by Terry Pilkington
It is not too late to have a re-think and do something about
trying to achieve better results.
For example, we bred the 1982 World Winner in the month of
April. This pairing was where both of the original pairings had
produced nothing outstanding earlier in the breeding season. So
after two months back in the flights, they were paired up to new
partners and produced some of the best birds that year. So you
can see it is never too late to change your mind and have a
re-think.
It is of course a great advantage if one's birds are more or
less all related to one another in the first place. You will
have a better chance of the birds blending together to produce
the right type of bird especially if they are carrying all the
vital characteristics needed in the "Ideal Budgerigar."
Assessing Quality .....
How do we go about assessing the quality of the chicks produced
so far? I like to think that I can spot a good bird from about 3
weeks old, by the sheer size in the first place, width of skull
between the eyes, big bone structure (especially the feet) and
plenty of length in the hand.
When the bird starts feathering up you can tell the type of
feather, whether it is buff, intermediate or yellow. I like to
see birds with the intermediate feather leaning towards buff;
you can tell them at this stage with experience. You can see
over the weeks the extent of the browyness and the depth of
mask. The longer the feather suggests that it could be buff,
with a short feather being a yellow. I also like to see plenty
of spot flecking, but having said that I have had some of my
biggest spotted birds when as barheads they showed hardly any
spot flecking at all. It all depends again what type of birds
they are bred from in past generations. So get to know what your
birds are capable of producing before making any rash decisions
in culling them out as barheads.
A Real Handful .....
A very good barhead at 5-6 weeks old should be a real handful.
Looking from the back of the bird, it should be very wide across
the shoulders. This gives the bird a strong look of power. The
width should then continue through the neck to the back-skull.
When viewed from the front, the thickness of the head should
follow through to the back skull and give what I call a 'key
hole' effect, i.e., a round dome and a deep mask. The bird
should also blow its head and be very browy between the eyes and
you should not be able to see the eyes of the bird.
Faults in Barheads .....
The worst thing in a barhead is a very narrow head and pinched
face. Any birds showing these faults, and also if they are very
small compared to your other barheads, you can safely sell as
pets. It is obvious they will never make the grade as top class
show birds. On any breeding system you use, always cull
ruthlessly the birds with the bad faults. Each year try to
upgrade your overall stock. It is, I know, easier said than done
as we are always fighting against nature in what we are trying
to produce. But we have to draw a line somewhere if we are to
attain success on the show bench.
At about 5 1/2-6 weeks old the chicks can be weaned from their
parents. By this time the hen will be laying the second round of
eggs. This is the time to watch the parents as they can get
aggressive. The barheads when placed together in the stock cage
can be assessed as to their future show potential. As they get
stronger and start to perch you should really be able to see the
ones with that built-in showmanship. The birds that stand well
are nine times out of ten the best and eventually moult out
showing the good show points. These are the birds that later in
the year make your best show birds.
Note that when they are first separated from their parents they
can tend to lose weight as they start to fend for themselves,
but this is only a temporary setback.
Weighing Up Results .....
Once you have weighed up the results of your present breeding
season to date and are still experiencing difficulties, have a
re-think. Change some of your pairings, but leave well enough
alone any pairs that are producing good birds until they have
finished their second round. Do not split them up thinking that
you can improve on them, it never works. Only re-pair the birds
that are producing mediocre barheads. It is the overall quality
of the barheads that ensures success in future years.
