An Interview with Hans C Ostergaard, long time Champion Breeder
and WBO Judge from
Q: What city/town and country do you live in?
Hans: I live in
To those who don’t know where DK is. It´s
on the top – the top of
Q: What is your exhibitor status?
Hans: I’m a Champion Breeder and Exhibitor and WBO judge for many years.
Q: How long have you been breeding exhibition budgies?
Hans: Since I was 8 years of age – 1958. In my family we have always breed animals… horses, cows, pigs, sheep, pigeons, chickens, and almost everything that can fly. It really got rolling in the start of 1970.
Q: How did you get started?
Hans: My big brother had bought a swarm of pet budgies and I just had to own some of them. I was 8 year as mentioned.
Q: Where did your start-up stock come from?
Hans: From local breeders. Back in the 70s
Ole Gade was the contemporary leading breeder in
On this web-site you will see a Super Dilute Grey 118-11 and a Super Cinnamon Sky Blue 263-10. I used those two Cocks sons to develop my own birds with. They have those feathers I like.
Q: Do you still have this original bloodline in your aviary?
Hans: No. I lost nearly all my best birds in the start of the 90s with a disease.. The rest of them were not worth working with. So I started all up again with new birds.
Q: What outcrosses/bloodlines have you introduced in recent years?
Hans: Mannes, Cuyten and Lütolf.
Q: How many birds do you keep?
Hans: Normally too many. Since my big losses in the 90s I always keep some in reserve. But for breeding 45 cocks and around 65 hens. At the end of the breeding season around 270.
Q: What do you feed?
Hans: When start up for breeding. - A blend of 60% canary seed and the rest is different. kinds of millets, such as white, japan etc.
When not breeding, there’s only 35% canary seed. The rest various types of millet and green food from the wild fauna.
Q: Varieties kept?
Hans: Danish Recessive Pieds, Inos, Dutch Pieds, Dominant Pieds, Spangles, Cinnamon, Opaline Cinnamon, Normals Opaline Yellowface and Goldenface.
Q: What time of the year do you breed? Why?
Hans: Here in
Q: Do you change anything in feeding before and during the breeding season?
Hans: After a long rest without the lights switched on and only the night light on. I gradually increase the light to 16 hour a day.
I treat with Tricho Plus (Ronidasola 5%) from Versele-Laga. In order to eliminate coccidian, trichomonomida and more.
Additionally, I give two times Eiwomic with ten days apart, to kill intestinal worms and to prevent mites from setting on the birds. After each treatment, I give in drinking water for three consecutive days -lactobacilli for improving intestinal flora and also their immune system. Otherwise I give it continuously one time a week and it keeps the acidity of the birds around PH6. Vinegar will also help here. All this in mid August.
I run up with soft/eggfood, different vegetables,. hard boiled egg, vitamins include D3 in Calcium powder, mineral, grit etc. The light is Repto-Gal 10,0. This is also used by people that keep exotics. (Read an article from 2009 on WBO web-site.)
Q: How do you select the breeding pairs and introduce them to the breeding cage.
Hans: Hen in first and when she has moved around the sawdust (she must have done that in the first three days. If not, out again and a new hen in) I tap on the perch like a cock would do, just to se if she reacts to the knock. If she does- in with the cock and they have to be interested in each other. If they show no interest in five minutes I´ll try again later that day and continue until they accept. If not a new cock or hen goes in, or a completely new pair.
Later I may try pairs that have bonded in a flight cage or aviary, if they are suitable for each other. They go direct to the breeding cage and often produce much better.
I have different family lines and always try to keep the families going and sometimes cross one or two. I also pair half-siblings, cousins, nephews & aunt etc.
When I bring in new birds I try them on those different lines and foster the eggs to breed as many as possible from the new outcross. This gives me more possibilities from the new one.
Q: What type of nestbox do you use?
Hans: A plastic box in a box of plywood. Easy to clean or replace.
Q: How many chicks do you usually breed on average per year?
Hans: 160
Q: How do you select which chicks to keep, and at what age?
Hans: In the nestbox and again around 6-8 months. I look for feather-feather-Feather growing directional and lots of directions including down.
Q: What do you consider the most important ways to improve the quality of your stud?
Hans: Long broad fairly hard stiff feather. I like the main flights and tail to be slim to avoid feather problems.
Q: How many shows do you attend?
Hans: Mostly one a year – Our Club Show
Q: Any tips on preparing and training birds for shows?
Hans: Try to nearly hand tame the babies and an early introduction to the show cage, just a few minutes each day. They’ll be much easier to breed with later on too.
Q: What do you feel are the biggest challenges facing the hobby today?
Hans: This is a tough one. Getting younger people involved in this wonderful hobby.
I hope you got something out of reading this. If you have some questions? Please bring them on.
I invite you to visit my website: www.123hjemmeside.dk/HCOestergaard-undulater
Thanks to Bob Wilson for giving me the chance to join this interview.
Enjoy this wonderful hobby
Kind regards
Hans Christian Oestergaard,
