Exhibition Budgerigars. That's what they are called. But to exhibit these budgerigars to the standard required, takes a lot more time than just spotting out a budgerigar and placing it in a show cage. If this is all that's done the end result will probably be that, you return home from the show wondering what went wrong .
I start about two months before the first show. I go into the main flight and inspect the birds. First I will look at the breeder birds. These are birds that have the current breeding years ring on them . I will choose roughly about 20 birds. Most of these birds will have been watched since they were nest feather youngsters.
One by one they will be checked for broken flight feathers and broken or split tail feathers. If any are found then they are removed. This is at the breeders own discretion as some breeders believe they should not be removed in case they do not re-grow . If these feathers are left in to moult out themselves, it could stop the bird from being exhibited right through the show season, if on the other hand they are removed and do not grow back, well they won't show at all. The choice is your own. It takes seven to eight weeks for tail and flight feathers to fully re-grow.
Once this check has been made the ring number of the birds are taken and they are placed back into the flight again for two to three weeks. The same process is used for the older birds.
At this time I bring out my show cages for inspection. If I am going to the trouble of exhibiting my birds in the best condition I can , then I like to make sure that my cages are also up to the same standard. A nice clean well maintained cage with a bird that is in condition will catch the eye of the judge and make him look twice. It is well worth the time spent on this task.
Five weeks before the first show, and its time to catch the birds once more. The birds flight and tail feathers are checked again and if all is well they are placed in the cages and allowed to settle for a few days. These cages have wood shavings on the bottom of them to absorb any wet or loose droppings that may stain the birds feathers. On a fine day I place the birds two or three at a time into a all wire cage or an old show cage and spray them with warm water with just a drop of baby shampoo in. I spray until they are wet through. Having left them for a few minutes until the excess water has dripped off them I then place them back into their cage.
This is repeated a few days later. From then on I only spray them every three to four days until a week before the show arrives . This encourages them to preen themselves and in turn they are brought into condition for the show. About four day's before the show I spot the birds out. If they are birds with an abundance of spot I do this over two day's. I take all the small unimportant spots out first and let the bird rest overnight. The following day I finish spotting it out and give it a light spray which is the last before the show.
Having remembered to put the show entry on , it is now the day of the show. The alarm clock is set for 1 hour before I am due to leave . This gives me time to put the light on in the aviary so that the birds can eat and drink if they wish. They are then caught and placed in the show cages and taken to the show. Depending on which show it is , I sometimes stay and help with the running of it. This is hard work but good fun. You get involved with the stewarding and best of all you see how the Judge Judges the birds. You may not always agree but their decision is final. On the show days that I do not stay, I like to come home and prepare a clean cage with fresh water and food for when the birds come back.
When I go to the show to check how my birds done, I like to look at the any-age birds first and then the breeders . If I have done well , that's great. If I have not done as well as I would have like then, next week is another show and it's time to say "Well Done " to those that have done well. The rest of the afternoon is spent chatting away about Budgie's and that Stormer that you've bred but have left at home. Finally the show is over and you have collected your bird and taken them home. They are safely back in their cages and they are fed and watered. All that's left now is to clean the show cages for the next show. Believe me this is the hardest job of all because your tired but it's a job best done that night and not left until another day.