Posted November 24, 201014 yr Hey Guys. I thought I should come out of the lurker closet after reading a lot of helpful information on the forums. I'm a 30 something (more something than 30) Registered Nurse living in country Victoria in the small friendly river town of Charlton. I love animals, and I have 3 very energetic and bouncy Boxers whom are my life. I have bred and shown small animals all my life. I have bred/shown and judged pedigree exhibiton cavies (guinea pigs) very successfully for over 25 years, but I have recently made the decision to move them on and return to budgies. I have kept budgies previously (about 15 years ago), in an outside flight and bred them in breeding cages. I never got around to showing them though, not that they were good enough anyway, but it was good experience to care for and breed them successfully with no major issues at the time. Now I have bought my own home and settled, I am in the process of making a new birdroom and starting again with budgies after 15 years without them, now I have time to devote to them with the cavies moved on after 25 years of showing them. I don't currently have any birds, though I have my all wire breeding cages ready, just need to finish the bird room and flights so I can do this properly. I will be joining the Bendigo Budgerigar Soc. in the new year and hopefully will be able to source a few decent pairs of birds to help get my foundation started. I'm looking forward to showing budgies, and hope the fancy is welcoming and helpful to new comers as the cavy fancy is. Cheers, Matt
November 24, 201014 yr Author Thanks Elly and Kaz. I'm looking forward to annoying everyone with endless questions no doubt Cheers! Matt
November 24, 201014 yr Hello and Welcome Matt. Bendigo is a nice friendly club. They have some nice birds, Marlene Hall,G Roberts,Brian Hunt and Mr Baker (can't think of his first name) have really good birds. well anyway good luck with your new venture and may see you at a show or two one day soon.
November 25, 201014 yr Author Hello and Welcome Matt. Bendigo is a nice friendly club. They have some nice birds, Marlene Hall,G Roberts,Brian Hunt and Mr Baker (can't think of his first name) have really good birds. well anyway good luck with your new venture and may see you at a show or two one day soon. Thanks Splat. Yep I have touched base with Marlene, though only about club meetings at this stage, and Ross Loats, who lives out my way. I will likely want to source some decent foundation birds soon, normals and cinnamons mostly, but for varieties I love the dominant pieds, clearwings and lacewings.
November 25, 201014 yr Marlene won 1st dom pied, in the dom pied class at the Victorian Unbroken cap bird shield Sunday just gone, she won 2 shields and she got best bird in show with the dom pied so she is doing alright for herself. Our club (Kyabram) did not attend as none of us had any birds for the shield, unbroken capps you only have a small window to be able to show them before they start capping.
November 25, 201014 yr Marlene won 1st dom pied, in the dom pied class at the Victorian Unbroken cap bird shield Sunday just gone, she won 2 shields and she got best bird in show with the dom pied so she is doing alright for herself. Our club (Kyabram) did not attend as none of us had any birds for the shield, unbroken capps you only have a small window to be able to show them before they start capping. yes she did do well nice pied also hey matt welcome im in gippsland club right on other side of the world from you hee hee but thought id let you know that just remember one thing well these things lol , any lacewing is a good lacewing and never look a good green down the nose or a older bird for that matter not in your first year starting out anyway take more risk with an older cock but a quality looking laying older hen can really bring you forward money is a a curse the more you pay the less likely you are to breed it or keep it alive and never ever buy a bird unless you really really drool as if its just a bird you wont use it and it will just sit their wasting and eating seed breed the bird first then variety try bring in birds with the desired look you want to achieve and a smaller bird with good feather is worth 1ooo thank yous good luck thats just some the things ive learn t enjoy and ill see you around the traps also
November 25, 201014 yr Author Thanks Splat, next time I am talking to Marlene I will have to congratulate her. Thanks GB for the words of wisdom, I'll keep those in mind for sure. I love normals, so the varieties can wait. Greys and Blue series are bar far my favourite, and grey green if I have to go that way, but I wouldn't kick a lovely light green out of the shed if it had qualities that would help me improve my birds. Still learning about feather types, and directional feathers, getting there slowly. I think it will help having kept exhibition animals before to a high level, I know not to rush into things and do my homework. Hopefully I will be able to get a few pairs of birds to get me off to a good start. I am going to get stuck into my 10' x 7' bird room this weekend, I'll take pics and stuff as I go. It's a garden shed that is being converted. Got to cement and tile the floor, add flow through windows for ventilation, add an internal flight and set up my breeding cages. Line the walls and roof with ply and insulate with polystyrene and/or polyester batts. Will be a busy boy! 10' x 7' is quite modest compared to most, but I will build a bigger birdroom in a year or so when the backyard gets landscaped. Edited November 25, 201014 yr by Matt G
