FEATURE


No complicated breeding programme or record-keeping is required – experience has shown that this will always fail – but if 6 or so breeders around the country each hold a few pairs of, say, Bourkes a simple system can work. Talking to each other once a year and prioritizing exchange of bloodlines is all that is required to maintain a “ring-fenced” breeding group and produce a healthy supply of surplus normals.


membership. I am guessing here but I


would bet that the majority of members hold the smaller species. Likewise, I would also bet that the majority of these keep mutations and think of (and advertise) visual normals as “normals” irrespective of genetic make-up. Mr Coombes’ article highlighted the communication problem. He is looking for pure normal Bourkes – I have some youngsters here which are visual normals and while not 100% pure are getting there. I am reluctant to let them go other than to someone who is holding normals or who is “breeding back” i.e. discarding any mutations that appear. Country-wide transport is no longer


a problem with the Stafford sale days. If you don’t go to Stafford you almost certainly know someone who does. Where work is required is to encourage those involved to become part of an informal network of “specialist” breeders and to make it easy for those interested in normals to locate pure (or almost pure) birds.


No complicated breeding programme or record-keeping is required – experience has shown that this will always fail – but if 6 or so breeders around the country each hold a few pairs of, say, Bourkes a simple system can work. Talking to each other once a year and prioritizing exchange of bloodlines is all that is


BIRD SCENE 23


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