September 2010

Tuesday 7th

The first diary entry for a couple of very hectic months both in and outside of the birdroom. The breeding season finished with a good quality and fair quantity of birds across the colours, it seems, for the time being at least that I have about twice as many cocks as hens in the young birds which is always a bit of a challenge.

The early round birds are coming through the moult nicely with just their heads to finish off, there are some very nice clear and 10% birds and also some quality variegateds coming through. I'll be strong in the dark and heavily variegated classes again with some nice yellow cocks and buff hens. The one area of frustration is my cinnamon and white line, despite breeding with a variegated cinnamon carrying white cock (best champion Allied to White and North West FFCC last year) a cinnamon carrying clear buff cock, 2 fawn hens and 2 cinnamon variegated hens I've only bred two white young, one of which is a fawn cock. So having thought at one stage I'd be awash with cinnamons i have just one!. I have bred a couple of blues out of my green line and so will make the necessary plans for next years breeding team to keep the balance of colours.

The show training is stepping up too, the show cages have been hung on the front of the stock cages for a couple of months now, with unfortunate consequences one morning when a very tidy variegated buff hen flew straight out of the open shed door when i was moving her training cage - never to se seen again - sadly it's always the good ones!. I have some of the first round young in the show cages on the training shelf for upto 4 hours each day now, it's just about shoulder height and fits 7-8 show cages on comfortably, i think its good to try and emulate the show surroundings, it certainly seems to help the birds being in close proximity to steady down.

Not sure when i'll give the birds their first run out of the season, much will depend on how they look in the next 4 weeks, tempted by the National at Stafford but think it may come too early and don't want to ruin the birds for the bigger shows later on.