Conference 7.286::pet_birds

I do, what kinds of questions do you have?

Karen

    Karen,
    
    I want to show one of my budgies and my cockatiel. 
    How should I prepair them? 
    I need to trim their toenails should I cut them or should I file them?
    The both have their wings cut will this affect the judging, and
    the cut was not so straight should I trim them up to look neat?
    I have been giving them showers every morning before I go to work
    and I only use water. (I have heard nasty stories about feather
    conditioners)
    Is there anything I else I should be doing?
    
    Thank you very much!
    
    Donna

Hi Donna,

Do you have adequate show cages?  I use a dremmel tool to file
my parrots nails down on a regular basis.  I do nothing special
come show time with their nails.  My wing clips don't look like
their wings have been clipped.  The outside primary's are all
intact so when their wings are tucked you can't tell they are
clipped.  The judge will be viewing the conformation of your
bird based on the standard for your group.  While wing clipping
is allowed if a bad job is done, it can visually impact the
overall conformation of your bird.   As far as feather 
conditioners go,  I tried adding listerine (very small amount)
to cold water for feather tightening but don't see any better
results than using cool water.  I do bath my birds the day
before the show then sneek in a few mists every now and then
while at the show up until an hour before they are shown.

Remember to give your birds several days in their show cages
before the show.  Don't just put them in when you get on the
show grounds.  Your birds must perch and if their hanging on
the side of the cage due to fear or whatever they aren't going
to be competitive.

Oh yes, I do rub a pinch of vaseline on their feet and beak the
morning before the show to give shine and luster.  Don't do it
just before you show because it looks then like you "rubbed
vaseline on them".  Remember also you can't take your birds out
of their cages once on the show grounds (their are some exceptions)
or you can be disqualified.

Read the show rules very carefully when you enter because the
rules from club to club can vary.

I hope this helps.

    Karen,
    
    I have some show cages that are borrowed. I am having my father
    make me some using the borrowed ones as examples.
    Thanks for the advice on the feet and beak. I am going to try it 
    tonight to see how it looks.
    
    Wish me luck!
    Donna

    Hi Donna,
    
    I heard some good advice this past weekend from the cockatiel judge
    that our bird club brought in for the annual show--Jaynee Salan by
    name.  She is a 'panel judge' for the National Cockatiel Society, 
    which I guess is important, at least in some quarters.  More interesting, 
    though, were some of the tips she gave about how to get ready for show
    competition.  Jaynee has been doing this stuff for about twenty years. 
    I don't know if these pointers from Jaynee apply to birds other than
    cockatiels, but maybe some other noters can comment on the following:
    
    	o Jaynee stressed getting the bird used to the cage.  Her suggestions
          included:
    
    	  1) have the bird live in the show cage for about five days 
             just before the show; start out with shorter times before that --
             a few hours a day -- to get the bird used to the cage.  
    	
          2) because of cockatiels' curiosity, drape a cloth across the 
             bottom half of the cage-front during the cage 'training' 
             days to encourage them to jump up on the perches and not stay 
             on the bottom of the cage (guess this is a common problem that, 
             again, will drastically reduce the bird's chances for a
             ribbon).  
        
          3) if the bird is still having trouble perching, turn the show
             cage upside down...the roof is set in at an angle; the bird
             will prefer the level perch to the slanted floor (former 
             ceiling).
    
    	o Poking and prodding....looks like this from the observer's 
          perspective, but actually the judges are very careful just to
          nudge the bird, probably not even touching it, to get it to
          perch so it has a fair chance to be judged in its best posture.
          You might want to get your birds used to this part of what is in
          store for them, too.  Jaynee used a wooden snare drum stick when
          she worked with the birds as she judged them--she said it
          was as close the the perch as she could get, yet had a smaller
          end on it so was easier to use and less frightening to the birds.
    	
    	o Most shows require you to line the bottom of the show cage with 
          clean corn cob litter, bird seed, or clean paper.  Check your
          show's rules to be sure...it's usually too late once you get to the 
          show to change your show cage around. It might mean moving the bird,
          for one thing, which risks ruffled feathers, tiring the bird, or 
          heaven forbid, the bird has a chance to get loose.  Since the
          bird will be confined to the show cage from the time you leave
          the house to when you return...maybe as long as 12 hours...
          be sure they are well fed the night before and morning of the
          show.  Even using bird seed on the bottom of the cage may not
          guarantee they will eat it!
    
    	o You'll probably also find that you will need to attach a small water 
          dish to the side of the show cage.  Jaynee had what I thought was
          a rather creative idea about this, too.  She uses a water bottle with 
          a spout on it, like runners and bicyclists use.  She lets the birds 
          have water the morning of the show, watches them drink, then extracts 
          the extra from the dish.  She repeats this during the show day, 
          always extracting the extra water after the bird is finished
          drinking.  She does this because cockatiels are apparenty notorious 
          for dragging their tails through the water dish and thus ruining 
          their chances on the show bench.  
    
    	o She finished by saying that the crest is very important for a 
          cockatiel to win on the show bench -- also uniformity of color.
          This is in addition to what all of the judges seem to look for:
          feather condition, comformation compared to the ideal for the
          type of bird, and calmness in the show cage (one exception might
          be Amazon parrots, where the judges seem to want to see some 
          territorial display when they wave their wands around the bird).
    
    	o Paperwork - as the bird's owner, you will have to fill out some
          forms and decide which class of competition you are entering.
          You'll typically pay a small fee to the club to register each
          bird you show.  (Most shows are for single birds, not pairs, 
          although there is a finch pair class and an open pairs class
          at some shows. So each bird must be in its own show cage.)
    	
          The subdivisions for the judging classes in the cockatiel division
          are many -- you have to indicate as the owner whether the bird is
          an old or young, male or female; whether it has won a top ribbon
          before (advanced) or has not yet won a ribbon (novice...means the 
          bird, not you!).  Then the bird has to be classified into one of 
          twelve categories depending on color type, and further subdivisions 
          inside that.  
    
    An alternative for your first show would be to enter the pet division,
    which will put your bird up against any number of types of birds
    besides cockatiels.  The judges are just as thorough and careful. 
    There may or may not be a separate children's competition (the majority
    of the competitors in the pet class are youngsters, but not all of them
    are).  As a sidenote: at Saturday's show, one 13 year-old walked away
    with a  top cockatiel division prize, so it really is the bird that is
    being judged.
    
    Donna, all the people helping with the show are also there to help YOU, so
    don't be afraid to say this is the first time you have shown the birds.
    Have a great time and let us know how you do!
    
    Linda      

    Hello,
    
    Well what an experence. when we first put Spot (cockatiel) in her
    cage all she did was pace like a wild one. After about two days
    of breaking her into her cage she was fine. Lady (budgie) took to
    her cage like a fish to water. I had to leave them from friday night
    untill Sunday untill 3:00 I really did miss them. Lady picked up
    a 1st place sticker for her class (there were no other birdies like
    her) but she came in 4th under general budgies. Spot on the other
    hand came home with with a 1st place sticker (no other light pied
    there) but won a 1st place under all pied's and a 4th over all (out
    of 6 cockatiels) she got a 1st. place blue ribbon. the judge said 
    he would have given her 3rd. place but she looked like she wanted 
    to take a nap....and just as he said this she tucked her head back 
    to take a snooz. If spot would have gotten 3rd place over all she
    would have come home with a piece of bird crystal.
    
    Not bad for a bunch of novice's.
    Donna