An Interview with Andrew Hind A Champion Budgerigar breeder from Uk By Mobassir Sattar Khan from Pakistan Question about general information 1) Please give us a brief introduction about yourself. Answer: Andy hind, 42 years old. 2) How did you get interested in the fancy and what attracted you to the budgerigar?can you tell us when did you decide to start breedingexhibition budgerigars. Answer: started with budgerigars in 2005 sold up in 2013. 3) From where you obtained your initial stock. Why did you select that stud for initial stock. What was the color &variety of that bird and how was the quality or that bird as compare to todays modern exhibition budgerigar? Answer:my original stock was from here there and everywhere, a common mistake beginners make. But I leaerned fast and sold all my birds except the best 7. I then bought 11 birds from john copeland in
congleton, cheshire. All being brothers and sisters from a pair of maanes birds he had recently purchased. The mannes blood was super dense feather which I liked. 4) Are you a member of any budgerigar club/society and what is your ring code? How many birds do you keep in your stock every year? Answer:was a member of the bs and lancs and ches., ring code hind1 and L1808. Never a set amount of birds kept each, if they did not make the grade they went. 5) Tell us about your foundation bird you ever bought that made the difference in your stud and what was visual quality & costof that bird? Answer: Those 11 mannes birds were the foundation of the whole stud really. Also a skyblue cock of daniel lutolfs made a big difference. 6) What has been your favorite mutation or variety that really inspires you? And what varieties are you specializing in at the moment. Answer: just good birds regardless of colour/variety 7) What common problems you faced at the earlier stage of your hobby? And if you can guide new comersthat how they can minimize risk of common problems. Answer: genuine help is the hardest thing to find for a beginner, there is a few very helpful fanciers around the uk, beginners should ask as many questions as possible and do there homework. Question about Management 1) How do you think that good management can play a vital role in the success and please how do plan your aviary management program? Answer: The birds have to live around the breeder, spend time with them as much as possible. Feed good seed and keep them clean. 2) Do you maintain your record manually or using a computerized system, please explain about the wayyou maintain recordsof paring, next box and pedigree of bird. Answer:manual on paper, I remembered most of it, but it was on paper so I could recap if needed.
3) Do you mark eggs if yes, then tell us about the type of marker you use, the way you mark, and type of marker you use. If youdon't please explain why now. Answer: never touched eggs, only moved eggs or chicks when I had to. 4) Do you think schedule of feeding, cleaning and other managed tasks should be done at fix time. Answer: did what I could when I could, The birds had to fit in with my lifestyle. 5) Do you foster the eggs or babies? If yes, please share yourprocedure. 6) How do you handle the egg and chicks in the nest and in early ages, especially in case of mother death or feeding refusal by parents then how do you mange a day old chick? Answer:only handled the chicks to clean feet and beaks. only moved eggs or chicks when I had to into nests of chicks of a similar age. 7) How do you ensure safety of your birds in your bird room and especially in different weather conditions. Answer:all my birds were kept inside, no outside flights. so conditions were the same 365 days a year. heating on thermostat and lighting and radio on timers. 8) Advice & tip: any suggestions for new comers about the importance of good management. Answer: only keep the best related birds, sell the rest.
Question about Pairing 1) How closely do you mate your birds and what related matings have been the most successful? Answer: cousin x cousin, uncle x niece, auntie x nephew and grand parents to grandchildren they were the only pairings I found to benefit the stud. 2) What are the roles of "normal s in your success, do also consider or prefer to pair a normal with another variety for improvement. Answer: means nothing, decent exhibition birds we are after regardless of colour/variety. 3) Do you trim the bird's feathers when you pair up and what method do you use? Answer: yes I used to use sharp scissors to trim cock and hen, be sure to save the cocks sperm guide feathers. 4) How long do you wait after pairing up to put the nest box on and why? Answer: nestbox went on after pair had been together for a week, only then if they showed signs of bonding well. 5) What basic points of pairings do you suggest to newcomers for produce better bird. And what important thing you consider when you put the birds in the breeding cages? Answer:this will come if they buy related stock from a good stud. balanced related pairings. 6) What features are the most difficult to put on a bird and how does one go about establishing that feature and retaining it, the directional feather, straight back line, shoulder & length? Answer: all quite easy really. you need to buy the correct related birds that will have the features in there blood. 7) Do you have any other tips or hints on how to improve and sustain an exhibition budgerigar stud?
Answer: line breeding with good related stock Breeding 1) When your breeding and non breeding season start/end in your area, and how many youngsters you breed every year. Answer: I bred non stop for 9 years, I enjoyed the breeding side more. 2) What varieties do you likes and keep. Share about major bloodlines in your current birds? Answer: I just liked good birds, when I sold the the stud I classed the blood as my own (hind1) which was mostly mannes, lutolf, ruthven and h &m. 3) To improve the quality of birds, I believe fanciers should swap birds, what is your opinion of this and do you experience it now Answer: if you can find someone honest enough then why not swap. 4) Do you use inbreeding or line-breeding system? And what is your best paring. Answer:line breeding, grand father to grand daughter is very good. 5) How do you go about obtaining suitable outcrosses from other fanciers? Answer: with great difficulty and expense. 6) How do you differentiate between controlled and uncontrolled breeding systems, and would you please share your personal experience about both systems? Answer: cage breeding with selected related birds is the only way to breed exhibition budgerigars. 7) Any other points you would like to mention which hasn't been covered above Answer: enjoy your birds and never feel pressured to show them.
Thanks for your valuable response Andy Hinds.