SteveC

Thanks for the welcomes and advice, everyone. There are several options, but the important thing is not to rush from enthusiasm, and to think it out first. I'm moving at the end of the year, so shouldn't do anything but research before then. I'll be looking for breeders in Victoria next year. There are show breeders around here as well as pet breeders, and the local petshop often has good budies form both types. Right now they have a fantastic (to my eye) light green hen, who is a real apple green. She's a bit boofy and big, but not bad even for my tastes. After having thought over decades of all the cage bird options, I keep coming back to budgies. They have so many qualities as an interest, and their merry activity is a most engaging trait. I even like their chattering, though that's a potential problem for neighbours. I remember once waiting at the gates for Taronga Park Zoo to open, and the dominant noise coming from inside was from the budgie aviary. It eclipsed the lions' roars.

Hello all. I'm new to this forum, but am planning to go back into budgies after a long period without any. I first had budgies in about 1954 when I was a preschooler. I remember a fantastic blue cock called Inky, that I now realise must have been a cobalt. That's a colour I want again. I'll say at once that I don't like modern show budgies. I don't see what has been achieved by turning lovely, active little birds into lumbering, boof-headed hulks, but I recognise the skill and knowledge that has gone into modern breeding. I'm very happy for people to have that type, as long as I can have old-fashioned types, which are still available in places, I think. I've thought of acquiring some wild budgies (from breeders) and crossing them into the show types to ultimately get a more wild conformation along with the beautiful modern colours. Does anyone know of breeders of wild types in NSW or Victoria? Can experienced people give me some advice on the best way to begin, given that I want birds that have been bred well to variety, but not of the really exaggerated show type?