the grain into tiny particles to get a few grains down into their crops. Fungal treatment was not effective, so what was the primary cause?

Various vets had been tried before I was approached, but all failed without an accurate diagnosis. I decided to write a full report to my vet which ran into six pages. That was sent up to London Zoo Veterinary Dept. and then I was asked to obtain several live birds that were suffering and take them up to David Jones himself. He passed these birds to a young and very able qualified vet called Gordon Henderson. Henderson euthanized the birds and quickly established that the problem was caused by two different protozoa called giardia and trichomonas.

Where the former vets had gone wrong was not realising that these protozoa either disappeared or died within 10 minutes of the death of the birds. Also the gut contained fungi which lined the oesophagus and was destroying the linings of the gizzards which were confirmed as ulcerated.

In due course Henderson found that the real primary cause was ingested trichomonads probably from wild birds and especially pigeons via open flights. Note: Avian Flu could be contracted easily without covered flights. These “bugs” then swim in the gut and change the PH (acid/alkali levels) with the result that the fungi were getting a firm hold and reducing the diameter of the oesophagus and other internal damage. Now you know why posted carcases can be a wasted exercise.

Place New Birds in Quarantine

Some time ago, a very nice and dedicated fancier (Mr A), who had developed a high quality stud of light greens and grey greens, started to lose all his hens and eventually all died and he was devastated. The damage was done before I heard about it.

His cocks still looked fit so these were passed to a friend (Mr B). Later Mr B called me saying he was very worried as his birds were now suffering and informed me that Mr A had bought in a bird(s) from a fancier in Yorkshire but had not quarantined them after purchase as they “looked” perfectly fit. The trouble started soon after.

I advised Mr B to now do the sensible thing and take two birds to a known avian specialist vet. However he was not keen to do so saying, “But he will charge £300 to check everything.” I felt that was folly and I have heard nothing since.

The fact is that we all have to understand that any new purchase from an aviary that exhibits poor management with uncovered outside flights, can be supplying birds that are, even unknowingly, “carriers” of disease.

It has to be in all our interests to confine new introductions well away from the main bird room under quarantine conditions for 30 days and run them through a course of antibiotic, an antiprotozoal drug and a de-wormer, in that period. Immediately following, put them through a course of a multi-vitamin solution (such as abidec) to restore their metabolism back to normal.

None of this is difficult to do but how many of us actually do it? Not many is the answer, but the penalties are a disaster if you do not.

Real Solutions

I have to confess that even with the quality aviary and facilities that I have here, I still find there is great difficulty in wondering why I lose the odd hen when she is breeding for no apparent reason and why with clean surroundings you get the odd sick bird appearing – often just ill but without any external symptoms so that you don’t know exactly which drug could be the answer.

So often in such circumstances the bird is lost even with great attention to its welfare with being kept warm with a heat source and treatment. Taking such a bird away from the heat source to a vet can accelerate matters as well, as so often a vet will not offer a drug without seeing the bird. That is understandable, but with vets being inexperienced with birds you are mostly on your own with the odd infected bird.

Only when there is a major infection across the stud are you forced, if you are sensible, to pay out for a real avian expert. Frustrating? You bet it is, because none of us likes to lose birds unnecessarily and of course “It’s always a good one that is the cause for worry”.

Have I any real solutions? Frankly, no. As one famous fancier said to me some years ago, “After 65 years in this hobby I feel I know nothing about budgerigars.” I couldn’t agree more!