Innholdsfortegnelse for November 19, 2025 i Cage & Aviary Birds

CHARITY THE RSPCA IS offering its staff voluntary severance packages after its animal-care costs rose by £17 million since 2020. Several unforeseen costs, the charity says, has put the RSPCA under pressure at a time when donations are slowing across the sector. The hike in National Insurance, inflation, rising fuel prices and steeper vet costs are just some of the increases. This summer the charity saw a “record number” of cruelty and neglect cases which placed animals in its care. And with its own centres full, millions of pounds have been spent on private boarding for animals in need. The charity says its decision to offer voluntary severance now is so that costs can be managed and to try to avoid widespread compulsory redundancies. Shan Nicholas, RSPCA interim CEO, said:…

THANK you for your report in News, November 5 issue, about the recent relaunch of the Lancashire Canary Club. May I make an important correction, please: the article says that at the National Exhibition Billy Spour had best coppy in show, which is incorrect. Best coppy and best Lancs in show was a lovely white coppy exhibited by Ryan Ali, our newest club member. What’s more, he was exhibiting for the very first time, too, so it’s a great achievement. Congratulations to Ryan! Paul Woodward, Secretary, Lancashire Canary Club. FURTHER NOTES ON CANARY NESTING EDITOR Rob asked me to expand on two remarks I made in my article on successful canary breeding (see page 20). First, “nest explosion” is a term used to describe the behaviour of young birds that…

MY SHOW season start has been really poor. Not in terms of results, but of actual attendance. I had really hoped to show my birds at Doncaster this year, but unfortunately Jane’s shift pattern had her working on Saturday and off Sunday. I will try again next year. So, I decided to enter a team of 11 in the Scottish National – all unflighted birds. Show prep was good, with plenty of baths and water sprays in the lead-up to the weekend. I’ve got half a dozen unflighted birds that will not go in a bath. I’ve tried the clear plastic box style, a dish on the cage floor and the larger wire baths, but it makes no difference, they’re not going in! I have to get them into an…

XMAS GIFTS AT THE top end of the generosity scale, let’s talk custom aviaries or flight cages. For the birdkeeper looking to upgrade their housing, a bespoke aviary or high-quality flight cage is a dream gift. These structures can often be tailored to suit specific species and birdroom designs. Research specialist manufacturers online or adverts in this magazine, then give them a call to discuss ideas. ■ Incubators and brooders for breeders: a reliable incubator or brooder is often a game-changer, particularly for parrot, poultry and pheasant breeders. Many brands offer digital models with precise temperature and humidity control – perfect for raising the chances of full, successful hatchings. ■ High-quality optics: a pair of premium binoculars or a spotting scope can be a great gift for those who enjoy…

WESTERN PREMIER SPECIALIST AND RARE VARIETY BUDGERIGAR SHOW ON SUNDAY September 14 the Western Premier Specialist and Rare Variety Budgerigar Show held its 24th annual show at Claverton Down Community Hall in Bath, on a damp, wet rainy day, report Jason Sweet and Bob Allen. This time it was not just a normal show, as it was held in memory of one of our founder members and friend, the late Dave Barnes. He was in partnership with Dave Guppy and sadly passed away earlier this year, so it was time to honour him and pay our respects. On the day itself, we had an entry of over 350 birds and over 40 sales birds that gave everyone a chance to acquire an outcross or even start keeping a different variety.…

THE RSPCA IS putting out warning signs (News, page 3). Traditionally, birdkeepers have been ambivalent about the RSPCA, because many recall its indefensible prosecutions of law-abiding fanciers. But recently, it has changed its policy and largely stopped them. It has settled, instead, into the box marked “national guardian of animal wellbeing and food quality”. In effect, the government has outsourced some of its responsibilities in those areas. So the alarm-signalling should concern us. If the RSPCA can’t afford to police flagrant cruelty to animals and birds, nobody else will. And if we, collectively, slacken our opposition to animal cruelty, then we’ll be taking a step backward as a civilised nation. Has the Renters’ Rights Bill (News, November 12) been brought in at the wrong time? I don’t disagree with Ralph…

BEFORE I kept birds, my family often used to say: “You’re hard to buy presents for!” Not any more. There’s always something new that we’d like to add to the birdroom. I’m not talking about birds – they’re a given – I’m meaning more accessories. ■ I find I’m always asking for baths – the clear box kind – as these get dropped or knocked and easily crack. These are my birds’ favoured type of bath and I like to have a good number of them in my birdroom. ■ Also, wooden perches. I put one wooden and one plastic perch in each cage so as to provide the birds with slightly different surfaces and sizes of perch. Although the plastic ones are easy to clean and reuse, the wooden…

CANARIES AS ALWAYS, November comes around far too quickly for me, with essentials like the earlier October shows to get through, and then the looming Halloween season to contend with. If that wasn’t enough, soon it will be almost Christmas. So: what CAN you get the established birdkeeper for Christmas? It depends on budgets, of course. Sue would always ask me and I would generally respond with “a big buff cock bird”, but I often had to settle for socks instead! Joking apart, as I wandered around the sales halls at Stafford a few ideas did spring forward. Some new nest-pans, perhaps? Clay pans were to be had there – always a preferred choice among canary breeders. Or what about some of the tiny water fountains, which are perfect for…

CANARIES ONCE you are past the five-day stage, the rearing of canaries (and indeed British birds) should be relatively straightforward. Feeding of my canaries is kept simple, with quality softfood and lightly crushed petis pois plus plenty of good greenfood. The ideal greenfood is broccoli. No other extras or additives are necessary. One problem that can arise relates to clutch size. Clutches of four or five can be a little problematic for hens that are rearing alone, because a discrepancy can occur in the size of the chicks. If possible, chicks should be moved – to a hen with one chick, for example – to even out the clutch sizes. But where this cannot be done, you need to keep an eye on any chick that is falling behind its…

EUROPE’S finest budgerigars competed for top honours at this prestigious Belgian show on August 16 and 17, reports Peter van Amelsvoort (NL). The big winner of the show was Walter Ruttijn (BE) with an Australian pied, grey-green cock. A symbolic twist of fate that such a bird, under the discerning eye of a judge from down under, claimed the highest honour. What a fantastic event to have experienced! The show opened with an impressive sales class, featuring many high-quality birds, a complete success for both breeders and visitors alike. In total, over 40 trophies were awarded to proud winners. This year, the beginners class also received particular attention and awards, recognising their dedication and enthusiasm. A popular meeting point was the Terpica sales stand, which delighted many visitors with its…

BIRMINGHAM AREA BORDER AND FIFE SHOW THIS excellent show, incorporating Halesowen CBS, was held on October 19 and featured an outstanding entry of 450 birds. The main winners were: Ben Bott, best Border; Jack Mills, best novice Border; Gary Haynes, best champion Fife; Paul Sharpe, best novice Fife; K. Cranage, best colour canary; George Loines, best Yorkshire and best Lizard; R. Stafford, best Gloster. Thanks to all that showed and to all judges for their efforts.…

BASILDON CBS – December 8, Felmores Community Centre, Northland’s Park, Basildon, Essex SS13 1SD, 7.30pm. Christmas meeting. Enquiries: 07880 707 502. BRISTOL BS – December 8, Little Stoke Baptist Church, Kingsway, Little Stoke, Bristol BS34 6JW, 7pm. Meeting. Enquiries: 07748 740 794. CARSHALTON, WALLINGTON & MORDEN CBS – December 2, 7-9pm. Meeting. Also, December 7, 5-6.30pm. Club sales day. Open 4.30pm for sellers. Both held at Pavilion, Rosehill Community Centre, Rosehill Park, Sutton, Surrey SM1 3HH. Enquiries: Norman on 0208 644 9363 or Paul on 07815 021 583. CHICHESTER CBS – November 25, Village Hall, School Lane, North Mundham, Chichester, West Sussex PO20 1LA, 7.30pm. End of year social evening full of lively reflection on the year, setting out the wish list of topics for next years’ meetings. Partaking of…

PEREGRINE LIVESTREAM HAS AUSSIES HOOKED “NESTFLIX” IS A 24-hour livestream of peregrines on a Melbourne skyscraper. Since the end of August, tens of thousands of Australians have been tuning in to the Victorian Peregrine Project. Fans are currently waiting for the moment this year’s chicks attempt their first flight. They have been running and flapping their wings on the 34-storeys-high ledge, while their mother teases the chicks with a pigeon. Watch on YouTube by searching “367 Collins Falcons”. FRANKIE TAKES FLIGHT! PARADISE PARK IN Cornwall is appealing for information about Frankie, its missing Caribbean flamingo. The four-month-old took flight from the Park’s walled garden on November 2 (despite having clipped wings). Possible sightings have come from all over the UK. Another has come from Brittany in France where there is…

MY THIRD JUDGING engagement of the year was the North of England Combined Cage Bird Exhibition. This, as the name suggests, was a combination of the North of England Gloster Club (NofEGC), the Old Varieties Canary association, and Morpeth CBS. I was engaged to judge the old varieties: Lizard canaries, Irish fancies and any other variety (AOV). In all, there were 67 old varieties, with a good representation of Lancashires, Belgians and Scots fancy canaries. It was pleasing to see a good number of novice exhibitors, and a good entry of frill canaries. Best old variety was a Scots fancy bred by Norman Wallace, and best rare was a Raza bred by Barney Owston. Best frill went to Kevin McCallum. I had 23 Lizards to judge with best Lizard bred…

CLUB NEWS CREWE CBS due to the bird flu situation, the November bird and equipment sale has been cancelled. If you require any further information, please contact 07775 575 195 or email crewecbs@mypostoffice.co.uk IPSWICH BS apologises for recently listing the incorrect winners from the July gold show. The best of colour winners were as follows: Any age awards: A. Brooks, light green; S. Gage, dark factor green, skyblue; S. & B. Squires, dark factor blue, dominant pied; P. & S. Stevens, grey green; Ginge1 & Blond1 Partnership, grey, crest, spangle blue; P. & A. Partnership, opaline green, cinnamon green, recessive pied, any other colour; J. Gibbens, opaline blue, opaline cinnamon; P. Barber, cinnamon blue, albino; C. Potter, lutino; I. Thorogood, yellow-wing, whitewing; D. Dunnage, spangle green, G. & J. Al-Nasser,…