My Life with Budgerigars

Based on a lecture at Dudley BS.

It was in 1970, at the age of thirteen years, that I started in budgerigars. Like many breeders, I started with a couple of pet birds obtained from a local breeder who worked with my mother. It was a natural progression to seek exhibition-quality stock and I was able to obtain four pairs from Warwickshire breeders Bob and Malcolm Rathbone. I bred these birds for a couple of years before joining the Budgerigar Society in 1972. I visited the Rathbones establishment perhaps twice a week, helping them, and generally learning the basics of caring for my budgies. My original Rathbone stock originated from the very successful Trigg partnership which was one of the Midland's top studs at that time.

Early Success

I did reasonably well as a junior, culminating in winning third best junior breeder at the 1972 BS Club show in Leicester. It really is a pity that there are so few juniors coming through nowadays and getting involved. In 1973 I stepped up to beginner and around the same time went to college. My father stepped in to look after the birds. Unfortunately I found it impossible to continue and in 1975 I sold my stock.

It is the single thing I most regret during my time in budgerigars. Had I persevered, my birds would be a lot better today. My experience is not uncommon, for a number of beginners and novices today kept budgerigars in the past. I really do believe that once budgies are in your blood they are always there. If you are a beginner contemplating giving up I would caution you to stick at it. It will pay dividends in the long run.

I got married in 1981 and just two weeks later was made redundant! It was during this period that I saw an advert in the local paper offering zebra finches for sale. I had time on my hands so I built an aviary and later added cockatiels, red rumps and rosellas to the original zebra finches. In 1982 I added a pair of budgerigars.

Original Shed Returns

When I had given up earlier, my first shed was inherited by my cousin. Now it was no longer needed it came back to me. In 1984 I rejoined the BS and also joined my local club Nuneaton CBS. Unfortunately, the Rathbone partnership had given up the hobby, so I could not seek stock there. Colin Putt lived near me and suggested that I contact Mick Payne if I was looking tor some "Trigg blood". I went looking for one pair and returned with four pairs all of which bred. I returned time and time again until sadly, he too left the hobby.

I moved in 1987 to my present home in Kidderminster. My current birdroom is ten feet by eight feet. I could do with a bigger birdroom, but frankly there is little room in my garden to expand. I have but sixteen breeding cages and retain approximately twenty-five cocks and thirty-five hens.

Actually, the restrictions imposed by the size of my garden are not entirely negative. Starting a small stud and building up has a lot to offer. It leads one to a much more selective approach. Starting too big can lead to inferior birds being retained simply to fill additional cages. A small set-up also means that looking after your stock does not become a chore. Most working people cannot spend more than two hours a day caring for their birds. It's far easier to fail to notice a sick bird when you have a large stud.

My lighting is fluorescent, but it may surprise you to learn I have no dimmer or night-light. Heating, I believe, is more often than not for the benefit of the fancier than the birds. The one year I provided heat I had more dead-in-shell and addled eggs than normal. I have found that breeding results are better if the winter is bad. Do the hens sit on the eggs tighter? Although I have no heating the shed is well insulated and the temperature never falls below 45 degrees.

Get Involved

I have always been happy to take on administrative work. When I was a junior I was a founder member of Atherstone CBS and on the committee at 14. I joined Nuneaton CBS in 1984 and was its patronage secretary. Anyone who thinks there are too many rosettes at a budgerigar show should try that job. In January 1989 I became a member of Worcester BS. One month later I was on the committee!

Currently I hold the positions of Chairman, General Secretary and Show Secretary. I have derived great benefit and enjoyment from my involvement in administering, and would urge more people to have a go. Jobs are never as difficult as you think. There are plenty of people who know the ropes, willing to help. One job alone is not hard work, and after all, your club meetings are just another night to talk and learn about budgerigars.

I feed Trill, and have done so since our club bought ten bags to meet Trill patronage conditions some four or five years ago. Mv birds seemed to like it, and breeding results improved. My sixteen pairs producing, on average, one hundred and twenty chicks.

I also feed a dish of Turners tonic seed. Groats and oats are fed alternate weekends. The oats, I soak for twenty-four hours and then drain. To the groats I add a teaspoon of cod-liver oil. This is a chance to introduce cod-liver oil to the diet without overdoing it. Be careful not to overdo vitamins. Birds can suffer just as much from excess vitamins as an insufficiency. Grit, cuttlefish and iodine blocks are available all year round.

Reluctance To Take Softfood

I have struggled over the years to get my birds to take softfood. At various times I have tried EMP, bread and milk, and Trill's breeding diet. Some birds have picked at the dishes, others ignored them completely. Last year Hunibrite offered a tub of their product to all National class winners. l took home three tubs and by chance found that all my pairs took to it when it was offered in finger drawers. I don't know if it works, but my birds like it. Groats and milk has proven a partial success as a softfood, but you must change it daily to prevent the milk going off. Hunibrite has the added advantage of not requiring any mixing.

Keep Costs Down

Don't run before you can walk is good advice. Also try to be easy on your pocket. To this end, and on my wife's advice (she works in a bank!), I opened a separate bank account. All the money from bird sales is deposited to this account. I would advise anyone to do this, otherwise the money you take in from sales has a tendency to get spent! Then when you need to purchase an outcross it hurts your pocket unnecessarily.

Find a breeder or two, who are prepared to take an interest in you. Get involved with them and obtain reasonable birds that breed. Be willing to stick with it for a few years, as your best results may not be evident in year one. Next year, aim to obtain a better outcross from the same source. Once Mick Payne had left the hobby I struggled for a few years and the birds did not perform well. Previously, I had always been dealing with related stock. You can be lucky with a complete outcross, but in my experience the quality can take a while to work its way through. Once your own stud is better, you may only need to import one feature, for example, spot size. I keep all except the Recessive varieties, for example Recessive Pieds and Clearwings. If starting out, I would advise beginning with Normals, Opalines and Cinnamons. These can be combined with Blue, Pied and Spangle. You will find it easy to dispose of surplus birds of these colours and varieties, which again keeps the cost down. I would not specialise in any one colour, but I do believe some of the rares varieties require some experience because of the degree of difficulty in breeding good ones.

Judging - Another Experience

A couple of years ago I finally reached champion status, and so another aspect of our hobby opened up to me. As you have gathered I like to be involved, therefore it was natural I should want to try my hand at judging. I have served two years on the subsidiary panel and undergone six assessments under different judges. Even if you have no intention of becoming a judge, the experience is extremely worthwhile. It gives a valuable insight into the finer points that the judges look for. Many people have no idea how little time their exhibit has, in front of the judge, to impress. A quick glance at a bird at a show does not always spot the missing flight or opalescence the judge, on closer examination, has seen. I have learned much but perhaps I have been lucky with my assessors.

If I can offer one small criticism, it would be the height of the main panel judge compared with the trainee. Until we have adjustable tables I will always suffer as the height, rightly so, is set for the assessor. I have done training with one judge much smaller than I. I finished the day with a bad back! Incidentally I have always found it easier to judge a class of birds all the same colour. A class of six Cinnamon Light Greens, for example, would be easier than one which contained Cinnamon Greys and Cinnamon Blues. I wonder if other judges feel this way too? I judged a cage-bird show on the club show weekend in 1994 and find myself with an engagement this year too. The thought has crossed my mind that they cannot find anyone else who is not going to Doncaster!

Give Your Birds A Chance

I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to show preparation. When my young birds leave the nest they are put in a very small flight. Actually, it is three feet by two feet by two feet. They stay there until their first moult begins. There is a show cage attached to the flight. An old trick I know, but an effective one. Twice a week I put a millet spray in the show cage to attract the youngsters into the cage. I do not carry out any other specific training but I'm a great believer in young stock and nest feather shows. These provide the best training of all. The birds are put in the car, travel to the show, learn what a judging stick is, have to spend a sustained period in the cage and experience a lot of noise. At the end of it they are expected to perform just like the big shows later in the season.

You cannot expect a bird to perform well at its first open show if it has not had any showing experience beforehand.

As the show nears, I catch the young birds and place them in stock cages, which are four breeding cages in a row. From four weeks before the show I spray them every day with warm water. I start spraying the adults a little nearer the show, maybe two to three weeks beforehand. The water I put in the spray is very hot as it will be a fine mist when it touches the bird, and is only lukewarm at that point. Warm water helps take the oil out of the feather and also takes any dirt. Using cooler water near to the show allows the oil to return and gives the feathers a sheen. I stop spraying two days before the show.

Hairdressing Scissors

For the last two years I have changed my method of trimming the masks of my show team. I have taken to cutting the feathers rather than pulling them, because it creates a better appearance. Pulling too many spots can leave an almost bald area. Also you have the feathers growing back so quickly and risk blood splattered masks if you pull them again, and untidy masks if you leave them alone. I use very fine hairdressing scissors. After a good trim the mask may not need further work for the remainder of the show season. The day before the show I shampoo the bird's head and face with Johnson's baby shampoo. I find this brings out a nice texture on the head especially red-eyes. Depending on the bird I might also wash the tail and flights.

I spend a lot of time preparing my birds for shows. I like them to be shown in immaculate condition. Otherwise I cannot see the point in taking them to a show. If one of the team drops a spot or has pin feathers it simply does not get taken. I would rather take an inferior bird. of the same colour, which is tip top.

The same goes for my cages which are washed after every show. Once dry, the cage is filled with fresh seed then the label is stuck on. Then I polish the cages with furniture polish. Never before, or the label will not stick. Lastly, the bird is placed in the cage. Returning to my earlier theme of keeping things low cost all my cages were obtained second-hand and painted. The inside is painted with texas eggshell white. Not a gloss, which can cause the bird to be disturbed by its reflection, and not an emulsion which over time has a tendency to wash off. None of my twenty cages cost more than 10 and none have been painted in the last four years. Sadly, there are always people selling up, therefore always opportunities to pick up second-hand cages.

I prefer to take my birds to shows the night before if possible, but of course, for shows some distance, it is more convenient to travel in the morning. I try not to show any one bird more than four times, especially hens, though over a season I probably average about ten shows, including the local cage birds club events, which I like to support.

Original text Copyright 1995, Geoff Tillson

Back to General