Show
Preparation & Training of Young Birds
Assessment in the nest box, marking the record card
I assess young birds at just a few days old by examining
the head width and shape, always looking for a very wide skull and small
beak. At this stage I check the colour
of the down on the bird, which tells me if it is a cock, hen, opaline or
normal. White down indicates an opaline
and grey a normal. Also knowing the
parents genetic make up helps in identification of sex. This information can be noted on the bird’s
record at this stage, however I usually leave it until I can also establish the
colour. At three to four weeks the
outstanding young birds can easily be spotted, in fact they pick themselves. These are the birds that should I work on to
gain their confidence. The records are
updated and every young bird is assessed and given a rating, such as g = good,
vg = very good etc, my top rating is ‘wow’.
Many fanciers do this some use a rating 1H,
2H etc.
It is very important to make an assessment at this stage as once the
birds go into stock cages they decline in appearance due to having to fend for
themselves. At this stage I quote my
old friend, Harry Bryan, who said ‘If you like ’em in the box lad, you’ll like
’em when they grow up’. How true I have
found this to be.
I handle the youngsters that fit into VG and above
categories as much as possible, ensuring that humans do not frighten them. This prepares them for future training in
the show cage. Having said that, I handle all my chicks to steady them, as I do
not like nervous flighty birds. Once a
young bird realises that being handled is not going to hurt, it is happy to be
handled and is easily steadied when introduced to a show training cage.
This is a very critical stage in the life of a young
bird. I used to favour leaving them
with their parents for as long as possible, thinking that the maximum amount of
food fed by the parents would be invaluable to its development. However, as I have experienced many poor
second and third rounds of eggs, I have taken heed of an article written
recently by a South American fancier whose theory is that, cocks are not
interested in the hen (or they are infertile) when feeding chicks. So I now remove the youngsters as soon as I
am sure they are feeding themselves and place them in stock cages with birds
that are already fully weaned. These
older chicks can often be seen feeding the young ones that are calling for
food. This has resulted in improved second/third rounds
The young birds have been roughly sorted out at this
stage and the best are introduced into stock cages with training cages
attached. I keep the birds quite
crowded at this stage as I believe that this helps settle them. All perches are at the same height in each
stock cage to prevent squabbling for the highest perches at night. Stock cages are four feet in length and
eighteen inches deep and up to twenty youngsters are placed in each cage. Over the next six/seven weeks, as they
mature, they are removed from the stock cages and placed in show cages. Occasionally I take them indoors to get them
used to being carried around in a show cage (as they would at a show). At this time they are introduced to the
judging stick and a single tap on the front rail of the cage is administered to
get them on the perch.
When the young birds reach approximately twelve weeks
they start to drop their young feather.
This shows firstly in the head cap where new pin feathers can be
seen. I was given a good tip some years
ago regarding breeding with flecked birds.
To provide a check for flecking in their offspring, pull a couple of
head cap feathers as soon as they start to grow. The new feathers that grow back will be their adult plumage, thus
showing signs of flecking at a very early age.
If the flecking is severe the parents can be split and repaired quickly
this to avoid breeding lots of flecked birds.
Once the young birds start their first moult they are
released into small inside flights. The
first flight is only six feet long x three feet wide x five feet high. The birds are monitored daily and any broken
flights or tail feathers are removed.
If the young birds do not moult their tail feathers in the first few
weeks, the tail is cut with scissors and pulled after a further two weeks, but
only one tail at a time. The theory
behind this is that the birds body stops feeding the damaged feather and the
quill will reduce in size in preparation for it to moult out normally. There is less chance of damaging the feather
follicle this way. This enables young
birds that are bred over the new year period to be fully moulted out and in
full adult plumage by the first week in May ready for the early club member’s
shows. After these shows all spots are
removed from the birds that I feel will be in the show team for the larger Open
shows.
After several weeks in the small flight the birds are
moved on to larger flights to get good exercise and develop their bodies. All perches are at the highest possible
position with the food at ground floor level to encourage up and down flying as
well as distance.
All birds are checked regularly, feathers that become
damaged or broken are removed, If I have to remove several wing flights I put
the bird back in a stock cage until flights have grown back.
Feeding is kept quite simple; they have a basic mixture
of 50/50 canary and mixed millets.
Millet sprays are given daily and soft food is offered twice a day in
finger drawers. This puts weight on
them which inevitably helps them through a long day at a show. If the weather is very hot, I take moistened
soft food to the show and give them to prevent them dehydrating. At two-day shows such as at the BS Club Show
they are given a drinker overnight which contains a multi-vitamin solution
(high in vitamin C) to help reduce stress.
My first show is usually Worcester, early in July. In preparation for this show, the
prospective show team, together with reserves, are caged in mid May and tails
and wings are straightened. All perches
in the show team stock cages have been set at such a height that birds on the
cage floor cannot reach up and bite the tails of birds on the perches
(approximately eleven/twelve inches high).
During the first few weeks the birds are simply monitored and fed very
well with a good mix of seed, soft food and plenty of millet sprays. Like all other birds in my stud, they are
given multi-vitamin in their water for two days each week.
I use very long stock cages for my show team; they are
ten feet long and twenty-one inches deep.
This cage will house up to sixteen young birds. At one end, removable partition can be
inserted to allow spraying to take place.
A show cage is attached to each stock cage and soft food and millet
sprays are placed in them several times a day to encourage entry and accustom
them to eating in a show cage whilst at a show.
As mentioned earlier, I straighten tails and flights when
the birds first enter the show team stock cages; they are also roughly cleaned
up. Spraying starts approximately four
weeks before the first show and is carried out every two days. A few spots of Plume spray is added to
boiled water for the first two spraying sessions. In hot weather, however, they are sprayed daily with clear water
and sometimes twice a day on extremely hot days. This aspect of my show preparation has greatly improved since
taking early retirement recently as I am able to do it during the day, in
particular, spraying on hot days. I am
also around to switch on extra fans to keep the temperature as constant as
possible. Wide variations in
temperature can cause the birds to go into a soft moult.
Face trimming is carried out over several weeks. Spots above the main spot are cut and the
shadow spots are remove with tweezers.
I like to catch each bird and cut a few spots at a time from each side
of its mask then put it a show cage for short period which I believe is less
stressful than doing it all at once.
Pulling of shadow spots is done two days before the first show. Face washing is done the prior to a show and
checked again before the birds are put into cages on the day of the show. I use
a soft toothbrush and cotton buds for head and mask cleaning, and the best
tweezers money can buy. It is important
to have good tweezers with blades that touch evenly across the point of
contact. I use Johnsons baby shampoo
for all cleaning. Occasionally I use
peroxide for stubborn stains on the head, wing flights and tails of clear
flighted birds such as red eyes and dominant pieds. If using peroxide be very careful as this can cause severe damage
if the bird should get in its eyes or mouth.
I use a cotton bud to apply peroxide to the head which allows greater
control.
Brian Sweeting
18/02/02