Daz

Sco-tie I am in my final phase for show preparation. 48 hours to go. I now start having the panick attackes. ie one bird is geting nervice and has light green vent. I will have to make sure she is clean. I started on wednesday to build the stamina up in the team. They will be fitter and fired up for Sunday..... i hope.

I have never seen an ugly budgie They are all beautiful. But when we evaluate for show standards we have bench marks to meet. I don't think the french poodle with all the special cutting of the hair is attractive. Some people don't like the boofy heads on show birds. All to our own tastes.

Hath brings up some great points. One subject that Hath and I haven't gone into is the difference between a stock bird and a show bird. This birds has some good features that can be past onto the off spring if paired correctly to a suitable hen. Stock birds aren't good on the bench but a lot of show birds aren't good to breed with. Hath we should do a post on stock birds?

Hi Zebra. Just going off these photos. Hath will have a better say than me. Jupiter is a strong bird. Good Shoulders. Mask is short which causes the spots to be irregular. Width of face isn't there and the frontal or blow hasn't fully developed. In the second Photo he is trying to blow. The Flecking on the head will go against him. Back line isn't too bad in the first photo. Tail isn't drooped. How old is he?

One month before the Show. Spray the birds daily. Spray them until they are soaked, if possible. Be sure not to allow the birds to get chilled. By now the birds should be in good condition and the water will begin to bead up on thier feathers, much like it does on a freshly waxed car. Don't stop spraying. If you do, the birds will lose their condition. ...................................................... Two weeks to go. Check the health of each bird. If there are any questions about the health of an individual in the team, leave it at home. If you take it, you may kill a valuable bird. Be especially certain of the fittness of any hens you take. Continue to Spray. .......................................................

There is only one visual violet. That is a cobalt violet. But you can get skyblue violets, mauve violets and the same in the green series.

You shouldn't continually touch the eggs it is not good for them.

Let’s look at some Facts. Egg shells are porous and touching the eggs can cause bacteria from the fingers to enter through the shell and kill the chick inside. The hen regulates the temperature with in the nest to keep the eggs at a constant temperature. The tip of our fingers is one of the coldest parts of our bodies. By touching the eggs we can chill them. The hen constantly turns the eggs to make sure the chick develops correctly. She also moves the eggs from the centre to the outside of the clutch. By touching and lifting the eggs this action is disturbed. So lifting and constant inspection of eggs really is not recommended. I inspect every nest box in the morning and afternoon. In regard to eggs, I will mark a newly laid egg with a non toxic water base pen, the nest and number of the laid egg. Eg B9.7. If the egg is in a large clutch I will move /foster to a smaller clutch. I will o longer touch that egg. I will candle the egg as it lies in the nest box with out disturbing it. If after the correct period of time, I see that the egg has not developed (clear). It will be removed and disposed of.

Isn't this forum about educating people on the correct way to look after these birds? So why try to confuse them with different terminology? When Someone comes on this forum they should be informed of the correct terminology used with the birds. As Cheeta Said I am sure others would be the same. In Australia there is Wild, Pet and Show. There is another coming into the shops called Bush. These are bird raised in an aviary but very much resembling the wild bird but a lot tamer. Many Australians have not heard of an English Budgerigar unless you are involved in show breeding and then it is referred to as an English Breed Budgerigar. It should be standardised on this forum what the terms are so as not to confuse people. The bird on the left is a PET Budgerigar the one on the rigth is a SHOW Budgerigar. To save confusion, it should be left at that. I was once corrected by a Canadian because I said they were American……. both come from North America don’t they? It was quickly pointed out where I was wrong.

Many novices think of puting a bird in the cage and entering it in the show.... then wonder why it didn't win. For thoses that are interested or preparing to show a bird, what do you do to prepare it for show. Lets start at the beginning. Two months before the show. Catch up the probable show birds. Examine them for broken feathers and where necessary, remove stumps of the feathers very carefully without causing damage to wings or tails. Note: new tails will grow in six to eight weeks, new fights will grow in six to eight weeks, new spots will grow in four weeks. If the birds are dirty, wash them thoughly by hand with a very mild soap and a soft brush. Always brush in the direction of the feathers. Don't allow soap in their eyes and make sure you rinse very well. The water should be at body temperature. 38 deg C. Start to spray the birds with very hot water from 12 inches away. You should use an atomiser so that the water cools before hitting the bird. It will be luke warm by then. Note the condition of the birds, those too fat will need to be thined. This is done with the correct diet and excersize. Those that are too thin will need building up. Put the birds into inside flights to calm them down.

Left was laid, hatched and raised by a pair of "pet" Budgies. Right was laid by a pair of Show birds. Hatched and raised by the same pair that raised the left one. The left one is 20 days old, the right is 21 days old. Both are Budgerigars. Both have been feed excatly the same food and water by the same parents. The only difference is the genetic back ground. Neither is American or English. They are budgerigars. One will become a show bird the other a pet bird.... Both very muched loved.

No I'm a cook. as a hobbie. I love cooking fancy dishes and holding dinner parties. What's the difference between a cook and a chef ?........ A cook has to clean up after themselves...

There is no difference between people from different countries. We are all one. We just listen to different music. I think it is confusing and misleading for anyone to have different names for the same thing. That aside, as a cook I have to deal with Corn starch and Corn Flour, Shrimp and Prawns.... pounds and Kilograms..... I believe there should only be four names for what we call budgies. Wild, bush, pet and show. That in it's self explains what the features are. Wild is the bird in the bush, Bush is the bird in the cage. Pet is the bird on the fingur Show is the bird on the bench..... easy

I wouldn't say that there is two different breeds the structure of the birds are the same. The only difference is length, feather structure stance and nature. If the two as skeletons where examined there would not be that much different. Where as two breeds of dogs, say British Bull Dog and Afghan. There would be great skeletal differences.

Interesting reading this... Of cause that fact of the matter is there is only one species It's called a budgerigar or grass parrot (Broad Term). Whether you want to call it an English or Americian or ...what ever other country. Are they two different species.. Well I am sure that Hath would agree that we wish that but it's not the case. Can you get a pet budgerigar from the pairing of show birds? Yep sure can. They are the ones we cull and send to the pet shops for you guys to buy. Can you get a Show bird from the pairs of pet budgerigars. It is very rare but depending on the birds back ground and genetics, yes. We call it a "Stormer" i wish to breed one one day. The English were forced to breed these birds... How is that? Go back to World War II. England had no seed or food[/] and had to kill most of there birds. After the war they came to Australia to ask for more birds but due to restriction of exporting birds they were turned away. They had to inbreed and line breed the birds they had. I believe the official figures were around 40 pairs of birds left after the War. The breeding program adopted due to nessacity produced these beautiful birds. The Americans never needed to inbreed or line breed as they had plenty of stocks and weren't effected as bad from the War. The terms English and American was I believed founded in America to discribe the difference in the English birds and the American birds. I have not yet found an English Publication that terms it as an English Budgerigar. It has been refered to as English Breed. It is now a standard practise around the World to line breed these birds for Show. Same as most of the animals we have. But the terms have stuck. We used to have Haliquin Budgies in Australia and some still call them this. It's a term for Pieds. Both Dominant and Recessive. They are called this due to the banding that occurs. Like the make up on a Haliquin Clown.

Beautifull plumage Sailorwolf

Sailorwolf here is a photo of a Show bird on the American Budgerigar Society Web Site. Strangely enough it's not a good representation of a good Show Bird. Key hole head and missing one spot and lacking in shoulder It has good frontal and blow though. Nice body colour. But it must have been put there for a reason.

The best bird in the aviary always dies. Your best hen never lays fertile eggs The pair nesting in the cage that is hardest to get into always have eight chicks The pair you are really counting on lays 8 fertile eggs and all addle before hatching Budgie droppings are attracted to breeding cage roofs. You always run out of seed on a Sunday night when all nests are full of chicks. You move a 3 day old unbanded chick from a pair of greens to a pair of blues (knowing you can identify it later) with the same age chicks and discover later they are all blue. The only chick that misses banding is in the best condition for the spring show and is a stormer. You inadvertently pull out one of the prime throat spots on your best bird one week before the show. Your second best bird looses one tail feather a week before the show. You discover an hour after that the bird you just sold, you had been keeping for a special pairing. The power in the shed fails when it is minus 25 with an 80 mph wind and there are chicks in all the nest boxes. One of the birds you left at home was better than the birds that won. No matter what clothes you wear to to work, if you look hard enough you will find budgie feathers in them. Out of town visitors always visit your aviary the day before your major weekly clean out. Every time you think you have had a fabulous year, you visit your friend down the road, who is having an average year and has raised twice as many chicks as you have, with only half the number of pairs. Every vehicle you own has bird seed in it (and some of your friends) Budgie down is attracted to beards. Every aviary is built 25% too small. Your best bird ends up in your worst show cage. Bird seed is attracted to the living room carpets. The city works department only does heavy construction next to your property during breeding season. Droppings adhear to the side of the band where the number is, not to the year or code that you already know. One of your best birds loses it's tail feathers just before the show so you take it along anyway and throw it on the cage floor in case the judge gives you some credit, and sure enough he doesn't, but you still try to explain to him that..... (see the next one) Tail feathers are attracted to show cage floors Eight out of nine Lutinos are pure yellow (guess which one is wrong classed? )

tolula it is good that you are interested in looking after your birds. Avi Care is one I missed out on. It is an Avian Disinfectant/Cleanser, effective against bacteria, viruses and fungi. Safe and totally biodegradable.

Nerrwen I add the avicleans as directed. Product Matrix. These are the suppliments that can be mixed and those that can't.

A good rule of thumb is between 6 and 10 days. if you can ring at 6 days and the ring stays on ... GREAT. As a rule I count 7 or 8 days. I check all the nest boxes morning and night. I usually ring in the morning so if the little.. %$^*( tosses the ring off. I try again that night.

A.I.L - Aviary Insecticide Liquidator I get mine from a pet store. Pet City in Brisbane has it. Wormer - Pet store. I use Vetafarm wormout gell Ronivet - Good pet stores or Produce Places. No Luck contact Vetafarm This is used in the cure for Canker. Coccivet - Pet stores or Produce Places. This is for the treatment of Coccidiosis in Birds Psittavet - is for the cure of Psittacosis. megabacteria - Megabac S is found in very good pet stores or produce places. If no luck contact Vetafarm soluvet - pet stores or produce places (Soluible Vitamins) tracemin - (Soluble Trace minerals and Amino acids for all birds) pet stores or produce places probotic - pet stores or produce places. avi safe - pet stores or produce places. Avicleans is what I use. Murphys also has a full range of these products.

Kaz, count to 7 days and then ring.... DON"T FORGET TO RING!!!!.

A seed diet with added Cod Liver and Wheat Germ oil. Fresh celery, grated carrots, mung beans, snow pea sprouts and corn. Breeding pairs also get soaked oats, grated carrots, budgie started and budgie crumble. Water is on a rotational basis. normal water is filtered water with Avicleans, and Apple cider vinagur. I also give them probotics, vitamins, and calcium. They are wormed four times a year and given Cocivet twice a year. I also give Megabac S once a year. They also have Cuttlefish, Iodine & charcoal bells and grits.

Hath I was going to post the same thing but you beat me to it... Nice bird Sailorwolf. But you did ask to relate him to a Show Bird.