English Budgie Personality

[finchbreeder]

Yes there is some effort being made to make colour and markings (type) more important on the showbench than feather. And about time too. The colour and markings are a nice change (like with Gouldians) but the buff to buff feathering has indeed resulted in birds that have to have their eyebrows trimmed to see, and find flying an effort. Budgie & Parakeet Place Forum See you do like the different colour and marking types.
LML

[findi]

Glad you are noticing that as well, thanks for the comment and link (link failed first time, I'll try to cut/paste). Best, Frank

[budgiebreeder]

As a breeder of show budgies, I find the extremes of opinion expressed in this topic very sad. My baby budgies are taken out of their nests from about six days old, given a little scratch and put back. They are rung with a closed ring at about ten days old. Continued to be handled ever few days. Ckecked that their feet are clean,have their nest material changed if necessary. clean the upper inside of their beaks if food is stuck there.[cause of undershot beak].Sooo of course they are quiet and wellbehaved. When they go into the nursery avairy they race around, hang from the wire, toss the little plastic lids I put in as toys. Behave like any other kids. Grow into big healthy birds. Some have lots of babies, some only a few. There is just as much variation in personality in show budgies as there is in the wild ones. Yes, some show features can be over breed as in any creature bred for show. These are the ones you you will see pictures of [because] they are over the top.

[Red]

As a breeder of show budgies, I find the extremes of opinion expressed in this topic very sad. My baby budgies are taken out of their nests from about six days old, given a little scratch and put back. They are rung with a closed ring at about ten days old. Continued to be handled ever few days. Ckecked that their feet are clean,have their nest material changed if necessary. clean the upper inside of their beaks if food is stuck there.[cause of undershot beak].Sooo of course they are quiet and wellbehaved. When they go into the nursery avairy they race around, hang from the wire, toss the little plastic lids I put in as toys. Behave like any other kids. Grow into big healthy birds. Some have lots of babies, some only a few. There is just as much variation in personality in show budgies as there is in the wild ones. Yes, some show features can be over breed as in any creature bred for show. These are the ones you you will see pictures of [because] they are over the top.

Good on you for sticking up for your birds. I think people should remember that just because exhibition budgerigars are not to everyones taste it does not follow that show breeders are greedy or irresponsible.

Why does the miniature budgerigar association and others throw stones at their fellow birdkeepers when aviculture is so weak already?

There is plenty of room for both types.

[flap]

I know nothing about budgies but in general not a fan of selective breeding to the Nth degree. We breed problems at the same time as the desirable traits...

I prefer moggies/mixed breeds in domestic animals as they are generally healthier and smarter. one of our pets is pedigree (hubbys not mine) and he is the clumsiest and least intelligent feline I have ever come across as well as having an expensive health condition which it typical of the breed.

As with royal families (no offence intended to any royalists) when they were marrying other royals for political reasons, the traditionally limited gene pool leads to genetic conditions being transmitted quite regularly.

Nature goes for survival of the fittest, not the prettiest. There is a reason for that. And us humans come along and fiddle with it all... OK, off my soap box now!

Having said that, we too have tended to breed/keep birds for colour, I guess it is a matter of degrees.

Jay, LOL at the neglected budgies

[Myzomela]

Hi Budgiebreeder,

No offence is intended.

We all appreciate how much effort goes into breeding any stud of birds, particularly when selecting for certain traits, and the sense of achievement achieved when the desired result is achieved.

However, I also think that at times we need to sit back, assess & question what we are trying to achieve in aviculture and the direction in which we are travelling.

This forum provides just such a venue for this sort of discussion.

Our hobby is under pressure from all avenues. Certain activities that we undertake as aviculturists will attract more attention from the anti-avicultural lobby and the general public in general than do others.

We need to monitor these activities and decide what we want to do with these before changes are enforced upon us by public and governement opinion and legislation. Breeding extreme forms of species, hybrids,mutations and our ability to maintain pure stocks will all be areas by which our hobby will be judged.

I accept that people are free to pursue any form of aviculture from which they derive enjoyment.

I also think, however, that we will be held accountable for the choices we make.

I also agree that as aviculturists we need to be united because that is the key to our survival.

[montall]

This is an interesting topic to think about. I have kept budgies on and off most of my life since a young child. Back then there weren't many colour variations. I can still remember how excited my Dad was when we went looking at buying a new bird and he found one with brown markings on its wings instead of black. There was no such thing as spangles back then, I can't even remember seeing pied budgies, although I'm sure they existed. The main colours were blue, green (of course), white and yellow. Well they were the easily accessible colours anyway. Over the years I just got used to seeing all the different colours and shapes and sizes and totally forgot what an original 'bush' budgie even looked like. A couple of years ago I bought three of them and they are different, no getting away from it. I had forgotten how much smaller they were, how vivid the green was, and how they loved to flit around endlessly.

I must admit I love the soft pastel colours of the mutation budgies but now I've fallen in love with the originals and occasionally wonder why they were never enough for us in the first place. A bit like gouldians. I can never understand why anyone would want to change those colours. They are like little Christmas Tree ornaments. I remember seeing a much sought after (apparently) totally white one in some bird display once. Pardon my ignorance, but to me it looked like a $5 zebra finch.

But each to his or her own I suppose. I remember being excited about a new clutch of budgies and wondering what different colours I might get from a pairing. With the bush budgies I don't have to wonder - it's green, green or green.

[jusdeb]

Recently had a rather long spiel posted on my pet page ....Some of the highlights were " gone are the day of the backyard budgie "
Line bred english budgies ...large ... large heads etc etc blah .

So underneath I advertised my little aussie budgies both normal and mutations and had instant responses ..I think the average Jo prefers the little aussie sweethearts with personality and full of charm and movement to the big boof heads that just sit there like dead sxxxs all day looking like mother natures rejects .

Ive just started hand rearing aussie budgies and from feedback Im getting they are great little companions , full of mischief and charm and pretty darn good looking too .

[finchbreeder]

What Budgiebreeder forgot to mention is. That she is and has been for some time a very dedicated breeder of the rare types. In other words one of the people who puts major effort into the colour and pattern breeding, as well as the type. And an advocate of those things that are good for the health of the budgies as well as the strengthening of mutations. Handling the chicks in the nest as she mentioned and checking them and treating them as precious gems. There is a fine line. It is hard to know where it is sometimes. We must all do what we think is right and advocate for the good of the birds. I think most of us do that and I know Budgiebreeder does.
LML