Daz

I am so sorry to hear that. I hope they do come back.

I have not heard of a limit. It costs here $0.50 per entry. I have seen many birds being entered by one breeder. You can only ever be in one class eg Novist, But you can enter in as many divisions as you like and have more than one bird in each division. An example of a Divisions Black Eyed Self Greywing Darkwing Clearbody Lacewing Dilute Clearwing Recessive Pied Saddleback Crested Dark Eyed Clear Fallow Continental Clearflight/Dutch Pied etc......

Some diseases are brought on by stress. Is there any particular disease you are conserned with ?

Lovey is right. My First two chicks I hatched, Tiny and Chirpy were brothers. Chirpy came inside and tiny went to the flight. Tiny grew quickly in to a sleek and mature bird. Chirp stayed a fluffy cuddly bird. Different enviroment will do this.

Oh you can not show a bird that you haven't bred. By that I mean buy a bird and show it. 1. If you take the care and attention to have the eggs hatched and raised from the egg to Nestfeather (Fledglings). You have the right to put your Breeders rings on the bird. You must belong to a registered club to have Breeders rings. Your rings are registered to you. If someone tries to Show a bird with a ring that is not theirs they will be disqualified. 2. Yes some people from syndicates and show birds under that name. Eg Church and O'Rielly, The Jones Family.... etc. But you must show under that registered name. I show under my own name. On the Issue of rings, there are two types in Australia. There is a club ring. and a coded ring. Coded rings are specifically for a particular breeder eg. IBS XX -6 1201. XX is the initials or mark of that breeder. IBS stands for Ipswich Budgerigar Society Club rings are just that for a club. PR-6 394 PR stands for Pine Rivers. My Club. This ring is Registered with the Australian Natonal Budgerigar Council as my Breeders rig. This ring was in fact Fluffy's ring. It stays with him.

It is baically the same. There are three classes of Show entrants (Australia). Novist, Intermediate and Open. To progress through the classes you must win, not come second. Each time you win a division, against 5 or more birds in that division you get a point. When you achieve enough points in a period you move to the next level. The higher the level of cause the better your standard of birds are and the more they cost for others to buy. If you look through English Breeders web sites you might see that they call them selves Champion Breeders. This means their birds win at the Champion level. Oh you can not show a bird that you haven't bred.

A Show Bird is not just a bird that is Breed and Placed in a Show Cage for a Judge to see. A Show Bird must want to show. Budgerigars have the ability to Throw the feathers on their forehead (Frontal) forward and up. This is the "Blow". This is part of showing. Like a Peacock shows off his tail to a Peahen. The Shape and stance is also very much on show. The Bird really does look like it has Attitude.

As discussed in another topic. We are asking for Questions for the Budgie FAQ section at the top right hand corner of the forum. If you have a question regarding Show Birds in particular or have an answer that you have given out regularly, please post it here.

Yes Greys and Greygreens have grey check patches. I know if looks bluish but I think thats the colour randition of the photo.

Ridley Well put. The staff monitor all but the PM's and it is alway wise to supervise your children on a forum.

How did you go with the hail Karen. We heard that the storm was pritty bad? Birds okay?

No mine are loud. but only between 6am and 6:30pm other wise they sleep. :offtopic:

Corn on the cob... Luxuary..... My birds are so tough they open there own canned corn... :offtopic:

Shed arrived today. It is in kit form. It will take about three weeks to put up. Until then the birds are enjoying a cooler time in the garage. Temperature today was up to 39deg C. We have bush fires between Nerwen and I. I am sure that in the old aviary it would have been 45 deg C and I would have lost a few birds. The garage reached 33 deg C today. A lot better.

As Gren and I have travelled around the country giving talks to various societies and clubs, the fanciers with the most problems seem to be Beginners and Novices who do not get help from their local Champions. In this article I will try to relive my Beginner days and using the experience I have accumulated over the years, advise those about to venture into the world of exhibition budgerigars. In the first instance it is essential that you get some experience in the breeding and management of budgerigars, as it is pointless rushing out and spending money without the knowledge required to care for them. So, if you are a raw beginner, get a few pairs for experience and use this time to visit shows and other fanciers and learn what makes a good exhibition budgerigar. Do not stay in your local area, but try to get out to shows in other counties, and take note of exhibitors who are winning in young bird classes (not necessarily Champions) at championship level. Your aim is to develop an eye for a good bird, so that when you are ready to acquire your initial exhibition stock, you will know what to look for. When you are confident in the management, feeding and breeding skills, and have spent some time stewarding at shows to familiarize yourself with good quality birds, you will then want to take the next step and purchase some birds. The raw beginner will usually buy a magazine and look for advertisements in them, but be careful of the professional breeder who mass produces stock for sale. Whilst they may win at shows, the Beginner is unlikely to be offered these birds or any related stock. How many fanciers can offer birds for sale week after week after week? If they do, they are in most instances simply producing numbers just to sell. If you have done your homework whilst visiting shows, you should have some idea who are the exhibitors with a consistent and competitive winning team (not one or two birds). They may well be Beginners or Novices themselves who have gone to top studs and paid top prices for birds. While you may not buy those, useful brothers and sisters can be obtained for a fraction of the cost of the parents. These have the same genetic makeup of their better brothers and sisters and will do you more good than the "Stormer" that has been bred from average parents and is the only good bird in the nest. When buying your stock always ask to see the parents, and brothers and sisters where possible. It is better to obtain a lesser bird from good stock than a better bird which had been bred from mediocre parents and is what we call "a one off". Choose two or three studs for your initial purchases and buy two or three pairs from each if possible. Try to choose studs where the features compliment the others, for example, one stud may have big shouldered birds, the other may have birds that excel in head quality and the third, feather quality in the right place. By breeding these as true lines and eventually crossing the lines over you will build like a jigsaw, all the features of all the lines into one main line which will in time, carry all the features in one bird. You can then start a line of your own on this bird/birds. All this will take a few years and there is no short cut with the exception of an open cheque book. At first is is important to concentrate on the features that make a good exhibition budgerigar, regardless of colour or variety. On several occasions I have been asked "What is the most difficult feature to achieve?" Well, I would have to say that head quality is the most difficult. A bird with width of face, depth of mask, back skull and a feather quality what when viewed from any direction is round and keyhole in appearance, face on, showing fearlessly. Birds like this are not likely to be overlooked by a judge as they demand attention. To follow through from the head, the shoulders should be wide and show no neck. The size of the bird, whilst important, is not always the winning factor. A large bird without the head qualities to march its size, in my opinion, does not compete with a slightly smaller one with excellent head and balance. Head quality is for the most part made up of feather density and direction. Try to pair your birds to maximize on these points by matching birds which have lift (feather length on the head) to birds with lateral feathering. Forget colour preference at this stage and concentrate on building a stud of good quality birds; only then can you breed the specialist varieties successfully. Remember, it is not the colour that wins, it is the quality of the exhibit, so pair for quality not colour. So many times, Beginners and Novices have made the fatal mistake of only buying blues or greys of inferior quality and leaving behind the greygreens because they "Don't like the colour ". Sometimes, it may be possible to purchase a flecked headed bird with good facial qualities. Flecked birds have their place in all good studs, but a few do's and don'ts should be practised. Never use a flecked bird unless it shows features that you need to improve your stock, and then be careful how you pair them. Remember that pairing a flecked headed bird to a clean one will produce young that are both clean and flecked. Those young which appear clean will carry the flecking in their makeup and can pass this on to any chicks they themselves produce. For this reason it is advisable to pair any birds from flecked parents to clean mates that have themselves been bred from clean parents, for the next two generations. In my experience most flecked birds are opalines and these should be paired to clean headed normals. Keep good records of all birds bred and possible splits e.g., blue, cinnamon, opaline. Flecked parents can be included as a footnote to remind you at a later date. The key to becoming a successful breeder and exhibitor is patience, dedication and the ability to recognize the faults in the stud and to pair to rectify them. Remember, only by showing your birds can you compare them with others and assess where improvement is needed. Winning is of secondary importance although it is very nice once it starts to happen. A final tip, don't become spot blind I.e., learn to recognize good birds even if the spots are small, they can soon be improved; the overall head quality is much more important. Good luck to all you Beginners; we need new blood in the Fancy and on the show scene. Information from Pat & Gren Norris

No I don't think he was implying you Budgiebudgie :offtopic:

Hi comborna and welcome to the forum. I give my Breeding pairs a mixture of soaked hulled oats mixed with grated carrot, budgie crumble and Protein in the form of Budgie Starter. When the youngest gets to 14 days old I also introduce fresh vegitables as in Corn, carrot, celery, sprouted mung beans and snow pea sprouts.

Fluffy is gone.

24th September 06 to 29th November 06 Age 66 Days

Paul you are not going to like this. Get a hand full of oats and rub them vigeriously between the hands. The husks will come away and can be blown away. After you do the first one you are on the way to finishing 50kgs. I hope someone can give you a better answer.

Bubbles I am prepared to ring England and speak with Mr Binks to ask to buy his book at $600au but I think my wife will kill me if I did. I have only once seen the 1st addition at a show as a prize for the Best of Show. oh well we can dream. The Challenge "The Challenge", Breeding Championship Budgerigars. by Gerald S Binks and first published in November,1997, is the accepted finest book ever published on all aspects of the hobby. When it first appeared, 437 copies were snapped up at The Budgerigar Society World Championship Show that year . Since then some 3000 first editions have been sold. Now that first edition is out of print, second hand ,signed copies in good condition ,currently change hands in 2006 at £190.00, when available.

In 1968, my young family, my wife Joyce and I moved to Virginia Water in Surrey, not far from London Airport. The house was named Tanglewood and when first seen it lived up to its name. Years of work were to follow, but the aviary, made of cedarwood, had to take priority. One of the first visitors was Joachim Schwartsberg, the famous German fancier. Originally 40 feet [12.2m] by 10 feet [3.05m], it was subsequently increased to double that length some years later. Housing 66 breeding cages constructed by Reinhard Molkentin, these cages are the last word in cage presentation. The Jo Mannes aviary is also fitted out with the same cages, as well as the U.K. Quarantine at London Airport for the U. K. budgerigar exports to Australia. In 1980, a normal grey BA23 cock won Best Breeder at the Budgerigar Society Club Show. In 1984, a skyblue was awarded Best Adult and Best Opposite Sex-in-Show, at the same event. 1987 saw what other fanciers are pleased to recall as one of the five best birds ever bred up to that time. This was a grey green cock BA23 - 43 -83 given Best Breeder in Show, but remarkably, in the opinion of the fancy, not Best in Show. The following year at the Budgerigar World Open Championship at Blackpool, the same bird finally proved it's quality where it took the supreme award. Good grey greens have always had a special place at Tanglewood, but as is common in Budgerigars, you also need some luck. In 1986, a modest looking pair in cage number 16, bred a total of 12 chicks, each of outstanding quality. The following year they bred another seven. For many years this has been referred to as the "16" Line and birds sold from this line have in turn bred show winners. Jim Laurie from Scotland is a classic case, his outstanding wins at the B.S. World Championship in the 90's being credited, by him, to this same line. In 1997 I lost two great friends, Jim Moffat and Mick Wheeler, both of whom had very fine studs, with the Moffat Stud of light greens being perhaps the best in the World. On Jim's death the stud was gifted to me by Margie Moffat for which I will always be grateful. The Moffat birds with their superb width of face, depth of mask and frontal lift were crossed with the 16 line grey greens, but gradually the Stud became all light greens and skyblues. In recent times other colour outcrosses became necessary and trips to South Africa to buy from Reinhard Molkentin and to Europe to purchase from Daniel Lutolf, two of the worlds most experienced fanciers, have paid great dividends. Today the aviary can be found with all the Normal Series plus superb spangles all of the highest qulaity and in great demand worldwide. "The Challenge" is always there and that is why my enthusiasm for breeding exhibition quality budgerigars has never waned. An extract from the web site of Gerald Binks.

I am the same way about pet budgies. I love my pets George, Chirpy and Angel but looking at them I feel pitty that Angel's Spots aren't as Impressive and that George and Chirpy don't stand as tall and magestic. Dont get me wrong. I love them very much as many will agree. But I look at budgies with a different eye than you do. Here is a video of my ugly show birds They are this years Chicks. Approximately 5/6 months old. http://s8.photobucket.com/albums/a26/darry...rent=PR-129.flv http://s8.photobucket.com/albums/a26/darry...rent=PR-131.flv Plastic Golf Balls make great toys.

ummmm... Now there is a thought

There is some orchestrated confusion in bird circles about Vitamin A levels in food and possible toxicity from high levels. The availability of vitamins in the diet and the absorption of vitamins from the gut is complicated and multi-factorial. I have tried to summarise some of the important aspects of Vitamin A as they relate to prepared bird food. 1. There are several different kinds of Vitamin A. This has to be considered when discussing the Vitamin A levels added to prepared foods. 2. Birds will convert ß Carotene to Vitamin A in the body so that ß Carotene levels are also signifi cant. 3. There are different degrees of absorbability of Vitamin A from the gut. Not only are different types of Vitamin A selectively absorbed, but the level of fat in the diet will change the absorption because Vitamin A is fat soluble. 4. The NHMRC* range for Vitamin A requirement is 2,500 i/u/kg of feed to 10,000 i/u/kg. This is a poultry fi gure only, there is no caged bird fi gure available, and nutritionists extrapolate caged bird requirements from poultry data. 5. The NHMRC* toxic level for Vitamin A in poultry feed is 100 to 1000 times the nutritional requirement. 6. The Vitamin A level in feed depends on the processing method of the feed. Vetafarm uses dry extrusion and units of Vitamin A lost in production are allowed for in the formulation. 7. The age of the product from manufacture will affect the Vitamin A level. Vetafarm uses an expiry date and recommended storage conditions to optimise Vitamin A levels. 8. The Vitamin A level in Vetafarm Parrot Pellets Maintenance Diet is 10,000 i/u per kg at manufacture. Vetafarm has stringent quality controls to optimise the important Vitamin A level in its feeds. *NHMRC = National Health Medical Research Council, (the only world body for recommended vitamin levels) Dr Colin Davis Information from Vetafarm I personally use Breeding Aid with my breeding pairs and use Cod Liver and Wheat germ Oil with my birds in the flight. This gives Vitamin A and D also some added vitamins and minerals.