GETTING EXTRA EGGS
In the UK, November traditionally marks the culmination of the Show Season with the Budgerigar Society World Show that is held at Doncaster Race Course each year. Although under the BS rules, January 31st is the official end to the season, very few shows are staged after the Club Show event. Those of you that have attended in the past will know that it is a really super occasion, where you can meet fellow fanciers, see some good budgerigars and socialise.
Those of you in the UK that have stuck with the tradition of pairing up at the end of November for the early January new years ring issue will be making ready for the marriage ceremony between your selected pairs of birds. If you have decided to use fosters parents in conjunction with your best pairs, it is good practice to put the fosters into the breeding cages a couple of days ahead of the main pairings to ensure that the surrogate parents have eggs which can be switched. It is also wise to mark the quality bird's eggs as they are placed in the new nest so that they do not get confused with any further eggs laid.
To assist with getting more eggs from our key pairs one should realise that there are 2 egg producing types of bird. These are known as determinate and indeterminate layers. In the first instance, the number of eggs to be laid in a clutch is determined as the commencement of the clutch, whereas the indeterminate layer can, if given the right circumstances lay almost continually. The Budgerigar is the former of these and so little can be gained from waiting to see when the first egg is full and then discarding the clear ones hoping that a full clutch will eventually be laid. However if we start fostering the eggs as they are laid, so that the hen does not sit on them, you will find that the number of eggs laid will increase. The reason for this is by not allowing the hen to sit, we in fact trigger the next cycle of egg production which starts after about 10 days. This therefore gives the impression that the hen has laid an extra large clutch of eggs, whereby in reality, it was two clutches of eggs that were laid.
GOOD PROGRESS ON FEATHER RESEARCH
Terry Jukes, tells me that progress is good with respect to the research programme that is a joint initiative between his Society and the B.S. One project undertaken by John Baker was connected with feather diseases, excluding French Moult.
It would appear that three problems account for the majority of cases that have been put before John Baker. These are feather cysts, pulpitis and polyfollicles. It has been observed that all the birds suffering from feather cysts are of the course feathered variety and fall under the category of 'tailess wonders'. Pulpitis is seen as inflation of the pulp and causes deformation of the feather. Further work is taking place to discover the nature of the infection. Finally, polyfollicles describes multiple feathers growing from the same follicle and is possibly a genetic problem.
There are very few words or phrases, which are universally common and recognised by all races. I would hazard to guess that the most common of these would be Mickey Mouse, Coca-Cola and MacDonalds. However, it would appear that the latest phrase to join these is the expression "Tailess Wonders". Instantly recognisable as an apt description for the Super Budgerigar that never grows or re-grows its tail feathers; a bird that has all the potential of being a top show bird that is spoilt by the absence of its two main primary feathers.
Being an English phrase it would be reasonable to assume that the "Tailess Wonders" originated on these shores and as the major exporters of Exhibition Budgerigars we have distributed this disappointing specimen both far and wide. Unlike a new mutation, which has definite genetic implications, the "Tailess Wonder" appears to be a mystery so far, as to its cause. It is highly likely that it is virus based resulting in irreparable damage to the main feather follicles. True, the "Tailess Wonder" does imply that only the tails of these birds are affected but more and more we see flight feathers also being included in the malady.
The danger is that we will begin to accept these birds as a phenomenon of the species and just like one particular show in Holland, which is staged for stock bird, they can be exhibited. Fortunately for the fancier and the birds, there are a number of scientific studies being undertaken in this and other countries throughout the World. We eagerly await the results so that hopefully we can put pay to this unfortunate occurrence.
TOO SOON TO TELL
It is too early to tell if the current breeding season in the UK shows any improvement over the previous few years. One thing that we can be certain of is that it cannot be much worse for some of those unfortunate fanciers who drew virtual blanks for no apparent reason last year. As I have said before, nature shows no respect for experience and those breeders who have had many years in the hobby can be left reeling with the disappointment of a poor season. It has been stated that much of our problems in Britain is associated with the ring issue date. As a result, we are compelled to pair up out of phase with nature, if we wish to have young in the nest box at the beginning of January and the arrival of the new years rings. While this may be a contributing factor perhaps there are other items that we should also consider.
It has become common practice in the last decade to pair birds of well under 12 months of age and sometimes as young as 6 months. A couple of years ago I remember attending a show that was late in the season whereby in a breeder cock class, the first and second was father and son. The reason often given for pairing birds when they are so young is that the larger buff feathered birds will not breed over the age of a year. We also recognise that in the wild the budgerigar will reproduce from the age of 12 weeks but I just wonder how relevant this is to our stock. What is worth considering is that the wild bird - while being much smaller, is also a well muscled creature and carries very little fat. In comparison, our exhibition birds tend to be fat and do not receive sufficient exercise to become toned and as they grow older so their breeding potential suffers through this.
While quality must surely be ahead of quantity in the breeding pens, it is preferable to achieve a balance of both of these commodities. Some of the problems that we are experiencing may be due to us selecting the best visual specimens for the breeding cages but omitting the fact that their parents were low quantity producers. The hen that lays just a few fertile eggs in each clutch may quite easily pass this trait onto her daughters and the lethargic cock with a low sperm count that rarely mates anyway may also transmit his ways to the occasional son that he may sire. Despite the fact that these progeny show magnificent promise in the show arena their breeding prowess, or lack of it, is a distinct disadvantage to us.
FEEDERS AND FOSTERS
For many fanciers the current breeding season has been another disastrous one in succession. When this happens, ones stock is of course getting older and thus becomes more and more unreliable as time goes on. What may also have happened is that although poor results were experienced earlier on subsequent rounds have been more successful. The problem that we will then face is next year, when the breeding pairs will be too young to use at the start of the season. However, it is my view that quality chicks are always welcome whatever their hatching date is and whatever year ring they are wearing.
It is generally recommended that foster parents, acting as feeders to our better quality pairs be set up at the commencement of the season so that they allow for extra chicks to be gained from the top birds. Personally, I also consider it useful to use fosters at the tail end of the season as well. This is particularly beneficial if you have adult birds that you wish to prepare for early shows but are a little loathe to break them up while they are reproducing well.
In this instance there are two choices of fosters which may be used. There are those pairs that are perhaps not producing the quality that had been anticipated or new pairs, put down specifically for fostering. In the case of the latter, timing is of the essence and in the former, luck plays a part in getting the phasing in parallel. The other alternative is using the distribution method whereby chicks or eggs from the top pairs are distributed amongst other nests. In this instance it is better to move chicks after they have been rung to guarantee no loss of family traceability.
I received a letter from Kelwyn Kakoschke in South Australia. He has a magnificent stud of budgerigars that are founded on 100% English imports. One could be guilty of assuming that Kelwyn would be experiencing similar problems to us in the UK considering the origin of his stock but this is certainly not the case. In his own words, "I paired up the birds in July and have 600 young on the perches and about another 200 due to be rung soon. It is one of those seasons where you just don't seem to be able to make a mistake. The quality is superb with many massive birds, good bone structure and feather length and lovely faces. They are far superior to any of the birds originally imported." There is a good possibility that Kelwyn's success is down to the fact that he has bred at a similar time to the indigenous population in this part of Australia but hopefully we will get many reports of similar success rates over here as the season progresses.
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