It Pays to Specialize

One can often hear budgerigar breeders saying 'I don't care what colour the chicks I breed happen to be - as long as they are good ones.' This is a statement with which I cannot agree. I care very much what colours and varieties I breed. When I pair Normals together, it is not because I want to breed Opalines and Opaline Cinnamons any more than I want to see Lutinos appearing among my young budgerigars. If I am ever pleased to see these varieties in my nest-boxes it will be because I have deliberately set out to breed them.

Keeping Albinos and Lutinos is usually the result of a conscious decision, but the Opaline and Cinnamon factors seem to insinuate themselves into a stud of exhibition budgerigars. It is easy to say that different colours and varieties are compatible but, in my experience one always improves at the expense of another. I try to concentrate on Normals, preferring Greys and Grey Greens, as they appear to be dominant over the other colours, and often, the quality appears to be better than the Greens and Blues. My results on the show bench over the years agree with the supposition.

When Greens and Blues are paired into the Greys and Grey Greens, there is little doubt that the offspring in the Grey series are much more dominant than any Greens or Blues. Although I have no reason to complain about my results, experiences have demonstrated, that keeping several varieties - compatible as they may be - makes it more difficult to create a stud of even quality. One variety will always come out on top, and it will not necessarily be the one that the breeder favours most.

In my view, the best way of setting up a successful stud of exhibition budgerigars is by specializing, while using sound judgement. This can be achieved without limiting yourself to only being able to exhibit in a single class when it comes to showing. You can always make room for one or two examples of a colour you really admire.

I am convinced that introducing new varieties eg., Opaline or Cinnamon to a stud of Normal, is potentially far more damaging than introducing a new colour eg., Dark Green or Cobalt to stud of Greys and Grey Greens. Cobalt has always been a colour I have admired, although I have tended to admire them from afar, as they are so difficult to obtain of an exhibition quality, especially when compared to the Skyblues.

The situation changed last year when I acquired one of Jo Mannes good Cobalt cocks. My friend Jo also let me have an excellent Dominant Pied Grey cock, which fortunately is masking Cobalt. Having bred from both cocks, it is my intention to pair together the best of the chicks with the intention of trying to breed that outstanding Cobalt.

Usually, in the past, Dark factor birds have had the tendency to depress the exhibition quality of the stud. However, as Jo has been so successful with Dark factors, I am sure the quality will be maintained.

Lutinos are a popular subject for specialization and I can appreciate the difficulties their breeders have when it comes to bringing in an outcross. I sometimes hear them indulging in lengthy discussions on the best way of improving their red-eyes, but have yet to hear them come up with an agreed solution. Introducing an outcross can be a dangerous venture to any established stud. Its effects can be very complex, sometimes remaining hidden for more than one generation. In the final analysis, an outcross can do more harm than good. It must always be remembered that within an individual budgerigar, is the amalgamation of all of the features of its ancestors - waiting to show themselves.

Although one hopes that a successful line-bred or in-bred stud will be pure enough to be able to stand the worst that can be inflicted on it by an unwisely chosen outcross, there can be no guarantee that the characteristics of the new bird will not dominate the appearance and breeding potential of the offspring.

When you are starting out and trying to establish a blood-line, you may buy a good bird in the hope that it will do just that. However, it can be quite undesirable when a winning bloodline has already been established. Keeping colours pure is the first step towards maintaining the character of a stud. Having said all that, the practicalities of life have to be recognised. You cannot inbreed forever, as every bloodline has to reach a peak sooner or later. Then a fall-off in quality begins.

If you cannot bring in the birds you would like, you may have to do with second best - from the point of view of colour and variety. It then becomes necessary to filter out the youngsters you breed, to ensure that only those carrying the genes for the colour you favour are retained.

Because of feather problems last year, affecting a few of my better chicks, I decided to acquire a bird with not so much feather, but still sufficient, so as to be compatible with my own birds. The fact it was an Opaline Cinnamon Cobalt was a bonus. The bloodline was impeccable, related to birds winning top awards this last show season. Paired to a Normal Grey hen from the Cobalt line could be beneficial in maintaining the Dark factor, with the added advantage of the possibility of reducing the feather problem. All the hens would be Opaline Cinnamon and the cocks split. What is not a bad thing, all the hens can be used in my Opaline Cinnamon side of the stud, whereas, the cocks can be paired to the Normals.

In fact, if the crossover of chromosomes comes into play, as it often does, it will also find the odd Opaline Cinnamon hen among the young. The young cocks will be more problematical. They will all have the appearance of Normals, but some will be carrying the unwanted Opaline Cinnamon genes - with test mating being the only way of finding which. However, all the hens showing the normal colours can be safely retained as they cannot carry the Opaline Cinnamon factor.

This illustration shows the lengths to which you have to go to bolster your stud, and it is only by selective breeding that you can eliminate any unwanted genes. However, anything worth having, seldom comes easily. As far as I am concerned, the foremost difficulty is keeping the stud pure, whilst maintaining a high level of exhibition quality. It takes determination and dedication not to be blown off course, but there are many budgerigar fanciers who work hard in remaining faithful to their favoured colour or variety.

Long may they continue to do so.

Original text Copyright 1997, Jim Hutton

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