Cage & Aviary Birds

IT HAS BEEN a busy spring for the Budgerigar Society (BS), which has awarded die prestigious Silver Bird Trophy and six new Achievement Awards. The Silver Bird Trophy is awarded each year to a member of the BS for meritorious service or effort. Three

THE INCREASED USE of pesticides and fertiliser is driving bird population declines across UK and Europe, finds a new study. Numbers of European farmland bird species have been found to have more than halved between 1980 and 2016 and a new collaborati

I AM originally from Weymouth, but have been in Australia since I was very young. I've been an avid (some would say obsessive) aviculturist over the past 30 years, having kept more than 100 different Australian/foreign bird species during that time:

FANTASTIC to see our osprey pair CJ7 and 022 feature on BBC's Springwatch on May 29. You can watch our LIVE osprey nest cams at: www.birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk/osprey/osprey-webcams The eggs will be hatching over the next 24-48 hours, so make sure you

WE NEVER seem to think seriously about whether we are using our time in the birdroom well. Instead, we just get on with “doing the birds”. As I have become older and less physically active I have had to think more about how I can use my time more wis

RUSSELL Sykes arrived on the canary scene in 2021 as an unknown. A proud Yorkshireman, he had arranged to purchase some Yorkshire canaries, which he was eagerly awaiting. He pitched up at the YCC show in Saltaire in October 2021, as his first step to

MY BREEDING season 2023 certainly got off to a later start than in previous years. The first chicks of the year were between a week and a fortnight later than in the past four years. Although the pairs seemed in condition, with lots of hens looking t

THE small softbills popularly known as chats that occur in Europe Africa and Asia are unrelated to the American “chats” (which are New World warblers) or the Australian “chats” (which are honeyeaters). They derive their old English name chat from the

WHETHER we are talking about pet birds, an aviary colony or a stud of show birds, every birdkeeper has a duty of care in regard to their stock. Ensuring that all our birds are kept in the best of health and have a high level of wellbeing is a basic r

THIS condition affects chicks shortly after they have been weaned. The young bird appears listless and puffed up, sits forlornly and won't feed or drink. Some die quickly, while others may last several days or weeks. If a young bird successfully comp

BIRDKEEPING today is more complex than it was for our forefathers. Society hasn't stood still, with many environmental changes as well as modifications to feeds, supplements and medicines. In some cases, birds also travel greater distances before fin

THE Budgerigar's Health Cake is one that, like a good Christmas pudding, must be put away to mature. This is the way I make mine: Take, by cupfuls, six of coarse gravel (or coarse sea sand), six of old lime mortar, one of clean, dry, broken eggshells

SEND us your birdkeeping pictures and we'll publish them on this page. Each month the C&AB team will pick their favourite picture(s)! Simply email your picture to: birds.general@kelsey.co.uk with “Readers’ Gallery” in the subject line or put them on

CLUB NEWS Welcome to the club and show pages – the bit that's all about you THIS year's Budgerigar Society Club Show takes place September 23-24 at The Dome, Doncaster. On Friday, the show setup and benching of birds is permitted between 4-8pm. Bench

WITH official business concluded at a recent meeting, members enjoyed an extremely interesting talk on show preparation with demonstrations given by Swindon BS member Tom Jackson. Three to four months before a target show, Tom puts the show team into