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The birds are watched closely prior to putting them up to breed. I made a statement earlier that I felt a bird in show condition is a bird that is more than likely in breeding condition. There are also other factors aside from the look of the bird that is required before breeding. The cocks must be aggressive, chasing one another around the flight, banging their beaks on the walls, and chattering up a storm. The hens also have to look like they are in good condition, chirping to the cocks, and chewing up every bit of wood and branches they can find. The more chatter, the better. I don't necessarily pay attention to the Cere colour of the hen, as I find that they do not all turn nutty brown. I have had some hens that remained whitish tan that bred quite well. More attention is paid to the texture of the Cere. A mature hen will show somewhat of a rougher texture. I will not put up a bird that is not in condition and showing these traits. Remember the better condition of the birds placed up to breed, the better the chances for success in the nest. For the most part, the birds that are placed up to breed will be one year of age or older. There are exceptions to the rule. Several times I have placed birds up to breed as young as ten months. These birds matured much earlier.

How much does pedigree and visual attributes influence your pairing decisions? How do you actually pair up?

The pedigree is first and foremost if correctly maintained. The pedigree is very important for expectations, but I try to influence the odds of breeding better birds, by breeding the birds that are visually better within the given lines. For instance, I will breed a pair of birds that produce 12 chicks. Since I only maintain 24 breeding cages there will be no need to breed all these siblings. The birds that are visually superior will be kept and bred. I find that most of time, the better quality offspring will come from the visually better birds within the lines.

If I have a pair of birds that only produce two chicks, but the pedigree is from my best line or a line that is starting to disappear, I will keep and breed them both. Of course if they are of no quality what so ever, then they have to go and that line will be maintained another way. I keep very good records of my birds. They go back prior to 1975 when I bred my first exhibition bird. Pedigrees were supplied with the birds that were originally acquired. As stated, pedigree is very important as far as background and expectations, but must be maintained and documented properly. Visual looks within a given pedigree or line can then be properly utilized for best results.

Three lines are maintained in the aviary. When pairing birds you want to breed birds with as few faults as possible. You do not want to breed fault to fault. This will solidify the fault in the offspring. When pairing the birds they must compliment one another. They should have similar features (good ones) that will carry to the youngsters. No birds are perfect in every way, but try to limit the faults in your birds by not breeding them into the stud.

Of course there will be those birds that will have a fault but are too good not to breed. For instance, I had an outstanding hen that was slightly flecked. Her other qualities far outweighed the fault. However when breeding the hen I had to make sure that the cock used, had no flecking himself, or in his background. The results were no flecked offspring, but I am sure that some will pop up in future generations. However I will be able to track it properly due to my record keeping.

I also like to use first cousins out of the hens to solidify the look I want in my birds. These hens must be of super quality themselves out of an outstanding pairing. From these hens I will select the best visual young birds (offspring) and breed cousin to cousin the next breeding season. This solidifies the look that I want in my birds. Of course, I will then have to breed out to another line or outcross to maintain the size and make sure my birds do not become too close.

Do you handle or mark eggs or use fosters, and if a complete clutch of clear eggs is laid what do you do?

I think we all have problems in the nest boxes, for one reason or another, so whether we mean to or not we will foster both eggs and chicks out. It is not done intentionally, however I do use fostering of eggs and chicks every year, almost without fail. Even though the birds have a high fertility rate, there will always be the pair or two that give no fertile eggs or maybe one or two fertile eggs. There will also be the pair that does not feed the first chick, or the pair that has nine fertile eggs. For this reason I will move the eggs or chicks to other pairs for raring. Before moving the chicks around I like to have them banded first, but this is not always the case. When moving the chicks that are not banded good records must be maintained. Also when the chick feathers you may have to check the pedigree to properly identify the parents.

I do number the eggs with a felt marker, which makes it easier to keep track of. This is the only time I handle the eggs, other than to move them to another nest after they are marked. I handle them as little as possible. I will move fertile eggs to a pair of birds that have none of their own. They do a fine job of hatching and raring the chicks. Nine out of ten times the second clutch of eggs, from this pair, will have some fertility. I also will move fertile eggs to pairs that only have one or two of their own. This balances off the amount of chicks in nests and balances out the stress level among the pairs. So even though the fostering is done, pairs are not intentionally put together for this purpose.

Do you handle the chicks in the nest very much, if so how? Also, do you grade your chicks while they are still in the nest and how do you spot a promising youngster? How do you wean your chicks? Do you make any diet changes?

The chicks are handled regularly, once they have been banded. Before banding I may have to move a chick to another box for one reason or another, but most handling is done after they are banded. I check the chicks for cleanliness. The bands and feet are cleaned of any droppings. Also some birds are messy feeders so excess food is cleaned from the beaks. Crops are checked to make sure they are fed properly. Chicks are also handled when having to change the draw and bedding, but this is quickly done. The chicks are also checked to make sure that the parents are raring them without harming them. All boxes and chicks are inspected on a daily basis.

Grading of the chicks is done just prior to moving them to the baby flight. Most of the really good ones will stand out. They will have good size with great confirmation, with good head and wide shoulders. Those band numbers are written down with any others that may look promising. I will look for desired features on these birds. Even though they may lack size other qualities such as feather, head and shoulder, type, may catch my eye. Of course they will go through stages of growth and they are constantly graded. There are the surprises. Some birds that are nothing to look at have surprised me after the second moult, but for the most part, birds that looked like they were the good ones when placed in the baby cage end up being the better ones.

Since the diet is quite varied, I have not had to change anything while the chicks are being raised. Once they start to come out of the nest I will make sure that there is plenty of millet spray and soft food available to them. Plus a constant visual is done to make sure they are okay and starting to eat on their own. For the most part the chicks are moved to the baby flight between 34 and 38 days. Some take a little longer and those are the ones that need to be watched carefully when they are moved. For some reason they lack the motivation to fend for themselves. For the first couple of days I will place their head over the drinker to make sure they get water. I will do the same wit the soft food and make sure they eat. After awhile they will get the idea and start to fill themselves with nutrition.

Tell us about your record keeping.

My records are currently maintained in binders and are manually maintained for the most part. Record keeping actually starts with the breeding cards that are used during the breeding season. All info is placed on these cards. Parents, eggs laid and hatched dates, band numbers of chicks, colour and type, foster info, raring, issues with parents, strengths and weaknesses of the breeding pair, which chicks look better than others, age before going into baby flight and on and on. All information is transferred to breeding sheets with the pedigrees into binders. The birds can be tracked back to well before I started in the hobby. Some of the information is maintained on the computer and transferred to the manuals, but very little. An attempt was made to place all this info to a computer program and year 1992 was reached before the computer crashed and all info was wiped out. This will teach me to have a proper backup file. I will attempt to transfer the info again to the computer program but this time, start from a later date and maintain a proper backup file. Then at my leisure enter the older information.

Exhibiting

Give details of show successes. How many birds would you typically show?

Over the years I have had many successes with the birds. Some stick out more than others. For instance, two years in a row, at the ABS All American (1979 and 1980) fourth best in show was attained. This was as an intermediate breeder. Over the years my birds were awarded many best in shows. In the past several years my Light Greens and Grey Greens have been very strong averaging three to four best in shows a year. Other wins include best opposite sex, best young and best opposite sex young at many shows. In 2002 my birds had four best in shows. The one that stands out the most was at the 2002 BAA Grand National. Best in show was taken with a Grey Green Cock. Best young in show was also attained, with a Light Green Cock. At the 2001 BAA Grand National my birds also did well placing second best in show along with best opposite sex in show.

If the show is a local show I will enter 12 to 25 birds depending on the condition. If it is a show I have to travel a long distance to then I will bring seven to ten entries. For instance I have shown as far as California and Phoenix this year. Both trips are over 3,000 miles away.

What preparation would your team have? Do you use any specific training methods?

As stated, I spray my birds all year round. However, sometimes more than others, depending on the time of year. For instance, when the weather gets to about 80 degrees, they are sprayed more often. Two months before the show season the birds are sprayed on a daily basis until three weeks before the first show. Then they are sprayed every other day up until four days before the show. The birds are groomed three days before the show and given a fine spray at that time. Then a last look and quick touch ups, if needed, prior to entry.

Actual show cages are used for training. For the most part, I have found that most of my birds love the show cage and have a bit of show off attitude, so I do not have to spend a lot of time with them. The birds are first introduced to a show cage at about three months of age. An older bird is placed, in the show cage with each young bird. This sort of relaxes the younger bird and also shows him the ropes. The next visit will be alone with an older bird next to the younger ones in a separate cage. They are faced off so that the younger bird can see the older bird going through his paces. A training stick is also used. I will then slowly introduce the same training to the young bird, getting him used to the judging stick. At this point the birds will also be kept in show cages for several hours, with the more stubborn ones spending the night. I have found that this routine works rather well for my birds.

What do you do when you return from a show?

This depends upon the show. If it is a local show there is nothing special that is done, other than to isolate the show team for a couple of days to keep an eye on them. I will administer a Probiotic in the drinking water for one day. Normally after two days they are returned to the flight cages.

If it is a show that requires long distance travel, and a several day stay over, then a little different procedure is followed. I take my own drinking water with me or I will purchase bottled water for this trip. I also carry my own collapsing cage. This is put together once we reach our destination. The birds are given plenty millet spray and fresh water prior to entering. Upon returning home the birds are once again isolated and provided a Probiotic in the drinking water for three days. They will be given a very high protein diet while in isolation. I will constantly observe the birds. How they behave during the next fourteen days is of the utmost importance. If the birds are very active and eating properly then they are placed back in the flight after the fourteenth day. Occasionally there will be a bird that may look somewhat down. That bird will be separated into a smaller cage. For preventive measures an all purpose antibiotic will be administered for three days, then another three days of probiotics. The bird normally comes around and is returned to the large flight.

General

How and when do you choose what to keep and what to sell?

As stated the birds are first graded prior to placing them in the baby flight. These records are referred to constantly. Comments are added to the original ratings. Once they have gone through their first moult all birds will be graded again. This is at approximately four months old. They will be graded first by family line and then across lines. Of course there will be the birds that will standout as immediate keepers, and some that will be immediate culls. At this time I do not compare the younger birds to the older ones. The birds are once again graded and marked in order of family line and then overall among families. The number of keepers, in each family line, is also tracked. The reason for this is that several individuals will be looking for visually high quality birds from my different lines. I do not want to leave myself short on a any given line of that type bird. For example, only if I only have 10 high quality birds from line number 3 then I know I cannot afford to let any of those birds go.

The next rating is done between eight months and one year. The same process is used. I will also bring a good percentage of the older birds into the rating. Approximately 30 percent of the older birds are not brought into the grading process (ones that for one reason or another will never leave the aviary). Once again the birds are rated by family line and then across families. Notations are made as to the birds that will be made available to other breeders.

What is the best tip that you have ever been given?

There were many tips that I can remember, but I guess two standout the most. The first was given to me, when I was just getting started, by the late Jim Brown who I consider my original mentor. Jim told me that I should first visit as many aviaries as possible and go to as many shows as I possibly could before acquiring any birds. He told me to look, listen and learn. Jim also told me to decide on three different breeders to acquire birds from and to make sure that I knew the background of all birds acquired. He didn't want me to get birds from twenty different breeders, which would have hindered my expectations. I feel that this contributed greatly to my successes in the hobby.

The second, although not as significant, was from George Applegate who is no longer in budgies but is now breeding pigeons. I mentioned it earlier. It is the fact that I started to paint my breeding cages a Woodlawn Green colour. I truly believe that this has improved the breeding process.