Welcome to your Monthly Edition of the ANBC Gazette

Dear Fanciers,

As 2025 draws slowly to a close, it feels only right that we use this December Gazette to pause and reflect. It has been a year filled with positive moments for the ANBC, and it’s important to acknowledge the good as we continue to move forward together.

First and foremost, congratulations to NQBZ on staging a top-class National event in Cairns. The result was a credit to years of preparation, many long days, and even longer nights. Well done to the entire team. We now look eagerly toward the 50th Trill National on the Gold Coast, proudly hosted by the SQBBA.

When we think about the National Show, our minds naturally go back to the previous breeding season—our results, our live chicks, fertility, and the quality we see on the perch. Then comes the new year and the development shows, where we run out our prospects and see what the season has truly given us. My hope for everyone—whether you’re a national breeder, a club breeder, or someone who simply enjoys the fellowship and exchange of ideas—is that 2025 has been a positive and rewarding breeding season.

From an ANBC business perspective, the Executive has continued to work steadily across sponsorships, contracts for Nationals 2026 and beyond, and ongoing projects with the Zones. A great deal of effort is being invested into new by-laws aimed at streamlining processes and ensuring accountability across the board. Our C&S team continues their progress on the new ANBC pictorial, which will showcase the evolving standard of the exhibition budgerigar.

Looking ahead, the ANBC and our partner Zones remain mindful of worldwide concerns around the welfare of our birds. This is an issue of great importance, and one we must approach with care and leadership. BCSA is progressing a welfare document for inclusion in our Standard—something I recently had the privilege of viewing in draft form—and I’m excited about the direction this work will take. Welfare is, and must remain, a high priority for us all.

On that note, I want to touch on something that has been on my mind. Recently, through correspondence and conversations with the many people who enjoy calling “Lovie,” I’ve noticed some commentary being circulated that appears neither informed nor considered. Some writers seem unaware of the implications of their words, or may not have taken the time to check information or even re-read what they post on Facebook or submit to their clubs. As the saying goes, “self-praise is no recommendation.” My simple request is this: before you put pen to paper, pause. Think about what you’ve said. If you still feel strongly, run it by a friend or someone who understands the topic. A little reflection goes a long way.
Ahhh—yes, that feels better.

Planning for the 2026 Trill National is progressing strongly. Garry and his team are working through the required processes and are confident in delivering a top-quality event on the Gold Coast.

As we close out 2025, I want to express my thanks to the ANBC Executive—Garry and Russell—for their guidance throughout the year. To the Zone delegates, thank you for your collective effort (and patience—yes, we eventually got there!). To the members of our working group, let’s keep pushing forward together for the future of our wonderful hobby.

There are also a few individuals who help keep me grounded when things become challenging—you know who you are, and I appreciate you. And to my home club, the SCBA: what a great bunch of people. Your friendship means a lot. Long live the Thursday pie run.

Warm Regards,
Neale R Love
ANBC Secretary

Dear Budgie Enthusiasts,

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe and enjoyable Christmas. This time of year can be lonely and stressful for some, so please reach out to those you know who might just need a kind word. Sometimes a simple phone call is enough to brighten someone’s day.

I was especially touched by a story my daughter shared recently. She was visiting a friend in Taree, whose little boy had just spent some time staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Newcastle. The Newcastle Budgerigar Club has some budgerigars housed there, and during his stay the young boy became very fond of them. At the end of his visit, he asked if he could keep the birds – and the Newcastle club kindly agreed.

I would like to congratulate and thank the Newcastle Budgerigar Club for this wonderful act of kindness. You have helped make a difficult time a little brighter for a young boy and his family.

Everyone, please take care over the festive season.

Take care until next time,
Garry Hibberd
President – ANBC

ANBC Judges Coordinator

Hi All,

As the 2025 Show season draws to a close, it is clear from a judging perspective that many breeders have enjoyed a very successful year. Overall, it has been an excellent season. Late Shows showcased some outstanding budgerigars on the bench, both current-year rung and UBC’s.

This strength across the Show bench points to a very promising 2026 Show season.
Excitement is already building for the upcoming Show season and, of course, the 2026 ANBC Nationals.

As Judges, we share this anticipation and look forward to what lies ahead. Earlier this month, I sent an email to all States and Zones inviting candidates to sit the ANBC Judges Exam in 2026.  I am pleased to report that responses have already begun to come in, which is very encouraging.

Senior Judges:
Please consider this opportunity to sit the ANBC Judges Exam and advise your State or Zone Judging body of your interest.

Thinking of becoming a Judges:
For those who are not yet Judges but have a passion for the craft, I encourage you to sit your State or Zone Judging exam. Judging at any level is both a privilege and a deeply rewarding part of our hobby.

Thank you for your ongoing support and commitment to the ANBC.

Regards
James Bader
ANBC Judges Co-Ordinator

Colours & Standards

South Australia has put forward a motion for Colours & Standards to consider, relating to splitting the Golden Faced and Yellow Faced into different groupings.

This split will also, to quote the Standard, recognise the unique “Deep buttercup yellow extending over the frontal and crown” along with “GENERAL BODY COLOUR: As for the corresponding non-golden faced series” as key varietal features in the Golden Faced Blue Series.

The Australian White Cap should also now be referred to as Series in these Groupings.
These changes better reflect the groupings as listed – Wording for Variety Group 2 in the Standard is as follows: Emphasis on Markings and/or Varietal Features.
Wording for Variety Group 3 is as follows: Equal weight given to Colour & Markings or absence of markings.

Colours & Standards will review this motion at their next meeting.

WBO Noticeboard

I thought I would take this opportunity to consider the 100 years of the Budgerigar Society in the United Kingdom. As the Budgerigar Society (B.S.) celebrates its centenary year we look back at its history and achievements but before we do that let us establish a few simple facts. 

As the popularity of the budgerigar grew and a few were exhibited at various cage bird shows, letters started appearing in the early part of the twentieth century calling for the establishment of a specialist club for budgerigars. Eventually a meeting was called in February 1925 at the Grand National Exhibition Show of Cage Birds at Crystal Palace, London, and 18 founder members formed The Budgerigar Club. The list of founder members contained many with honourable titles and eight were fellows of the Zoological Society. The first subscription was set at 5 shillings (25p). The first officers were Herbert Whitley (President), Allen Silver (Chairman) and Fred Longlands (Secretary & Treasurer). Among the founder members was also Cyril Rogers with whom I became a friend in my early years when I joined the B.S. in 1971 due to both of us being associated with the Crested Budgerigar Club where he was the president and I was the secretary.

The first Budgerigar Bulletin edition was published (A5 size format in 8 pages) in June 1927 by R.J. Watts and from 1928 it was issued 4 times a year. This was changed to 6 issues a year in A4 size format from 1986 with coloured covers. Membership rose from 229 in 1927 to over 21,000 by 1955. Nowadays it averages around 1,500.

The first area society to be formed was the Western Counties BS in 1928 followed by the Midland BA (1933), Yorkshire BS (1936), Lancashire, Cheshire & N. Wales BS (1936), Northern BS (1936), Scottish BS (1937), Welsh BS (1938), South Midlands BS (1940), London & Southern Counties BS (1941) and Lincolnshire & East Anglia BS (1945). As the specialist varieties became popular then societies catering for them started forming with the Crested BS (1962), Clearwing BBA (1963), Variegated BC (1969), Rare Variety & Colour BS (1980), Lutino & Albino BS (1982) and Spangled BBA (1987). In 2018 five of those specialist societies (apart from LABS) amalgamated together to form the Association of Specialist Budgerigar Societies.

With the formation of the 10 area societies, the General Council of the B.S. increased in size to 40 with 20 elected by the whole membership (10 on alternate years) and 20 area society representatives (2 from each area nominated by their area society). The number decreased to 22 implemented in 2003 with 12 elected by the whole membership by postal ballot and the remaining 10, one from each area society, elected by the membership of that area. With decreasing membership, the General Council was reduced again to its current size of 14 implemented in 2010, elected every 3 years by the whole membership but with the highest from each area society being the representative of that area and the remaining highest 4 also elected.

In 1929 the standard show cage became compulsory and the first team class was introduced. A.C. Hughes started producing closed coded rings for the B.S. 1930 was one of the most historical years of the society when His Majesty King George V accepted the invitation to become Patron of the club but requested that the name be changed to The Budgerigar Society. It was ironic that in November 2021 the B.S. decided to form The Budgerigar Club catering for those who breed budgerigars world-wide mainly for pets and to provide a pathway from pet budgerigars to exhibition budgerigars should members choose to do so.

The first B.S. Club Show was held in 1926 at Crystal Palace, London in conjunction with the National; with 9 classes provided and 100 birds benched. Patronage was provided to shows who put on at least 2 classes for budgerigars. A Judges’ Panel was formed consisting of 11 members. Nowadays the B.S. Judges’ Panel consists of 103 members from all the 10 area societies. In 1929 the B.S. brought in the rule to standardise the show cage. In his presidential year in 1936 W.E. Higham (FZS) introduced a new annual trophy for meritorious services called The Silver Bird.

During those early years the Club Show used to be hosted by other clubs around the country but from 1950 the B.S. held its own Club show at various venues. The show was held in Leicester for 15 years from 1965 to 1979, followed by the Leeds venue and then at Doncaster from 1984 to 2023. Harry Bryan held the record of winning Best in Show 22 times and the highest Club Show entry was 5,873 in 1988 at the Doncaster Racecourse.

In 2003 the show was cancelled due to the outbreak of Reovirus. In fact, no B.S. patronage was granted to any show that year so it was a lock down situation. That year saw the last National Cage & Aviary Birds Exhibition to be staged at the NEC.

First sketches of the “ideal budgerigar” were made in 1935 by R.A. Vowles & Dr. Armour. The first edition of the “Cult of the Budgerigar” by W. Watmough was published in 1936 which became the Budgie Breeder’s Bible. Mr. Watmough was the longest serving chairman of the society (1945-1967). The longest serving secretary was Dave Whittaker (1994-2013). In 1938 the B.S., in collaboration with Cage Birds, carried out research into French Moult. Are we anywhere nearer to solving this?

The war years decimated the budgerigar population due to a shortage of seed but the B.S. carried on functioning and staging shows to help the Red Cross. In 1939 Breeder classes were established at shows. In 1943 a new Colour Standard was published. There were positive steps made by the B.S. in 1946 after the end of the war with the creation of the 4 show status’ and the progression from one to another, financial assistance to the area societies was created and the Judges Panel increased to 71 members. The membership rose to 1,700 in 1948 and 88,920 rings were sold. A new “Ideal” was approved. The 1950s saw a further increase in membership to 6,000 and the ivorine label on show cages became compulsory. The Golden Era of the B.S. with regard to membership peaked in 1955 with 21,000 members. An honorarium was paid to the secretary and assistant staff.

It was in 1954 that the B.S. organised the very first World Budgerigar Convention held in Harrogate to be followed in 1959 & 1975 (all at Harrogate), 1985 (Birmingham), 1990, 1995 (both at Scarborough), the Millennium Convention (Eastbourne), 2006 & 2010 (Southport) and in 2015 at  Stoke on Trent. The 2020 Convention was also to be staged in the same venue in Stoke on Trent but was cancelled due to the Corona Virus. The American BS organised the 1956 Congress in Indiana.

Another new Pictorial Ideal came into force in 1957. 1959 saw the introduction of challenge certificates at championship shows. Membership dropped to 13,000 in 1960. Requests for changes in area society boundaries were rejected. A long debate took place to make all birds exhibited in the any age classes to be owner bred but failed. The debate still exists to the present day. Long term badges were introduced for 20, 25 and 30 years membership. It was estimated that there were 4.5 million budgies in the country. Financial losses were made at both society and club show level in 1963. By 1964, the membership dropped to 4,668. The first plastic show cage was produced in 1965 as an experiment but was not adopted. The flecking rule came into operation. A revised “Ideal Budgerigar” drawing and revised Colour Standards were published in 1968.

1972 the first salaried secretary of the B.S. was chosen from 19 applicants; A.R. Secombes. Membership turned down the proposal to increase the subscription rate to £2 and did again at an EGM but eventually passed it at the 1973 AGM. New Rules were re-drafted by the society’s legal advisers in 1975 and one Bulletin was cut because of rising costs. Turbulent time for the B.S. during the 1970s. A special general meeting was held in Leicester in 1977 to consider the position of the secretary and a vote of no confidence was proposed and failed. In 1978 it was permitted for qualified overseas judges to judge in the U.K. 1979 saw the engagement of Retford Laboratories to carry out a programme of research including an autopsy service at a cost of £4,000 resulting in adding a £1 levy on subscription to cover cost. A new drawing of the Ideal by Eric Peake was approved in 1980. A joining/re-joining fee of £2 was introduced in 1981 and a new set of Rules was approved in 1982. The general secretary was dismissed in 1983 and the first Budgerigar World (BW) show was held a week before the B.S. club show which caused some bitterness. The Bulletin was redesigned and included colour to counter the effect of the new BW monthly magazine.

The society celebrated its 60th anniversary in 1985 by staging the Diamond Jubilee Convention. This was a resounding success with wonderful draw prizes, one of which was a 5-door Austin Metro car. An international meeting brought forth a number of interesting ideas, one of which was the creation of the judges training scheme for 3 years apprenticeship period with a practical and written test at the end of that period. This scheme is still in existence but now reduced to 2 years training plus the test. It was announced in 1986 that all sales classes at shows have to be judged to comply with a new law. A directive was issued by the General Council to judges that no flecked headed bird can win a first prize which caused a furore among judges. This was rescinded the following year after holding the first Judges Meeting in 1987. Eric Peake produced a painting of the ideal hen which was approved by the General Council. Pedigree Pet Foods (Trill) started sponsoring the B.S. The same year saw the introduction of the A4 size of the Bulletin and the name change to The Budgerigar with 6 issues a year and the club show name was changed to “The BS World Championship Show” and the show schedule to be included in The Budgerigar. Subscriptions for 1988 increased to £9.

Trill became the Convention 90 sponsor and the first prize draw was again a City 5-door Metro car and the second prize was a holiday for 2 in Florida, USA. A new patronage package was introduced based on number of entries as well together with the introduction of the grades of challenge certificates based on numbers. Buckton took over as the main sponsor followed currently by Country Wide.

At the 1990 Convention a call by the international gathering urged the B.S. to take the lead in the formation of an international organisation. To this effect the B.S. held 2 international meetings in 1992 and 1993 at the B.S. Club Show which eventually resulted in the formation of the World Budgerigar Organisation on 1st April 1994. The first WBO chairman was Roger Carr who was the B.S. chairman at the time and secretary Geoff Bostick. The B.S. two delegates were Ghalib Al-Nasser who became secretary in 1997 and Grant Findlay who became vice chairman in 2016.

The new century started on a positive note with the B.S. buying its own property in Northampton which acted as the society office. The Millennium Convention in Eastbourne was a resounding success. In 2008 the Club Show date moved from the November date to late September. A Colour Standard booklet was issued in 2012 to all members full of photos of all the recognised varieties. Plastic rings were introduced in 2016 as a second choice and Avian ID took over the production of the B.S. rings from A.C. Hughes. Currently it is the Bird Ring Company who are producing the B.S. rings.

Coronavirus (Covid-19) hit the world in early 2020 claiming the lives of more than 8 million people all around the world. While there was a total shut down in the country with meetings, shows and the planned 2020 Convention suspended a group of members formed a secret Facebook group attacking the B.S. and eventually called for an extraordinary general meeting in July 2020 to remove the chairman Maurice Roberts. A ballot took place resulting in 78% of the vote in support of the chairman.

The B.S. celebrating its centenary year with The Budgerigar Society 100th Anniversary Club Show at the Grand Hotel, Blackpool on 6th – 8th June with a mega event commencing on Friday at noon by hosting the World Budgerigar Organisation annual meeting. The society invited the current and past presidents to judge the show, namely Ghalib Al-Nasser, Janice Al-Nasser, Roy Aplin, Geoff Bowley, Roger Carr, Dave Cottrell, Grant Findlay, Bob Francis, Pete Hutchinson & Phil Reaney. There were four international speakers invited during the event namely Martin Stieglmaier (Germany), Maarten Heylen (Belgium), Ali Bouresli (Kuwait) and Dr. Marcellus Burkle (Germany) as well as an AGM on Sunday morning followed by a Grand Auction in the afternoon.

Worms – Internal Parasites

By Dr Ron Woodhead, B V Sc

• Weight loss
• Diarrhoea
• Whole grains visible in droppings
• Good appetite despite weight loss
• Stunted babies
• Passing whole worms

If larvae migrate into the central nervous system, they can cause:

• Paralysis and fitting
• Intestinal obstruction
• Death
• Poor reproductive performance

Diagnosis:

• Faecal flotation or wet smear (to detect eggs)

Treatment:

• Wormout Gel
• Moxidectin T

Prevention:

• Limit access to faeces/dirt
• Maintain a clean, dry environment

Life Cycle (approx. 6 weeks):

• Bird eats roundworm eggs passed in droppings of an infected bird.
• Eggs hatch in the gut, producing larvae (very small worms).
• Larvae burrow through the intestinal wall and migrate through the body, undergoing further development.
• Larvae eventually return to the intestine and mature into adult worms.
• Birds can reinfect themselves by ingesting their own droppings.
• Roundworms produce thick-shelled eggs that survive well in the environment.

Threadworm
Location:

• Gastrointestinal tract
• Very thin and hard to see
• Embedded in the intestinal lining

Effects:

• Sudden death from internal bleeding, or
• Slow wasting due to damage to the gut lining

Control / Environment:

• Concrete floors kept dry and free of droppings help reduce infection
• Life cycle is indirect via the earthworm (intermediate host)

Treatment:

• Moxidectin T

Prevention:

• Regular worming
• Control of intermediate hosts (earthworms in aviary environment)

Caecal Worm
Location and effects:

• Colonises the caeca
• Usually causes no obvious clinical signs
• Important because it can transmit Histomonas (“trichs”)

Life Cycle:

• Indirect, through the earthworm (intermediate host)

Treatment:

• Moxidectin
• Moxidectin T

Prevention:

• Control intermediate host
• Regular worming with Moxidectin / Moxidectin T

Gizzard Worm
Location and effects:

• Under the gizzard lining
• Interferes with grinding of food
• Death usually due to secondary infection
• Diarrhoea with undigested food in droppings
• Life cycle involves intermediate hosts such as weevils, ants, other insects and live food

Treatment:

• Moxidectin T for 2 days, repeat after 14 days
• Control intermediate hosts

Prevention:

• Control intermediate hosts
• Regular worming

Tapeworm
Appearance:

• White, flat bodies made up of many segments joined together

Life Cycle:

• The end segment of the adult worm (a “bag of eggs”) is shed in the bird’s intestine.
• These segments are passed out in the droppings.
• Eggs are eaten by an intermediate host (e.g. snails, ants, beetles, insects).
• The bird eats the infected intermediate host.
• The tapeworm then develops directly in the intestine and attaches to the intestinal lining.

Signs:

• Diarrhoea
• Poor condition (“ill thrift”)
• Death in severe cases

Treatment:

• Wormout Gel
• Moxidectin T

Prevention:

• Eliminate intermediate hosts from the environment
• Regular worming with Moxidectin T

Fancier In Focus: John Mulley

In this edition of Fancier in Focus, we speak with a long-time South Australian exhibitor, judge and researcher whose passion for budgerigars has been shaped by both family and science. From helping with his father’s birds in Camden, NSW, to building aviaries under the family cubby house and pursuing a professional career in genetics, this fancier has spent decades thinking deeply about how budgerigar breeding, animal welfare and 21st-century science intersect.

In his own words, he shares how he started, how his setup has evolved, and his thoughts on the future of the hobby.

What sparked your interest in budgies and the hobby?
Dad worked long hours as a newsagent in Camden, NSW, so I helped with his budgies. Then, many years later after moving to Adelaide in 1978, I caught one at the back door. I enclosed the area under the balcony of the kids’ double-storey cubby house to serve as the first aviary and the budgies shared that area with Bugsy the rabbit.

A hobby involving genetics became a natural extension of professional life, with that journey starting out in animal genetics at The University of Sydney then finishing in human molecular genetics at SA Pathology, with University of Adelaide affiliations with the School of Genetics and Biomedical Sciences and with the School of Paediatrics and Reproductive Health.

That background has prompted articles in budgerigar magazines to translate 21st-century science across to the hobby. Examples of that include such things as the genetic architecture for flecking, how mutations in the gene that encodes yellow pigment determine the five colours, and how mutations affecting melanin define the various varieties.

How long have you been in the hobby?
Exhibition budgerigars have been an interest, some might say a passion, for more than 30 years. The exhibition aspect started for me at the end of 1992 when a breeder in Adelaide had a sell-out, which I accidentally found out about from an advert in the weekend newspaper before I even knew there were show budgies and budgie clubs.

The beauty of the massive clear-headed Opalines with their opalescence and clear mantles amazed me. I attended the auction and bought two Opaline cock birds for $20 each because that was all the cash I had in my pocket. I named the light green Garfield and the sky blue Odie.

Soon after that, at my first club meeting, a member entertained us with his Clearwings. They were tiny compared with the Opalines, and the Clearwings of today, but what hooked me was the purity of their yellow and white wings against their contrasting body colour. So, I started with Clearwings virtually from day one of my club journey.

The way I started with Black Eyed Selfs not long after was accidental. I assembled nine pairs to begin with from all over the place (not recommended) to fill my nine cages. After eight pairings I was left with a Normal Light Green and a beautiful Normal Double Factor Golden Faced Violet, so believe it or not I put them together. Of the chicks that popped out, two of them looked a lot like Black Eyed Yellows.

Describe your setup and how many breeding cages you have and use during your breeding season.
The setup evolved very slowly, and without air conditioning the breeding season revolves around climate and the ring issue dates. Family always came first, and the job demanded long hours, so the budgies came third. Ultimately, I have ended up with 50 breeding cages used during the second half of each year.

After December it’s too hot and dry and the birds go into their autumn moult from late March through April until early May, much to our frustration because the national show is held a month too early for us. I now need to start cutting back on the number of cages, but the challenge is deciding which varieties to stop breeding.

What is your current exhibiting status and which club do you represent?
I have been an Open breeder for about 25 years and exhibit for the North East Budgerigar Society. I bred my way into Open, rather than buying it, which gave me valuable experience managing budgies before moving on to the better ones.

I was also a founding member of another club in those early years, aiming to lure new members into the hobby and provide them with access to cheap birds. That club morphed into dissuading members from making birds available for selection for the national show, so naturally we then parted company.

Recently I also joined the Port Pirie Budgerigar Society, being old enough now to have been invited to act as their club Patron. Both the North East Budgerigar Society and the Port Pirie Budgerigar Society structure their shows according to the ANBC Matrix.

What do you like about your club?
The North East Budgerigar Society has always strongly supported the state body, and South Australia’s participation at the nationals, as does the Port Pirie Budgerigar Society. We all benefit socially from face-to-face contact with people from a cross section of the community, and that is what the club provides.

Prior to that, cricket and fishing clubs gave me the same exposure to interesting characters, as did my two years in the army.

What are your recommendations for anyone wanting to progress in the hobby?
I would say get involved with the club, volunteer to steward at shows, latch on to a few experienced breeders to visit their aviaries, talk to anyone and don’t take sides or throw rocks, and don’t chase instant success by throwing money around until knowing how to manage the expensive birds.

Take time to develop skills as a “stockman”, an old-fashioned term to describe skills in animal breeding, and in my mind “stockman” was never a term reserved for men. Using all of that as a basis, gradually improve your birds each year by bringing in missing bits of the puzzle according to your budget.

What is your favourite moment or time in the hobby?
When the national show was held in Adelaide in 2000 at the Morphettville racecourse, I was on the registration desk some distance from the judging but could watch proceedings with one eye on a nearby monitor. An impressive Opaline Cinnamonwing Light Green in the Opaline AOSV class sat in first place for most of the time. I had one of those in the class and wished mine could have been up there somewhere near him.

When judging concluded I was suddenly approached with congratulatory tidings because that first bird turned out to be mine!

Another highlight was my first national judging appointment, having taken the plunge to seek national accreditation late in life. I took the plunge when nominations were called at a BCSA meeting while still on a high from the administration of a general anaesthetic a few hours earlier for extraction of wisdom teeth.

Seriously, it was a great honour judging the Covid-restricted nationals at Victor Harbor alongside Stephen Mow, Peter Thurn and Scott Eriksen.

Which birdroom would you like to visit, either in Australia or overseas, or both?
It’s good to see other aviaries because you never know when you might see something useful that you hadn’t thought of and could use yourself. I have mostly only visited local aviaries, apart from the occasional aviary visit associated with national shows.

I have travelled a lot, both professionally and privately, and have a life outside of budgerigars so when travelling have always been more interested as a tourist in seeing scenery and the people, with budgies further from my mind.

However, I couldn’t resist seeing birds of all types at the amazing Jurong Bird Park in Singapore, the incredible Bird Life Park in Queenstown in New Zealand and partaking of the unbelievable bird-watching experience at Vigur Island in Iceland where I took a brilliant photo of a puffin feeding its chicks.

What bird do you think was the best you have bred, and why?
Neither were national winners. I bred an outstanding Black Eyed Yellow about 15 years ago that I had high hopes for, but it only came third at the nationals, for a very good reason. It went straight to the lead until the judges noticed a red eye on the other side of the head. Nothing gets past Alan Rowe.

It had travelled to the show in the same compartment as one of my Clearwing hens. They had a disagreement somewhere between Adelaide and Canberra and the Black Eye ended up being a red-eye half-sider.

Another was the best Clearwing I have ever bred but, with a red 2024 ring, could not be considered for the nationals because I was invited to officiate in Cairns.

How have you developed your bloodlines?
I don’t buy a lot of birds, though I bought a few this year as I had neglected the Normals and realised that I no longer had enough to outcross to the lesser varieties to keep them competitive.

To maintain wing clarity in Clearwings I bred mainly Clearwing to Clearwing over the years. To avoid green suffusion and keep the yellow in Black Eyed Yellows I bred mainly Black Eye to Black Eye over the years.

Two problems emerged from that. I didn’t develop depth of mask and feather as much as I should have by not using superior outcrosses, and I lost fertility by inbreeding for too long without outcrossing. So, I am now part way through rescue mode for these two varieties and am now having to live with some green suffusion in the Black Eyed Yellows and some wing markings in the Clearwings as the downside of outcrossing. A lot of my birds in all varieties are related.

What is your aviary setup and how has it evolved over the years?
Nothing fancy here, but ultimately functional. The outside aviary is large, giving access to natural sunlight and the external wire extensions allow exposure to rain if the birds want it, and most of them do.

The breeding room is not as large as I’d like. I began with a couple of wire cages hung on the wire near Bugsy the rabbit, then expanded into a garden shed, then a larger garden shed, then a shed bigger than a garden shed, then I extended into the area between the “bigger shed” and the aviaries. I am handy enough to build what is necessary myself. A recent visitor from South Queensland described the breeding room setup as compact.

I use wire breeding cages to simulate a flock environment. To clean them at the end of the breeding season, I wait for a storm, and then they are spread across the back lawn which might even require a hosing down after the storm passes.

If I was starting again tomorrow it would be a lot different knowing what I now know, but that would involve a bigger block and moving further away from the CBD. Therein lies the problem as I see it for recruiting new members within the CBD, with so much so-called urban infill now happening all around us, even in my street.

What is your feeding regime?
Nothing fancy here either. The basic seed mix is 50% canary, 25% white millet and 25% Jap millet, sometimes with a dish of hulled oats or sunflower seed, and silver beet when it’s not too hot to grow it, corn on the cob stuck on a nail when in season, and branches of old man saltbush that I grow for them to chew on. I have plenty of chickweed growing wild in the winter.

It’s a different story in the breeding room. With chicks in the nest, one needs to feed their feather, and it doesn’t matter how each of us does that, so long as we do it. I soak overnight in tap water equal parts of triticale, feed oats, large parrot mix and a dash of mung bean, with a dash of Multiclens overnight. I soak for a shorter period in summer. The timing is important; we want the sprouts to be just a few millimetres long at a stage where they have maximum nutritional value.

Additives are not put into the water, to avoid toxic degradation. I put them into the sprouted seed mix. Additives are Soluvite D, a dash of iodised salt, and probiotic. After mixing I then add The Good Oil and Liquid Gold. After standing for a few hours to soak up the oil and Liquid Gold I then add a generous amount of Budgie Starter.

That is given to the breeding cages every second day, the amount depending on the number of chicks in the nest. Silver beet is given to all cages every other day. If you have a system that works, then stick to it and if you change anything aiming to improve, just change one thing at a time.

Do you feed soft food – what is your recipe?
Yes, as above. The soft food must be sprouted. Excess after feeding the breeding cages is given to chicks in the nursery cage and the aviary. The nursery cage also contains dishes with fine shell grit and budgie crumbles for them to pick at.

Do you feed greens and/or any additives?
Just as outlined above, with branches of old man saltbush put into the aviary especially leading up to the breeding season. Moxydectin is given once a year when rounding up the stock to work out what I’m keeping for shows and what I’m keeping for breeding.

Prior to the breeding and show seasons the Moxydectin guards against worms and scaly face that immigrants may have brought in from other aviaries. Scaly face is the major risk. I don’t otherwise see the need to treat birds that are not sick.

How do you treat sick birds?
If a bird goes light, they are history. I don’t over-breed a pair or overcrowd the birds, giving them access to space, sunlight and the elements while housed in the aviary. We are fortunate in Adelaide with our dry heat; we don’t have diseases associated with humidity unless we buy it in.

As another countermeasure, water is supplied to the aviary by pipes from a tank that I periodically fill with tap water. Inside the aviary I have nipples glued into the plastic pipes that the birds push to get clean water. Remarkably they know how to find the water themselves, even new birds brought in – they must be able to smell water.

What I am getting at is that sick birds are rare because they always have access to clean water, a noticeable improvement after I installed the above watering system many years ago. If a bird looks a bit off, I put them into a hospital cage with heat and Spark in the water. Apart from that, I can leave home for extended periods without troubling anyone to come in each day to change the water. I just need someone to come in occasionally to top up the mega seed hoppers.

Do you have a medication regime?
No, not apart from Moxydectin as described above. Maybe I have been fortunate in never having had a disease outbreak. I have had birds selected in the SA team every year for about 30 years, except the twice when I judged at the nationals, so I have no reason to blame travelling to the nationals for any illness.

I did have a bit of Trichomoniasis in the nursery cage when I first started years ago because of overcrowding and open water dishes. Now I use cage drinkers with some low near the floor.

How do you maintain fertility and good health in your aviary?
I think that has been covered above. Like I think everyone else does, I get a lot of clear eggs, so if anyone has an answer to that other than to stick to breeding little budgies, then I would be grateful.

To summarise, fresh air, fresh water and good food are the key.

What issue in the hobby concerns you and why?
There are a few issues, or maybe they are merely observations about how the hobby is transforming in the 21st century.

We hear that our budgies are behind the budgies being bred in Europe and the UK. How are we behind? Is it that we don’t have that exaggerated head feathering and the untidy body feathers on our birds? If that is why birds in Europe and the UK are ahead of us, then we should be careful what we wish for.

The public in this country do not view such birds favourably and this is the same public, with an eye on bird welfare, who we rely on for the recruitment of new members to keep the exhibition side of the hobby alive. We need to arrive at a pictorial that is aesthetically pleasing, then judge to it, not beyond it.

An issue, and perhaps we just need to accept this as being normal for modern times, is that the way we go about improving our birds is changing. Once upon a time the goal was to create a stud by slowly improving through mating related birds to bring out exhibition features that have an underlying recessive genetic architecture. The occasional outcross was used to counter inbreeding depression and to bring in a feature deficient in the stud. In other words, skill as a breeder was being tested and the flock, being related, fitted the definition of a stud.

Now, there is a tendency to buy, sometimes at ridiculous cost, one bird from here and another from there, based on photographs to overcome the vast distances between some of the top aviaries. Then, they can be put together to breed a winner in one generation. That represents another skill, but a different skill.

Attracting members to face-to-face club meetings and club shows has been increasingly challenging since Covid. Maybe they have unlimited access to information elsewhere, such as excellent websites, the quarterly Chatter magazine and weekly Budgie Bulletin in SA, and the ANBC Gazette nationally. Maybe this is a problem unique to our club and if we can figure out how else to serve our members then it would not be a problem. There are probably other clubs where members are scattered over a large area that rarely have meetings other than to issue rings and hold shows.

Filling committee positions in the club can be challenging as well, and I hear that is not unique to budgie clubs. Thirty years ago, there was fierce competition at our club’s AGM to serve on our club committee. Now it’s a struggle to interest enough members to fill all management roles. Participation in shows has also dropped off, even though a lot of members still purchase rings, so they obviously love breeding budgerigars to watch them fly around in aviaries.

Maintaining varietal features in some varieties I see as a problem. There are many Black Eyed Selfs with outstanding type but are heavily suffused when they should be buttercup yellow as described in The Standard. There are some big Clearwings, but their wings are not as clear as described in The Standard. Single Factor Golden Faced are of superior type are beating Double Factors when the Double Factor is the only form with body colour as described in The Standard. These are beautiful varieties provided their ideal phenotypes can be preserved; they, and ones like them, are the ones that attract new members.

Finally, I will say something about AI (Artificial Insemination, not Artificial Intelligence) which is more correctly described as Assisted Reproduction. I don’t do it. If I mate my best two birds together and they only ever give me clear eggs, then I don’t pass that trait on or sell those birds. That is an example of Charles Darwin’s natural selection.

If I had used Assisted Reproduction, and got fertile eggs that developed into chicks, then I am passing the propensity for infertility on, bypassing natural selection. Someone who buys that chick, possibly at great cost, may get disgruntled if they can’t get success, and they are lost to the hobby. The big picture: we could be creating budgies that are less likely to breed if we use AI, but outlawing AI can’t be enforced.

Who do you respect in the hobby and why?
Apart from breeders who consistently achieve success on the show bench at the highest level, members who volunteer for senior management roles in the hobby have my utmost respect. South Australia has been fortunate over the years to have had Nigel Tonkin, Peter Glassenbury and Troy Holmes at the pointy end.

Having been part of the support group working with them throughout that period, I am in awe at just how much time, energy and thought they have devoted to the betterment of the hobby at club, state and national level. Just as important are members who regularly turn up early to set up the staging and staff the kitchen, and who hang around until the end of the day to take down the staging and clean up.

As a breeder, Kelwyn Kakoschke is an undisputed master breeder in my mind. Not long ago he almost lost his Clearwings but, after recently seeing his Clearwings, I am in awe at how he has resurrected them with quality and numbers in such a short time.

What other hobbies do you have?
I have gone through phases of stamp collecting, coin collecting, cricket and fishing, and some of those are still ongoing to a limited extent. Breeding budgies ultimately became dominant and has lasted the longest.

Your favourite food, movies and sporting team?
I like seafood (and once enjoyed catching it just as much), chocolate, action movies, and I take an interest in the national rugby league and rugby union test matches, but mainly the cricket test matches.

Having moved to SA from NSW I inevitably hear a bit about the Crows and Port Power. Although I prefer the Crows, unlike just about everyone else in SA I’m happy to support either the Crows or Port Power when either of them makes the finals because, after nearly 50 years in Adelaide, I’m now a South Australian.

Three more things you would love to do in life.
I am close to running out of time but satisfied that I have been very fortunate in life, and like it has been for most people, life has had its challenges at various times. I do have a life outside of budgies, so passing Cape Horn with Ann on the way to Antarctica through the Drake Passage is next on the list.

Then there will be a cruise around the Baltic that was previously planned until it became a Covid casualty. I can’t think of a third thing, other than perhaps a third national winner, but it’s been a long time since the last one and, running an eye over the nursery cage, I can’t see another national winner happening any time soon.

Nationals of Yesteryear – 1984

If you close your eyes and think back to 1984, you can almost hear it: the low murmur of voices, the shuffle of feet on polished floors, and the soft rustle of birds settling in their cages. That year, New South Wales hosted the ANBC Championship at Wollongong, and in many ways it marked the beginning of the “modern” National as we know it.

Out in the wider world, 1984 had a very particular flavour. The Los Angeles Olympic Games were in full swing, Carl Lewis was rewriting athletics history, and “Advance Australia Fair” was still a relatively new national anthem in people’s ears. The first Apple Macintosh had just been launched, hinting at a computer-filled future most of us couldn’t quite imagine. On the radio and TV, you couldn’t escape big hair, bigger shoulder pads, and songs from artists like Prince, Madonna and Bruce Springsteen. At the cinema, families lined up for films like Ghostbusters and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Against that backdrop of neon, cassette tapes and tube TVs, the budgerigar fancy quietly gathered in Wollongong to write its own piece of history.

For the first time, the National Standard was formally used as the reference point for judging. Up until then, much of what we now take for granted was still evolving. In Wollongong, things began to crystallise. Exhibitors and judges alike were starting to speak the same language of type, feather and colour, not just in principle, but in a codified, agreed Standard that would shape the birds bred for decades to come.

Another quiet revolution happened in the layout of the hall. Spectator seating was deliberately arranged so that fanciers could watch the judging in real time. It seems obvious now, but back then it was a first. Instead of straining for glimpses between rows of staging, breeders could sit, observe, take notes, and feel part of the process. It changed the atmosphere from a closed judging exercise to a shared experience – education, drama and entertainment all rolled into one.

There were other firsts, too. Wollongong was the first time an interstate judging panel was used at the Nationals. The panel brought together three men whose names still echo through the hobby:

• Kevin Kelly (NSW)
• Ian Hunter (VIC)
• Bill Silvertand (South Queensland)

It was an important symbolic step: the National truly being judged by the nation, not just the host state. Their combined experience and differing backgrounds helped to cement confidence in the results and reinforced the notion that the ANBC show belonged to all member bodies equally.

Even the logistics that year carried a sense of change and momentum. The show was judged in record time thanks to the use of two complete sets of staging. While one class was being judged, stewards could quietly change the next class on the spare staging, ready to roll straight in. The dead time between classes that older hands will remember simply melted away. It was efficient, it was organised, and it set a precedent for how a big show could be run smoothly without losing any of its gravitas.

Of course, no National is just about the birds. In the Council meeting that accompanied the show, the cost of running the Championships was front and centre. There were concerns about the financial burden on host bodies and much discussion about how to secure the future of the event. Western Australia raised the topic of sponsorship – an idea that today feels normal, but at the time was still taking shape.

Ring levies were also discussed as a possible solution, and just as quickly rejected. Even then, there was a strong feeling that supporting the Nationals should not come at the expense of discouraging members from purchasing rings and breeding birds.

One decision from that meeting has lasted far beyond Wollongong. The logo used by New South Wales for the 1984 show – proudly displayed on banners and badges – was put forward and adopted as the official logo for all future Nationals. From that moment, each Championship carried a visual thread connecting it back to Wollongong, and each host state added its chapter to a shared story.

There was also a strong sense of moving toward true national uniformity. The exchange of show cages between member bodies was seen as a meaningful step toward establishing a single national show cage, rather than each state clinging to its own design. This push for alignment didn’t happen overnight, but Wollongong was an important staging post on the journey.

Not everything was smooth, of course. New South Wales expressed dissatisfaction with several points in the written Standard, reminding us that even foundational documents are living things, open to review and refinement. The conversations that started in those meetings continue in various forms even today, whenever we discuss varieties, feather and what our budgerigars should ideally look like.

On the bench, South Australia enjoyed a particularly strong year. The final scores tell the story:

• South Australia – 304
• Victoria – 261
• New South Wales – 253
• North Queensland – 185
• South Queensland – 156
• Western Australia – 154
• Tasmania – 153

Each of those numbers hides countless hours in aviaries right across Australia: feeding, pairing, record-keeping, frustration and quiet triumph. They reflect not just the birds on the day, but the depth of breeding behind them.

Looking back now, Wollongong 1984 feels like a turning point. It was a year of firsts – first use of the National Standard as judging reference, first interstate panel, first deliberate spectator seating, first use of the now-familiar logo – and a year when the National truly started to take on its modern shape.

For those who were there, the memories are more than dates and scores. They are of old friends reunited, new friendships begun, long drives home with heads full of ideas, and perhaps a special bird or two in the back of the car. For those who weren’t, Wollongong stands as a reminder that the traditions we enjoy today were built step by step, show by show, by fanciers who were willing to try something new – all under the watchful gaze of those 1980s banners, in a world of Olympians, cassette tapes and the very first home computers.

Ron Hunt

By Bob Davis & Judy Spadarow (Circa 1999)
Former ANBC Historian

We formed a committee and advertised for members in the local papers. The first member to join the branch was Alan Ryder and we used to meet in the old weatherboard Golf Club House at Campbelltown. The committee was formed comprising mostly the members who had come from Padstow. I was the inaugural chairman, a position that I held for 16 years, and Ron Neville was the first secretary.

I recall in the early days how the shows were very friendly family events. Activities were organised to cater for this and I recall the cricket matches which often turned into a game of football. In those days the whole branch would travel to the shows, bench the birds, then go to the beach etc. for a picnic and return later to see if anyone was successful at the show.

Today this situation has changed due to a number of different reasons including work commitments as well as the many sporting activities parents attend to assist their children.

Q. What is your favourite variety or varieties?
A. Very hard question. If pressed to nominate my favourite variety I would have to say it is Greywing. With this variety I have won Grand Champion at BSA branch shows and I miss the competition I used to have with my dear old mate Frank Willard with the Greywings. My favourite colour is Normal Olive followed by Yellow. I have a reputation for breeding Black Eyed Yellows and represented NSW on six occasions at National level with this variety. They were certainly very dear to me. Overall I probably had more success on the show bench with normals due to the fact that they win more majors at shows than any other variety. I breed normals to win shows and I breed the other varieties because I like them.

Q. Earlier this year you had what every fancier would describe as the ultimate nightmare when you had 99% of your birds stolen. How have you recovered from this tragedy?
A. You probably never really recover. When you breed a variety with the same lines for 40 years and to lose all that makes you want to just walk away. More than just stealing my birds, they stole part of my life.
However, due to the generosity of Pam Giles, Bob Gorman, Frank Jefferies, Bruce Bradford, Ron Neville and Bob Bourke I was able to obtain some very good breeding stock to carry on with and start up again. I am very grateful to those people.

Q. What do you feed your breeding stock in the flights and how do you bring them into condition for the breeding season?
A. All my birds in the flights receive just plain panicum millet and water only. Then about eight weeks prior to the planned commencement of the breeding season I start to get them ready. I introduce hulled oats and then finally sprouted seed. I generally run two breeding periods throughout the year, the first commencing Jan/Feb and the second Aug/Sept. I allow a little leeway either side for holidays. Very rarely do I allow the pairs to have more than two rounds of chicks.

Q. Do you feed any extras, such as soft food, green food, vitamins etc.?
A. The only green food I feed to budgerigars is sprouted seed. I believe sprouted seed is the best thing that you can feed budgerigars and it is also the most natural and the easiest digested of all soaked seed. The basis of this sprouted seed is Canary Tonic which is a varied mixture of seeds used by, as the name implies, canary breeders. I then work the birds onto whole sprouted oats and wheat. However care needs to be taken with the use of wheat as it tends to create a problem with undershot beaks. I also sometimes give mung bean sprouts although I am unsure of their true food value – you don’t find them growing wild out in the bush.

Q. How do you do your cull? How old are your birds before you cull?
A. Second question first. All birds are into adult feather before any are considered for culling – at least six months old. I catch up the original pair and their progeny and compare. If the result was poor and I knew from previous years that the cock produced good birds, I will keep him to pair to another hen next year. Likewise, if the hen is of very good type I may keep her for another try next year. Generally I will get rid of all that pair’s young. The next pair I catch up, the progeny may include the best bird I bred all year and therefore I make this bird my “key” bird. I then go looking for all its cousins, aunties, uncles, brothers and sisters. Then using this “key” bird in the desired combination, I develop that line and this is where you get your best show birds from. If you find that the year’s results from the desired pairings are not giving you the birds you hoped for and this may have happened over a couple of breeding seasons, then you have reached the point where you may have to bring in an out cross.

Q. Do you use foster pairs?
A. Not as a standard practice, but you do it from time to time even though you don’t set out to. With Black Eyed Yellows, I never knew if they would do the right thing by me. Quite often the best ones would just decide they weren’t going to feed, so then the not so good ones became the foster parents. I found that Black Eyed Yellows took a lot of starting off to feed, I don’t know why. Often, I would take an older youngster out of somewhere else and put it in with them and that would start them off but other times they just weren’t going to feed and that was that.

Q. What’s your ideal for preparing a bird for a show?
A. Ron Neville used to say I could tell you this in five minutes when I was asked to give a lecture on the subject. First and foremost, the bird has to be bred with the right temperament for showing. This is what we are not doing today, we’re all caught up with breeding the English type feather and now there are so many of them around, people had better start concentrating on breeding the right show temperament into their birds. What I liked to do was keep the birds that I was showing in a separate aviary, then prior to the show I would hose them, really hose them, then on the Saturday afternoon I would catch up the birds and put them in the show cages and go off to the show on the Sunday morning. I don’t like the idea of keeping them in cabinets all the time. Bearing in mind that I’ve been a track and field coach, so fitness of the birds is important. In December each year, I’d go through and catch all the birds up and then decide if I was going to show Light Greens, Dark Greens, Cobalts or Greywings or whatever and I would write all this down as this would be my entry then for the whole year. These birds would be placed in a separate aviary, then the day before the show, if it was Light Green I was showing, I would catch up all the Light Greens and the one that was in the best feather was the one that went. It’s not good enough to have one good bird of any variety, you have to have five good birds of that variety to show that variety successfully.

Q. Tell us about your judging career, when did it start?
A. In about 1975, I was invited to join the judges panel. It was a different system in those days, they waited until you had benched a couple of Grand Champions before they asked you to be a judge.
Again I’m not sure of the dates, but I was the NSW representative that sat on the inaugural committee to decide how we would form the ANBC judges panel and following on to that, I was the NSW person who sat on the inaugural examining panel. We had to work out the process for examining national judges and we said immediately that everyone that was sitting on the examining panel would have to stand down and do the qualifications themselves. Everyone did in turn, and I was the last one to stand down, so I sat for the exam in Perth when it was on there about four years ago.

Q. What were your greatest thrills on the show bench?
A. The day back in 1982 I think it was, when I came so close to winning the Grand Champion of the BSA Annual Show. It came down to two birds, a Laurel (Dark Green) cock bird owned by Edgar Barham and a Laurel (Dark Green) hen owned by myself and they stood there and took a vote and it was four judges for the cock and four judges for the hen. Finally, after some very nerve-racking time, the decision went to Edgar’s cock bird, but all the same it was a great thrill. It was also thrilling for me to have birds represent NSW at the Nationals, seven times over the years, six times with Black Eyed Yellows and once with a Spangle.

Q. What advice would you give to a newcomer to the budgerigar fancy?
A. Be aware of the fact that it’s a competitive hobby and if you don’t like shows you might be better off joining an avicultural society. If you do like shows, start off with Normals, and no matter what other varieties you like, always have the Normals as your mainstay. Even if you’re not showing them competitively, you should be able to develop the Normals more readily and more easily than any of the varieties you might fancy and use your own Normals to outcross. Having said that, you realise that Black Eyed Yellows need Cinnamonwings to outcross to, not Normals.

Q. Any parting comments or advice as far as the club is concerned?
A. I’d like to see the introduction of more social functions and not necessarily around the birds. Although we have quite a few husband and wife teams, a lot of the spouses are not in the least bit interested in birds, but if they can get to know the other people in the club socially it can make a big difference.
Remember always, that the idea of a hobby, is something you do in your leisure time for your pleasure. If you lose sight of those two words it becomes too bitter and too petty because the competition side of it should be secondary. As I am a very competitive person, it’s funny to hear that from me but it’s true. You should not let the competitive side of it, or your own personal ambitions for the hobby or within the hobby, stand in the way of the close personal friendships you make along the way.

United Budgerigar Society

By Jen Jewel Brown

‘People used to come on their bikes with their birds on the back,’ Rowe remembers. ‘The Bush family showed cage birds and Charley Bush used to push a pram up Ruckers Hill, Northcote, with the birds in it. He was a garbo with the [then] Fitzroy Council, I believe. He only showed finches – male finches, because they were the ones that just showed best. You didn’t have to breed them to show them in those days.’

In 1957 some Northcote members left to form the breakaway Heidelberg Cage Bird and Budgerigar Society. Despite this challenge, Budgie News reported in December 1958 that Northcote’s 20th anniversary meeting was ‘very well attended …The highlight of the evening was a talk by Mr Tommy Cox, a foundation member, on the origin and growth of the Society over the past 20 years.’ (Oh that Tommy was here to guide me now on the history of that first score of years of our progenitor club, much of which appears to be lost in the proverbial mists.)

By the first issue of Budgie News, in November 1958, Northcote’s ‘Club News’ round-up mentioned the flourishing society had 236 members, and that their G. Roberts had just taken out the Royal Melbourne Show Grand Champion bird award, a first for the club.

Harry Eady joined Northcote and became Secretary in 1959, kicking off a hugely influential life in the fancy as a long-term mover and shaker; first from that club, then, when the club re-merged with Heidelberg, the resultantly much stronger entity.

Rowe remembers Eady was Secretary of the Budgerigar Council [firstly ‘of Australia’ then renamed ‘of Victoria’, since all affiliated clubs at the time, save two Tasmanian entities, were in that state] for about 20 years or more, and edited Budgie News for long while.

‘He was right into everything, Harry,’ says Rowe. ‘He was at the first meeting that the Council had,’ in 1964, pushing towards a national Australian competition.

Ray Howard was around 11, he recalls, nine years younger than Alan Rowe, when he joined Northcote. ‘My father bought some budgies off a neighbour for three or four shillings each,’ he remembers. It was dark in winter when he carried three or four cages on foot as he made his way to Northcote’s evening shows each month.

There was also a busy local bird dealer back then called Alan Beattie, who would buy forty or fifty birds off a breeder at a time. ‘I used to ride my pushbike to Heidelberg to check out Beatty’s birds in the sixties and late seventies,” says Howard. Beattie, with an eye for talent, would give the keen young budgie fancier good prices. ‘As a teenager, I bought a hen from the dealer once and won the United Diploma Show with her the next day! A couple of people said oh, she’s a bit old – two – probably won’t breed. But she bred a Kew Bird Society Diploma bird for me.

‘Coles and Woolworths used to sell birds back then too,’ Howard adds, recalling that the cage birds people used to show back then included ‘any sort of parrots, cockatoos, canaries, doves, quail and java finches.
In July 1967, in Budgie News, Northcote reported that their committee had met with Heidelberg’s and the two clubs had vowed to re-combine. Rowe recalls that it had become hard to find secretaries and committees, so they decided to amalgamate. The first joint meeting was 1^st May. ‘Heidelberg didn’t want to call it Northcote, and Northcote didn’t want to call it Heidelberg: fair enough. Jack Masters was the president of Heidelberg, and he came up with the name “United” – that was the easy way out.’

Meanwhile the Agricultural Society encouraged the careful breeding and upkeep of show birds and club members embraced it too. Showing at the Easter Royal Melbourne Show was certainly high profile. However the birds were on display for four days, in their small cages. With bird welfare in mind, club members began to skip that event.

Other venues Northcote/United have met in over the decades include the Scots Church in Burgundy St, Heidelberg; the Sea Scouts Hall in Ivanhoe; an RSL hall in Rosanna; the (then) Holy Trinity church at the corner of Shaftesbury Parade and Stott Street, Thornbury; the Eaglemont Scouts Hall in Ivanhoe and finally (upon Alan Rowe’s suggestion that we needed a bigger venue) Plenty Hall, Plenty, a lovely old heritage ‘bush’-style hall which is serving us beautifully.

Our current President Alan Baxter joined United Budgerigar Society Incorporated in late 1988, from Diamond Valley, after years of loyal service as President of the BCV. ‘Prior to that, I was in a club called Diamond Valley.

‘I remember our current member Michael O’Connell’s dad and uncle judging at United’s shows back then,’ reflects Baxter. ‘Another regular judge of choice was Bruce Shepherd (RIP); a big supporter of our club.’ At the time Baxter admired the big birds bred by BCV Life Member Jack Watts (RIP).

‘A big thing around the eighties, in particular,’ says Baxter, ‘was the inter-club competitions between Diamond Valley, United and Eastern. They were well supported and very competitive.

‘The reason I switched over to United, was because I felt I got a lot of help – in particular from Alan Rowe,’ says Baxter. ‘You feel like you’re getting somewhere with the birds. He’s been a mentor to a lot of us.’
That is certainly also true for this writer. For one of the rarer ‘hens’ in the fancy, I have also gained tremendous help, knowledge and sometimes really useful birds from club members ‘Rowie’, Alan Baxter, Steve, Bev and Gemma Bradley, Vic Murray (who has done so much for United through creating and maintaining our tremendously informative website at unitedbudgies.org.au), Adrian Praeger and recently James ‘Jim’ Meale, in particular, even as I witnessed more women spread their wings in the world of breeding and showing the clever and endlessly beautiful, loving, song-gifted and genetically complex creature that is Melopsittacus Undulatus.

The people that have made up UBS over the years of course have changed. There have been various spats, blow ups, reprimands, people walking and all of that. But you get that in any sort of club, don’t you? And in the end lessons are learnt and wiser heads prevail. And luckily there always seems to be just enough camaraderie, care and cooperation to roll through another amazing budgie show relatively intact.
In tribute to the indefatigable Harry Eady, the BCV’s Annual Harry Eady Adult State Championship is a highly valued event in Victoria, and out of all our state budgerigar societies, there can only be one winner each year whose name is engraved on the shield.

Since BCV Secretary Ray Slade kindly reminded me that United are the current 2025 Adult ‘Premiers’, I asked our esteemed President Alan Baxter to take a look at United’s tally on the actual shield. UBS has won 22 of the (Adult) Shields listed there, since 1998 (although the shield competition, of course, started earlier). We’ve had similar success in the Young Bird and UBC shields over the years. A pretty good record, but these days many clubs are seriously competitive in the battles for the three shields. Nothing can be taken for granted. But isn’t life like that?

There is another award I need to mention. For the last two years, United’s Annual Diploma Grand Champion budgerigar breeder-exhibitor has been awarded the Alan Rowe Perpetual Trophy. The redoubtable Ian Hunter has deservedly won both of them. In a salute to the sharp-as-a-tack inspiration to us all, who still loads staging in and out, tells a good joke, is kind and can show manage with the best of them, our trophy could have no other name inspiration. Good luck to all for the seasons ahead. May your dreams take wing.

Current UBS Champions:

• Alan Baxter – President and Life Member
• Bradley Family (Steve [Vice President] Bev & Gemma)
• David Spink – Secretary and Life Member
• Alan Rowe – Life Member
• James Meale
• Vic Murray – Life Member
• Bill Schembri

Other Committee members

• Adrian Praeger – Treasurer
• Jen Jewel Brown
• Tony McMahon
• Mick Mann
• Michael O’Connell
• Mark Bridgeman
• Matt Jones
• Sean Wong

ROLL OF HONOUR

• Jack Masters – Dec’
• Barry Barnes – Dec’
• Harold Morgan -Dec’
• Harry Eady – Dec’  Vale Harry Eady

LIFE MEMBERS

• Harold Barkley – Retired

OPEN MEMBERS 

• Bridgeman Family (Mark)
• Eva De Rango
• Ray Howard

INTERMEDIATE MEMBERS

• Adrian Praeger
• Allan Chalmers
• Michael O’Connell
• Ray Low
• Rob Friedrichsen

BEGINNER MEMBERS  

• Cathy Godden
• Gary Beale
• Isabella & Julie Tokhi
• Jen Jewel Brown
• Matthew Jones
• Michael Hanlon
• Michael Mann (Mick)
• Michael Searl
• Ruby Neighbour
• Sean Wong
• Tony Mc Mahon

SOCIAL MEMBERS 

• Michala Millar
• Mario Sciberras (Cage Man)

HONORARY MEMBERS

• Brian Reynolds
• Mark Bridgeman
• Graham Gunsser
• Gerry Pigot
• Trevor Drew (Dec) & Annie Wood

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

• Thomastown Produce

This month we had the Baw Baw and Western Diploma Shows, rounding out the Diploma Shows for 2025. Congratulations to all of the Clubs, and all of the exhibitors.

According to the Budgerigar Council of Victoria Inc. Rules of Association (Constitution) the 2026 Annual General Meeting is a Triennial Election whereby all Councillor positions on the Budgerigar Council of Victoria Inc. will be declared vacant.

Nominations are hereby called from members for the position (maximum 14) of Councillor on the Budgerigar Council of Victoria Inc. Note: Any financial member can stand for office, nominate a member for office and vote at the meeting. Note: Office bearers will be elected at the ensuing committee meeting. Nomination Form can be found on the BCV Website. Please ensure you have your completed forms returned to BCV Secretary Ray Slade by Monday December 1st.

Regards,

Peter Thurn
President – BCV

On 1st November the much-anticipated Mid-State Annual Show was once again held at the Orange Showground, on a day that was four seasons in one. A pleasant morning turned cold and windy, followed by heavy rain and a warm afternoon.

There were just under 300 birds benched, with this the last BNSW Annual Club show event on the 2025 calendar.

Mid-State were very excited to have Phil Hill from New Zealand as one of the judges, who teamed up with Dan Scheerer and Craig Buckingham to officiate at this event.

For Phil, it was his first trip to Australia, and it sure was a hectic schedule, to make the trip across the ditch, followed by a 3.5 hr / 260 km drive to Orange. A last-minute aviary tour to local breeder Lindsay Fardell (not exhibiting the following day) was organised for the judges, followed by a get-together dinner in Orange at the local club.

Show day went smoothly with some large classes for the judges. Whilst Phil had never judged some of the varieties like White Capped and Saddlebacks (that they don’t have in New Zealand), he had clearly researched and understood the varieties as well as anyone. His judging skills were exceptionally sharp, and Mid-State were very privileged to have all three judges do such a great job.

Top honours went to Eric Whitton with his super Spangle Grey Cock winning Grand Champion. The same bird had won Reserve Champion the week before at Canberra Budgerigar Club’s show. The extra week had brought him into tip top condition and he was a well-deserved winner!

The recently renovated Canberra Rex Hotel offered not just accommodation, but 900m2 ground-floor event space, catering, 24-hour reception, audiovisual services, etc, that seemed to more than meet all the requirements to host a ANBC Trill National Budgerigar Show.

So, after much discussion and a lot of angst (and by a very large majority vote), the Canberra Rex Hotel is now the chosen venue for the 2027 ANBC Trill National Show!

I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard on this to date, particularly Ann Hand, James Matthews and Craig Buckingham. A working group is now being put together and headed up by Dan Scheerer to progress plans to move forward.

Social budgerigar club days tend to be laid back and lots of fun. From all reports this was one of them! All the feedback that filtered through from this event was just what a great day it was. Everyone learnt new things, shared tips and tricks, ate lots, and most of all had fun! The amazing Kelly Hill and hubby Trent were the hard-working team that did much of the organising. Gary Gazzard played a huge role in mentoring and tutoring the judges, Paul McCusker took charge of the BBQ, and Maree McCusker and Catherine Turner were the raffle sellers.

Hunter Valley won the Garden Show Challenge Shield again this year, but there was fun and smiles all round!

As we head into the festive season and Santa prepares for his annual visit, I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge some of the fantastic support South Queensland has received in the lead-up to next year’s ANBC Nationals.

Firstly, many of you will know Bill Boal, the senior member of the Boal family and father of Anthony and Mitchell. To those who know Bill, he is the Yellow Face fanatic of the partnership and a great supporter of SQBBA. Next year, Bill is supporting SQBBA in a very practical way through his company, Precision Labour Hire, by donating two days of four men to work on the Nationals. They will be on site on the Thursday to help set up the bird room and staging, and again on the all-important Monday for the clean-up and loading of the container – a time when help is often hardest to find. This generous contribution will significantly ease the pressure on those who have already put in a big weekend.

The other wonderful supporters I’d like to acknowledge are Ron and Fran Woodhead. Ron is well known across South East Queensland. After stepping back from full-time work as an avian vet, he now attends many bird shows and events with his trade table. His extensive knowledge as an avian vet is invaluable to breeders seeking advice on bird welfare. Ron is also the SQBBA vet and will be in attendance at the Nationals with his trade table, as well as being the on-call vet for the zones over the weekend if needed.

To add a bit of fun, here’s a small quiz: we already know that Richard Miller will be one of the judges for the 2026 Nationals – can you guess the other three?

Judge 2

• Has judged five Nationals
• Has judged overseas
• Supports Cronulla in the NRL
• Supports Newcastle United in the English Premier League

Judge 3

• Is a Virgo
• Has been to Canada (not as a judge)
• Is regarded as the “favourite uncle”
• Is always smiling

Judge 4

• Lived in Western Australia for a period
• Was Vice President of the Australian Salers
• Has won more awards showing cattle than budgerigars
• Both he and his son are cattle judges
• Fun fact: all three of these judges are taller than the ANBC President!

The registration forms for the 2026 Nationals are now available on both the ANBC website and the SQBBA website. On the forms, you will see details of our Saturday night buffet and presentations by Richard Miller and Ali Bouresli. For any budgerigar enthusiast, this will be an evening not to be missed. Having these two highly respected gentlemen together at the 50th ANBC Nationals is a tremendous achievement by the SQBBA committee.

I would also like to thank Alex Prez for his sponsorship in bringing Richard Miller out. If you are planning a holiday, please support Alex at Cruise Advisor for your next trip. SQBBA has also engaged Alex to assist with flights for Ali Bouresli’s visit to Australia.

Finally, SQBBA has launched a 32-lot auction with birds donated by leading breeders in South Queensland to raise funds for the 2026 Nationals. I would like to sincerely thank all breeders for their generous donations and ongoing support.

Wishing you all a safe, happy Christmas and a successful year ahead with your birds.

Garry Hibberd
SQBBA President

Another month has passed here in the Great North, and as usual at this time of year, things have quietened down across our Zone. Most breeders have packed up for the long, hot and humid summer ahead, while a few are pushing on, hoping to secure some early rings with the new ring date starting December 15th. As I write this, summer storms are rolling in, bringing much-needed relief and some very welcome rain.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our members—and our many friends right across Australia—a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2026. May your eggs be full, your sheds stay cool, and may the year ahead bring you every success with your breeding.

All the very best from the North.

Warm regards,
Bill Schultz
NQBZ President

A good number of members gathered at the Gladstone Yacht Club on Sunday the 23rd of November, to celebrate the Christmas party of the Capricornia Budgerigar Society Inc. We were situated on the Back veranda of the club overlooking the peaceful view of boats moored in Auckland Inlet.
A big thank you to Shayla and Michelle for making up and presenting everyone with a wonderful gift bag on arrival. Good cheer and great conversations flowed like mulled wine, with everyone enjoying themselves over a very enjoyable meal.
A bit of fun was had with a Secret Santa Steal being held with members bringing a variety of interesting a fun gifts and some ernest stealing of the more popular gifts.
The executive of the CBS wishes all our members and in fact all members of our great hobby a very Merry and safe Christamas.

Moving into December, the Rare Budgerigar Club of WA is holding its annual Christmas function. The club will also begin the new year in a new location in Craigie, which is an exciting step forward. These events will see out the year for all of our affiliated clubs.

Looking ahead to 2026, the Western Australian Budgerigar Council (WABC) will hold its AGM in January 2026, and the WABC State Show and Derby will be held in Coodanup, WA, on 15 February 2026, hosted by the South West Budgerigar Club of WA.

The WABC continues its fundraising efforts in preparation for hosting the 2028 ANBC Nationals, with a lucky number raffle currently underway, offering two quality birds from champion breeders Mick Gearing and Les Trumper. If you would like to purchase tickets, please contact Les Woodcock at

📧 les.woodcock78@gmail.com
📞 0407 476 955

There are still plenty of tickets available, so please support WABC in raising the necessary funds.

Our show cage raffle is also nearing its conclusion, with the draw to take place on 6 December 2025 at the Metropolitan Budgerigar Club of WA Christmas function and Silent Auction. First prize is five show cages, with a bag of seed for second prize, kindly donated by Jandakot Stock and Pet Supplies.

Looking forward into 2026, the WABC hopes to run several additional fundraising events to support Western Australia’s preparations for the 2028 Nationals. Regards,

Les Woodcock
Secretary

RBC Table Show 2^nd November 2025

• Best in Show – Non- rare – Chris Thomas
• Reserve Best in Show – Non-rare – Chris Thomas
• Best in Show – Rare – Chris Thomas
• Reserve Best in Show – Rare – Chris Thomas
• Best Novice – Brian Bell

SWBC Broken and Unbroken Cap Challenge 16^th November 2025

Broken Cap Show

• Best in Show – Les Trumper
• Best Opposite Sex – Les Trumper
• Best Open – Les Trumper
• Best Intermediate – Ian Cullan
• Best Novice – Les Woodcock

Unbroken Cap Show

• Best In Show –  Les Woodcock
• Best Opposite Sex – Les Woodcock
• Best Open – Jennifer Camarda
• Best Intermediate – Ian Cullen
• Best Novice – Les Woodcock

MBC C&B Gearing UBC Championship Show 8^th November 2025

• Champion bird in Show – M&D Gearing
• Reserve Champion – D Rayner
• Very Highly Commended – M&D Gearing
• Highly Commended – Les Woodcock
• Commended – Les Woodcock
• Champion Open Grade – M&D Gearing
• Champion Intermediate – Dale Rayner
• Champion Novice – Les Woodcock

MBC Table Show 8^th November 2025

• Best in Show – Ben Bathols
• Reserve Best in Show – M&D Gearing
• Best Opposite Sex – Dale Rayner
• Best Adult – Ben Bathols
• Best Open – M&D Gearing
• Best Intermediate – Ben Bathols
• Best Novice – Les Woodcock

South Australia has enjoyed a busy month, with meeting’s focused on a mix of education and fellowship. From technical incubation insights to social catch-ups and hands-on “come and try” evenings, the focus across the state has clearly been on lifting skills while keeping the hobby welcoming and fun.

The Budgerigar Society of South Australia (BSSA) kicked the month off with two feature presentations from Troy Holmes and George England. Troy’s talk, “18 Days of Incubation”, was a deep dive into what really happens in the nest from lay to hatch, and how breeders can improve hatchability, not just fertility. Between 2010 and 2015, Troy was experiencing good fertility but losing too many chicks before hatch – losses that are too often dismissed under the broad, unhelpful label of “dead in shell”. Instead of accepting that, he broke the incubation period into three risk windows:

Early deaths (0–7 days): commonly linked with bacterial issues such as E. coli, staphylococci and salmonella, as well as nest disturbance from mice, storms or even overly attentive cock birds.

Mid-term deaths (7–15 days): often associated with temperature swings, vibration, malposition when eggs are scattered, or contamination entering through the shell pores.

Late deaths (15–18 days): typically cluster when the chick draws down into the air cell. Here, incorrect humidity can be fatal – too wet and chicks drown; too dry and they become “shrink-wrapped”. Poor incubation, dirty eggs, weak shells and porosity problems can all prevent a chick from rotating and pipping.

Troy emphasised that shell structure and porosity really matter. Shells must exchange gas and moisture, but the same pores will admit bacteria if eggs are wet or soiled. Even well-meant handling can be harmful. Hens naturally roll older eggs to the edge of the clutch for better gas exchange; when we put those eggs back in the middle, we may quietly kill perfectly viable embryos.

He also highlighted a long list of compounding factors: mould in nest-box air, mites and lice distracting hens, contaminated food or water, vitamin B12 deficiency leading to anaemia and poor oxygenation, overweight hens producing dirtier eggs, and inconsistent brooding behaviour, particularly in younger hens.

Troy’s turnaround came not from any magic product, but from disciplined, low-drama management and targeted hygiene. He:

• Standardised nest checks at the same time each day
• Improved airflow and dander extraction in the bird room
• Marked eggs and then largely left them alone
• Swapped to fine-grade coconut husk in nest boxes
• Used spare nest inserts so boxes could be cycled, cleaned and sanitised (dishwasher/hypochlorite) between rounds

To reduce bacterial load, he eliminated soaked seed, switched to a dry soft-food alternative, and added diatomaceous earth to the seed mix (with appropriate PPE). Nest boxes were dusted with D-Mite, he managed mites weekly, and he ran short vitamin B12 courses in the water to lift chick vigour around hatch. The practical, step-by-step approach gave members plenty of ideas to take home for the coming breeding season.

George noted the depth in the Grey Greens, particularly among the top ten, where very small differences in mask and overall deportment became decisive.  He passed on his thanks to the BCV stewards and show team for their organisation and hospitality, describing it as a thoroughly rewarding trip and a valuable learning opportunity for both South Australia and Victoria.

President Con Orfanos opened proceedings, and it was encouraging to see new faces, including visitors who had first met the club at Budgie Fest and have now come back to get more involved. Con announced that, after a strong year with their auctions, the North East will be paying for members’ Christmas dinners at next month’s meeting. The club will also supply Kris Kringle presents, and members and partners were encouraged to register for the 10 December event. Partners will be able to purchase counter meals at cost directly from the Hotel Windsor.

The Tasmanian Budgerigar Council held its annual Ray Ryder Unbroken Cap Show on 22 November at the Richmond Volunteer Fire Station in Richmond.

Judge for the day was Jim Fletcher (ANBC Judge).

This was a small club show, well supported by local members and several fanciers from the north of the state who braved the roadworks to make the trip south. Members and partners gathered from around midday. While most stayed to watch the judging, some partners took a short walk into the scenic town of Richmond for a little shopping.

Once judging was complete, everyone headed outdoors for a BBQ lunch. There was plenty of conversation about the challenges of breeding this season, particularly with the constant cold, wet weather (including snow on Mount Wellington the week before the show!).

After lunch it was time for the awards.

Results

• Best UBC in Show: Peter Howard
• Reserve UBC in Show: Dale Ward
• Best Open UBC: Dale Ward
• Best Intermediate UBC: Peter Howard
• Best Novice UBC: Michael Jones
• Best Young Bird in Show: Geoff Voss

With the awards concluded, it was time to share some very special news. The Tasmanian Budgerigar Society was delighted to present Trevor Johnson with Life Membership of the club.

Trevor has been involved with the club for more than 30 years and has always been ready to help in any situation. He has served on committees over the years and is consistently the first to put his hand up when something needs fixing, repairing or replacing. He works tirelessly at club shows, nothing is ever too much trouble, and he brings a wealth of knowledge which he shares freely.

The Tasmanian Budgerigar Society sincerely thanks Trevor for his ongoing support and hopes there are many more years of his involvement to come.

Warm Regards,

Dale Ward
BCT President

🎉 Successful Day for the Auckland Budgerigar Club! 🎉
What a brilliant day for the Auckland Budgie Club! We had a successful Nest Feather Show and Bird Sale, alongside our AGM! It was wonderful to see a good number of members there today, and we had a slow but steady flow of buyers enjoying the sale.

📜 During the AGM, we successfully discussed a number of important reports and documents, including changes to our constitution and financial reports for 2025.

We also had great discussions about:
• Our 2026 Show (scheduled for May 30th & 31st).
• The possibility of growing our club beyond Auckland.
• Setting up a Facebook page and finding more effective ways of advertising and publicising our club.
• Growing our membership and strengthening our newsletter.

🤝 A huge congratulations to the following members who were nominated and elected to the ABC Committee for 2026! Thank you for stepping up to lead the club:
• President: Karl Vasau
• Vice Presidents: Sam Baker & Tony Grinter
• Secretary/Treasurer: Simone Holderness
• Committee Members: Larry & Anne Dagg, Vince & Lynne Huston, Jolyn & Toni Harris, and John Rosser

Thank you again to everyone who attended and contributed to a productive day! We look forward to a fantastic year ahead!

Regards,

Karl Vasau
Auckland Budgerigar Club

A parting thought – let us remember those who lost loved ones, mates, or friends during 2025. This time of year is perfect for picking up the phone and calling someone important to you—just to say hello, and to let them know you’re thinking of them. It will mean more than you realise.

On behalf of the ANBC Executive, I wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and an exceptional 2026. Thank you for a memorable 2025.

Neale R Love
Editor, ANBC Gazette
secretary@anbc.org.au
Mob 0421 471 781