Interview With Barrie Shutt Uk

[**KAZ** 0]

INTERVIEW WITH BARRIE SHUTT U.K. Many Thanks Barrie

 

 

Q1. AT WHICH POINT IN TIME DID YOU FIRST DEVELOP AN INTEREST IN BUDGERIGARS ?

 

This was in 1959 shortly after my father left the hobby. Sadly I let him sell all his Australian finches and his cages before I got the bird keeping bug.

After spending 12 months breeding Australian finches and then realising that they could not survive our cold winters without heat and light I decided to keep budgerigars. In those days we had no mod cons such as heating or lighting in our birdrooms and I always remember having to add glycerine to the water fountains to prevent them freezing.

 

 

Q2. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST AVIARY/BREEDING ROOM LIKE ?

 

It was rubbish and only measured 6 x 4 feet and was made out of asbestos sheets but it was mine paid for out of my first wage packets.

 

Two years later I was viewing a sale of farm implements and my bid of £20 was accepted for a superb chicken shed measuring 12 feet wide by 14 feet long.

This was converted by my father into a super breeding room complete with outside flights, a block of twelve breeding cages and a work station.

 

 

 

Q3. WHERE DID YOUR FIRST BIRDS COME FROM AND OVER WHAT PERIOD OF TIME DID YOU CONTINUE WITH THESE LINES ?

 

From 1959 until 1970 my birds came from everywhere ( a big mistake yet some beginners continue to practice it ).

 

Once 1971 arrived I decided I needed quality stock and after selling all my birds my first exhibition quality budgerigars were purchased from Alf Ormerod and his brother Tom. I still believe in the early 70s that Alf had one of the top three studs in the UK.

In the 80s I introduced some quality light greens from the stud of Jim Moffat and these knitted in with the Ormerod blood line and produced some outstanding birds.

 

Q4. ARE YOUR PRESENT BIRDS FROM THESE SAME BLOODLINES, IF NOT WHAT BLOODLINES HAVE IMPACTED MOST WITHIN YOUR STUD?

 

Sadly no all those three fanciers passed away.

 

I was diagnosed with COPD ( Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ) and advised by my GP to leave the hobby and all my birds were sold. The year was 2001 and I was devastated…….and then in 2005 I decided to return . My new beginning was with Brian Sweeting’s blood line

 

Q5. HOW DO YOU PREPARE YOUR BIRDS FOR THE BREEDING SEASON?

 

I do not pair up all my birds at once I take ten hens and the ten chosen breeding partners and cage them up in flight cages keeping the cocks and hens seperate.During this period which is a minimum of four weeks ,during this period I prepare all my breeding cages which are all washed out using f10scdisinfectant , all the nest boxes and feeding utensils are also washed out at this stage.

 

A clean breeding cage

 

The ten pairs are now offered extra light which has a major influence on condition ,plentiful supplies of grit, iodine blocks,charcoal,thrive on supacod and cuttlefish bone are provided ,these are available always, extras are added in the form of egg food, tonic seed,groats and extra plain canary, and red millet seeds all in moderation.

All the birds will have a dose of Ivermectin 0.1% before breeding starts and the nest boxes will be sprayed with anti mite.

 

I never found any advantage which ever sex entered the breeding cage first but I still put the hen in for twenty four hours just to check out the surroundings and her nest box, the cock will join her the next evening.

Do place plenty of clean sterilised shavings in the nest box. Remember budgerigars must be in top breeding condition before pairing them up, if not do not waste your own time and the birds.

The budgerigars breeding cycle condition peaks about every seven weeks and the signs of readiness to breed can be observed. They will be constantly flying about and after landing will seem to flex their wing muscles. The hen will dip her back in readiness for mating, cocks will continuously tap the perch with their beaks and their head feathers will rise as they perform a type of crowing act.

The birds will be vocal and may even feed and try and mate with the same sex, although this is more obvious in male birds.

 

Hens will chew everything in sight and fight over small areas in the flights and cages. The white iris ring of both sexes becomes larger causing the pupils to look smaller, this is more pronounced in the cock birds.

The cere on the cock will be shiny and blue except on Lutinos, Albinos, Fallows, Lacewings and Recessive pieds on these it will be a purple - flesh colour. All hens will range from light to nut brown; I prefer the hens to be a light brown cere. I do like to see breeding pairs complete in feather.

 

Once these ten pairs are settled into their breeding cage I will catch up another ten pairs who will be placed into stock cages for a period of time during which they will be conditioned, fed the extras and mated up on paper before introduction to their breeding cages.

 

 

Q6. DO YOU SET YOUR BREEDING SEASON BY THE CALENDER OR BY SIGNS OF THE BIRDS BEING READY?

 

My answers to that is both as I like to pair up late November so that my first chicks hatch late December and are ready for ringing when my current year rings arrive. I would never pair up any birds that were not in breeding condition.

 

Q7. WHEN PAIRING UP DO YOU GO BY PEDIGREE OR VISUAL APPEARANCES OR BOTH?

 

I am a big believer in pedigree and when pairing up this is as important as the visual qualities of the birds.

 

Q8. HOW CLOSELY DO YOU MATE YOUR BIRDS AND WHAT RELATED MATINGS HAVE BEEN

THE MOST SUCCESSFUL?

 

My pairings will be various combinations of the family grand-father x grand-daughter, father x daughter, first cousins, second cousins, nephew x niece, uncle x niece but I do avoid brother and sister mating having tried it only the once and the chicks were blind.

 

 

Q9. WHAT VARIETY MIXES DO YOU USE FOR IMPROVEMENT IF ANY OR IS IT BEST TO BEST?

 

Always best to best regardless of the variety

 

Q10. HOW MANY CHICKS AND ROUNDS DO YOU ALLOW YOUR BIRDS TO HAVE?

 

I like each hen to rear two nests , four chicks per nest are the ideal number.

She will be allowed to lay her third clutch which would then be fostered.

 

Q11. WHAT FEATURES ARE THE HARDEST TO PUT ON A BIRD AND HOW DOES ONE GO ABOUT ESTABLISHING THAT FEATURE AND RETAINING IT, THE DIRECTIONAL FEATHER, STRAIGHT BACKLINE, SHOULDER & LENGTH?

 

Only use birds for breeding that have a straight backline and avoid any birds with serious visual faults.

 

Pairing the two best featured birds together will help establish the required criteria of an exhibition budgerigar.

 

Important features are the height from the top of the head down to the bottom of the mask, the width of the head, shoulder width, directional feather and body length ,get these all on the one bird and you are half way there.

 

Once you have the uniform appearance it can be maintained by breeding related birds together.

 

Once you realise your quality is falling then is the time to look for a good outcross.

 

 

 

Q12. WHAT IS YOUR FEEDING PROGRAMME DURING THE BREEDING SEASON AND DOES THIS DIFFER DURING THE NON BREEDING

SEASON?

 

 

 The non breeding feeding programme

 

Johnson and Jeff’s Expert budgie mix containing plain canary and mixed millets are supplied to my birds during the non breeding season ,added to this mix are a small portion of dry groats ,a small feeder of Haiths tonic seed and a few millet sprays once a week.

 

A treat is offered at least three times a week the favourite being corn on the cob.

 

Cuttle fish bone, iodine blocks and oyster shell grit are available all year round.

 

The breeding season feeding programme.

 

On the build up to the breeding season and prior to pairing up my birds they will now receive the mixed expert seed plus extra plain canary and red millet seeds, soaked groats three times per week, millet sprays every other day, egg food with added grated carrot three times per week , corn on the cob twice a week and celery at least four times per week.

Remember supply plenty of grit, charcoal, thrive on, iodine blocks, Cuttle fish bone and clean water.

 

Softwood is supplied each day to all my breeding pairs, this is Biovit egg food, grated carrot and garlic powder, mixed and served moist. On alternative days I will add grated sweet apple or sweet corn to the egg food.

 

Q13a. PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR CURRENT AVIARY DESIGN, SIZE, FLIGHTS, BREEDING CAGE DESIGN AND NUMBER OF CAGES ETC?

Q13b. WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT YOUR SETUP IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO DO SO?

Nothing would change in my set up as it works for me and the birds.

 

 

My birdroom measures twenty three feet by thirteen feet with the aviary in a secluded corner on the end of the birdroom. The front section was a large outdoor flight that was under constant attack by a sparrow hawk and after having a super Jim Moffat light green cock killed by the predator I decided to turn it into an indoor flight, this measures approx 16 feet long by four feet wide.

 

 

My all wire breeding cages which can be fixed onto the back wall using cup hooks or two screws and washers per cage or housed free standing in a unit.

These open wire cages give the breeding birds a view of all the neighbouring pairs and this helps stimulate each other into breeding condition.

 

 

The nursery cages on the right are at our eye level, me and the birds giving us that full eye contact again. These are super cages and steady the chicks that stop in here until they are three months old. Sitting on the worktop at the far end is my germ o kill which filters the air clean every two hours. My main breeding room includes two roof light giving me four walls for cages and worktop space.

 

Nine melamine cages are on the back wall which I use for show bird preparation and to condition the birds prior to pairing up.

 

 

Concern for my breathing and the health of my lungs prompted me to buy a Germ kill unit two years ago. Whatever superlatives I use here to describe it, they would still not be nearly enough to explain the difference this has made, both for my birds, whose living conditions have improved, and for me. In the knowledge that the environment is as close to pathogen-free as I can reasonably make it, my everyday activities within the birdroom are a greater pleasure than ever.

 

I used the available area at the end of my birdroom to build a outside aviary.

 

 

All the twilweld is double wired and the timbers are two inch squared treated, part of the flight is protected from the elements with 19mm exterior ply. A corrugated acrylic roof protects the birds from severe weather.

The floor is concrete with a channel built in to drain excess water this was then covered with 20mm limestone chippings, each month a solution of Vanodine V18 is watered onto the chippings and thirty minutes later it is all hosed down.

 

 

Q14. DO YOU USE PREVENTATIVE MEDICATION DURING AND PRE BREEDING SEASON AND IF SO WHAT AND WHY.

 

I use Ronivet S as a preventive med against Canker and Ivermectin 0.1% is used before and after the breeding season to control mites and other parasites.

 

Q15. WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE GREATEST ASSET OF BEING IN THE HOBBY AND WHERE DO YOU SEE THE HOBBY HEADING WITH SO MANY BREEDERS LEAVING TODAY?

 

As with any hobby you get out of it what you put into it and after 51 years of breeding budgerigars my biggest asset is getting feedback from other breeders I have helped over the years.

 

The future is a world of sitting down and pressing buttons and we should use this to our advantage in promoting the hobby of breeding budgerigars.

 

 

Q16.  WHAT WOULD YOU CONSIDER TO BE THE MOST IMPORTANT VALUE ABOUT FRIENDSHIPS FORMED AND FELLOWSHIP WITHIN THE BUDGIE BREEDING FRATERNITY?

 

One word would answer this question “ trust” , we must learn to trust each other.

 

Offer the hand of friendship whenever it is required .

 

Q17. DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON HOW TO PROMOTE THE HOBBY TO GET MORE PEOPLE INTERESTED IN JOINING OUR CLUBS?

 

I contacted and made friends with all the reporters in all our local newspapers , from our first meetings we now get press coverage any time we need it.

I also give power point presentations promoting the hobby to schools , Young farmers groups and people with learning difficulties.

 

 

Q18. WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF HAVING A NATIONAL SHOW?

 

This is the meet and greet venue of the year , meeting old friends , admiring the exhibits and of course buying our next years equipment and the bits and bobs

 

 

Q19. HOW WOULD YOU GO ABOUT POINTING A NOVICE BREEDER IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION TO ENABLE THEM TO REACH THE TOP BENCH IN AROUND EIGHT YEARS?

 

Find a breeder who is doing well on the show bench with his own bred birds, and try and buy two or three pairs , and believe as I do that blood counts.

 

From these three pairs breed as many chicks as possible as these will be your future for starting a family….. See my link.

 

http://www.officialbarrieshuttbudgerigars....tingafamily.htm

Q20. WHAT DO YOU DO WITH BIRDS WITH FEATHER DISORDERS?

 

They fly free in my aviary but are never used in a breeding programme. I breed very few birds that develop feather problems.

 

Q21. WHO HAS INSPIRED YOU THE MOST IN THE FANCY?

 

Brian Sweeting a gentleman in the hobby

 

Q22.   WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR LOWEST AND HIGHEST POINTS IN THE

HOBBY?

2001 when i had to sell all my birds and equiptment was my lowest point.

2005 meeting Brian Sweeting was my highest point as he opened the door to my resuming the hobby.

 

Q23. WHAT IN YOUR MIND WAS THE BEST BIRD YOU EVER BOUGHT THAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE IN YOUR STUD AND WHAT APPROXIMATELY WAS ITS COST?

The best bird I ever purchased was in 1972 and it was a grey green cock from Alf Ormerod, this cost me the equivalent of a mans weekly wage. I took my first Best in show with a grey green cock bred off this bird in my second year as a beginner

 

Q24.  IF YOU WERE JUST STARTING OUT ALL OVER AGAIN AS A NOVICE IN TODAYS WORLD, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU DISPENSE BASED ON WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT?

 

Find a mentor who will guide you through your early days and of course start with no more than two blood lines.

 

Q25. WOULD YOU HAVE A PHILOSPHY TO SHARE THAT HAS HELPED YOU IN DAILY LIFE WITH YOUR BUDGERIGARS?

 

 You only get out of an egg what you put into it

Q26. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE MUTATION OR VARIETY THAT REALLY INSPIRES YOU? AND WHAT VARIETIES ARE YOU SPECIALISING IN AT THE MOMENT?

 

I do love spangles which I continue specialising in followed closely by dominant pieds, I also carry the mainstream colours. My favourite budgerigar variety would be a quality grey green.

 

Q27. GIVEN ALL OF THE ABOVE, DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER TIPS OR HINTS ON HOW TO IMPROVE AND SUSTAIN AN EXHIBITION BUDGERIGAR STUD?

 

Keep both eyes on the main features of your birds and make the directional feather the number one priority to improve

 

Q28. IF THERE WAS ONE MAIN THING YOU HAVE WANTED TO SAY THAT ENCOMPASSES YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT BEING INVOLVED IN BUDGERIGARS AND CLUBS WHAT WOULD IT BE?

 

Get up of your rear and support your local clubs

 

***notes****

PLEASE PROVIDE A PROFILE OF YOURSELF THAT BEST DESCRIBES WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU ARE DOING IN THE HOBBY  ( FOR THOSE THAT DON'T KNOW YOU ) AND PROVIDE A PERSONAL PICTURE IF YOU HAVE ONE OR WISH TO DO SO.

 

 

 

 

 

How it all began.

 

 

My interest in budgerigars dates back to when I was a bit of a lad

 

I bought my first birds in 1959 out of my first wage packet., and they were 10 bob each, (that’s 50p to you young ‘uns,) which represented quite a slice out of my earnings.

 

 

By 1971, I had learned enough to know the quality of birds I would need for exhibition; one of the great breeders and exhibitors of the day was Alf Ormerod, and for me, he represented the Gold Standard. I decided I needed to visit Alf, and if I was lucky, buy stock from him, so I jumped into the car and drove down to Lancashire, only to learn on my arrival that he had moved the previous week to Cornwall!

 

 

But my keen ears heard the familiar sound of budgerigars somewhere close by, and following my instincts, I found that just a few doors down, Alf’s brother, Tom, was still in residence and still very much in the budgie business!

 

 

 

I counted myself lucky to come away from Tom’s with a quality pair of cinnamons. I did later make contact with Alf, and bought from him an excellent pair of grey-greens and a pair of light greens, which formed the foundation of my stud.

 

 

In 1972 I joined the Budgerigar Society.

 

 

During the next few years, I bought out-crosses from Jim Moffatt to improve the gene pool, and in later years became great friends with Gordon and Sylvia Hallam, and, through them, was able to introduce spangles into my bird room.

 

 

 

In 1986, having served requisite 3 years as a Subsidiary Panel Judge in accordance with the BS criteria, I took and passed the stringent Main Judges examination at that year’s BS show in Doncaster.

 

 

For the next decade and more, I continued to breed and exhibit budgerigars, enjoying some measure of success along the way. I also put in a few hours and drove a few miles around the country in my capacity as a show judge.

 

By the end of 2001, however, it became obvious that my respiratory health was being seriously compromised. The medics told me it was a straight choice - give up the birds or put your affairs in order. Within a week my shed was empty of birds and cages. I was devastated; something that had been a huge and important part of my life was now a closed book.

 

 

 

 

New Beginning

 

 

Towards the end of 2004 I was asked to judge a small local show. After some deliberation, I accepted. A second, similar request came in quite quickly after that,and i realised just how much I had missed the excitement, the camaraderie and the sense of being a part of it all. I took the decision to find out if there wasn’t some way I could begin again – if my career might see a new day dawn.

 

 

I researched the new approaches to air filtration and ventilation, and decided that, with sensible health-care precautions and the help of the new technology, there could be a way.

 

 

The answer.

 

 

I rejoined the Budgerigar society but was not going to be able to rejoin the Main Judges’ Panel without serving another 3 years as a subsidiary judge and then re-sitting the examination, and since I had hit my sixties, felt I could still be active in the fancy that I could enjoy even without the glamour of judging the “big” shows. After all, it’s not as though I had forgotten in two years what it had taken me many decades to learn!

 

 

 

By early 2005 my newly refurbished shed was lacking only budgerigars! I wanted good stock and, and after a little research, knew that the blood-line that would best meet my personal standards for excellence could only come from Brian Sweeting, a true gentleman of the fancy. I consider myself very fortunate that this respected colleague was able to help me out by supplying me with some birds to begin my breeding programme.

 

In 2009 I purchased some outcrosses from

Florian Boeck

 

Website http://www.officialbarrieshuttbudgerigars.com/

Edited March 28, 2010 by KAZ

[**KAZ** 0]

My passion, my purpose in our hobby will be complete when every budgerigar owner has a mentor.

Not only in the UK but the World over.

A few words about me, the decline, our future and your role.

 

Why would anyone want to keep, breed and exhibit budgerigars? And, supposing you did, where would you get the know-how?

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.

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.

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 Chief Exec of ICI 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.

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. And 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.

We have seen massive changes in the hobby as it evolved and adapted to enable survival in the 21st Century, and yet despite the eugenics and bird-room technologies, despite 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. And 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.

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 or 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. And, most importantly, make sure that 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!

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.

At the General Council Budgerigar Society meeting in February 2011, the BS 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.

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 interest to be stillborn. Spread the word; on the street, on the forums, on the social networks.

Barrie Shutt

[GenericBlue 0]

i must say talking to Barrie is not only knowledgeable but an enjoyable experience as well

he has guided me over the past 10 or more months just commenting on my birds here and their and explaining how or what i could do to improve

i love his idea to get every beginner or interested persons a mentor in the hobby and i truly hope that people of Australian budgie clubs can

pull together and do everything to make a bit of time even if just an hour every now and again to ring a beginner and just see how their doing as it does help

i know im lucky to have a mentor myself and a few good trusting friends in the hobby all over the world

i know one person has particularly gone out their way to do as Barrie has said that's Dave Bates now i have never meet the man but i sure do believe hes on the right track

its pepole like him that go out of their way to encorage the hobby and beginners that keep it alive and none of them get enough encouragement or thanks

 

so from me

thanks to all you well established or well known hobbyists out their whom do give us younger /older beginners the benefit of the doubt

as-we don't all take advantage of your kindness or knowledge that's given by you freely

you do make the bird world go round

[Matt Welchman 0]

I laugh when I get to the end of this Thread.

Whats doing with the Picture of himself?

[maesie 0]

I laugh when I get to the end of this Thread.

Whats doing with the Picture of himself?

 

As written in the first post:

 

***notes****

PLEASE PROVIDE A PROFILE OF YOURSELF THAT BEST DESCRIBES WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU ARE DOING IN THE HOBBY ( FOR THOSE THAT DON'T KNOW YOU ) AND PROVIDE A PERSONAL PICTURE IF YOU HAVE ONE OR WISH TO DO SO.

[Dave_McMinn 0]

I love the chair he is on. very cool

[**KAZ** 0]

As Dave said.........a photo was requested

[Flip-trainer 0]

That's a touching story I can't believe he had to give up for a few years 0.o