renee

I agree, ideally that's the way to go! :emoticon112: However, in this state it is virtually impossible to buy a good Normal bird that isn't a Greygreen. The last decent Normal Blue went for over $500 at the MBC auction in May - that's Big Blue that Kaz bought from Fran and John McLoughlin. You can get Opalines, Cinnamons and especially GreyGreen Spangles ..... but good Normals are few and far between. So you need to breed you own.

Welcome Amy to the BBC! :emoticon112: The reason we on this forum encourage everyone to observe a strict quarantine period with their new purchases is that unfortunately a new bird may be carrying a disease that your existing budgies have no immunity to. I hope you are lucky and no misfortune comes of this. It looks like you have a Yellow Face DF Spangle hen and Light Green Spangle cock bird. From the look of her cere it appears that the hen is going out of condition because it is a dark brown color. This probably why she went straight into breeding mode. Do you know how old they are?

Yes I hear you on the consistency of stud. I don't know whether I will achieve that, maybe if I had fewer varieties. What I do hope is that in the not too distant future someone will be able to identify my Dommie Pied, or DF Spangle, or Rec Pied, or Clearwing, etc. In starting these varieties I have sourced the best birds I can locally to set up my foundation stock and I will be keeping them all separated so to speak. But complementary varieties that I also breed such as Cinnamons and Opalines will be used as my own 'out-crosses'. So eventually there will be a homogenousness so to speak.

Yes you are right, when you bench your birds you are competing against one or maybe two other determined and hardworking members at your level. This is why I rarely publish my wins Yes and no RIP. I do not celebrate a Novice win, only when one of my birds makes it up to the top bench in the Best in Colour Class because it means my bird has beaten Intermediate and Open birds to get there. Also it depends on what your chosen varieties are. I am focusing on Double Factor Spangles, Dominant Pieds, Rec Pieds, Inos, and Clearwings. Most would say that is too many varieties but more to the point these are well represented varieties in WA so to do well I have to win against the top breeders in this State. That's okay for me, I like a challenge. There is an opening for Crested breeders, not many like breeding them and so there aren't many breeders. Well if you know of a Novice cheque book breeder let me know! Personally I don't think twice about spending $100-$200 on a particular bird that will further a variety that I am breeding .... does that make me a cheque book breeder, I hardly think so at those prices. Besides as I've mentioned my specialised varieties are well established here in WA so my foundation stock comes from the top breeders and naturally their generosity is somewhat limited by the fact that I will be using their birds to better them in a few years time. Very true! Yes Kaz, that is what I experienced last year. There came a time down at SWBC when I was the only Novice showing birds, almost the only person showing birds .... which is why in many regards this year I have just been going through the motions Now there are many reasons why this happened but at the end of the day you need to remember that by showing your birds you are also supporting your club and I think that gets left by the wayside ....The way things are in WA you need to take your birds to the best competition so next year I am looking forward to putting my birds up against Trish Van Dyk as in my book she is a fantastic and talented Intermediate breeder. I do not think you can breed budgies if you do not enjoy the satisfaction of breeding in itself

As I've said elsewhere, Everyone breeds Show Budgies for their own reasons - and that is just fine. I enjoy helping others which is why so many of my posts are 'educational' in nature. And I like winning! But let me be clear about this, every and any award I take out is a affirmation that we are on the right track and if you like a reward for all the time and dedication Tony and I put into this hobby. And I do like those trophies, not for myself as I have won many a trophy in previous endeavors, but for Tony as prior to this he has never won anything much. It brings me great pleasure to see how delighted he is and how he takes them over to his brother's places to show them off. That is priceless. Now realistically the only way I can gauge our improvement is if our birds are compared to other people's birds who are at the same stage as we are, that is why we show our birds at the Club level. I suppose we could just breed Show budgies for the pleasure of doing so, but I really enjoy the Challenge of trying to improve year after year.

Well done Liv, they are looking very promising. Which one is the one that took out the trophy at the Show?

You know looking back what I really would have liked is for a breeder to call me when he/she had a sick bird so I could learn from looking at it what it has and then being shown what to do! Yeah right! The reason why that would never happen in most cases is that breeders don't want any one to know that they are having problems. There are a variety of reasons for this and so be it. This where this forum is so valuable because most of the participating members value the sharing of information. But the truth of the matter, at least it was for me, is that until you have 'seen it with your own eyes' many times you don't know what you are facing. And that is a valuable lesson in itself. Talk to any breeder and 9 times out of 10 they have experienced almost all of the ailments and conditions that affect budgies. Ironically I am relieved and grateful I have that wealth of experience now when I am preparing to take my birds up to the Intermediate Grade. I suppose looking back that this learning curve has been traumatic at times but if were not for that exposure I would not be as confident as I am now in my bird's health and well-fare.

Excellent! If you haven't already got it, don't forget to ask for your refund on Sunday

Yeah! Another Clearwing breeder!!!!

unfortunately you CAN get Double Factor Domie Pieds by pairing 2 together However, the DF offspring look like Rec Pieds in markings and tend to be long, tubular birds. I know this because it was one of my first breeding mistakes.

Yes I figured they were that pair! Darned maiden show budgies It is hard to say whether the eggs will die or not, I don't suppose you can foster the eggs? Come round and pick up an experienced pair to complement them

Well as if we didn't already know today's Weather report confirmed that we are facing an El Nino year so limited rain is forecast this summer and the temperatures a forecast to hit record highs .... So how did you Victorian and Souith Australian budgie lovers do today?

Uh Oh ~ I would rethink putting to him to your clearwings .... you REALLY DON"T want cinnamon in your clearwings, it's a short cut to disaster

Great news you had a good result! PM Nubbly5 and ask her to have a go ~ she LOVES these tricky genetic puzzles

When you said the eggs went cold, do you mean cold to the touch? I suppose not 'cause otherwise they wouldn't be still showing fertile .... Don't worry too much is she is on and off the eggs, we are experiencing warmer days and the eggs don't go cold very quickly- I have noticed that one of my hens is also doing this. But I am going to assume that she is a maiden hen, which means she has yet to raise a round of chicks from go to woh. And from the sounds of things she isn't entirely sure what she is doing so my question to you is, Is her partner a maiden cock or an experienced cock bird who is showing her the ropes? As a rule I always try to pair a maiden bird with an experienced bird for the first round. Yes it means that I breed more birds than I desire but it also means that after that first 'learning' round I can basically make my ideal pairings with limited heartache. But sometimes you only have one pair and so your options are limited. Best of Luck!

Well it doesn't look like a Dilute in the first picture, but yes it does in the second .... to my eyes it is also cinnamon You are correct, both parents must be split for dilute to produce a Dilute chick. It actually isn't all that hard to breed dilutes, the reason they are 'rare' is that few actually set out to breed them as they are not a standard variety recognized by the ANBC - although that may change in the near future - so any dilutes must be shown as a NON Standard Variety. As Nubbly so eloquently explained to me the dilute gene is least dominant on an alelle that shares with Greywings and Clearwings genes which is why it 'appears' to lie dormant. Nice looking chickies! I especially like that Normal Green

Looking VERY promising! Nice long mask on the first one! :bow:

Precisely Macka! And this is another reason many a beginner Show Budgie breeder falls by the wayside. Anyone can have a few show budgies in the back yard and (try) to breed them but you cannot get away from the fact that they are exhibition budgerigars that are bred to a Standard. Many a beginner is lured into believing that it is all relatively straightforward because once they get their foundation stock in those early years they breed some pretty good birds which do well when they first show them. More often than not it is because they received gifted birds that another breeder has put years into developing. It really takes dedication and a little bit of luck to improve your birds. And unless you put in a lot of hard work this is not going to happen, and it is at this point when many become disillusioned or unprepared to put in the hard yards and give it away. You cannot expect to rock up to the Club Shows and take out the awards without putting time and effort back into your club. Unless you are unusually gifted you really need to become a Club Steward and learn what features are desirable so you know at least what your birds do and do not possess so you have a template for improvement. All clubs need active members that turn up to the shows and help out. If you can not or will not support your club you cannot expect your fellow members to help you in the long road to becoming a successful breeder. Remember a Show Budgie breeder isn't born overnight, it takes many, many years to progress from a Beginner to a Novice to Intermediate to Open breeder. Some talented folk do it in less than 7 years, most take much longer. And reaching the Open grade is not the end of it all! The pinacle, most would agree, is sending one of your birds to the Nationals. Any one who says I just want healthy happy birds is deluding themselves. Having Healthy Happy birds is the basic pre-requiste. :bow:

If you do not receive the response you need quickly, try doing a search. Many before you have faced the same dilemas and you will be able to read up on their experiences and relate it back to your own situation.

I wouldn't convert to pellets either .... still a firm believer that budgie seed and fresh veggies is the best. Did your vet explain why the recommendation of changing over to pellets? You know birds like seeds ~ their beaks and digestive system is geared towards them!

They are looking SOOOOO Good! You must be very happy

Questions you need to ask, in no particular order: Do you get on well with your neighbors? Not everyone enjoys the chatter of happy budgies ... Does your partner share your interest? You will be spending some of the family budget on this hobby and it helps if you are supported ... Do you like winning? A competitive spirit will spur you on to improve ... Do you have 'spare' time? You will need at least 40 mins a day to spend with your budgies ... Do you cope well with adversity? You will need to be able to learn from bad experiences and move on ... Do you have healthy lungs? Many a budding champion breeder has to give it away due to an allergy to feather dust ... Do you like researching? The genetics can be overwhelming to the uninitiated, not to mention budgie well-fare ....

How exciting! Looking forward to your progress :rip:

:rip: Hope you have a good time!

Hard to say Kazoo. You can't get away from the fact she has had a very negative first time experience, who's to say she will from now on associate breeding with stress and bother? I have had it go either way, some hens go on to become wonderful mothers - one was a complete psycho and never did get the hang of it. What I will say for certain is that good mothers produce good mothers. :rip: