Ikon

Hi This is an article written in 2001 by Clive Wakeman. It may help all us beginners wanting to enter the world of show budgies. I found this useful Much has been written and many reasons given as to why so many start and leave the hobby in the space of a few years. Commercialisation, high prices of stock and equipment, birds that will not breed, lack of wins at shows, unable to progress quickly enough in their new found hobby are only some of the reasons put forward and debated at length. While a lot of well-meaning advice is given I believe a lot of what is said is too grand and aimed too high for the raw beginner. It's all very well to say you can scale down to a size to suit the individual's needs and means but why should initial advice be given on such a grand scale anyway. Whatever happened to converting the garden shed into a bird room and making half a dozen or so breeding cages? Good sound advice at this stage would be, if funds permit, line the shed, the addition of an outside flight and laying on some electricity. When I started breeding budgerigars 32 years ago as a schoolboy I could not afford these luxuries and had to put up with de-icing drinkers and tending the birds' needs before I went to school. However, I was successful in breeding budgerigars. In those early years I gained practical experience in breeding and looking after budgerigars with a minimum outlay supported only by my paper round and money earned by working on Saturdays in a pet show and the sale of young budgerigars in the breeding season. The other important ingredient, apart from undying enthusiasm, was my mentor and friend right up until the time of his death in 1987, Tom North, a champion breeder who lived in my home town of Ilford, Essex. In between leaving school and getting married, my birds had to go, but as soon as the opportunity came 4 years later I was keen and ready to take up the hobby again and to this day I am still breeding budgerigars despite 3 moves, 3 bird rooms and the contemplation of the 4th on a much grander scale. After getting married I went back to tom North and founded my stud on his birds and when he died in 1987 I bought the remainder of the stud and the line is still breeding well today, particularly the violets. A BREAK FOR VARIOUS REASONS The point is that many breeders may have a break in their hobby, for various reasons, marriage, children, house move, or maybe the novelty just wore off. But the bug can bite again as we all well know. Now if this rekindled interest holds bad memories of large amounts of money wasted it probably will not be attempted again. However, if after a modest outlay a deep rooted interest is breeding and exhibiting birds was found to be the case in a stable situation a comeback to the hobby may be made with thoughts and designs to take it much further this time. I know I did in 1971. Before I moved to Somerset in 1985 I went to Ernie Sigsten for some new blood to inject some size into my birds. In fact I have been back to Ernie for outcrosses 5 times in the past 11 years. In this period I read everything I could about Jo Mannes and his mutation feather that he had bred on his birds. I saw this as the feather to put on the bird of the future. By coincidence so did Ernie Sigsten who bought birds from Jo and I, in turn, bought birds from Ernie with Mannes blood and feather. A QUESTION OF PRICE Now I will bring up the question of price, what to pay and value for money. Having never been a man of means I have always worked on the principle of selling perhaps 10 of my birds to raise the money for an outcross. When it comes to the new purchase of an outcross you must have a clear picture of what you want. I wanted Mannes blood, feather and size, but not necessarily on the same bird. I purchased 2 light green cocks, one that was 75% Mannes blood and the other, a huge bird, that was a real handful and measured 10 inches for £100 each and bless Ernie's generosity a third light green cock that he gave me. Naturally, they were not perfect, no bird is, but I have achieved what I had set out to do and the birds I came away with were terrific valued for money! Yes all three bred but there was a setback. The Mannes blood cock produced 13 youngsters from 4 different hens. Great, the problem was they were all cocks. I rang Ernie to ask if he could let me have 2 or 3 hens of the appropriate bloodline. Well not only did he do that he also gave me another 2 hens to help out, what more could one ask. Fertility has been exceptional, producing both cocks and hens, opening up the way for continued progress. Now going back to the original point, if I had started with the birds of this quality in the beginning no matter how successful or otherwise the breeding was, they would have been paid for directly from my pocket and not from the sale of birds. I would not have been able to use them to the extent that I have now and get the best out of them. The bird room and the equipment I have now may be a far cry from the converted shed and half a dozen cages I started with at my parents' house but it has all come with time and experience. I did not try to run before I could walk, or build a palatial bird room with all mod cons before I was certain that the hobby would be a life-long pursuit. There is absolutely no substitute for practical experience but it does not have to be gained at a huge expense which a lot of articles directed at beginners seem to indicate these days.

I will have to start using some more of this stuff.

They do seem to have a slight shade of blue. I will wait for Daz to answer this one.

I would say normal budgies have grey feet and the dominant have Pink. I will check this when I get home.

Nice birds there. I Like them All

All I know is that the DEC carries one dominant gene and two recessive genes, Therefore one can say that the answer is both yes and no. Kind of had to revisit my notes on genetics here Daz.

Did you email the ring registrar? He details can be found here http://www.budgerigar.com.au/committee.html. (Click on her name to email) I believe she will need to contact the breeder before giving you the information. I have asked her for details in the past and she got back to me the next day. (However I am a member of the NSW Budgie Society - St George Branch)

Yes she is Opaline. Very pretty bird

Like Neat says prob Scaley Face, Picture is needed

Great advice Daz. That is a great topic.

Ivan - Kogarah Sydney NSW Breed - Show Budgies - Normals, Opalines, Spangles, Dominant Pieds I Breed from March until Ctober

I have heard the same Kaz. I was initially going to have seperate flights but have chosen not too.

Yeah Ikon This bird as I said on the Brasea 2008 post should have started at $500. But with most things luck plays a big part. You can still grab a $40 or $50 bargain especially at such a large auction as this, with 450 birds. People tend to nod off after a while and or near the end when people have really blown there budget, there was at least at this auction some of the best still to come! My strategy at these things is to highlight the birds from a good breeder that are compatible with what I already have, and try to buy a outstanding cock and at least two or three hens from that breeder. Throw these together and see what evolves. Put one of the spare hens to your best cock that you already have and cross them over the following year. Being a novice the results with birds of this calibre are normally well above average and should do fairly well at that level. It pays to go along, you never know! Caution: Show birds or birds that have won major awards don't always make good stock breeding birds. Also big hens with cock type heads can also be a problem! Good Advice. I have recently purchased 3 birds (2 cocks and a Hen from one breeder (he won best novice at the NSW budgerigar show this year along with a few other awards). I have paired these together and the second cock to one of My Hens. The birds I purchaed a mixture of Scoble/Darman and Scoble/Alan Reid. I also purchsed a cock and Hen from another breeder who has about 90% Scoble bloodline in his birds So I am hoping to have some decent birds next year.

I dont think it matters with the other varieties which is the cock and the hen. Only in the sexlinked varieties.

Well done to the shop owner. Not only does he care about the quality of stock he is buying, He obviously is thinking of his customers

This is very important when it comes to sex linked varieties as only the cock birds can carry this hidden gene. EG Normal Cock x Opaline hen gives you all normal hens and the cock birds wil carry the opaline gene. Normal cock that carries this opaline Gene x Normal hen gives you opaline Hens and normal hens and all normal cocks I think this is correct.

Hi Indz. What we are talking about is keeping a family record of our budgies so in future when we are pairing our birds up we have an idea or what type of babies to expect. Hope this helps

I use the forma that are based along the lines of Brian Sweeting http://www.sweeting-budgerigars.co.uk/Breeding.html. He has nest box/pairing/breeding record and pedigree forms. Hope these are usefull

I will try that as I currently have a mouse in my makeshift breeding room.

(Laughing out loud) did not even check the dates.

Sound like you are doing everything correct. Tell us are the birds displaying any type of bonding behaviour ? that is have the hens paired up with the cock birds ? are the cocks feeding their mates ? How old are the birds ?

Not sure but I have heard of the breeding aid. My opinion is that all you need to help your birds breed is a compatable pair that are in condition, Fresh water and food, Calcium and of course a nest box. I have seen the budgie starter at our meetings for sale, never have bothered to look at it, might make o point of doing so next time.

No need to worry about your Hen. She will do fine on her own. Good think that you are checking what is affecting your birds. It will tell you what you need to do to prevent further deaths.

That is great news. I will be showing for the first time later this year as well (at club level). I am hoping I can pick something up but if not then at leat I can ask questions of the judges on my birds.

Hi Neat you dont have to be a member to go to the meetings so I suggest you do that and get a feel for your local club before you decide to join. I did the same and joined the very next day.