Budgerigar Breeders | Show Preparation & Training - B.Sweeting - 03/2006

Show Preparation & Training of Young Birds - Brian Sweeting - March 2006

Assessment in the nest box, marking the record card

I assess young birds at just a few days old by examining the head width and shape, always looking for a very wide skull and small beak. At this stage I check the colour of the down on the bird, which tells me if it is a cock, hen, opaline or normal. White down indicates an opaline and grey a normal. Also knowing the parents genetic make up helps in identification of sex. This information can be noted on the bird's record at this stage, however I usually leave it until I can also establish the colour. At three to four weeks the outstanding young birds can easily be spotted, in fact they pick themselves. These are the birds that should I work on to gain their confidence. The records are updated and every young bird is assessed and given a rating, such as g = good, vg = very good etc, my top rating is 'wow'. Many fanciers do this some use a rating 1H, 2H etc. It is very important to make an assessment at this stage as once the birds go into stock cages they decline in appearance due to having to fend for themselves. At this stage I quote my old friend, Harry Bryan, who said 'If you like 'em in the box lad, you'll like 'em when they grow up'. How true I have found this to be.

Gaining the confidence of young birds

I handle the youngsters that fit into VG and above categories as much as possible, ensuring that humans do not frighten them. This prepares them for future training in the show cage. Having said that, I handle all my chicks to steady them, as I do not like nervous flighty birds. Once a young bird realises that being handled is not going to hurt, it is happy to be handled and is easily steadied when introduced to a show training cage.

Removal from parents

This is a very critical stage in the life of a young bird. I used to favour leaving them with their parents for as long as possible, thinking that the maximum amount of food fed by the parents would be invaluable to its development. However, as I have experienced many poor second and third rounds of eggs, I have taken heed of an article written recently by a South American fancier whose theory is that, cocks are not interested in the hen (or they are infertile) when feeding chicks. So I now remove the youngsters as soon as I am sure they are feeding themselves and place them in stock cages with birds that are already fully weaned. These older chicks can often be seen feeding the young ones that are calling for food. This has resulted in improved second/third rounds

Show cage training

The young birds have been roughly sorted out at this stage and the best are introduced into stock cages with training cages attached. I keep the birds quite crowded at this stage as I believe that this helps settle them. All perches are at the same height in each stock cage to prevent squabbling for the highest perches at night. Stock cages are four feet in length and eighteen inches deep and up to twenty youngsters are placed in each cage. Over the next six/seven weeks, as they mature, they are removed from the stock cages and placed in show cages. Occasionally I take them indoors to get them used to being carried around in a show cage (as they would at a show). At this time they are introduced to the judging stick and a single tap on the front rail of the cage is administered to get them on the perch.

Breaking bars, check for flecking

When the young birds reach approximately twelve weeks they start to drop their young feather. This shows firstly in the head cap where new pin feathers can be seen. I was given a good tip some years ago regarding breeding with flecked birds. To provide a check for flecking in their offspring, pull a couple of head cap feathers as soon as they start to grow. The new feathers that grow back will be their adult plumage, thus showing signs of flecking at a very early age. If the flecking is severe the parents can be split and repaired quickly this to avoid breeding lots of flecked birds.

Growing on, constant checking, flight and tail feathers removal

Once the young birds start their first moult they are released into small inside flights. The first flight is only six feet long x three feet wide x five feet high. The birds are monitored daily and any broken flights or tail feathers are removed. If the young birds do not moult their tail feathers in the first few weeks, the tail is cut with scissors and pulled after a further two weeks, but only one tail at a time. The theory behind this is that the birds body stops feeding the damaged feather and the quill will reduce in size in preparation for it to moult out normally. There is less chance of damaging the feather follicle this way. This enables young birds that are bred over the new year period to be fully moulted out and in full adult plumage by the first week in May ready for the early club member's shows. After these shows all spots are removed from the birds that I feel will be in the show team for the larger Open shows.

After several weeks in the small flight the birds are moved on to larger flights to get good exercise and develop their bodies. All perches are at the highest possible position with the food at ground floor level to encourage up and down flying as well as distance.

All birds are checked regularly, feathers that become damaged or broken are removed, If I have to remove several wing flights I put the bird back in a stock cage until flights have grown back.

Feeding

Feeding is kept quite simple; they have a basic mixture of 50/50 canary and mixed millets. Millet sprays are given daily and soft food is offered twice a day in finger drawers. This puts weight on them which inevitably helps them through a long day at a show. If the weather is very hot, I take moistened soft food to the show and give them to prevent them dehydrating. At two-day shows such as at the BS Club Show they are given a drinker overnight which contains a multi-vitamin solution (high in vitamin C) to help reduce stress.

Stock cage 8 weeks before show

My first show is usually Worcester, early in July. In preparation for this show, the prospective show team, together with reserves, are caged in mid May and tails and wings are straightened. All perches in the show team stock cages have been set at such a height that birds on the cage floor cannot reach up and bite the tails of birds on the perches (approximately eleven/twelve inches high). During the first few weeks the birds are simply monitored and fed very well with a good mix of seed, soft food and plenty of millet sprays. Like all other birds in my stud, they are given multi-vitamin in their water for two days each week.

Show cage attached, feeding in show cage

I use very long stock cages for my show team; they are ten feet long and twenty-one inches deep. This cage will house up to sixteen young birds. At one end, removable partition can be inserted to allow spraying to take place. A show cage is attached to each stock cage and soft food and millet sprays are placed in them several times a day to encourage entry and accustom them to eating in a show cage whilst at a show.

Cleaning, spraying and maintaining condition

As mentioned earlier, I straighten tails and flights when the birds first enter the show team stock cages; they are also roughly cleaned up. Spraying starts approximately four weeks before the first show and is carried out every two days. A few spots of Plume spray is added to boiled water for the first two spraying sessions. In hot weather, however, they are sprayed daily with clear water and sometimes twice a day on extremely hot days. This aspect of my show preparation has greatly improved since taking early retirement recently as I am able to do it during the day, in particular, spraying on hot days. I am also around to switch on extra fans to keep the temperature as constant as possible. Wide variations in temperature can cause the birds to go into a soft moult.

Face trimming, washing

Face trimming is carried out over several weeks. Spots above the main spot are cut and the shadow spots are remove with tweezers. I like to catch each bird and cut a few spots at a time from each side of its mask then put it a show cage for short period which I believe is less stressful than doing it all at once. Pulling of shadow spots is done two days before the first show. Face washing is done the prior to a show and checked again before the birds are put into cages on the day of the show. I use a soft toothbrush and cotton buds for head and mask cleaning, and the best tweezers money can buy. It is important to have good tweezers with blades that touch evenly across the point of contact. I use Johnsons baby shampoo for all cleaning. Occasionally I use peroxide for stubborn stains on the head, wing flights and tails of clear flighted birds such as red eyes and dominant pieds. If using peroxide be very careful as this can cause severe damage if the bird should get in its eyes or mouth. I use a cotton bud to apply peroxide to the head which allows greater control.

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