clearwing

I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem? I leave my babies in the nursery cage for about a month once they leave the nest. This year on two seperate occasions I've found them pairing up and laying eggs in the corner of the cage, these birds are less than 10 weeks old, so it can't be good for the young hens to be laying eggs. Cheers Clearwing

You are spot on Dean, although our birds are domestic, they still have wild instincts. Thats why I mate up after heavy rain, the birds think the grass will grow and produce seed so they go to nest. This combined with the feeding change works wonders, my numbers are usually excellent. cheers Clearwing

Give nothing other than millet, this also works great for your show team. About 9 weeks before the first show of the season, change the diet for a week or so, forcing birds to moult. It normally takes six to eight weeks to come through the moult, so you should have a complete show team to choose from.Cheers Clearwing

The best way to have the whole flock in condition at the same time is to send them all into a moult at the same time, then pair up just as they come out of the moult. The best way to send them all into the moult is to drastically change their diet, I suggest give them just millet for a few days, nothing else, just millet. You will find when you change the diet so dramatically all the birds will go into the moult. I knew a top breeder many years ago, who fed nothing but jap millet to all his birds from Christmas day untill the end of February, he then started adding the normal breeding mix and additives over the next month. He would pair up in March and had the best fertility I've seen. Cheers Clearwing

I hang suet [not sure of spelling] the fat from around the kidney of a sheep, in my avairy it has the added advantage of helping stop scally face, The birds love it! cheers Clearwing

Well done, very funny!!!Clearwing

I haven't used cod liver oil for over 30 years, as a fish oil it is prone to going "off". I feed sunflower and safflower seed instead. Cheers Clearwing

The blue feathers are just adult plumage coming through after the chick feathers were removed, she is none of the better babies I've seen on here Kaz. Please don't make the mistake of putting her in a chick's flight too soon, the longer feathered babies are slow to develope, hence the feeding problem. Treat her with kid gloves and you'll have a good one. cheers clearwing

Must admit I'd love to see a junior class in Victoria again Cheers Clearwing

Hi Kaz, I know this is an old thread, but noticed it had little reponse. So here is the Victorian story. At the time of the first importation of budgerigars from England, we in Victoria only had Beginner, Intermediate and open. This created a problem at shows as those who could afford to import birds won everything in open, leaving many well established and respected breeders pondering their future in the hobby. So as I was BCV president at the time I got to gether with Col Flanagan who was BCV secretary and we created the Champion breeder class and the points system, Thereby allowing those who had imported to progress to champion status and those who hadn't could still compete in Open section. It was a way of protecting the hobby in the early stages of importation and I believe it still works well today, but maybe im biased. Cheer Clearwing

Yes I would breed with him but not to a pet style bird, mate him to a good neat showbird, he should breed some nice chicks cheers clearwing

Don't get hung-up on what mutation he is, the judge can't judge the breeding record, just the bird and in 50 years of breeding this is one of the better ones I've seen. I thought he would have made much more. cheers Clearwing

I should state my view, I believe every senior breeder should mentor at least one new breeder, for the sake of the fancy. I am currently mentoring several beginner and intermeadiate members. That means, I help with pairing and culling and I allow these people to borrow NOT purchase my spare birds [these are not culls they are spare breeders] and I expect them back if and when I need them. By doing this I believe I am helping the fancy to grow and secure the future of my hobby, cheers Clearwing

Where I live we get 4 very distinct seasons, but we do get extremes, in winter cold mornings maybe minus 4 or 5 then in summer maximum of maybe 47 or 48. So birds must be protected, I'm currently fully insulating and lining my bird room and avairy. Cheers Clearwing

Hey splat, those chicks look good, glad the cock has done well for you. I won't need him this year so pair him up again after the moult Cheers Clearwing

I think one thing that helps in Victoria is the competition between our 18-20 clubs, all clubs want to improve there standing, so senior members will help club members in order to help their club. But a warning to beginners ALL senior breeders have helped out beginners in the past just to find their birds in a pet shop months later. As a beginner get involved in your club, make it known your in it for the long haul, then seek to get assistance and birds from one senior member do not approach everyone, put your faith in just one breeder and your more likely to get help. Cheers Clearwing

Hi Libby66, yes maybe we will cat ch up another time I'm in SA one week every month and look forward to meeting breeders when I'm here. I enjoyed the show, two other differences I noticed were in Victoria we give a Diploma for the best young bird at the show, this is concidered the major award, you don't do that in SA. We also have four classifications for breeders, Beginner, Intermeadiate, Open and Champion, you do not have a Champion class. cheers Clearwing

As an exhibitor I like the feline face on the birds and strive to breed them, my point is they are different and must be treated differently. I agree though that the only way it will ever change is if we change the standard and the way the birds are judged. I believe there can be a balance, if we put more effort into breeding birds true to variety. I think it will be possible to have a well balanced bird with the ideal markings, its the markings that have been neglected in favor of feather. cheers clearwing

As the title suggests, I'm having two weeks in South Aust. working and holiday, yesterday I decided to drive from Clare to Adelaide and check out the SA show/auction. I had a good day as my friend Ian Hunter was judging and another friend Stephen Elliot won the major awards. What struck me most were the differences between SA and Victoria. IN Vic we have seed on the floor of all cages, in SA they had a 1/2 round dish of seed, whilst I'm sure it saves a lot of seed and some cleaning up, I think it was a distraction for many birds played in the dish and didn't show well. The best birds were really good, but sadly I thought the quality dropped off very quickly. I asked a couple of people if the senior breeders were helping them, but was told that rarely happens in SA. I checked out the auction birds, but didn't buy any, I thought they lacked overall size, but there were some which would help beginners. Anyway it was a good show with over 400 birds and plenty of people, don't know what they'll do next year if the number of entries increases as the hall appeared full. Just my thoughts, thanks to the SA members who made me welcome. chees Clearwin

The long weekend in June has been a traditional time to pair up n Victoria, as many breeders want to have UBC's for the UBC shield. But I don't show UBC's so I just pair up when pairs are in condition. Cheers Clearwing

Yes GB thats a compliment, pet birds or culls I call Budgies, quality show birds I call BUDGERIGARS. Cheers Clearwing

Well Done GB the Dom Pied looks like a BUDGERIGAR cheers Clearwing

Dom Pied greywing is shown as dom pied. cheers clearwing

Hi Renee, yes I too use Dr Marshalls products and I feed citrus fruit, but not all birds will eat it, by using the cordial extract you know all birds are having a drink. Cheers Clearwing [ and its natural not chemical]

Hi Guys, here's the deal, the raspberry cordial extract I use comes from TREND DRINKS, Gladstone SA. It contains NO preservatives, The benefit comes from the natural Citric acid in the raspberries. Cheers Clearwing