Lütolf has that special eye that sees far ahead of the current ideal representations of the day. He sees what is beyond what is currently being bred and winning on the show bench. Harry Bryan in the UK had that ability, as does Jo Mannes in Germany and Henry George in Australia, to name a few.

Lütolf is 40 years of age and has been breeding birds since he was 11. A great deal of time and money was spent with little success until he purchased birds from Heinrich Ott, a top Swiss breeder. Heinrich Ott treated him very well, selling him stock, which bred superbly and produced his early winners. The pedigree background to Heinrich’s stock was based on Omerod and Sadler blood.

Lütolf’s career is as a teacher, he teaches senior pupils in maths, geography and history. He travels extensively, going overseas to far off places so that he can pass on his experiences to his pupils, but he never forgets his birds at home and the friends whom he trusts to look after his birds safely, and he gives a big thank you to them.

The Lütolf aviary is split into three levels because of the steep gradient of his home. It is modest in presentation, but the birds are exceptional in quality…but difficult to buy if you strive for the best.

Lütolf realised early, that he needed to design a bird to be ahead of others. This came from his ability to carve and paint.

DL: “I like big birds in proportion to their length. I knew that the 8 1/2 INS, small Budgerigar, in today’s exhibition world (216mm) was useless.

All top birds of today require a longer 9 1/2 ins (241mm) length to get the bird in balance, coupled with the shoulder substance that is required.

The shorter length results in a bird with no substance and is completely out of date if you wish to win on the show bench, irrespective of your chosen variety.

It is your choice, as a beginner, into which direction you go as you breed and as you create YOUR designer bird. You have to focus on that and set higher standards every season. I have always selected birds with big feet, but am careful in my choice of breeding hens.

I select birds with very big bone structure that are thick in the neck area. Interestingly, such birds create a problem that many of us are familiar with. This is the problem of today’s rings being too small for the bigger birds of today, and such rings have to be cut off before serious damage is done! Every year I was forced to cut off rings. I now get rings allocated officially that are larger in diameter at 4.4mm. They are perfect and there are no further problems for the birds and are accepted on the show bench.”

The Colours

The colour range that Lütolf has is broad. There are Spangles, all the Normals and some wonderful Violets, Olives, Lutinos, Texas Clearbodies, Yellows, Dilutes and Recessives.

All have mouth watering quality.

He is now starting to attack the Clearwing variety.

DL: “To improve any variety, you have to pair them at the start to your very best birds. This is what Reinhard Molkentin did, followed by Jo Mannes with the very small Spangles that arrived in Germany years ago.

To improve the recessive varieties, Clearbodies and Lutinos, I pair them to Spangles. The Spangle variety will improve such varieties considerably.

Always remember that if you want to improve a rare variety you have to pair them to the best you have and if necessary go out and find a super bird no matter what its colour happens to be.”

Pairing

Unlike the majority of breeders today, Lütolf breaks away from the conventional way of pairing Normals together.

He mixes many colour factors together continuously. Buying a pure bred is therefore difficult, but if the quality is in front of you, you take a different view. He never breeds two super birds together, or inbreeds, to avoid any feather problems or cysts. Nature does not select pairings as we do as fanciers.

Lütolf also watches the mixed sexes and ages of the birds in the flights. The practice of having the sexes separate in different flights, he feels, encourages homosexuality and the following effect of cocks being afraid of certain hens that are perhaps aggressive by nature. Hence infertile eggs. If he sees a pair making up, then the chances are they will go straight into a breeding cage – and they breed.

Lütolf is also critical of the standard practice we follow of pairing our Greens together and our Skyblues together and so on. He believes in mixing the colours, but in addition he uses the grey factor frequently, across the colours, a view held by Harry Bryan but not Dr. Alfred Robertson of South Africa, the well-known breeders of their period.

To support his views, Lütolf will buy an outcross, breed with it and very often sell it immediately. It has left its blood behind and served its purpose.

Lighting Periods

The breeding room has a very powerful extraction system and recently a superb timed spray system developed by Sigbert Pestringer, to remove dust. The aviary always feels fresh.

The lighting routine is interesting. Lights come on at 07.00 hours. The birds emerge to excrete and mate. They go off again at 13.30 hours and come on again at 15.45 hours. This follows a resting period that the observant will see easily in their own studs. At 15.45 hours they again mate with the light coming on until 23.30 hours.

Feeding

Avoiding discussion about the normal feeding procedures, Lütolf prefers to feed natural products as well as seed etc. Hormova is the only manufactured product used, together with various natural vitamin sources.

Water is often changed twice daily to which is added a small dash of vinegar and lemon.

DL: “This lowers the possible rise in bacterial infections.”

When breeding, the canary seed is increased. When not breeding, the millets have the upper hand. He feels that small sunflower gets the stock too fat.

We now come to vegetables. The range is very extensive and remarkable. Everything comes from the local market. Lütolf checks that none have been sprayed with pesticides and he uses natural food only.
Fennel, peppers, carrots, blackberries, broccoli, cauliflower, uncooked beetroot, grape leaves, tinned maize, and parsley to name most of them. All are chopped and desiccated, and when finished, some 10mls of olive oil is added and mixed in. Apple slices are dropped onto the flight floor.

I wondered what else olive oil could be used for?

DL: “When chicks turn white for no reason I give one drop to the beak and they return to normal colour.

However I do not know why!

The credit for this belongs to Reinhard Molkentin, not myself”

Soaked wheat and oats are fed on alternate days. Tree branches are always in the flights and changed regularly.

Conclusion

Lütolf birds are very big and my concluding comment is that Lütolf’s “quality of birds in depth”, in the top range, is one of the best I have seen anywhere in recent years.

GSB: I have no doubts at all in my mind that there are specific birds in The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and South Africa that can beat the UK birds easily.

That is based on their top birds of course, but in all cases they have the depth of quality to be able to sell you top quality (at a price!) if you are willing to attack the hobby as you should. If you do not, then ask yourself, “Why am I in this hobby?”

If you want names then I think Jac Kuyten, from what I hear, has quality as well as Jo Mannes, Daniel Lütolf and Reinhard Molkentin in South Africa. Not only do they have the quality they are the right birds for the future.

In what way do you think they have influenced our UK stock so far?

GSB: There are a few of us who import and it is interesting that those who show have done well. Les Martin, Brian Sweeting, Roger Long and Phil Reaney are a few names as well as myself, where the quality has shot up since I ceased Budgerigar World ownership.

Demand is really heavy on an annual basis as it is known these breeders and myself have gone to the considerable expense and hassle to get such birds into the UK.

Have the overseas birds, with their style and type, spoilt the old British Show Birds in any way?

GSB: No, definitely not.

Just look at the young Skyblue cock shown by Les Martin at the Budgerigar Society Cup Show this year, which would, by popular acclaim had it not dropped a spot on the Thursday evening, have taken the top awards easily and which everyone was looking at throughout the show.

That bird has a Jo Mannes background as did a few other winning birds at Doncaster.

You have imported from Mannes, Molkentin and Lutolf. How have they influenced your birds?

GSB: I have partly answered this above, but there is no doubt that the fact that I crossed most of the imported birds bred in the second generation and their offspring into my own Moffat x Binks bloodline, has paid off handsomely.

My grey greens are really super and I have them in big numbers along with light greens and skyblues. Cinnamons have appeared and unlike a lot of breeders I welcome their appearance as they are so useful to retaining feather quality as well as the directional feather that is appearing all over the place.

How does a beginner, who has just bought an outstanding outcross, proceed to use it to best advantage?

GSB: Ideally he/she should try to buy two hens at the same time to run the cock to them. That is the shortcut to success and saving expense in the long run.

However few studs can afford to let you have more than one hen per cock. If the beginner has only the single cock to work with as his/her outcross then he/she should run it to the very best featured hens he/she has – and keep it going in different breeding cages for as long as it is looking 100% fit.

Remember that once you stop it breeding, it takes at least 3 months to recover full fitness – and in that time tragedy can strike. It does happen to the best birds!

Who had the most influence on you in your formative years?

GSB: Most fanciers will expect me to say Harry Bryan or Angela Moss and certainly they had wonderful birds, but when it comes to actual influence it has to be Ken Farmer, of Luton in Bedfordshire, who in his mind wanted budgerigar heads to be like Norwich Canary top ends.

Ken’s birds slowly began to acquire the frontal lift above the cere and I saw the first two magnificent light green cocks of his shown at the massive show at Southall in Middlesex. I still recall them and indeed exactly where they were placed in the hall – such was their impact.

If Ken were alive today, he would be delighted to see the directional feather and width that a relative few breeders have now put on their birds to create what I have termed as the “Buffalo Effect” line over the cere. Today the Farmer “Norwich Budgerigar” has been achieved.

You have been actively involved in the hobby in a countless number of ways in your 65 years of breeding since the age of 12. Can you describe the big forward leaps that changed our birds from pre-war pet standard to what is around today?

GSB: When I started in November 1945 there were few birds around except in the pet shops and I knew nothing at all about show points or anything really. I was raw in the extreme. There were no Beginner Classes – you started in Novice and then went straight to Champion.

Those birds were looked at by 1950 as having good heads in a few places and Harry Bryan held most of the aces. However, I have an Ideal Model produced by the Leamington Budgerigar Society dated 1958 which is in my display case at Tanglewood. You would laugh at it by comparison to standards today, but at the time it was “some budgie” that we could only marvel at.

It was Harry Bryan that, along with Farmer, started to look very carefully for any heads that others had that had longer feathers and some of them had been bred from the long-flighted birds that had emerged at the time. These two hunted high and low for anything that improved the top ends and they were the driving forces that achieved their object and made them the major breeders who were ahead of the rest.

Joe Collyer in Surrey was another. Collyer suddenly came out with a nest of four birds – three grey greens and a grey – of outstanding quality in the late 1950′s. Harry Bryan was after one immediately but Collyer would not sell to him. Harry, never to be outdone, sent Will Addey (the Budgerigar Society Secretary) down to Joe and he bought the best one for £250 – a massive price at the time.

Maurice Finey then bought another for £225 and bred 39 chicks from it in the first year by “running” it to many hens. He then sent 8 chicks in the following season to the big London and Southern Counties Show (2600 entries) and won from 1st to 5th in the grey green class – and 7th too! Unfortunately the best one was not placed and the judge was slaughtered on the day. Harry Bryan’s purchase was shown at The National exhibition and won Best in Show, but it never bred a chick!

The next big influence and credit goes to Reinhard Molkentin when he lived in Germany. He used his top birds to the tiny group of spangles that had been bought by Rolf Christen from Australia. The results were staggering, but that is where all the spangles we have today began.

Since then the next dramatic move arrived with the realisation that we all woke up to directional feather structure – the rest you know.

Today we seem to have more type/typy, medium feathered birds on the benches. If we continue on this road do you think we will lose ground in head and shoulder substance quality in the near future?

GSB: No doubt about it at all. We will do just that.

As I see it not enough breeders attack their hobby as they should. Look at the successful breeders. They eat, drink and sleep budgies as I have done all my life and they are ahead of the crowd.

Also we have some judges that do not attempt to breed the up to date budgerigars and so not having bred them they struggle to know what to do when such quality birds appear in front of them. A classic case was at Swindon Budgerigar Show recently, where a newly qualified judge made a basic error and wrong classed a massive normal grey cock in the young bird classes bred from a bird I had sold the previous season.

He did so stating “the bird was an adult” but without checking the blue ring it had – and without consulting his fellow judges. The owner was not happy to say the least, especially as that bird went on to win at the Budgerigar Show at Doncaster.

In your opinion how do we move forward with the hobby by bringing in new fanciers?

GSB: Easy. Wake up the Budgerigar Society to publicise the hobby. There has never been any serious forward planning and outside marketing to the general public except when I tried to reform the hobby in the early 1980′s with Budgerigar World.

All that six influential members of the council could do at that time was to attack me and try and discredit me as they stated, “I was trying to institute a takeover of the Budgerigar Society”. I laughed at the time and unfortunately still do periodically, as no businessman in his right mind would ever want to “take over the Budgerigar Society”.

Those six have since vanished, but the legacy they left for the future hobby was profound as we have lost so many people and few young people are being told that we actually exist!! If you do not tell the public what a great hobby this is, we are dead in the water. Today all the council are, unlike the earlier six, very nice people, but strive as I might, nothing happens – probably because I rocked the establishment in the 1980′s.

To conclude, I must in balance give credit where it is due.

The Budgerigar Society World Championships are a credit to the many volunteers who, like Geoff Capes, work hard for the benefit of others.

The Budgerigar Society magazine is also first class and my November / December issue is superbly presented. Strangely few people notice any praise that is given, only focusing on any criticism that is stated constructively in my case.

What in your opinion is the best advice you could give all of us in the hobby?

GSB: In a few words it is “Attack it”.

You have to sell, even from the beginner stage, 10 birds and buy one. The weakest link is to put it in your pocket so that when it comes to buying a £50+ bird – it isn’t there and the expenditure seems very great.

I came from an ordinary background, but with perseverance I got there. Had I not messed around with writing so much, including Best in Show, The Challenge and founding Budgerigar World Magazine, and not tried to improve the hobby for itself in the 1980′s, but had focused on the birds themselves, I would have got to the stage I am now so much quicker. But there are only 24 hours in a day!

Brian’s quality strength extends to other colours of course and following my visit his adult cinnamon skyblue hen was to win Best Opposite Sex Adult at the Budgerigar Society Show. Also Best Champion Breeder of the Year for the fourth successive time; six Challenge Certificates and several Best Opposite Sex awards. In the previous year a superb skyblue pied cock took the Best Breeder Award at the same event. Quite an achievement!

The Pieds

Some while ago Brian spoke to Jo Mannes about his pieds. Mannes felt, that to improve variegation and general markings, Brian needed to pair the best two marked pieds together to produce double factor pieds, after which he should pair these double factors back to normals. This he did and it has worked really well. One cock produced five chicks – four hens and a cock. The four hens were particularly well marked, fully spotted with an almost complete band.

Instant Success

I asked Brian about the change in the hobby in the past 20 years whereby newcomers seem to want instant success rather than steering a steady learning curve.

BS: “I fully agree. Everyone wants this or that special bird from champions when they have just started. Many beginners seem to be reasonably well off and to be able to buy straight in to birds which are certainly at Intermediate level. Fanciers want to get on the fast track route before they have learned the basics.

In my own case, I have had to take the longer route because I could not find the type of bird that I wanted that was able to be purchased. With hindsight this is the best route for dedicated fanciers. They can last the distance and stay in the hobby for a lifetime having made all the mistakes with modest birds first of all. Work with bloodlines and by careful selection of all the qualities, you achieve a quality stud that others then wish to buy in to.”

Shows In The UK

My next question concerned the number of Budgerigar Exhibitions that currently are held around the country. Did he think there were too many?

BS: “My feelings are that only if a club is strong enough within its own membership to manage and also have sufficient exhibiting members, should they run a show, especially if it’s an open show.

In the south west, we support one another very well between shows. In that way we keep our entries high at almost all shows that are staged.”

Preparation For The Budgerigar Society Show

I wondered, with the Budgerigar Society Show imminent, how he approached the run up to this big event starting with the assumption that his birds were earlier out of condition? When did he select the possibles from the flights and how did he get weight on them?

BS: “Well, with the show being held in mid November, which is such a bad month these days for the most important show in the country, I have to stop showing in September. This gives me two months to prepare.

I concentrate, obviously, on the proven winning birds first and then catch up the best of the late bred birds. Young breeder birds are still growing of course and these can emerge quite easily. All spots are removed in late September as well as any damaged flights. Tails are dealt with in the same way, taking 8-10 weeks to be replaced. They are then left to fly in a small flight.

These actions help the birds to sometimes start a full moult. As soon as I see a show bird starting to moult then it is caught up and stock caged where they are far more relaxed and begin to put on weight as a result. I have never had a problem with spots not re-growing.”

Buying Outcrosses?

The next question concerned the problem of buying in outcrosses. Where did he go to buy the features he felt he needed – in the UK or did he prefer to buy abroad?

BS: “May I first mention the practice of exchanging birds for this purpose. It never seems to work out really well for both parties. For this reason I will not do that today and I certainly prefer to buy abroad and take my chances.

Regarding the UK, of the breeders I have visited in the last five years, all have good birds but none have the depth of quality to be able to release the birds you really need.

So I cross over to Europe nowadays. Of course this is not easy at present with all the restrictions in play as a result of the avian flu scares which possibly may be unfounded in the long term, if it doesn’t mutate and cross into humans.

The Budgerigar Society Show In 2004

In 2004, Daniel Lütolf from Switzerland was in the UK on a buying visit to various fanciers. I met up with him at the Budgerigar Society Show and he asked me to examine every bird in the show methodically to see how many really super birds were on show. The feeling was that there were only about 60 that reached that hard description. What was Brian’s opinion?

BS: “I think that is a bit severe. However, I have to admit I didn’t go round with that objective in mind.

One of our national problems has been the exit of a number of well known names for a variety of reasons including Christine Heale and her husband. Other names are Dave Topliss, Barry Wild, Alf Ormerod, Harry Bryan, Eric Lane and the Hallam’s, plus Jim Moffat from Scotland to name but a few.

These fanciers carried quality birds in depth and exhibited at the Budgerigar Society Show.”

A Winning Streak

I then turned to Brian’s wins in recent years. Which had given him the greatest pleasure?

BS: “I have been Buckton’s Breeder of The Year for the past three seasons – which the hobby is very grateful to receive from their company. It is much appreciated.

I have also won well at the Budgerigar Society Club Show as mentioned earlier but a great pleasure was to win the Peter Sanderson Trophy for the first two years which is awarded for the most Challenge Certificates won with birds bred by the exhibitor. This followed his very sad passing. I was very delighted to win that as he was perhaps the most popular man in the hobby up to that time.”

The Ring Issue Date

I then asked him about the ring issue date. I knew he was an adamant supporter of staying with the current date of January 1st. Did he feel the same today?

BS: “Yes, that is correct. I was absolutely rigid about sticking to it. However my views have altered after seeing poor seasons hitting fanciers year-in, year-out, and then leaving the hobby out of sheer disappointment.

I have seen the effects of good seasons arising from the European hobby moving to a 1st November issue date. They breed more birds – as a generalisation. I firmly believe that we should do the same if we want the hobby here to gather pace again.

Currently nothing is being done to address bad seasons and help fanciers and their societies to survive. The Budgerigar Society Council have to consider this very seriously. We all need help. They should remember that with two consecutive bad seasons you are dead in the water as a fancier.

Not all fanciers are able to afford super all-singing-and-dancing aviaries to cope with the changing weather patterns that we know about. A great number of fanciers are supportive of this move but don’t put pen to paper, so the result is no action by anyone.”

Selling Birds

My next question was: “Why did Mr Average have difficulty in selling his surplus stock? Was it lack of advertising after doing well on the bench or simply being inactive and waiting for the phone to ring?”

BS: “You have to be successful at some stage if you want to sell your birds easily. All the publications carry the word ‘success’ in some form or other. The front covers of the major magazines tell you that.

You have to promote yourself after getting good results. Nobody else will, except you. There is always a market for quality and it’s up to you to attack the situation and achieve that goal. Get into quality and all sorts of doors open. You will sell well and then be able to afford to buy in quality without affecting your overall budget, but you must tell people you exist at the same time.

Advertise in Budgerigar World and elsewhere. Over time it will pay dividends. The big error is to sell your surplus and put it in your pocket and do nothing.”

Quality in Europe

Having myself toured European aviaries and elsewhere, what was Brian’s opinion about the choice over there and the depth of quality that existed?

BS: “I cannot speak with any authority since I have not actually been to a show over there and that is the real test.

I have been to Germany, Holland, Switzerland and Belgium so far and seen breeders there, but these tend to be the well known breeders mentioned in the magazines in UK and at the top of the tree in their own countries. Whether they are representative of all the breeders I cannot answer.”

A Breeding Question

To trim the vents of the present longer-feathered birds we have today prior to pairing is a matter often discussed. Do you trim the vents Brian, I asked?

BS: “I always advise breeders today to trim the vents of both sexes before pairing. You need to give them every chance of providing you with fertile results. Everyone who visits here and buys gets that advice.

Occasionally, I find a breeder who is moaning about infertility and when I ask if he has trimmed vents, he admits he has not done so.

You have to trim away the dense flank feathers which curl around over the vent area. These can, in my opinion, interfere with the transfer of sperm into the females.

The “Buffalo Effect”

I raised with him the matter of my published observations when looking at a bird head on to which I had given a new descriptive term – when it was present. I refer to “The Buffalo Effect”. This is where not only does a bird have width but the feathering drops down either side of the cere giving a shape not dissimilar to buffalo horns. Did he agree?

BS: “It’s a good descriptive term. However few birds have it to any great extent. It is the next extension to width of face which we called directional feathering in the past.

I am amused that we are using the word buffalo to describe a budgerigar feature. However it fits and accurately describes the feature in the mind and I can live with that!

Beer or Wine?

I asked Brian for a final tip to fanciers. What came to mind?

BS: “Yes, I have one.

If, when your wife is watching the soaps and you find it difficult, take a glass of beer or wine and sit still in the aviary – and watch!

You will see the birds behaving differently to when you are moving around. It is very illuminating to see their differing behavioural patterns; their attitude towards their chicks and their respective partners. You will learn a great deal providing you do not overdo matters with the glass in your hand!”

Conclusion

I travel thousands of miles in this hobby to see aviaries and their owners and birds. It is a great pleasure and the visit to this south west establishment was no different.

Remember it is no use staying closeted in your own region buying stock from your immediate rivals. You have to travel to get the best from this hobby.

That reminds me – whatever happened to Sunday morning get-togethers? Half the hobby will not have heard about such things today.

Aviary Maintenance – External

Let me take this year as an example. It is November. In the last 6 weeks I have been working to get the aviary “winterised”. A very cold one by UK standards is forecast. So, having a cedarwood exterior, it needs treating every three years without fail. That has resulted in it still being as good today as it was when I purchased it in 1971. It would be massively expensive to replace as it covers 1200 square feet (110 sq metres).

The window frames need constant attention (I hate painting!) and the roof needs to be checked for leaks. Virginia Water is heavily wooded so leaves are a constant problem, hence the gutters must be checked too. Elbow grease is essential. What all this is about is not having to attend to problems that could arise in very bad weather. Dealing with a leaky roof in wet conditions is not funny and the disturbance to the breeding pairs also has to be anticipated.

Aviary Maintenance – Internal

Moving inside, I am fortunate to have bought my cage units from Reinhard Molkentin back in 1988. They are made of a composition of a plastic nature (very heavy) with a aluminium framework. They never need painting (I like that) and just need washing to bring them back to new. They are in many aviaries in Germany, Jo Mannes’s aviary being but one example. Expensive, but in long term well worth it.

All electrics are checked, especially the heating systems and thermostats. I used to have tubular heating but this was far too expensive to run and inefficient as the air was not circulated well. These days I use (Dimplex) fan heaters which work very well provided you are attentive to de-dusting them out regularly.

Nest Boxes

Coming to nest boxes, of which there are currently 56 in use (and being double boxes with one inside the other it means 112 really have to be cleaned), I use “VIRKON® S” a great deal. All are finally dipped into this solution and allowed to dry off. This appears to contribute to a maximum of 5 or 6 minor French Moult birds only, from approximately 300 bred per annum. They are affected very little and if stripped from flights and tails at 4 weeks, then recover fully.

Incubator

Some time ago, I bought an incubator. I use it to keep oversize plastic eggs warm at the same temperature as real eggs. When the first egg is laid, in goes a plastic one. Use of false eggs has the following advantages:

• They prevent those strong day old chicks being crushed before you can get to them if they have not been fed. Note: Weak chicks because of poor management techniques will not survive anyway.
• They can stop a pair smashing their own eggs – they get fed up trying to break a plastic egg.
• They retain heat while in contact with eggs that have been left for too long thus saving the developing embryos.

Increasing Fertility

I am often asked what I do to prepare for increasing the fertility in my stud. Here are several thoughts for you.

• Make sure you have a round-the-year source of vitamins A & D – in moderation. Overdo it and you will be in trouble, as both are stored in the liver and not excreted.
• I use a powder product called Hormova. It again is present in the flights and cages all the time.
• A certain “X” factor which you can buy in specialist horse tack and feeding shops – but that is up to you to think out and track down. Sorry, but we all have our little secrets!
• Never give massive doses of antibiotics across the board with the exception of treating accurately against “yellow belly” in tiny chicks before breeding and the same again when breeding stops. This practice also improves fertility in my experience. I only treat a health condition which is preventative. If you start playing around with growth promotion then you risk ruining the whole stud – and it is banned anyway and rightly so.

Seed Mixtures

I now turn to the seed mixtures which we all use. I am after every chick I can get by every means possible. Seed that may have been harvested too early (and that applies to millets sometimes), is at risk of having micro fungi attached because of the dampness. Note: You can always test a bag of seed for ripeness by making a fist and plunging it down into the bag. If you meet resistance you know it is not fully ripened. Add any mites to the fungi, especially in millet sprays, and you have a recipe for loss of chicks. To kill off everything mentioned, use a super product from VETREPHARM (in Hampshire). This is put in the bottom of each bin before loading and fumes over 48 hours. The seed is unaffected and 100% safe to use.

Avian Flu

To conclude, a word about Avian Flu H5N1. Either keep the stock under cover or make certain that any indigenous wild visitors cannot excrete into the outside flights. As of November 2009, DEFRA has designated that the UK is free from any reports of Avian Flu. However fanciers should check the DEFRA website for any changes.

I am one of those breeders who believe in the old fashioned tried and tested methods of feeding. When it comes to feeding, it is THE vital factor to success. If it (the feeding) is out of balance by the smallest amount and by that I mean it is changed frequently and has an absence of essential vitamins to support the seed input, then failure will result in the number of chicks bred and FM will arise easily because YOU have allowed to do so!!

Let me suggest some points to you. Your seed is grown in different parts of the world. African sources are often grown in poorly fertilised land and harvested early so that it ripens during shipping. That means it lacks in particular vitamins A & D. These two are more vital than anything else in breeding budgerigars and if you have two bad seasons on the trot, you are virtually dead in the water. So, you have to supplement artificially. In my case my solution is to administer small amounts of cod liver oil to the seed all year (remember it is stored in the liver and is not excreted). That covers the situation. I also give a multivitamin solution and cytacon (obtainable from your chemist). Over and above those they get Hormova in finger drawers and in the flights all year. Another old product – that works superbly. With this system plus grits being changed every week, and cuttle the only other additions are soaked seeds and biovit soft food. That system breeds budgerigars. Only if I depart in any way from this routine do things go pear shaped. Where does the FM come in, I hear you say. Well here it is:

FM will appear certainly here at Tanglewood every year. Shocked are you? Ah, but let me qualify that. It appears right at the very end of the season with the odd chick that hasn’t been fed properly and no more than that. The final pairings are tired and they sense they have had enough, so feeding becomes a chore in a few nests. However it is never the sort of FM that, in addition to all flights dropping, the body is affected as well and the chick looks retarded. That I honestly say. What I do do, is to be very observant from May until I stop and I check all the flights and tails every day. lf I see a big headed chick around this time I also “play safe” and remove one tail feather. That is purely an insurance. If I find any flights affected at this time, the bird has every primary and secondary feather removed as well as the tail and I get the affected chick out on the cage floor immediately so that it starts to get better nutrition for the replacement feathers just removed. The new growth will be fine – provided your principal dietary input was super to start with!! You should have had a very good season by the time a few FM’s arrive at the very end. Let’s face it you can live with that by that time. Remember it is the longest feathers in the body that are affected starting with the tail. Big headed birds in the nest towards the end of the season are likely candidates (long feathers). Watch them very carefully.

FM is like the cold virus in behaviour. Like a cold it doesn’t last. Taking out the flights etc clears the follicles which allows new growth to get through. This proves that the “FM virus” is a passing matter. So far I haven’t found a better technique to overcome FM problems but I do miss out when I am on holiday should any arrive. With good management practices success will be the reward — but that brings me back to not telling the public what a great hobby this is.

To finish on a promotional note, if your editor will allow me, I have heard it said that because I don’t show today, I cannot have good quality stock. If you don’t know, the Moffat stud was willed to me and was combined with my winning grey greens that emanated from pair 16 in the mid eighties which won Best Breeder at the B S and Best in Show at BW in 1988. To that, I have added super quality stock at great expense from Jo Mannes, Reinhard Molkentin and another line which has just started last season. If you hear such comments, would you be kind enough to ask them a question? The question to be put is simple. “Have you been to Gerald Binks’ aviary and seen for yourself? ” A lot of Scots have already made the trip and take a vastly different view. Think about a visit next year.

My new website is now up and running which those with computers should find interesting as it includes among many headings my previous “Thoughts from Tanglewood” which seemed very popular when I wrote it in my magazine Budgerigar World. The web address is www.budgerigar.co.uk.

Finally, to all the Scottish societies and clubs, can I leave you with the suggestion you contact every local paper you can think of and promote the hobby as being one to get old and young alike interested in. People are getting fed up with watching a computer screen as well as TV. They want something more stimulating or as parents they want to get their growing children off the streets. Local papers will jump at the opportunity to fill their columns if they get articles about a “new” hobby people have not heard about. Remember I started at the age of 12. By 14 I was committed to the hobby and the satisfaction of ME breeding a GOOD one has never left me.