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?

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.

Virtually no country is excluded from this problem.

So what are the causes?

Why is it Happening?

I list these major causes as contributing factors:

• The Lure of Modern Technology

  • Young people are fascinated by the constant introduction of new technology, gadgets and computers – spending hours, either constructively or wastefully!

• TV & DVD

  • Watching DVDs & Television is preferable for some young people who have no outside interests or hobbies.

• Lack of a Guiding Hand?

  • Today’s levels of parental leadership are vastly diminished in so many families.

• Increase in University Attendances

  • More young people in their late teens and early 20s now attend universities, so they have no time for the fancy.

• Alternative “One-Off” Interests

  • Some sporting interests and any required equipment can be a one-off expense. So it’s often an easy option.

• Smaller Attention Spans – No “Stick At It” Attitude?

  • Time needed to make a “job worth doing is worth doing well”. I grew up with that phrase ringing in my ears – and it stuck. I’m not sure it is applied much these days.

• Older Newcomers

  • Newcomers to the hobby are, in the main, coming from the 40 plus generation – but only joining after being told about an existing member’s interests.

• Hobby Too Expensive?

  • Money required for set up costs of aviaries, seed and stocks. Grain has shot up to new levels in the past two years.

• The Current Economic Climate!

  • Everybody is watching what they spend these days.

• The Hobby Does Not Market Itself Well

  • With so many sports, interests, hobbies and pastimes available today, you have to get noticed to ensure that you are not left behind. The hobby world wide does a poor job at marketing itself to the wider public.

How do other Hobbies Market Themselves?

The Pigeon Fancy is enormous – Fact. They market the hobby with extensive magazines, exposure on TV, and press coverage. They also publish books of great depth and interest (e.g. for sale & libraries).

The same applies to the Angling hobby.

As for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), they have their annual accounts running into millions of pounds.

Is the Budgerigar Fancy Doing Enough?

In a word, NO!

Using my national Budgerigar Society (UK Budgerigar Society) as a typical example, I decided the other day to address a letter to the Secretary (David Whittaker) and the Chairman (George Booth), copy to the Publicity Officer (Janice Al-Nasser – a very efficient lady), about the BS leading “The Charge” , as I now call it.

It relates to the marketing of the hobby to the general public.

As I see it, societies everywhere, and the UK is no exception, have committees, councils, boards etc., to lead on behalf of their membership.

Certainly one cannot argue that they are all nice people and are hard workers, when there are so many who do not help at all!

Such committees are also good, in the main, at dealing with the exhibition side of the hobby – i.e. show planning and organisation. The UK Budgerigar Society and the German presentations are but two in this category.

Regrettably (in my opinion) these committees often suffer from what can only be described as “modest leadership”, thus allowing all manner of rules changes (e.g. the BS can only change their rules every three years as mandated) which seem to merely irritate the members, rather than encourage them.

One example, some years back, was to tamper with the design of the show cage (when none was needed at all), at a time when members were being lost and continue to be lost.

Yes, I know there was a 10 year stay in place by which time the new design was obligatory, but it had to have forced members to say to themselves:

Why on earth have I got this extra (and unnecessary) expense?

I now have to go over to the new design fast or I’ll be left behind.

I cannot justify staying in the hobby any longer.

Exit disgruntled member, stage left!

There are such examples all over the world of a similar nature, but this article is being constructive – not destructive (as a few will take it) – as well as ignoring the praiseworthy comments.

Criticism takes all the attention.

Can we Halt the Decline in Membership?

So, are there actions the hobby can take to halt the decline and raise awareness among the general public?

I firmly believe the answer is YES.

Here are just a few ideas:

• Use Mass Marketing Channels – such as TV & Radio

  • Remember that television & radio exposure gets into nearly every home. I know in the UK that Jeff Attwood is considered perhaps the best speaker in the hobby, and a natural in front of a camera. I would be using him, for example, to promote the hobby on TV & radio.

• Aviaries & Shows on TV

  • Get the Attwoods of the Fancy to push the TV companies to feature some of the top aviaries and the budgerigar shows. Use some of the best and experienced fanciers to tell the public that not only do we exist, but what a great hobby this is, with a hands-on factor involved with nature as well as the challenge it creates for all of us.

• Magazine Placement

  • Supply every doctor’s and dentist surgery with a magazine to be seen by patients who have time to browse.

• Pet Trade Magazines

  • The pet trade magazines are a must for publicity to those who might switch from, say, keeping fish to budgerigars, or similar.

• Car Stickers

  • Have car window stickers promoting us and giving details how to get in touch with the right organisation. The public will spot a quality budgerigar in this way and be drawn to look further and, importantly, might bite. If not for them, but for their sons or daughters who love nature.

• Advance Promotion of Shows

  • All budgerigar shows should have promotion in advance of the event in local newspapers, on local radio and if possible local TV. Emphasise that there will be stewards to take you round the exhibits and explain all aspects of the hobby when you get there. Posters have to be up in an around the local towns & villages – even local fairs do that! Such marketing has to have a double effect – boosted door receipts and memberships.

• Reduce Bureaucracy

  • Stop the decine of existing members as a result of swamping them with ill thought out rules and regulations which appear to have been introduced without serious thinking as to the possible consequences could be. An example: the new BS rule on flecking needs re-thinking (in my humble opinion).You cannot legislate for a variable fault – leave it to the judges. It all depends on what is in front of them – and I speak constructively, not otherwise.

• Use Modern Technology to Spread The Word

  • Websites are a marvelous tool to market the hobby. They are free to access and can, if designed well, provide huge amounts of marketing material to the public at the touch of a button. Join the 21st century and make use of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

These are but a few of the many ways in which to market the hobby we love.

Call to Action

So, marketing the hobby to the general public is not “rocket science” – but it does need someone to take ownership and make it happen.

All the above ideas can be added to and a small group of bright individuals should be instructed to address the situation in each society. Try to ensure that someone in the group has some experience in marketing – even if it is in marketing their own small business!

To start the process you have to build a Development Plan. Have a goal in mind and map out the steps to get there. Be pro-active and have the drive to push matters through.

Importantly, those on society boards or councils MUST back the “marketing team” – not block them. Then and only then, can we as fanciers hope to increase the popularity of breeding exhibition budgerigars.

In particular (and I address this to the chairpersons of the hobby), place this matter of great importance on your society’s agendas NOW!

No longer can we deal JUST with the “individual trees” (i.e. tactical matters) in the forest. We have to look at “the forest” as a WHOLE (i.e. strategic matters) and see the danger we face.

Remember what I have written before.

If you have always done things in a certain way, then you will get the results you have always had.

The Charge

In my opinion, even though action should have been taken several years back, it is not too late.

Act now and keep acting and results will flow.

My concern is that all that I have written will fall on “deaf ears” – because it has come from “Binks”, as some silly folk think.

I hope to be proved wrong and something will happen – but knowing the “leaders of the hobby “, I am not very hopeful.

Please prove my cynicism wrong!

The future of this wonderful hobby is in our hands. When you vote for leaders for your next board, think carefully who are the best persons to drive it forward. Just because a breeder on the show-bench is highly successful is no reason to vote for him / her. Remember that fact.

I will be the first to publicise any budgerigar society (national or local) who implements some of these ideas and get results. This international budgerigar website is here for that purpose.

Let’s look at three other elements that play their part in successful budgerigar breeding.

3 – Money

You are going to have to spend money and you won’t make any!

It is a hobby for most of us and if you get good at it you will be lucky to cover your costs. But who made any money out of a hobby? Some people spend a lot of money on their hobby and are never any good. They then give up because they don’t combine it with hard work and patience.

Good birds cost money

“You don’t breed rats from mice” as the late Harry Bryan used to say.

However, once you start to breed some good birds which people have seen at shows (and you can show their breeding from your records), opportunities will arise for you to do swaps.

People will also give or loan you birds on the understanding that you give them something back. You can do the same for them and you will on occasion be disappointed with what you are offered back, but others you will learn to trust and they will only trust you if you are generous back.

Trust Your Instinct

Finally, if you are sufficiently passionate, learn to trust your instinct and pursue what you fancy.

If on an aviary visit you see a bird you fancy go for it and persist. After all, it is no different from what you did when you met your partner. Don’t just drift into it and think you have got to buy it because that is what you came for.

In either case it ends not only in tears but also a waste of time and, of course, the all important money.

Among birds being checked in was an outstanding bird (for its time) in full condition, and the buzz among the officials was on the lines of – “Here is the Best in Show”.

Overnight, both tail feathers disappeared!

They were not even on the cage floor. The question was, who was the culprit among the overnight stewards? Then it was realised that one of them had a very good bird in the same class. Such are the vagaries of human nature to win at all costs! The outcome, of course, was that no tail – no win!

Quality Nutrition is Everything

Anyway, that was yesterday, but in 2010 the problem takes on a different aspect which results in the same feeling of depression by the owner(s).

I refer, of course, to the fact that you can breed a super bird with all the right head qualities, depth of mask and so on, until it gets to 5-7 weeks of age and suddenly it loses its tail feathers! It can be earlier or later. The bird is what I have always thought – a borderline French Moult victim.

The reasoning is that the tails are the longest feathers in the budgerigar body, and thus require a perfectly nutritious metabolism to sustain these feathers soundly to full growth and permanence, until the first normal moult.

The Puzzle

So, your “Best in Show” winner has succumbed to the dreaded title of a “Tail-less wonder”.

It is now left with a familiar situation, where, for the very observant, the tips of the feathers that normally are left in the feather follicle, as in a standard French Moulter, are not there! I find this difficult to understand and so far I have no answer to it.

As the bird continues to grow, tiny new tail feathers start to appear – but then stop growing. If pulled out, you find a clean outer stump from within the follicle at the base, where growth has started, but stopped, as the poor nutrition (?) has failed to support them further.

To contradict this statement, we can now look at the adult “Tail-less wonder”. By the time the bird has reached, say, 10 months of age, it still continues to create the same kind of stumps as before – but it has, by then, a high quality metabolism because it has been fed under your good management. So why no normal tail growth at this stage?

Feeding Changes Can Cause Trouble

Obviously, we are not all good avian managers and so many fanciers try all sorts of commercial products (that may affect their studs adversely) in the hope that something “works”.

In “The Challenge” book, this is discussed at length. In my case, I realised many years ago that one new product can upset the complete metabolic balance that can easily precipitate French Moult. Budgerigars are very sensitive to nutritional changes!

Binks Receives A Hit!

By reason of a balanced nutritional input, I have not had any French Moult for years – unless I push a pair to breed too far and ask for trouble.

This season (2010) I have produced a light green normal chick that at 5 months of age looked superb. Mick Freakley and Geoff Tuplin saw it and waxed lyrical – but days later – no tails!

I immediately thought of something that has been in my mind for many many years. We have all these specialist veterinarians, some of whom are paid by various societies in the world, who deal with the basics of diseases that in the most part are well recorded and have been so for years. The question in my mind is simple and is vitally important to us breeders, namely: Why has no research been carried out on the tail loss factor?

Infected Follicles?

In the past decade we have swiftly become interested and have acted upon acquiring longer feathers and directional feathers on either side of the head, to create what I termed for the hobby as “The Buffalo Effect”.

Not easy to achieve, but the hobby at large is trying and is already succeeding in many aviaries. This has to put extra strain on avoiding the loss of tails for the reasons given above.

So, with this personal experience in mind, I approached Dr Rob Marshall for his (and I stress his) comments and the possibility of some positive research into the state of the follicles, post the loss of their tails.

My mind says:

• “How do I clean up the follicle, so that the growth can behave normally?“
• “What is inside the follicle that is stopping new tail growth?“
• “Is it an infection? If so, which bacterium is it, and how do we knock it on the head?“

Finding A Cure?

When I was approached, at the age of 19, with a kind invitation to join Her Majesty’s Armed Forces (for two years at her expense), I tried to join the Black Watch Regiment- as I have a Scottish (and Lancashire) background.

I was rejected for flat feet much to my now wife’s amusement!

So, I found myself in the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) and was eventually put in charge of The Medical Centre near Aldershot, under a gaggle of qualified Doctors.

Where is this getting to, you will be asking?

Well, I learnt a great deal in patient treatment – especially treating boils. We used a paste that was applied to the infection called Magnesium Sulphate paste. This is still available from your pharmacy. It has the capability to draw out all forms of nasty boils until they are clean and heal.

I decided to get some recently and, while it is early days, I am melting the paste and working it into the tail zone and seeing what happens – if anything! There have to be more modern treatments, of course, but I am currently stuck in the past!

Conclusion

I have now received the report from Dr Rob Marshall (see below).

Close scrutiny will reveal that the possibility of a cure has to overcome factors in the bird’s background – but my latest question to him is “How do you explain that the bird with the best head qualities – with the slightly longer feathers – is affected, but its nest mates – also stunning light greens – do not have the problem? Certainly ALL have the same genetic background!”

Please note: If you are serious about your hobby, I would urge you to obtain Dr Marshall’s book “The Budgerigar” which took 12 years to compile. Details of how to obtain a copy can be found below.

• Tails You Lose! – Part 2 of 2 (Dr Rob Marshall’s report)
• Dr Rob Marshall’s book – “The Budgerigar”

• You are a young school person who has little money, but your parents are fully supportive in all that you do.
• You are in full employment with a family, but need a sound hobby to relieve the pressures of the workplace – something different in fact.
• You are in full employment, but can see that retirement approaches or redundancy might loom at any stage.
• You have just retired and want a hobby that both you and your partner could enjoy together.

What is the first stage?

Firstly, the advice so that you do not waste hard earned money from whatever source.

This is to not do anything in the way of erecting a birdroom or buying budgerigars in the first year – you have much to learn and you learn from two sound, must have, up-to-date books and you have a lot of visits to make to aviaries owned by very well experienced fanciers.

This website advertises many breeders and the links, appropriate to your country, will open such doors to gain massive quantities of ideas and designs for your aviary that suit the birds first and then you – in that order!

The essential books are published on this website.

Stage #2

In most countries, but not all, there are National Societies – plus what are termed State or Area Societies and then the Local Societies near to you.

Your contacts with other breeders will have opened such doors. My advice is that you join the National Society immediately.

In addition to paper magazines that are supplied as part of your annual subscription, it is through these major societies that you get your budgerigar rings – which are called closed rings. These have your personal code number inscribed on each ring for the rest of the time you are in the hobby.

Stage #3

You are now a member!

In addition to the books mentioned, you may find there is a National Mixed Variety Publication – contact your paper shop as they will have details. A few mixed variety magazines are superb covering Budgerigars, Parrots, Foreign Finches and Canaries.

One such is the Australian publication “Australian Birdkeeper Magazine”. High quality, beautiful photography and whichever variety is your preference, there is something to learn within the pages on the other species.

As you gain experience, ask questions all the time. Many beginners feel they are being silly at a meeting of their chosen club, asking basic questions. Do not hold back – nobody minds especially any lecturers who feed off such questions and thrive on them.

Also never put anybody, who you might think is a top champion, on a pedestal. We are all in the same hobby, all involved and our doors are open to beginners and champions at all times. Just call up out of courtesy and make a time to visit and above all – enjoy the experience.

Stage #4

By the end of your first apprentice year, you will be bursting to erect an aviary and get going – but the wait will have been worth it, believe me.

Remember, it is no use spending on basic sheds unless you anticipate you will have to move home at some stage. Even then it is better to make a sectional birdroom that can be moved. Next, remember, however big you decide you will have your aviary, eventually you will want a bigger one. So allow for expansion.

We now come to Local Authority permission to build! However, before you do that, I strongly advise you to approach all your neighbours that border your property and ask their permission, or their approval, to erect your aviary. Ninety nine percent will give that if you explain clearly what the design is and that you are not putting up a chicken run affair. Once they have been approached and know what you are doing and have said “Go ahead”, they are then happy and thereafter will have great difficulty if they have a complaint. Noise can be controlled by a design that does not necessitate outside flights, but in hot countries this may be desirable.

You now approach the “Local Authority”. Be aware that staff in such organisations are not always sure of their own rules and will insist that you have to have Planning Permission and conform to Building Regulations. This author found out the hard way on one occasion.

What you need to realise is that if your aviary is not attached to your property you (probably) do not need Planning Permission, as it is “external to the uses of the dwelling house on freehold property”. Local Authority property is another matter.

You do however have to conform to the Building Regulations which are an easy matter to deal with. At your Local Authority Offices ask for sight of the document applicable to a structure for a hobby (in the UK it is called “The Town and Country Planning Act”). They will oblige with copies of that information for you to study and give you forms to complete. If you have a problem, go to another Local Authority and ask them for help – on the understanding that you are moving into the area they are responsible for. Then armed, go back to your Local Authority and submit what you now know beyond doubt. Obviously such rules will vary from country to country – but the basic principles apply.

Stage #5

With full approval and design decided, you can start building.

There are basic pitfalls – such as having too much light with oversize windows, so that in hot weather the birds suffer and do not breed well.

Aviaries should be about ten feet / three metres wide, minimum, all through. This allows for external nest boxes and seed store benches and yet allows space for you and visitors to be comfortable.

Make sure your aviary is on a very sound concrete base with a solid foundation underneath. Are you having water laid on as well as electricity? It is cheaper in the long run to do this at the start.

Consider skylights above the internal flight areas, but not in the breeding area as other indigenous birds can cause disturbance at the wrong times, plus budgerigars like to breed in shade.

If you can afford it, double glazing is also greatly beneficial and avoids the dreaded painting and rot replacement as with wooden frames. You might trace some second hand double glazing to save money. It is certianly worth the effort.

Stage #6

Fitting out is a pleasure. Keep your eyes open for anybody stopping their hobby, if money is tight. Their cages may suit you and you can get them at a low price. If cost is not a problem, this website has a list of reliable suppliers and these should be approached first.

Your initial early visits to aviaries will have told you what you require. Once complete and you have obtained all the seed and foodstuffs that you require, not forgetting a heated platform and antibiotics for the odd sick bird – you are ready to start buying your birds.

Just one last word. When buying what will be your Foundation Group to build your stud, use your eye for quality to the full that you have learned along the way. There are all sorts of great people in the hobby who treat you fairly but there are a few “rogues” (as there are in all walks of life) who will sell you poor or problem birds that have little or no use.

The test for any fancier is to travel, say, 250 miles or more and have the courage to walk away and go back home if they have any doubts at all. Then you are a true fancier. Treat everyone, in time, who comes to you when you are a champion, totally fairly and then you will have great credibility and respect from everyone.

Enjoy your new found hobby and remember your friends are more important than the birds – not the other way round!

Site Usage Statistics

Whenever this site is used, Google Analytics logs the activity. This gives me a wealth of data – some of which I thought I would share with you.

So, here are just a few of the statistics concerning your website since launch (as at 4th March 2010):

• 45,000+ Pages – viewed by site visitors
• 7,400+ Visits – An average of 210 per day!
• 3,000+ Individuals – have visited the site
• 100+ Fanciers – view the site every single day
• 79 Countries – have sent visitors to the site
• 7 Minutes – is the average time spent per visit to the site

Did You Know?

There are some 79 countries / territories we now know of, who are keeping budgerigars, or who are keen to be involved in our hobby. Most we know, but this list of extra countries may surprise you, as indeed it did myself:

To all those fanciers who have visited this international website, may I extend a big WELCOME to you all.

The established hobby will surely help you in all manner of ways in the future!

From Daniel Lütolf, Switzerland

I just visited quickly your website.

Well done, big compliment, lots of useful information.

Concerning the information for budgerigar breeders, as it develops, it may already be the universal site for the worldwide budgerigar hobby.

I can imagine, you are quite tired after that big effort, but it was really certainly worth it!

From Jac Cuyten, The Netherlands

As we can expect from a man like you, another super initiative for all budgerigar breeders all over the world.

Of course you may place the Cuyten DVD trailer on your website and it will be an honour to see you in Holland some time.

A lot of winning birds you will not see from me, because my pleasure from the hobby is directed to the breeding side. This is the great challenge for me.

Of course I can send you pictures of my best birds and I will see to that later.

Quality wise I feel I am making another step forward this year.

From Steve Bailey, United Kingdom

Congratulations with the new international website. I am sure the whole hobby worldwide will get involved within it under your stewardship.

I am delighted to be back in this great hobby after several years of absence and would like to take this opportunity to personally thank you for your help getting me started again. I have achieved considerable success at top level shows with your birds (as is fairly well known) and have now built up a very good stud of birds in which I take great pride.

Once again, I wish you every success with your new venture.

From Larry Moore, United States of America

My friend you have done it again!

The new website is exactly what this hobby has needed for a very long time.

We can always count on you to come up with something innovative that will benefit everyone in the hobby.

Continued good luck.

From Casper Maree, South Africa

Congratulations with your new site.

I have already spent some time on it and it proves to be THE site for the future.

All the best for the future.

From Matt Welchman, Australia

Congratulations on a fantastic site and a great idea.

The WWW is the key to the continuation of this wonderful hobby.

I recently started a web page for the Central Coast Club and have had great feedback – The Internet is an invaluable tool for the hobby today.

From Ron Payne , United Kingdom

Congratulations on the new web site, I spent a couple of hours going through it last night and didn’t realise time could go so fast!

Perhaps the word on the street should be “Binks has put his far-reaching thinking cap on again!”

From Jane Todd, South Africa

Your website was forwarded to me by the Budgerigar Society of South Africa today.

I just went to have a quick look and was amazed at the extent of information on it!

I now live in South Africa but originated from Hertfordshire and have recently become a “budgerigar fancier”! I started off with larger parrots such as African Greys, Amazons etc but find the budgerigar far more endearing and intend extending my collection.

Thank you for your website, I will view it often.

From Jim Marshall , Canada

I have just visited your new website and may I congratulate you on a very friendly and most comprehensive information bank regarding our great hobby.

The world wide web is a boon for the “Global Budgerigar Fraternity”.

Thank you for sharing.

From Didier Mervilde, Belgium

Like always with you, a very nice website and an “A+” for the hobby.

I am looking forward to the articles. Congratulations.

From Maurice Laker, United Kingdom

AT LAST a website for the hobby.

I am looking forward to spending some time on it.

Well done and congratulations on this new venture.

Any help I can give you please ask.

From Jos Reynders, Ireland

Congratulations on a job well done.

I heard about it so I was looking forward to seeing it for the last few weeks.

I was greatly surprised. I expected quality, but this is outstanding.

A great stimulous to the hobby worldwide.

Again thanks very much.

From Michael & Dean Borcherds, South Africa

Firstly congratulations on a truly brilliant website & the thinking & marketing behind it.

It is inspirational.

Wishing you & hopefully the hobby all the very best through its pages.

From Javed Khananza, Pakistan

Excellent site with tons of information.

We can say it’s an encyclopedia of information for fanciers.

From Alan Taylor, Spain

As an ex-budgerigar breeder now living in Spain, the web is my only way of keeping in touch with the fancy.

In my involvment with the fancy I was subscription secretary for the V.B.C. and show secretary for both the L.C.N.W.B.S.and Merseyside B.S.

I would like to congratulate you on the website – it is certainly one of the best that I have seen.

Best wishes for the breeding season.

From Prof. Maher Hamed, Egypt

Congratulations and thank you for launching such a valuable, helpful and interesting new website.

I enjoy reading the information, advice and articles in it. Many thanks.

From Ralph Jenne, Germany

Thank you for this really good website! You have clearly invested a lot of time.

I hope that this international website takes our wonderful hobby even further forward!

Greetings from Freiburg!

From Gary Sutton, United Kingdom

The Budgerigar hobby has been in need of just this type of website.

Congratulations to all involved.

Every opportunity will be taken by Budgerigar.co.uk to market the existance of the exhibition budgerigar and its followers to the public at large. This international website for the exhibition budgerigar is unique and from January 2010 will gradually expand to become THE focal point for enthusiasts to become involved within its pages.

So, here is an opportunity, free of charge, to publicise your budgerigar society through which new prospective members of our hobby may find information.

From your society they will be able to obtain recommendations for any additional local societies to join.

Link to your Website

Links to societies worldwide are published on our Groups page – to ensure that your society is listed please send us your details via our Link Exchange form.

Best in Show & Best Young Bird

We are keen to feature oustanding quality budgerigars, specifically photographs of your Best In Show and Best Young Bird exhibits.

Such birds appearing on this site will be seen worldwide!

If you would like to participate, click here to find out how.

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