The Jo Mannes Article

Posted April 19, 200916 yr

THE JO MANNES ARTICLE

"Jo Mannes has to be in the mood to pair up!"

A few years ago Jo Mannes told me something which has stuck in my mind ever since. We were having a snack in a restaurant in the U.S. when the question arose of going to the aviary and putting up a few pairs for breeding.

"I don't feel in the mood for pairing up at the moment. Let's leave it for a bit". Those were the words Jo said and they come back to me time and time again.

Later that night Jo said: "Come on, let's go to the aviary to pair up". It was around 9 o'clock then and I asked him: "Don't you thank it's a bit late?" `No, I feel in the mood'; he replied. Jo selected his pairs straight out of the flights and only placed them in show cages when he had completed the selections. Very few were changed at this stage.

I have seen the results of those pairings and believe me, the chicks were certainly ones we would all like to have.

The owner of the birds had bought stock from Jo Mannes over the years and I feel convinced that Jo recognised his type in the ones before him in the flights. He seemed to have a sixth sense in selecting the pairs and it was all done visually. Jo did not look at any records. It is my personal view that here is the true answer to Jo Mannes' success. He has a brilliant memory and knowing his birds, he pairs up methodically. It's like I have mentioned. It is "sixth sense".

I have, over the years lost count of the times I have visited Jo Mannes but on each occasion I have come away admiring his capabilities of producing such outstanding birds. The big difference between my early visits and the last one in 1999 is the fact that in the early days there were far more of the Jo Mannes style birds flying around than there are today. Don't misunderstand me, there are still dozens of those top quality birds today and he is still able to carry on producing them despite the heavy demand for stock by breeders from all over the world. The head quality and feather texture is still there. Some of the birds did not carry those massive spots of the earlier birds, but they were nice. Jo has also been putting length into his birds, but as he pointed out "You have to be very careful how you do it".

The first Spangles

Jo Mannes has always used Spangles. Unless my memory fails me, it was in 1986 he bought his first Spangle and it came from Switzerland. How he brought it home is another story. It was from those birds, paired to his own stock that Jo sold young to Doug Sadler the following year and later to Harry Bryan who was so successful with his purchases.

Since those early days, the Spangle has become extremely popular and they are a force to be reckoned with on the showbench. Just look at the success Frank Silva has had with his Spangles (and giving away another secret) Frank Silva has been exceptionally successful with Normals bred from Spangle/ Normal pairings.

The Pied has also played a prominent part in the Mannes aviary. I have not seen many of them there, but what I have seen have been a pleasure.

He is now trying his hand at other varieties and it will be interesting to see the outcome.

Down to 60 pairs

During the past couple of years Jo Mannes' health has not been as good as it used to be and copse-quently he has decided to reduce the number of pairs he puts to breed. The number for the 1999/ 2000 will be just over 60 as against the usual 90.

Even with 60 pairs I think it is quite a full time job. The aviary is always spotless clean and this certainly takes time. On top of this is the time spent with visitors who seem to be there nearly every day of the week.

Jo is an admirable host and will fascinate his visitors with his "birdtalk". He will go to great length describing the history of his birds and where they have been shown and the awards won. Even if you don't go there to buy birds, an afternoon with Jo Mannes in his aviary is something to look forward to.

You will be shown his prizewinning Koi Carp. They are beautiful and so big. I wonder why Budgerigar breeders have this weakness for Koi because so many keep them these days.

Following the afternoon session in the birdroom visitors are invariably entertained in their home by Jo and his wife, Linda. They go to great lengths in making their visitors welcome and this usually ends in eating and talking into the early morning.

However, as time goes on changes become inevitable and this will happen in the Mannes family this year. The well-known Mannes pet shop in Freiburg has been sold and after years of building up the business Jo and Linda, will turn over the shop to it's new owners in June. That will be a break in the Mannes story, because here was the site of the original Jo Mannes birdroom. It was here that it all began.

- Gwyn Evans

Budgerigar World, January 2000.

Jo Mannes's Web Site