Those first steps to take the hobby more seriously
Many people will believe “more seriously” is about entering the exhibition side of the hobby. There are plenty of people keeping birds – keeping them very seriously without ever thinking about entering shows. Many will just want build a purpose-built birdroom in the garden and may be progress to better quality birds or even somewhat more challenging birds.
Breed and keep the easy birds for a while, but once you are into the routine of keeping, feeding and handling its worth at least thinking about something more demanding or challenging. Make progress slowly, learn from any mistakes – and at least learn to never make the same mistake twice. That is unforgivable!
Decide what appeals to you – varieties and colours. May be you have started with Fife Fancy Canaries or even Zebra Finches – these are all free-breeding birds so you may decide to move on to Yorkshire or even Norwich Canaries. More challenging Finches will be the likes of Gouldian Finches. These are magnificent Australian birds but they are not easy to breed – and then they are not easy to rear. Many fanciers will be new to using “feeders or fosters” but Gouldians do not tend to be good parents and its worth having those free-breeding birds at the same time to be able to transfer eggs or even chicks.
Read everything available – internet, books, and magazines. Books and magazines tend to be correct in what they say, but my experience is that much of what appears on the internet is written by people who are still learning. Material written by well known fanciers who have been around for a while tend to write the more accurate and dependable material.
Join a mixed club or specialist society. Cage bird societies cater for all birds while the specialist societies meet the needs of specific varieties. Its those cage bird societies that will provide what might be considered as a general education of birds while the specialist clubs will provide and
Visit people – visit as many people as possible who keep and breed the variety that interests you. Most genuine fanciers are happy to offer help and advice. Look at what these fanciers are doing; see how they keep their birds. Ask questions but listen to the answers and use what they tell you to make your own decisions.
Get to know the variety well before spending lots of money. It’s easy to say but get to know the variety before you get in too deep. Before you make a massive investment be sure you know what you are doing and are confident.
If you are to make good progress with exhibition birds it is about knowing what makes a good bird, buying the right components and being able to put them together. Visit the shows and see the birds that are winning. Ask questions of the winning exhibitors, talk with the judges and where possible steward at the shows. Judges are usually some of the best people to ask for advice, as they at least should know what they are doing and will be experienced with the particular birds.
Lots of money brings rapid success but it takes knowledge and understanding of what is required to do well over a longer period. It’s not possible to build up a stud of quality birds quickly. It takes time, understanding and a fair amount of luck. However, one of the top breeders and exhibitors of Budgerigars always used to say – You make your own luck!
It’s through the clubs that you will meet people – work with people you can trust and if its exhibition birds you are after – listen to the successful breeders and exhibitors but always remember to make your own good judgements of the information you are given and always remember to engage the brain before jumping in too quickly.
The final piece of advice has to be – move forward in short steps and always keep a phone number handy of someone you can phone, should you run into serious trouble.
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