The show took place at the Dome in Doncaster (in South Yorkshire, in northern England).

Results

The major results were as follows:

• Best in Show – L Martin
• Best Young Bird in Show – D G Bowley
• Best Any Age in Show – L Martin
• Best Opposite Sex Young Bird in Show – G Ludlow
• Best Opposite Sex Any Age in Show – G & A Moore

The full results can be viewed here (PDF): 2011 BS World Show – Full Results

Record Equaling Achievement

This is the second year in a row that Les Martin (from Studham, Bedfordshire, England) has won Best in Show, and in doing so he has equaled the record first set by Freakley & Ainley in 2008.

Freakley & Ainley won back to back Budgerigar Society World Championships – first in 2007 with their Sky Blue cock and again in 2008 with their Dominant Pied Grey Green cock (the first of its variety to win the world show)

Les Martin won Best Budgerigar in Show in 2010 with his massive, superb quality, Grey Green and this year won with his Normal Skyblue – so much admired when it had a spot down in 2008.

Congratulations Les on this achievement.

Judges

The judges were:

• John Alcock
• Dominic Avo
• Roger Carr
• Jac Cuyton
• Philip Dye
• Dave Hislop
• Robbie Keeber
• John Lees
• Joe Nevin
• Ron Payne
• Jim Rogerson
• Raymond Rogerson
• Ray Steele
• Terry Tuxford

Photographs

The photographs below were kindly supplied to us by: Terry Tuxford

Click on an image to enlarge it.

Best in Show
Les Martin

Best Young Bird in Show
D G Bowley

Best Young Bird Opposite Sex
G Ludlow

Best Any Age Opposite Sex
G & A Moore

Q1: Which contemporary breeder is the best in your opinion and could you please explain the reasons why you think his or her birds are better than the rest?

GSB:

I have just been across to Jo Mannes’ aviary to buy in outcrosses. There is little doubt that in modern times he has led the hobby in Europe as a skilled breeder and is totally focused on his work, with his wife’s help.

I have allowed myself to spend a great deal of time founding the Budgerigar World Magazine; showing how an exhibition should be presented; writing continuously (including books); as well as trying to breed quality budgerigars.

That was a mistake! I should have focused entirely on the birds – but it is my nature to help everybody, so I do not regret it.

Jo has a lot of dark factors around, but the top birds are super, as always, and importantly – balanced and without any signs of long flighted characteristics which are creeping into many studs. Judges must be aware of this and keep their eyes open.

Q2: In the UK whose studs do you admire? Also have you got your eye on any up and coming fanciers / partnerships with regard to a possible future at the very top?

GSB:

There are perhaps less than ten breeders, maybe just five, who possess the right birds for modern budgerigar improvement. I have my eye on them, but cannot be drawn on naming them.

Q3: The modern exhibition budgerigar seems to be changing rapidly, especially over the past 5 years. Which breeders do you think take the credit for this and in your opinion how has this been achieved?

GSB:

Jo Mannes, Daniel Lütolf and Les Martin are but three in the last few years, but there are others in Europe that I have not seen, so I cannot give a complete answer.

Q4: During your time in the fancy, which birds have been ahead of their time and have taken the hobby to a whole new level??

GSB:

One has to go back to Ken Farmer of Luton who took what is still today, “The English Budgerigar”.

That is featured in my book, The Challenge.

Joe Collyer in Surrey was the next. He bred a nest of Grey greens and a grey – far ahead of their time, but poor by today’s standards – these are also in The Challenge.

Harry Bryan and Maurice Finey were the next two to advance the quality dramatically and then Jo Mannes came along, followed by Daniel Lütolf and now Les Martin.

There are others who have seriously contributed, but only these have made massive jumps in quality in their time and Les Martin continues that process.

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

GSB:

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

Sell 10 birds and buy one.

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

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

GSB:

Good question!

Fanciers are apt to say:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GSB:

Another good current question.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Breeders beware!

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

GSB:

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

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

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

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

In both cases, he is dead right.

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

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

The great difficulty in budgerigar breeding is starting them.

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

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

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

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

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

GSB:

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

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

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

It’s not genetic! It’s your fault!

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

GSB:

I have a problem here.

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

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

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

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

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

GSB:

Do nothing for a year.

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

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

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

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

GSB:

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

It is a terrible dominant genetic fault.

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

GSB:

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

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

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

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

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

Existing lines are not used as outcrosses.

There are variations applied to this process by the fancier.

In some way one technique is better than the other, but it has to be admitted that both should work to a degree, but which method is likely to give you better fertility is the big question?

It is not for me to sway opinion, but for the reader to choose which technique he or she prefers.

Change of Partners

Let us look at what happens when a pair is selected and both are put into the cage with the nest box open.

We hope for the best, but frequently the birds know one another within the flight beforehand and they could easily have “lost” the partners they chose themselves and have now been thrust together with a “stranger”, like it or not!

The likely outcome, more often than not, is that they both sit there and nothing happens. The cocks themselves are not so disturbed by this sudden change, but usually the hens are distressed even though it may not be obvious.

If they are cocks that have mated already in the flight that day, they will not be too anxious to mate again having ejected their sperm. As Napoleon said to his wife, “Not tonight Josephine”!

On the other hand our active male bird may well be very fit and wish to pair but the female may have other ideas.

Box-Bound Hens

Our hen will see this active male cavorting up and down and flying between perches, but she is affected by, to her, a disturbing new situation suddenly thrust upon her and is nervous, on top of which she is a maiden hen who has not a clue what mating is all about.

She may also be very young – by which I mean 7-8 months of age – and all she can see is this “mad” idiot flying all the place and she doesn’t want to know.

Such things can easily result in infertility even if the stud as a whole has been perfectly attended to nutritionally since the last season.

I should mention here that experienced hens that have previously bred, know the ropes and quickly spot the box and are interested very fast at exploring the site again. That also can allow her to be indifferent to the cock bird and she becomes what we call “box-bound” and she stays in the box for long periods. The cock, even if fit, is ignored and another clutch of clear eggs appears.

In The Wild

We, as fanciers, tend to forget what our budgerigars do in the wild and the conditions that have to be present before breeding will commence.

Let me enlighten you.

The two factors that are essential are water and seed and their being available simultaneously. When these are not present, budgerigar flocks will miss a complete season and not breed.

The other fact is, and few realise this in our hobby, that the wild budgerigar females fly ahead of the males and find the nesting sites they prefer. They thus get used to their breeding nests and all that is missing are the potential mates.

Several days will pass and only then will the cocks come swarming in to choose their mates which emerge from the nests like crazy birds, dying to be mated.

A Better Technique

So, is there a better technique than the one first described above, that simulates the natural wild procedures within our birdrooms?

This is the big question, but we have to copy the wild hens’ approach first of all by reproducing their habits and this made sense to me so many years ago.

By putting the hens into the cages first of all, they are given time to settle into a strange area which will eventually become the territorial area. Such hens now have time to explore, find the nest boxes without being stressed by a sexual male crazy bird and see where the water and seeds are situated.

How long should the period be before the cocks go in? I used to allow three full days, but in recent years I now allow 48 hours to pass.

I have the selected cocks – around 60 in my case – situated in the middle row of the stock cages which are surrounded by the breeding cages. Thus the hens can hear them, the nests have been explored and their hormones are racing round fast in their systems until they are bodily screaming for sex. Our male readership will be smiling at this thought!

Seriously though, the separated cocks will also be without females around them, with whom they mate with in the early mornings. Note: if you have dark mornings, such as we have in the northern hemisphere, make sure that your lights are on for two hours from approximately 07.30 hours.

After 48 hours, you will be able to drop in the cocks that you have selected for the hens and once done go off to work and leave matters alone.

The hens will emerge like rockets, tails up and eyes dilated, and you are off to the best possible start.

Yes, there may well be some infertile nests, but you have played your part and simulated what happens in the wild to the best of your ability.

A Variation

Some breeders apply a variation of the above “Binks technique” and close off the nest boxes when the pairs are both put in the cage together.

Others place a piece of thin cardboard across the nest entrance forcing the hens to chew through to gain access.

Both good practices, but they miss allowing the hens to be on their own for 48 hours and you now know what happens when you are patient and follow that practice.

Be Patient and have a Mental Marker

Fanciers tend to rush things when pairing up.

They should be trying to be pairing every pair with a purpose. “Best to Best” is fine to a degree, but you should have in your mind exactly what sort of bird are you trying to breed that can rival the best birds ever seen.

Les Martin’s Grey Green is a marker, as but one example to work to.

Budgerigars in the past 8 years have changed drastically and some would say to an alarming degree.

A few have, with the desire for length of feather, gone over the top resulting in an ugly appearance far removed from what Jo Mannes (pronounced Man-ess) describes as “charming budgerigars”.

Happily, there are very few like that but the danger is there, so the skilled breeders will be treading carefully with width of face, length of feather and a watchful eye on type and shoulder at the same time.

Not easy at all – so we all face another “Challenge”.

Square Perches – Not Round

Finally, I must mention that square perches are essential in the breeding cages, not narrow, round perches.

Budgerigars select their favourite places on the perches to mate and, with the big birds we have today, hens given round perches are unable to grip firmly, especially if the perches are slippery with constant use.

So square perches, including the perch on the nest box, are the order of the day.

Concluding Thoughts

In conclusion, let me leave you with this thought – one I cannot answer!

I have been breeding budgerigars now for 67 years and I have see them change from immediate post-war pets to the qualities we have today.

In all those years, I have noticed that it is the lesser quality birds one has, that are the ones that breed more easily than the top pairs.

That said, think about it.

The birds that are our lesser quality birds today, are far ahead of our best birds years ago, yet the same pattern applies. The lesser ones still breed more easily in 2011 than our best ones.

I don’t know why myself and that is why I frequently say: “I know nothing about budgerigars”.

Enjoy your breeding and have full eggs, perhaps with a different technique and patience!

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

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

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

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

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

Please click on the images below to enlarge them.

Sheila Burne

Les Martin

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

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

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

The Freakly Point of View

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Please click on an image to enlarge it.

Summary by Gerald Binks

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

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

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

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

Click on an image to enlarge it.

BS Secretary, Dave Whittaker

BS Show Manager, Dave Hislop

BS Secretary, Dave Whittaker
with the BS Chairman,
George Booth

Ghalib Al-Nasser

Grant Findlay

Gerald Binks
and
Geoff Capes

Jeff Attwood

Joe Nevin

Ken Whiting

Les Martin
and
Elaine Kirkum (Lillico)

Les Martin

Marcel Bühler

Mike Ball, Mike Freeborn, Harry Hockaday

R & M Miller

Ralph Elston

Paul & Roger Stone

Roger Carr

Roy Aplin

Trevor Clarkson

It is for this reason that fanciers from all over the world make it a habit to attend this unique show.

This year was no exception when fanciers traveled from as far afield as Australia, Canada, Pakistan, USA and, from mainland Europe, Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Portugal & Switzerland to witness for themselves the quality of the birds benched.

Attractions

Apart from the quality budgerigars at the show there is the seminar staged on the Saturday morning, always popular with many fanciers attending and this year one of our top breeders and exhibitors, Brian Sweeting, was the guest speaker.

There are also all the Budgerigar Society, area & specialist societies stands that give members the opportunity to pay for their following year’s subscriptions plus, of course, the array of trade stands and products that are available to fanciers to stock up for the breeding season.

One other important factor of this unique show is the social side, the friendships that are made, new and old, and the opportunity over the two days to meet and catch up with fellow fanciers that one only sees once a year. This is further enhanced by the dinner/dance on the Saturday evening.

The popular Auction of Promises on Sunday afternoon is followed by the grand finale of the two days when the President of the Society presents the wonderful array of 91 trophies to the winning exhibitors. Each part contributes to making this unique event a weekend not to be missed.

Behind the Scenes

A show of this magnitude doesn’t just happen!

The result is thanks to tremendous teamwork by a great many helpers.

It starts with the erecting of staging on Friday morning and ends when the last bit of staging is put away and everyone has gone home.

The people to thank are too numerous to mention but include the staging erectors and dismantlers, the managerial and secretarial staff, the club show committee, security, trophy, catering, seminar, tombola, door staff, stand co-ordinator, sales staff, stewards, in fact everyone who helped in any way.

Stands

Each year there is a competition for Best Trade Stand and Best Area or Specialist Society Stand.

The winning Trade Stands were as follows:

• 1st – Calcivet (The Birdcare Company)
• 2nd – Aviary Hygiene (David W Van De Peer MBICSc)
• 3rd – EMP (Donald Cooke Ltd)

The winning Best Areas or Specialist Society Stands were as follows:

• 1st – South Midlands Budgerigar Society
• 2nd – LABS (Lutino & Albino Breeders Society)
• 3rd – CBBA (Clearwing Budgerigar Breeders’ Association)

This was the third successive year that the South Midlands BS won – they received £25 and a lovely engraved glass plaque.

Judges were the Society President Dave Herring, Chairman George Booth and overseas judge Dave Collier.

Judging

The task in hand for this year’s show fell upon a team of 15 judges which included the Budgerigar Society President, Dave Herring.

The remaining 14 judges were:

• Alan Adams
• Ghalib Al-Nasser
• Jeff Attwood
• Lyn Bancroft
• Nigel Beevers
• Jerry Donovan
• Colin Lamb
• Jim McGeehan
• Geoff Moore
• Norma Phillips
• Tony Pope
• Cy Thorne
• Mick Widdowson

Every year the society invites an overseas judge and this year was no exception. However, although Dave Collier currently resides in the USA, he is actually a B.S. Judge, so it was meeting up with old friends for him at the weekend.

Accepting birds on the Saturday morning and starting judging a bit later proved to be quite popular with many exhibitors – and providing four extra judges to judge the sections while the colour judging was in progress worked extremely well this year.

The four extra judges were:

• Dominic Avo
• Ron Payne
• Ray Steele
• Terry Tuxford

These four have already been invited to judge the colours next year.

There were super quality budgerigars on display at this show and having gone through the selection by the colour judges, the 26 best of colour winners and their respective opposite sexes came forward to the final selection for the major awards.

The Budgerigar Society celebrated its 85th Anniversary this year, and each exhibitor benching 8 or more birds received a specially commissioned clock to mark the occasion, this was most appreciated by the exhibitors.

Best in Show

Les Martin ensured that his name be added to that long list in the Hall of Fame for winning the supreme award at this show when his Grey Green cock was initially judged Best Any Age in Show and went a step further by beating the young bird for the Supreme Best in Show.

Soon after Les was declared the winner, the crowd realised that the bird was that which won Best Young Bird at last year’s show.

It was a popular win as Les is a staunch supporter of the Budgerigar Society Club Show and his worthy winner was a bird that excelled in width of head and depth of mask with wonderful frontal rise and directional feathering, staged in immaculate condition.

Best Young Bird & Best Opposite Sex in Show

The Norwood Stud (Tony & Sandra) benched a wonderful Grey hen to capture the next prestigious award of Best Young Bird & Best Opposite Sex in Show.

This bird excelled in quality of width of face and shoulder with good length and staged in good condition.

Best Any Age Opposite Sex in Show

The partnership of Mick Freakley & Ian Ainley have featured regularly among the major winners’ listing since 2007.

This year they did it again when their adult Grey hen won Best Any Age Opposite Sex in Show. This was a massive hen with a wide head but was spoilt by a short tail.

Best Opposite Sex Young Bird

Last year’s Club Show winners, Paul & Dennis Spruce, teamed up with Keith Moorhouse to form the partnership of Moorhouse & Spruce and they won the Best Opposite Sex Young Bird with a lovely stylish and powerful Cinnamon Skyblue cock.

Champion Any Age

The Champion Any Age section was headed by the Best in Show and Les Martin captured the second spot with his Skyblue cock of similar quality as the supreme winner.

The Freakley & Ainley partnership was third with their massive Spangle Cinnamon Grey cock, large and bold shown in good feather condition.

The Grey hen of Freakley & Ainley was the Best Opposite Sex in this section.

Champion Young Bird

The first two places in the Champion Young Bird were occupied by hens of super quality.

First was the Norwood Stud’s Grey hen which was Best Young Bird in Show, followed By Richard & Michael Miller’s Yellowface hen of style with good depth of mask and colour.

Brian Sweeting benched an excellent Cobalt cock of good length in third place.

Intermediate Any Age

It was partnerships that occupied the first ten places in the Intermediate Any Age section and the Bowker family of Richard, John & Wayne headed that section with a Grey cock of good frontal rise followed by the Moorhouse & Spruce partnership with a Grey Green cock which was last year’s supreme winner. A massive bird with good frontal rise but was not in the condition that took him to the supreme last year.

The Brian Newton & Gary Shepherdson partnership was third with a Light Green cock of good head quality and large spots.

There were no hens placed in the top ten in this section.

Intermediate Young Bird

The Cinnamon Skyblue cock that was placed Best Young Bird Opposite Sex headed the Intermediate young Bird section for Moorhouse & Spruce followed by their Yellowface Cinnamon Grey cock of good style and size with lovely top end.

R & J & W Bowker were third with their challenge certificate winner, a Grey Green hen with exceptional head quality showing the “buffalo effect” and benched in good condition.

Novice Any Age

A Skyblue cock of Dave Brick headed the Novice Any Age section, a lovely bird with good face and staged in good condition.

Simon Roberts was second with a quality Grey Green cock followed by Richard Hooper’s Spangle Cinnamon Grey Green hen in third place. A good hen with good width of face and shoulder.

Novice Young Bird

Albert Jennings headed the Novice Young Bird section with a nice long Violet cock followed by Dave Brick’s powerful Cinnamon Grey cock in second place.

A Light Green cock of quality from Philip Pearce & Connor Pears was third.

A Grey hen from Liam & Simon Devaney was the best opposite sex in this section.

Beginner Any Age

The only exhibitors who managed to win both sections were Jim & Carol Huxley in the beginner section who had a good team to win many awards. Their any age winner was a Grey cock of good top end and mask staged in good condition. Their Spangle Blue cock was placed third best.

Separating the two was a nice Grey hen benched by Terry Price.

Beginner Young Bird

Jim & Carol Huxley headed the beginner young bird section with a lovely Spangle Blue hen of good width and size. This was followed by Ian Ward & Michelle Rogers Cinnamon Grey Green cock of good width and blow of cap spoiled only by one shadow spot.

James Theobald had a Yellowface cock in third place.

Best Junior in Show & Junior Any Age

It is always good to see competition in the junior section, the future of our hobby.

Connor Spruce won the any age section with a nice Grey Green cock and Best Junior in Show – while Gary Cameron won the next two places with a Spangle Blue cock and a Grey cock.

Junior Young Bird

The junior young bird section was won by Jack Hickton-Cragg with a Dominant Pied Blue cock.

This was followed by Erin Newall’s Grey Green cock.

Jordan Butcher was third with a Cinnamon Blue cock.

Teams

There was a total of 6 Teams benched in the team classes of 4 and 6 birds and Geoff Bowley won both classes and Best Team in Show with a team of six Albinos.

Any Age Challenge Certificate

Winners were:

• K. Leedham – light green, cinnamon green
• Norwood Stud – dark/olive green, rare variety
• L. Martin – skyblue, grey green
• B. Sweeting – cobalt/mauve/violet
• P. Greenwood – grey
• C. Bowman – opaline green
• Main & Jenkins – opaline grey green
• Moorhouse & Spruce – opaline blue
• M & S Banks – opaline grey
• J. Stainforth – cinnamon blue
• T & A Luke – opaline cinnamon green, opaline cinnamon blue, any other colour
• I. Fordham – lutino
• D. Bowley – albino
• R. Day – yellow-wing
• R. Docherty – whitewing
• Cheatley & Alcorn – crest
• J. Grubb – spangle green
• Freakley & Ainley – spangle blue
• A & D Woan – dominant pied
• C & D Jones – recessive pied
• J. Nevin – yellowface

Certificates of Merit:

• D. Brick – Novice
• J & C Huxley – Beginner
• C. Spruce – Junior

Young Bird Challenge Certificate

Winners were:

• R. Allen – light green
• P. White – dark/olive green
• C & M Snell – skyblue
• B. Sweeting – cobalt/mauve/violet, opaline blue, spangle blue
• R & J & W Bowker – grey green
• Norwood Stud – grey
• M & T Rodgers – opaline green, opaline grey
• Main & Jenkins – opaline grey green
• Ward & Rogers – cinnamon green
• Moorhouse & Spruce – cinnamon blue, yellowface
• D. McKeown – opaline cinnamon green
• T & A Luke – opaline cinnamon blue, any other colour
• I. Fordham – lutino
• A. Kelly – albino
• Guppy & Barnes – yellow-wing
• R. Day – whitewing
• A. Brown – crest
• J & C Huxley – spangle green
• P. Hodgkins – dominant pied
• M & M Chapman – recessive pied
• Swain & Ford – rare variety

Certificates of Merit:

• A. Jennings – Novice
• J & C Huxley – Beginner
• J. Hickton-Cragg – Junior

Many products come from ground-up pallets that come from trees that have been treated in all different ways – both when alive and subsequently in sawmills – and indeed sprayed with paints of different kinds. If used as flight flooring and cage floors, it is arguably a source of trouble for our birds.

In recent times I was helped by Les Martin – whose stud has proven itself to be one of the best in the UK – who recently won Best In Show at the London & Southern Counties Budgerigar Society Show.

At the time, he sent me several bags of super sawdust which I needed for the nest boxes and I found it perfect. That got my thoughts swinging towards the flights and cage floors. Was it suitable for these areas and how safe was it?

After contacting the suppliers, Lillico, I found that they supply a product called “Gold Chips” – where the sawdust is ultra clean and has been heat treated to remove contaminants. Added to that, it is great for us fanciers because it does not scatter as the birds fly – and furthermore, goes further than many other baled varieties and is far easier to lift each bag.

The upshot of this, is that I now have, as has Les Martin, only “Gold Chips” sawdust in use permanently.

From experience, no deaths at all from suspicious other forms of sawdust has occurred anywhere.

Lillico has now taken up advertisement space on Budgerigar.co.uk’s “Gold Pages”, and based upon my own personal experience, I can happily recommend the whole hobby to order this product, if they want to make certain there cannot be any deaths from this sawdust.

All details for contacting Lillico are on their “clickable” advertisement on this website.

So, thinking cap on and the first step was to consider what changes had occurred in recent times? It came down to a suspicion about the sawdust bedding on the breeding cage floors, which I had been forced to change to following the cessation of business by my previous suppliers.

I changed to “Easibed” which is perfect for stables, but in speaking to fanciers like Trevor Clarkson, Geoff Tuplin and Les Martin, it is alleged that such bedding comes from all sources of woods including old pallets and is certainly not sterilised. Apparently, the Snowflake Easibed packs are cleaner, but I was also concerned that I had seen, when a cage was cleaned out thoroughly and new bedding replaced, that the birds went down immediately and started picking up all sizes of particles. The question was, were any of these being caught in the airways and death was instantaneous? My policy is that if there is any doubt, act and change the situation.

I made a lot of enquiries and finally decided to pass all my stock of Easibed over to my granddaughter, who has horses, and research a safer source. I accept that my suspicions about that particular product have yet to be proved. I can only surmise that ground down pallets may contain all manner of treated and untreated wood chippings – the question is, treated with what? Our Budgerigars are highly sensitive as we all know.

I have been helped considerably by Les Martin, who did so well at the 2009 Budgerigar Society World Championship. He had earlier directed me to “Gold Chips Bedding” sawdust, from a company called Lillico, for nest box use. It is perfect for that purpose and I have used it for about three years. The company provide all manner of samples that can be sent for, but the big advantage is that they supply all their products from clean wood sources, some of which are heat treated to 550 degrees centigrade and supplied, if required, with a batch-numbered certificate of analysis.

Having talked to Trevor, Les and Geoff, I started by contacting Lillico for a heavy based sawdust for the cages so that it would not scatter everywhere. A set of samples were sent and two seemed suitable. However, I spoke again to Les Martin and he said “Gold Chips” was perfect for flights, cages and boxes. It was also pointed out – and this is important – that “Gold Chips” in the boxes can be too deep, so that the eggs cannot be turned by the hens and are consequently addled! So only a thin layer is required. I tend to put a big handful in myself – so I continue to learn.

Geoff Tuplin mentioned another Lillico sawdust product that he uses for the nest boxes. I got a sample sent to me and it looks great – so I am thinking about that and will make a decision after a test run with some pairs that are yet to start breeding. It is called “Gold Flake Bedding Material”.

In conclusion, the last time I was in South Africa (at Reinhard and Holger Molkentin’s home), I noticed they were using a thin layer of silver sand in all boxes. That is also worth thinking about, as young chicks, as they start searching around, will get sand grains down into their gizzards much earlier than usual – which I would guess could be an advantage. Secondly, one could add silver sand in with the “Gold Chip” which would cover both the absorbing factor and sand grain effects together?

Before somebody writes to me, I am well aware that a contradiction to deep sawdust being a problem in a nest box, is that Ray Steele in Yorkshire has really deep boxes, almost full to the top and yet seems to breed well. So it is a matter of choice and a bit of deep thinking. Anyway I am going over to the Lillico products immediately and I will have a happy granddaughter getting a few freebies of “Easibed” for her horses!

• Gold Chips Bedding website:
  • www.goldchipsbedding.com
• Lillico Biotech website (requires registration):
  • www.lillicobiotech.co.uk