Parrot club

In Australia we have many different types of bird clubs. We have All Bird Clubs which caters for all types of birds. And we have Specialist Clubs like 2 of the clubs I am a member of. I am a member of The Parrot Breeders and Exhibitors of New South Wales and also The West Sydney Branch of The Budgerigar Society of New South Wales. In both clubs we meet once a month and we have Table Shows and an Annual Show each year. They are both great clubs and good friendships are made in them as we all have a common interest in birds. I also socialize with members outside of the clubs in everyday life. With both clubs we get a magazine with interesting articles in them. I used to be a member of 2 other clubs as well but I had to cut back as I could not afford the membership fees for 4 clubs.

I am also on the Committee of both clubs. With the parrots I am on the General Committee and with the Budgerigars I am the Show Secretary and have also the position as one of the Trustees. The Show Secretary is quite a big position as I take all the entries for our Annual Show and do all the paper work prior to the show and during the show. I have a computer program that was written for running a show and it is all done on that including the Place Cards and it works out all our results. It saves literally weeks of work prior to the show and hours on the day.

I love being a member of these clubs and really enjoy not only the social aspect of membership but the competition of showing. I love it when my kids do well in a show. This year in our parrot show I got Champion Cockatoo and Best Cockatoo Hen, winning a trophy for both. The birds seem to know they have done well in a show and usually let everyone know. They also have fun with the social aspect too as they get to see and talk to other birds and people.

As a breeder you tend to know your birds and can pick up on anything even slightly different with your birds. The birds aren't flying around loose they are confined to cages that are identical except for the size. They are different sizes depending on the size of the birds. You don't show birds that aren't in the peak of health. There would be no point as they will not display themselves off to their best. The whole idea is to win. The judges also go through an extensive training period. Trainee's have to judge at a large number of shows assisting the qualified judge. They have to study birds for their conformation. Traineeship is 12 months at least and to even qualify to train as a judge you have to be a breeder of at least 5 years standing, with budgies it is even longer. They then become probationary judges and can judge smaller shows on their own. They also have to pass tests before they qualify as a judge.

We also train our birds in the show cages so that they don't panic with many people around them, and so that they are comfortable in the cage and display themselves well. Some of the bigger shows have an avian vet present and any bird that is slightly suspect is removed from the show bench immediately. Believe me it is exceedingly rare for any bird to get sick either during a show or after.