December 2009

Thursday 10 December

A couple of weeks into the new job and things in the birdroom are ticking over nicely, I've entered a small team in both the Northumberland and Durham Fife Fancy Canary show and a local All variety canaery club. My good friends Chris and Gordon will be taking the team up to the North East i'll stay a bit closer to home. I've got all the wood cut for my new cages I just need to get round to building them!!. I've started to take a few pictures of the birds for inclusion in a new gallery section that i plan to launch over the Christmas period.

Monday 14 December

The final shows of the season yesterday, I split the team in two, with 4 birds going to the Northumberland Fife Fancy Canary Club Show and a team of 6 going to the North West all variety show. I was thrilled with the Northumberland team, my self green buff hen was second in a class of 22, my variegated yellow cock 4 in a class of 27, my heavily variegated cock and hen were also 4th in classes of 16 and 19 respectively - a good solid end to the season, the North West team did well too, i took the award for best Flighted Fife in show with a variegated yellow hen, the same bird was 3rd best champion at Merseyside last year and hasn't lost any of her quality.

The birds are now in flight cages and preparation is already underway for next years breeding season.

Saturday 19 December

Preparation for next years breeding season is underway, the cocks and hens are in seperate flight cages and today got their first feeding of an egg food mix, made up with grated carrot and with a sprinkle of blue maw seed and the addition of some additional natural protein. I'll step up the soluable calcium in the water from now to make it available twice a week, by mid Jan this will go to three times a week.

I've made a couple of additions to the stud over recent weeks, two flighted cocks, a self blue and a lightly variegated cinnamon carrier. The blue bird is the half brother to Geralds 2008 North of England winer and the carrier cock is related to my white team that have done well this year on the show bench. I've also taken in two unflighted birds a heavily variegated buff hen, who's brother was 4th best Champion at north West and Best variegated at the same show, he's been first or second each time he's been out. The final addition so far is a heavily variegated buff cock, Gerald has dominated this classification at all of the major specialist shows, taking 5 of the top 7 placings at the North of england, 6 of the top 7 at Midland and countless class wins and colour specials at other leading Fife

shows. The bird I've taken in is realted to my other greens so should blend well, I'm on the look out for one more cock bird, which I hope to bring in early in the new year.

This will probably be my final entry pre Christmas - so for regular visitors or first timers - Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year.