Over the period of thirty years I have resided at five different abodes where I have established a breeding room at each, for the reproduction of budgerigars. As there is much to take into account when tackling this situation, I have written this article for the benefit of the newcomers to the fancy.
The points to cover are considerable, but not raised to deter anyone from starting, but rather to make aware the considerations necessary. As stated, it is for those with limited experience, but I hope there will be something of interest for most. The four main topics covered are:
Housing
Management and Construction Tips
Breeding
Show Features
When it comes to accommodating the birds, there is much to take into account.
Space available
Local Authorities
Neighbours
Undesirable elements
Birdroom siting
Birdroom features
I, obviously, have no control over the amount of space you will have available, but for many with a limited area this will be the deciding factor when it comes to the size of stud you can maintain. If you can only accommodate a small stud, you will also have to give careful thought to which of the colours you wish to specialise in. Those with unlimited space are only confined by their financial resources, or the amount of time they have available to tend to the birds. Bear in mind that a good deal of time is required when it comes to breeding and show preparation if we are to do our birds justice in both of these fields. Finally, you could be curtailed by the limitations of the next area we need to cover.
The Local Authorities will have some regulation or other covering location, size and type of outbuilding that can be erected and how far it must be from other peoples' property. It will be time well spent if you contact them first and find out just what you can, or cannot, do.
Neighbours can present some problems if you do not give them careful thought. A stud of only fifty birds can make quite a noise and not everyone has the same tolerance when it comes to the incessant chatter of budgerigars. So, besides keeping within the regulations, try and site the birdroom as far away from other people as is possible.
To give you some idea of the setbacks you can encounter if you do not give the forgoing two subjects a lot of consideration, I will tell you the story of what happened to a friend of mine. He laid a concrete base, constructed a birdroom and flights with no complaints from neighbours. After about 6 months one neighbour asked if he could do something about the noise from his birds late at night, so he switched off the night lights. This was all right in the winter, but in the summer it was still a problem and he had to fit blinds to darken the birdroom earlier. After a further 6 months the neighbours felt that the noise during the day was too much (they were retired) so they complained to the Council. The outcome of this was that to stay within the local regulations he had to extend his concrete base 8 feet and move his shed and flights by the same amount. He can now proceed with his normal management but his neighbours still have to put up with the noise. A lot of unnecessary work could have been avoided if he had researched this area first. One final point, if your neighbours have children, encourage them to take an interest in the birds. The time spent with them in the birdroom can be of great value, as their views can have a big influence on how their parents react to the presence of your birds.
Certain trees and plants can play havoc at various times of the year, the notable ones being Yew, Laburnum and also Rhubarb leaves. If these are in close proximity you will have to consider covering the flights where trees are concerned and boarding up the base in the case of plants. You will also have to take into account whether other livestock is close at hand, as this increases the likelihood of mice and rats. In such cases a visit to the local pest control officer can be a great help.
Pigeons and Chickens can also increase the possibility of Red Mite, an obnoxious little creature that can play havoc with the birds if allowed to run riot. I will have more to say on this when we come to the birdroom itself.
When it comes to the birdroom siting, in so far as which way it should face, my experience with five sheds facing in a variety of directions is that it does not really matter. It is generally recognised though that it is best if it faces south, making best use of the available light and thus avoiding north winds.
As stated earlier, the space available, the amount you can afford to spend, and how much time you can devote to the hobby will all be controlling factors in what size of shed you should have. However, if you have the room and the money I strongly advise you to buy or build a shed bigger than is required for your immediate needs, since later, if you do wish to increase your stock, it can be done quite easily. Also remember that you need to store seed, show cages, nestboxes when not in use, other sundry items, plus breeding records and then leave enough room to prepare birds for shows.
Well before construction takes place, treat the area with a powerful weed killer, and then prepare the area allocated to the flights for good drainage.
For the shed foundations, raise it on concrete or brick pillars, placing railway sleepers on top to support the floor evenly. A ground clearance of between 9 to 12 inches is ideal as it allows a good airflow under the shed which keeps the floor in good condition, plus allowing cats free access, which helps minimise the risk of mice.
Before siting the floor, secure thick polystyrene on the underside, in order to prevent heat loss. Also once the floor is down, cover it with a layer of aluminium foil as a further barrier to heat loss. On top of this place a good grade, floor covering.
I favour "fully opening" windows the full length of each end of the shed. With this, one can ensure good ventilation through the birdroom in the hot summer months. My own inside and outside flights are at each end, meaning that with the windows wide open I can double my limited flying space. Finally I also get the benefit of light from two different directions.
Access to the inside flights is by sliding doors. As you will have gathered by now, I only have a small birdroom (13 feet by 9 feet) and by using these it has given me a clearer floor space. However, if you do use this arrangement, make sure the doors slide open inside the flights, otherwise you cannot construct shelving.
Having only small flights, place the seed dishes on the floor, so that the birds get extra exercise by flying upwards.
The inside flights are boarded up for the first 2 feet, as I have found this helps to keep the birdroom reasonably free of seed husks.
Expanding curtain wire is used to retain the cuttlefish on the outside of the cage fronts, the birds having adequate access through the wires. By doing this you ensure the cuttlefish stays free of droppings, especially from the hens when breeding. The minimal extra cost of doing this is soon recouped by the saving on cuttlefish.
Now let us return to the problem of Red Mite. Once the insulation is up I strongly recommend that you treat the shed with a good brand of Anti-mite solution prior to lining and then give it another soaking once the lining is in place. I personally have found Duramitex to be very effective and the effect lasts for a long time. You can also add it to the paint as a further precaution. It does smell a little but this soon passes.
Outside flight frames are supported on second hand breeze blocks which are sunk into the ground for 6 inches, leaving 3 inches above the surface. On top of this, fix 3 inch square wooden runners and the frames are secured to these. The floor is covered with a 6 inch layer of 3/4 inch shingle. There is good drainage underneath and it is a simple job to hose this to keep it clean.
Now we can turn our attention to the subject of breeding birds. When it comes to the beginner obtaining initial stock, the advice given is rather conflicting to say the least. Some will say you should start with pet type birds and gain experience with these, before spending out a large sums of money on your stock birds. On the other hand, others will say, "Why waste time breeding pet birds? Obtain the best and learn as you go accepting any setbacks". Both points of view have their advantages and disadvantages. However, to add to the confusion I have another point of view to put forward for the beginners to consider.
If you are just starting out with budgerigars, it is important that you first learn the husbandry of the hobby. Instead of doing this with pet birds or expensive stock, I suggest that you find out who is the local and most successful Open Show Novice exhibitor (ideally one who obtains his breeding stock from a notable Champion breeder). From him purchase several pairs of his second string young birds bred from his good stock, i.e. the ones that do not show the desirable show features but can carry it in their background. These birds can usually be obtained quite reasonably.
If you do get some reasonable results using this method you can always go back to your source of supply to upgrade your stock, or, if your financial position is sound, you can go to the person who supplied him.
Many Beginners hear the jargon used to describe the good and bad points of birds on show and in the main many do not fully appreciate the points being discussed. Most are too embarrassed to ask for clarification.
Some of these phrases are:
"The bird shows a lot of face" This denotes that the bird has a good width between the eyes, a punched in beak, browiness over the eyes, a good width through the neck, a wide and deep mask with an even spread of spots of a uniform size (5 to 6mm).
"Width between the eyes" This relates to the skull width and is nothing to do with feather - difficult for most beginners to recognise as a difference of one to two millimetres can be a lot.
"Browiness" Feather structure which makes the feathers hang over the eyes making the eyes appear elongated and small.
"Cap length (desirable feature)" Distance the buff or yellow (i.e. coarse or fine) feathers of the cap extend beyond the eye.
"Long flight" The true long flight has more than 7 exposed primary flights and can have up to as many as 10. It also has a very long tail which often hangs down. Usually a deep masked and big headed bird, but often not appreciated because of its bigger body size.
"Trousers on" The bird doesn't have the strength to stand up on its legs, tends to drop down and because it is usually a buff feathered bird, the feathers hid the birds' feet from view.
"Heavy Flue" No taper between the legs back to the tail, once again usually a buff bird.
"Pulling" The bird is unsettled and feathers are drawn down tight on the head, often masking its good features which normally rise due to the feather structure.
"Substance" The framework of the bird, it needs to be substantial. A lot of buff birds seem to have this feature, but when they 'pull' you can see that it is all feather.
"Shoulder or Neck" This is the area from the top of the head to the top of the wing butts. When viewed from the front, this area should be filled in, giving no indication of a shoulder outline. Very full at the back.
"Flecking" Dark markings on the surface feathers of the cap. Sometimes also called Grizzle.
"Smokey" Dark marking on the underlying feathers of the cap, giving it a distinct smokey appearance.
"Opalescence in Normals" Body colouring spilling over into the normal yellow or white markings at the side of the neck. This is an undesirable feature and arises because of the excessive use of Opalines.
"Thumb print" This is the term used to explain a feature that is undesirable in the wings of Opalines. It is a reduction of the black markings in the butt of the wing, covering an area the size of a thumb print. This area is the same as the body colour.
"Grizzle (Opalines)" This applies to the black striations at the back of the neck. In the opaline varieties these striations are broken and of a paler colour than in the normals, giving the bird a grizzled appearance.
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