FEATURE
stop the curse of fighting but that is a bit of a guess, perhaps I was just lucky! Fighting and even killing other babies is possibly the greatest drawback to breeding in an aviary but it does allow the birds to keep relatively fit. As with all livestock feeding is an important aspect of their long term care and wellbeing as described earlier Budgerigars are primarily seed eaters with plain canary seed Phalaris canariensis and a variety of millets as their primary food source, spray millet seems a favourite. However they should be offered seasonal green foods such as chickweed which grows in a unique, intertwined manner and it has small white star-shaped flowers hence its Latin name, Stellaria media. tems have a thin line of white hair that grows in a weave-like pattern.
Picture of breeding stock in their aviary Also dandelion Taraxacum officinala
broccoli, carrot, sweet apple, germinated seeds and grit. Fresh water each day is essential.
There are basically three types (or sizes) of Budgerigars available in the UK. The smallest are commonly known as ‘pet type’ these birds are the closest to wild Budgerigars in size and vitality but now available in virtually all the colours. These birds breed well and are the best type for new enthusiasts to obtain because they are the lowest priced and their young can be sold to new owners requiring a pet. The second type is the ‘exhibition type’ birds that have been selectively bred over many years to increase their size considerably over the ‘pet type’. These present more of a challenge to breed as they do not have quite the vitality of the smaller ‘pet type’ due to their increased size but they are not as difficult to breed as the ‘Champion exhibition’ stock owned by the experienced UK fanciers that spend many hours tending to their valuable birds and win the major prizes at Budgerigar shows. These birds are the largest and are the third type available but often at a high price. In reality there is no exact dividing line between the three types and a group of breeders would fail to agree in which of the three categories some birds should be placed but that does not matter, what is without doubt is that there is a very wide band of sizes represented within Budgerigars.
BIRD SCENE 11
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