Posted June 26, 200916 yr Ooh ooh. I'm a bit excited coz on Sunday I have invited a budgie friend (whose eye for budgies I really respect and whose company I really enjoy) around to do my annual cull. I'm spending tonight and some of tomorrow making sure all my computer records are straight so there are no hitches when I go to investigate what background a budgie might have when deciding to keep or not keep. As I don't breed again until September (going to put them down mid August this year for a couple of different reasons - usually put them down on the 1st September) I find winter boring and I get jealous of all the posts about pairing up and chicks coming along so I am getting quite excited about some budgying with a friend.
June 26, 200916 yr Sounds like fun. After the cull how many birds to you envisage having left? Would you halve your flock annually? If indecision creeps in does "when in doubt, leave it to next year" prevail? Good luck with it all.
June 27, 200916 yr Author Sounds like fun. After the cull how many birds to you envisage having left? Would you halve your flock annually? If indecision creeps in does "when in doubt, leave it to next year" prevail? Good luck with it all. Thanks Richo I'm at 240+ according to my database (took me all day to do a reccy and get it all right (hopefully) - stock take on all the birds, reconcile with database, print out new record sheets) and I'd like to get back closer to the 150 mark which is a comfortable number for me - so I don't actually halve numbers, just aim for a comfortable baseline. I like to keep a good number of breeders of each variety plus backups for those that just don't fire come breeding season. Plus I always hang onto young birds for at least 6 months (unless they are truely horrible or tiny) as even an average young bird can be a surprise package once they moult (especially lacewings I found). So this cull will be black rings and older. Unfortuantely after adding 2 new varieties both of which seem to breed like flies, I'm bursting at the seems. But that also means I need to be very careful with my "normal varieties" as I need them as outcrosses for my "rare" varieties. I'm really looking forward to the exercise but I hope my friend and I work okay together in the bird room - that, not having been tested before, could be a bit interesting - hopefully just fun though.
June 27, 200916 yr Good luck with your cull, I don't where I'd begin if I had to do something like that. Will you be selling your culls on here? Don't forget to include photos of all 90 of them
June 28, 200916 yr Author Good luck with your cull, I don't where I'd begin if I had to do something like that. Will you be selling your culls on here? Don't forget to include photos of all 90 of them Uuuuummm - NO (to all 90 photo's I mean). Got through and culled down by just over 50 birds so I didn't quite get to the 150 mark that I was hoping but to get under 200 again was a good effort. AND it really was nice to talk to someone about birds - a whole birdie filled day YAY!!!! And pardon the pun but "It just flew by!" The whole exercise was very interesting as we got through my rare varieties and then to my "normal" cocks hens which include cinnamons, opalines, spangles and normals and we had quite a few in the cull box at the end that I was thinking were very substantial birds - kind of a nice way to know that my stud is going forwards. As far as selling them, I've earmarked 10 of the nicer ones for our club auction in September - there are actually a couple of very nice birds really (I was almost not going to part with them.......), I have 2 pair of clearwings earmarked for 2 different people and the rest of the better young ones I might post up here for sale.
June 28, 200916 yr It just flew by!" i love puns specially inocent ones its nice when you realise your birds are improving to the point that you really have to know what direction to take next i can not wait for that as thats when i will be deliberating into quality colour breed birds (just meaning that i will take the colour challenge back up ) i was trying to only keep blue based birds but have come to relize you need greens to keep the colours strong when i get to the point your at it will be easy substained on thoughs ethics i still have to get my first show breed birds down lol come on aug -sept come on :yes: what types do you breed if you dont mind me asking you mentioned clear wings lacewings opalines cinnamons norms spangles
June 28, 200916 yr Author Hey GB I breed Lacewings (my fav), Fallows, Clearwings, Blackeyed Selfs, then I run my "normals" which include Normals (I am running a line of normal/normals as they are rare as hens teeth over here and I need them for fallows), Cinnamons, Cinnamon Opaline, Opaline, Spangles and a couple of oddities that I purchsed at auction for bird quality - YF & dilute.
July 5, 200916 yr Author Quite a few clearwings Shannon but the best of the culls are already spoken for. I'm not too sure what's left but I can have a look and take some pics for you if there is anything worthwhile. Also put aside the lacewing hen that came 12th in the Nationals for our club auction in September. No other Lacewings though.
July 5, 200916 yr Also put aside the lacewing hen that came 12th in the Nationals for our club auction in September. No other Lacewings though. Oh thank goodness I don't breed Lacewings! The thought of that bird at auction is more than I can bear!!!!
July 7, 200916 yr Author okay Shannon will do but I won't be home until the weekend so will send photo's after that.
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