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Photo Credits: Blake Ma - Pied and Violet Lovebirds |
Exhibiting Lovebirds: A Novice Perspective - by Blake Ma
Where do I begin? My first lovebird that owned me was a SplitCinnamino. I think I first heard of shows while searching for bird fairs in my area. I went to my first show in 2003 in Chicago. I woke up at what I thought was the crack of dawn at 6AM and dragged myself and my favorite lovebird, a Splitcinnamino, in his white cage to the Chicago show. I think mine was the only bird in a non-show cage, so he did stand out just a little bit. The little N on the top left corner of my tag was probably not necesssary. Little would I know that in my future expeditions to shows that 6AM was wonderful and much better than the midnight drives or the 3AM inter and intra-state speeding sessions. My Splitcinnamino was the only Australian Cinnamon variation I had ever seen, and I was amazed by the number of lovebirds there. Never before had I seen so many. I had no idea what to do or how to fill out the tag, but I asked around and my bird got put into the Australian Cinnamon Green class. It probably could have gotten put into the AOC class, but I didn’t know what AOC was then. It was then that I realized that my Sunny(yes, very original) looked very bright and yellowish compared to the other Australian Cinnamons that had a beautiful green cast to their yellow feathers. And so began the learning… The first person that befriended me at that show was Linda Brandt and then Doree Bedwell. It was wonderful of them to do that, because from then on when I went to shows, I would see familiar faces. There was also 1 exhibitor who told me, “You came all this way and only brought 1 bird?”. My advice is not to let people like this intimidate you. Also, the comment wasn’t necessarily meant in a negative way, they probably had to drive a couple of hours, whereas it only took me an hour. We’re all at different stages of showing and for me that was my first encounter with showing lovebirds. Sunny did not win any awards that day but did get a 3 rd in class sticker. I however took home a lot of information and knew that I HAD to go to another show. Why? I wasn’t too sure.
Before that show season was over, I had acquired 11 show cages at a discounted price that I took home, and with great Monet precision and patience, rehabilitated with bird toxic-free black and white spray paint. I now had more show cages than I had birds to put in them. There are definately very nice new cages with lock and key that could be bought, but for Novices looking for some older cages the best thing to do is to ask other ALBS members if they know of any for sell. I’ve done this twice, and both times they were able to direct me to someone who had old show cages for sell that just needed a little work. Buying old show cages, I got to meet some of the exhibitors from previous Nationals that had won Higgins Awards such as Bob Ziegler and the Almy’s. It’s good to know exhibitor history, because they have a lot of knowledge to offer. One exhibitor even made the comment to me “There have been a lot of Champions created in those cages”.
At the GLAS show in Michigan, I met Doug Bedwell. When I heard his name, I thought to myself, “Wow, this is the guy who wrote the lovebird genetics calculator I’ve been using!”. One thing Doug told me that day was “Find a mutation that you really like and work with it”. Also he said to me, “Think of breeding for what you want in 2 generations or more. First breed for size then color”. I learned quickly that it was very hard to find 2 perfect birds that have absolutely everything you want. I had already picked my favorite a long time ago, and it was the Whiteface Violet Pied. And oh it was very hard to find. I had looked for it already for almost a year already and finally found a beautiful bird from Barb Theeke. I told myself that since I cannot find these, I’m just going to make my own from now on. And I did exactly that. Every Whiteface Violet Pied is a mirage of colors, some in patches, while others are a blend of yellow, purple, and white where you cannot tell where one color ends and one begins. I love pieds because no two birds are alike, and then when you couple in violet and whiteface, their beauty becomes that much more intricate and elegant. Then you throw in a dark factor, or a double violet, and the beauty of the bird changes ever so slightly and deepens to another hue. Soon after, I learned that the words pied and symmetry needed to go hand-in-hand but often did not. But that’s another story and another challenge. I also learned that both violet and pied could potentially decrease the size of a bird, so size became an even bigger issue.
Before I knew it, my first show season was over, and yes I was a little bit disappointed, because I had not won anything, not even one of the small section ribbons, but I was hungry for more. Unfortunately, I had to wait about 7 months for another show. The 7 month wait was ominous as it maybe for many people. The thrill of the show, the excitement of seeing your birds on the stand. The 7 month break was good, because it did give me time to work with my new birds.
My 2 nd show season started at the Illini Bird Fanciers, and I was pumped up with my new Whiteface Medium Double Violet and Whiteface Violet Pied offsprings among others. My young Whiteface Medium Violet lovebird that I had raised and banded won “Best Unflighted”. This one ribbon meant so much to me, because it was confirmation that maybe, just maybe, I was on the right track. Best Novice though was still out of my grasp. In SPBE, they give 5 novice awards, but in ALBS there is only 1. I think more Novice awards are important because when a Novice wins, it encourages them to come back again next time and to bring more birds. But when Novices go to shows a couple of times and come home with no ribbons and no confirmation of what they’re doing, it becomes very discouraging. For exhibitors who have been showing for many years, the ribbons themselves don’t mean much, it’s knowing that they are doing something right in their breeding program by breeding to a standard and seeing the results of their hard work and proliferating the specifies. For Novices, that understanding is something that is learned and acquired with time and not something that is known immediately. Also confirmation from other exhibitors is always a good thing. The purple Best Unflighted award was the only ribbon that I won from ALBS that 2 nd show season.
The 2 nd show season passed, and I knew I had to bring some new stock into my aviary. One thing I learned was to acquire birds from other exhibitors who have done well. Work off of their bloodlines that they’ve worked from. Don’t buy a bird from the pet store and the local breeder/non-exhibitor and expect it to fit the standard. Of course, once in a while there will be an awesome bird in a pet store, but as a novice, you may not necessarily be able to recognize them for their potential.
Also another problem that I had was that, because of my work schedule, I was not able to hand feed my lovebirds. From everything I had read and all the people I had talked to, handfed lovebirds overall percentage-wise were a little bit larger, calmer, and made for better show birds. So to resolve this problem, I found a friend in the local bird club that hand fed birds. Darla Dandre then became the hand feeder of all of my lovebirds. And with the 1 st bird she gave back to me, I could tell the size difference between the little Dutch Blue and his previous parent-raised siblings. Even my wife whose only interest in lovebirds is due to her marriage to me could tell. (I’ve been working on her, she’s better now) Of course there are always those lovebird parents who are great feeders and will stuff their babies better than or just as well as any human could and then others who do not.
Another thing that I learned is that it’s important to see what types of birds each exhibitor brings to the show table. Some specialize in Rares and Eyerings, others American Cinnamons, Whiteface Violets, or Opalines. At one show I went to, there were no American Cinnamons, and I actually had a Whiteface American Cinnamon at home whose wings were clipped that I could not bring. At another, only 3 rares and eyerings, and at 1 show only 2 Longfeathers which were mine. Many exhibitors have specific mutations that have their strongest show birds. This is important because these are the people you want to buy that particular mutation from. When you look at seasoned exhibitors that have been showing for a long time, they strategize what they bring. They bring birds that that they think the judges will like. They bring young unflighted birds or new birds to see what their potential is. They often bring more birds that they have strong bloodlines in. They may bring less birds in one section that they know they can’t compete in especially when they know another exhibitor almost always wins in that section.
Also, when you’re at the shows, take note of the birds that won. I’ve seen certain combinations that I would have never thought to even try to produce. There are over 5000 variations, it’s hard to think of all of them. But once you see it, you can visualize it and work off of that. Then when you go home, write down all the potential pairings that you would like to try and then modify your breeding program to fit what you would like to produce and see in your offspring. It can be very exciting coming up with your next possible pairing and future offspring
There definitely have been times that I have been discouraged at shows, because I felt like I was not improving the show quality of my stock. This was not true, because I had been incorporating new blood into my aviary and expanding and working with better birds. All of this takes time and doesn’t happen over night. There were definitely times that I asked myself, why did I come today? There were a couple of shows I went to that would not have been major shows without my birds. Thinking of this actually made me feel better, because my birds did serve a purpose. My birds were able to help push other birds to champion status and bring other exhibitors closer to their own goals. One thing I learned was that ALBS can only succeed as a whole. Novices are important, because they can bring new ideas and new birds into the organization. Also, they can continue the work that other people have put into their birds and bloodlines.
Another thing is that some novices feel bad sometimes about showing other people’s birds. Do not feel bad!! Everbody I know of started off showing a bird with someone else’s band. Even with a good bird, you still need to put in the work to train and condition the bird. Also, when your bird wins, it’s not just you winning, but it’s also the breeder who you acquired the bird from that wins. It tells everyone that they have very good bloodlines and are doing the right thing.
Right after the 2 nd show season, my wife and I moved due to changing jobs. One of my main requirements for a house was that I have a place that I could keep an aviary. Even my real estate agent new this. At what point, lovebirds became such an important part of my life, I do not know. My wife(God Bless Her), against probably her better judgment, supported me in all of this. We were able to finally find such a place.
Before my 1 st show of my 3 rd year showing(2005), I took my birds out a week beforehand, and I used a technique that I learned from one of the judges. I covered up the bottom part of the cage with paper, and in order for them to see outside the cage, they had to be perched. (This can also be done with ping-pong balls or turning the cage upside down) I did this and also practiced getting them to perch with the chopstick(the judge’s special tool). For those of you who know me, we have many of these at home. I think I had 1 on every corner of the table. At the show, the judge gave my Unflighted Green Violet a nice comment saying that it’s a good bird and would perch whenever he wanted him too. That actually meant a lot to me, because it was confirmation for me that I was doing the right type of training for my birds and that the effort I put in the week before was worth it. My Green Pied Violet won Best Novice and my American Cinnamon Opaline won Best Unflighted. My Green Pied Violet was bred from one of my Whiteface Pied Violet offspring that I had worked on breeding to larger birds and into other classes. This was the first time I had won Best Novice. It wasn’t the ribbons so much anymore as the satisfaction from being able to breed and train 2 quality birds and be able to contribute to something greater. I hope that I can continue onwards in the right direction.
For a Novice, initially the focus should not be on winning a ribbon so much as learning. This is much harder said than done of course. Some of the things to learn are, which one of your birds have the potential to do well. Also just because a bird does not show well, does not mean that it will not be able to produce birds that show well, especially if the bird comes from strong bloodlines. And if there is ever any question about a bird, after the show, you can always ask the judge. They have always been more than willing to answer any questions I might have had. Also you need to learn what is the standard for the mutation that you’re showing. For example, the whiter the face on a Whiteface Violet, the better. The more symmetrical a pied the better. How far down show the red hood of an Opaline go? Or what makes a Longfeather an Intermediate vs a regular. You can also ask the judge if your bird will ever have a chance of placing on the top bench. If they tell you yes, then you need to find out what you need to do to get this bird there. It could be conditioning and training. It could be not pulling the bird out while it’s about to lay an egg. And if none of your birds ever have a chance, then you may need to acquire some new birds to show. This probably means acquiring new stock and bloodlines from other exhibitors. If you go to show after show and you bring the same birds that end up placing at the end of their class and section every time, you need to find out why, and do something about it, else you will become discouraged. It could be size, conformation, or many things. Look at what the winning birds are, and why they win. Also, it’s good to know what each judges’ likes and dislikes are. There’s at least 1 judge who doesn’t take off as many points for unsymmetrical pieds(which is usually a must), there are judges who favor certain mutations, and there are other judges who do not like messy show boxes and unclean perches. Sometimes other exhibitors will tell you these things and other times you just have to attend the shows and watch.
One thing that I still struggle with(among the many) is which birds do I sell and which do I keep? I do have next generation birds that I’m now breeding out to other birds for size and other color variations, but I wish I had kept more. I always had a fear that I would end up with too many birds, and now I wish I had kept more. My advice for novices is to keep more of them and weigh them and bring them to shows. I know that for some breeders, the bare minimum requirement for them to even keep a peachfaced bird(unless it’s a rare mutation or color variation) is 60-70g. And then on top of that, they will look at the other show attributes. Whereas there are other breeders, who may only keep 1 out of every 50 birds, because that is the only 1 they think is worthy of the top bench. As a Novice, I don’t have as many birds or as many young as many of the more experienced breeders. That’s why it’s even more important that the birds I do sell are not the ones that I really should be keeping. A good thing to do is to keep them and bring them to a show and have the judge tell you.
My experience showing as a new exhibitor has been fun, discouraging at times, and also quite exciting. At the end of the day, I have learned more about lovebirds than I could ever have hoped for. I have made friends and have begun to feel that I’m contributing to an organization that promotes something larger than I could ever do by myself. I know now why I go back again and again and will probably for a long time. I would like to thank Linda Brandt and Doree Bedwell for their help, encouragement, and support. I know that without them encouraging me onwards, I would have stumbled and never gotten up. They were my Ribbons and my Novice awards.
Blake Ma
lovebirds@gmail.com
www.babylovebird.com
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Photo Credits: Blake Ma - American Cinnamon Opaline and Green Pied Violet |
(If only they could pose as nicely as they did at the show!!!)
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