In our opinion , just some basic tips for beginners in the fancy:
Patience
- It takes time, dedication and a passion for the hobby to achieve results,not only on the show bench, but also to build a good quality Stud of budgies. If you don't have patience, the hobby is definitely not for you. It may take several years before you breed good quality birds.
Know your birds
- Knowing your birds, you will become more acquainted with their habits and behaviour, thus assisting you in taking care of their well being.
Attending Shows and Visiting other Breeders
- By attending shows you will get a very good idea of what the ideal Show Budgie should look like. Without familiarizing yourself with this, you won't make any progress as you won't be able to recognize the faults in your own birds. Don't feel disheartened when you go back home after a show and you did not obtain the results you wished for , rather assess what the actual problem was, give one step back and work from there on. Remember, although a competitive hobby, if you are only in it for the exhibiting part, you will fail miserably. Get your mindset right to have a fair balance between "Why you are actually keeping budgies" versus "The exhibiting part"
- Do make time to visit other breeders to get some insight of how they manage their daily chores within their Studs. Ask questions and steal with your eyes!
Only buy from respective breeders
- It's fairly easy to obtain good quality birds from Champion breeders these days. Try to stick with one breeder that has a good genetical pool of birds. This will make it much easier as many of the Champion breeders already have a strong established bloodline. Buying from different breeders in the beginning stages will probably jeopardize your chances of progress as you will now need to establish a new bloodline which may take a considerate amount of time. You may need to buy outcrosses at a later stage to improve on certain quality's, but only if you already know how to identify these qualities and if you know that this will improve your birds.
Good Quality Food and Water
- Although budgies will "survive" only on a basic seed mixture and seem happy, they need supplements and a well balanced diet in order to sustain good health. Bred in captivity, they are not exposed to the elements and therefore stand the risk that their immune systems are also not as good as their wild counterparts. Do give fresh water daily!
Aviaries / Breeding room
- Your initial set-up of Aviary/Breeding room should be manageable. Many newcomers loose interest as it tends to become "too much work". Keep it small and practical in the beginning until you are organized in the daily routine.
Happy breeding!!!
