As I have recently become our club President, I would like to pick your brains.

What would you suggest would improve your budgie club?

There are people on this site who say they are not listened to, by the establishment, well here is your chance. All ideas are fine, no mater how far from left field. I want to make our club nights an event people want to attend, but I've been breeding birds forever and my ideas may be stale. I respect the opinions on here, reguardless of how long you've been in the hobby, so come on have a go! Cheers Clearwing

it really depends on your club do you have beginners or new members or are they more established breeders

their age extra

if the activitys will be club funded or out of own pocket

or free activitys if theiirs travling involved or just nightmeeting

 

i find that our club most the people are straight from work no tea or home enough for a shower change then out the door

i think a good idea would be

every few months (as meeting only ones a month ) as weathers getting nicer

that the meeting night could be held at a members home bbq tea and the host gives description and or kind of a basic rundown of their plans and their achievements

as i find most peoples best birds stay home and also find that the members do not actually invite each other over to their aviary to often

the ones that do are all grouped together

you always hear about the good ones at home

well lets go see them

i understand some dont want to share but really

if thats cause why even be in the club to start its about enjoying our birds together showing this one off and that one off

id be proud to have people visit my humble little stud

and explain my plan so that my club members could point out anything i may have wrong

or be about to do wrong

just a idea

you could even just pull the name randomly out of a hat or go by alphabetical order of who's home is next

Our clubs ( I am in two of them ) try to have a lecture or demonstration at every meeting. This can be anything put forward by open breeders to share with other members. One meeting we had a demo on spotting........cutting spots and pulling spots, washing and preparing budgies for shows.

We have lectures on mutations, care and breeding etc. Ask the members to list what they would like to hear and see.

A very good feature of our clubs is that they have an accessories table where all manner of budgie keeping items including meds etc are up for sale at well below petshop prices. A well stocked accessories table run by a member who is the accessories officer will give the club profit as well as get members along to buy.

We have a library where books and cds can be borrowed.

We run a kitchen where meals are brought along and are purchased.

We have a club BBQ and have a sausage sizzle.One of our clubs purchases seed by the pallet load and this is onsold to the members at a small profit.

Every meeting is a bench show.

Raffle every month is usually a 20kg bag of seed at one club and raffle at the other club is usually a very nice prize with good dollar value.

All of this is club revenue and a reason for members to come as well as because of the birds.

Edited October 27, 201014 yr by KAZ

Not sure what other clubs do but our club gives out trophy's to the winners of each class at our table shows, these trophy's are suppose to be returned before the next show. I think the club is finding it hard to keep track of where the trophys go and they are not being returned so the winners at the next show don't get presented with the trophy, they still get their money for winning but as a beginner I would rather have a ribbon with the club name and a first, second or third and what class my bird was in on the ribbon and actually get to keep it rather than the possibility of not getting the oppotunity to get a photo with the trophy or having to keep track of it to return it the following month.

 

 

Our clubs ( I am in two of them ) try to have a lecture or demonstration at every meeting. This can be anything put forward by open breeders to share with other members. One meeting we had a demo on spotting........cutting spots and pulling spots, washing and preparing budgies for shows.

We have lectures on mutations, care and breeding etc. Ask the members to list what they would like to hear and see.

A very good feature of our clubs is that they have an accessories table where all manner of budgie keeping items including meds etc are up for sale at well below petshop prices. A well stocked accessories table run by a member who is the accessories officer will give the club profit as well as get members along to buy.

We have a library where books and cds can be borrowed.

We run a kitchen where meals are brought along and are purchased.

We have a club BBQ and have a sausage sizzle.One of our clubs purchases seed by the pallet load and this is onsold to the members at a small profit.

 

All of this is club revenue and a reason for members to come as well as because of the birds.

 

 

our club does the seed thing but i dont think that it actually profits them its to help us be able to keep the keeping of birds affordable

we also have guess speaker nights where either one the club members or a breeder from out of club comes along and talks on things

weve done different variates and i do hope that continues as it was interesting learning about a verity you do not actually breed yourself

weve had talk on spotting and show prep

and verious other stuff

its soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo way much better now that the precidancy has changed hands

no efence to old one but budgie politics and money issues cage standards extra are not why i joined

i couldnt give too hoots about all that ****

now we just hear a breif two mins of it not two hours :} yeaaaaaaaaa and most meetings ae bird related as it should be :}

Our club has all that stuff the main thing is you need someone who is enthusiastc about his job. Unfortunately most people willing to get in and have a go have been doing it for years. At the moment our secretary has just come back on the committee from a brief rest and he is really enthusiastic and making thing more enjoyable. Another problem clubs can have is a few people to do all the work and new members are ignored as they are trying to make the night or show happen.

We have one teenage boy Dustin who has just joined but hasn't got to a meeting yet because he lives In Moama but hopfully he will make it one day.

We have a lot of beginners a few Intermediates and a lot of opens and 1 Champion breeder in our club we have about 20 members maybe a few more.

 

Yes I suggested aviary tours last year which fell on deaf ears. And also meeting at different members places for barbeque and see how other members setups are but most are members were not in that because some members have small areas and think it would be to squashy with so many people there at one time, which is true.

But now that Geoff is President we might get aviary tours up and runnig.

We now have a trade table.

We should order a pallet of seed through the club but we haven't yet. I wish they would.

We have talks on on different things like 2 meetings ago Geoff showed members how to crop feed and there were open breeders there that have never done it so that was good and that was my idea.

Keep your ideas flowing

Edited October 26, 201014 yr by KAZ
changed death to deaf

We also have a guest speaker at most meetings. They are not always breeders, we have had someone from the Zoo (pre Panda) to talk all about the Pandas and their imminent arrival in SA, we have had a fire forensics police officer come and give us a lecture on fire safety which also included some forensics talk and was really interesting. The nights we dont have a guest speaker, a mini club show is organised. We have a guest judge from another club come and talk about why they place the birds in first, second etc. We also have a trading table, with feeders, grit, drinkers etc. A library to borrow books. A nightly raffle where the main prizes are usually a show cage, 5kg of seed or a bottle of wine and any other donated prize. We all have a club number/badge and each month there is 5kg of seed for the badge number (drawn out like the raffle) and if the member isnt there to receive their prize it jackpots. Sometimes, people have walked away with 30 or 40kg of seed! Our seed is donated by a club sponsor. Supper is always supplied, usually by the same core people, but others sometimes bring other plates along to support. We have one or two aviary visits/bbqs during the year. Our December meeting is a Christmas show and we all bring along a plate of something to share, main course or dessert and byo something to drink and people donate lots of small things to be wrapped for a big raffle with about 20 or so prizes and Santa comes too. Families are encouraged - partners and children.

Hey Guys thanks for the replies, but i think you have missed my point. I don't want to know what your club does now, I want to know what the club doesn't do which you think would be an improvement. I'm looking to change the way we do "budgie club." I've been attending club nights for nearly 50 years and nothing has changed, just the same ol small show, guest speaker, lots of talk have a cuppa go home then do it all again next month. We must have some better ideas than that!

Part of knowing what your club doesnt do is listening to what other clubs do.........isnt it ? Thats the way we work it out.

 

If I had my wishes about what I would like a club to do..........

 

** I would like to have guest speakers like avian vets, and bird geneticists.

 

** Discussions pertaining to aviary design and management..what works and what doesnt.

 

** I would like to see birds brought in for discussion......the birds we sometimes scratch our heads over type, or condition, whats " fixable" and what isnt, when to euthenase.......reason being so some newbies and even others can learn by hands on approaches and visual aids.

 

** I would like to see the breeders of old ( even if now retired ) come in and discuss how things were in their day and what has changed. Even if these old breeders have to be collected and brought in by members.

 

** I would like to see all junior or beginners being given at least six months free membership ( I have already got this going here ) so they can figure out if its for them in the first place.

 

** I would like to see a proper mentorship program implemented.........one or two seasoned breeders paired up to each newbie to assist with practical assistance as well as advice by phone at any time.

 

** Assistance given to members who cant get to meetings by car for whatever reason........car pooling. Lifts offered to assist members getting to a meeting. Too many people know of some who cant drive and dont offer to assist even if they are in the same area.

 

** We have had ( over here ) busybees to assist some members get there aviaries erected and operational. Too many who cant cope are left struggling. If the Lions Club and Apex can be so community minded inb other areas why cant a budgie club ? Whats wrong with a combined meeting with busybee to promote fellowship and good spirit ?

 

** Hold meetings in turn at some members homes instead of a hall, so we all get closer in ways that we realise what each other has and is going through.

 

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I am sure I will think of more now I know where you are coming from

In my club we have a raffle for a pair of budgies or one budgie depending on what is brought in

As I am quite new, I found this an excellent idea as it is not so easy to get good quality budgies for reasonable/low prices - for beginners I think this idea is better than a raffle for seed.

My opinion anyway - good luck with it

 

 

Part of knowing what your club doesnt do is listening to what other clubs do.........isnt it ? Thats the way we work it out.

 

If I had my wishes about what I would like a club to do..........

 

** I would like to have guest speakers like avian vets, and bird geneticists.

 

** Discussions pertaining to aviary design and management..what works and what doesnt.

 

** I would like to see birds brought in for discussion......the birds we sometimes scratch our heads over type, or condition, whats " fixable" and what isnt, when to euthenase.......reason being so some newbies and even others can learn by hands on approaches and visual aids.

 

** I would like to see the breeders of old ( even if now retired ) come in and discuss how things were in their day and what has changed. Even if these old breeders have to be collected and brought in by members.

 

** I would like to see all junior or beginners being given at least six months free membership ( I have already got this going here ) so they can figure out if its for them in the first place.

 

** I would like to see a proper mentorship program implemented.........one or two seasoned breeders paired up to each newbie to assist with practical assistance as well as advice by phone at any time.

 

** Assistance given to members who cant get to meetings by car for whatever reason........car pooling. Lifts offered to assist members getting to a meeting. Too many people know of some who cant drive and dont offer to assist even if they are in the same area.

 

** We have had ( over here ) busybees to assist some members get there aviaries erected and operational. Too many who cant cope are left struggling. If the Lions Club and Apex can be so community minded inb other areas why cant a budgie club ? Whats wrong with a combined meeting with busybee to promote fellowship and good spirit ?

 

** Hold meetings in turn at some members homes instead of a hall, so we all get closer in ways that we realise what each other has and is going through.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I am sure I will think of more now I know where you are coming from

 

Thanks Kaz some great ideas. Clearwing

Yes!! Yes!! the busy bees sound good, I need them here, HELP. Just image if the club jumped in and help, how fast I would get this birdroom done, BUT then I have to admit it is also down to money so I can't really go any faster

Yes!! Yes!! the busy bees sound good, I need them here, HELP. Just image if the club jumped in and help, how fast I would get this birdroom done, BUT then I have to admit it is also down to money so I can't really go any faster

 

 

well if i had one at my home i think my flight would been done ages ago

as it is i have had members of other clubs help me with my aviary so i do feel very lucky to have them suport me

i have a few members of my club stepping up to be support now

also members of other clubs mentoring me

id love to have a member of my own club as a mentor and actually at first i did have the best but due too gossip

that ended very soon unfortunately as i was quiet enjoying the talks and descushions had together regarding all aspects of birds and their breeding down to talks of articles and products actually worth while

im just glad that someone out of our club could see my potential as a fair dinkum breeder and stood up to where the first mentor was pretty much driven away from

our clubs pretty good with the support but alot of it is behind scene due to a few that are just plain out to spread any **** **** thing they can about other from in my eyes jealousy and no life i say have fun with it but rummors can damage so most our club silently help eachother sad but needed it only takes one to wreak it for all doesnt it and i feel the male female stigma is rather a bit anoying hey so what im a chick i joined the club to breed n show birds

not to pick up

so........................ does my head in , when comments are passed ,.. if i wanted a bit more than to show n breed birds id go to the pub

I am the only female in our club. All men and just little old me I felt wierd at first being the only female but i was that focused on breeding and showing I just didn't care in the end and I have done well up till now so who says women can't breed good birds

Last year we we did have an elderly couple but they have gone to Bendigo club but they still live in Shepparton so I visit them every week and that is a friendship made from when they were members. There was another women joined but only turn up once.

My club needs more members. There are about a dozen people at our club, mostly beginners at the moment. My club is very friendly, welcoming and were extremely generous to me when I joined up.

I'd love to see some demonstrations, crop needling, A.I, that kind of thing.

Talks from breeders, avian vets etc. Some aviary visits are in the pipeline for next year,which I am really looking forward to.

I have an idea for a family and friends trivia night.