what is your opinion on english 'show' budgies?

[Amsterdam]

im against them because humans created this specie for theyre own satisfaction i like how they look but i dont like how fast they die and they get sick fast.. i see alot of these budgies in turkey in cages too small they being overbred for humans why do people find them so interresting?? i like the normal budgie more because they are healthier and live a longer life im just curious what you guys think about this subject do you maybe own a show budgie yourself?

 

[SailBoat]

Life long Amazon Snob.
That said, I fully agree with your belief regarding the healthier species.
Also, just wanted to provide your Thread a friendly bump!

 

[LaManuka]

Like many domesticated animals, budgies have been bred over many generations to give preference to features that appeal to people, with much less regard given to how these practices may affect health or longevity. As much as I love British bulldogs, they are a prime example of this phenomenon, they suffer all sorts of respiratory problems and often can’t even give birth to puppies without veterinary intervention!

My Valentino is not a show budgie but he does have some features that suggest he may have some in his ancestry. He had several vet visits last year with a very weepy and irritated eye, which we originally blamed Lilly for since they’d not long had a big fight over her food and we thought she may have scratched his eye. Turns out Val has a few tiny feathers around both eyes that sometimes encroach on his eyeball and cause irritation, which isn’t surprising really considering what a big, boofy feathery head he’s got. I suspect his extra feathery head is a throwback to an exhibition budgie somewhere in his past. His head is not as big and boofy as a full show-type budgie but certainly bigger than his wild cousins!

 

[Cardinal]

Hi Amsterdam

Thank you for starting this topic. I have very strong opinions on this. I think the vast majority of Show budgies -probably 99% or more are grotesque distortions of one of Nature's most marvellous birds.

That is why I love this Blog on reviving The Classical Budgerigar

My favourite budgerigars are those which have the full wild markings intact and are the same size as the wild bird, may be 1 cm bigger is ok. The colours can be different shades of Green, Blue or a mix of Greenish blue and yellow but the Body markings should be exactly as the wild type.

For example this splendid looking blue budgie

 

[Amsterdam]

Like many domesticated animals, budgies have been bred over many generations to give preference to features that appeal to people, with much less regard given to how these practices may affect health or longevity. As much as I love British bulldogs, they are a prime example of this phenomenon, they suffer all sorts of respiratory problems and often can’t even give birth to puppies without veterinary intervention!

My Valentino is not a show budgie but he does have some features that suggest he may have some in his ancestry. He had several vet visits last year with a very weepy and irritated eye, which we originally blamed Lilly for since they’d not long had a big fight over her food and we thought she may have scratched his eye. Turns out Val has a few tiny feathers around both eyes that sometimes encroach on his eyeball and cause irritation, which isn’t surprising really considering what a big, boofy feathery head he’s got. I suspect his extra feathery head is a throwback to an exhibition budgie somewhere in his past. His head is not as big and boofy as a full show-type budgie but certainly bigger than his wild cousins!

how old is Valentino?? and you think he has the same life span as a normal budgie?

 

[Amsterdam]

Hi Amsterdam

Thank you for starting this topic. I have very strong opinions on this. I think the vast majority of Show budgies -probably 99% or more are grotesque distortions of one of Nature's most marvellous birds.

That is why I love this Blog on reviving The Classical Budgerigar

My favourite budgerigars are those which have the full wild markings intact and are the same size as the wild bird, may be 1 cm bigger is ok. The colours can be different shades of Green, Blue or a mix of Greenish blue and yellow but the Body markings should be exactly as the wild type.

For example this splendid looking blue budgie

i like the wild ones too but if you are NOT living in Australia good luck finding one haahha

 

[Cardinal]

Hi Amsterdam

Thank you for starting this topic. I have very strong opinions on this. I think the vast majority of Show budgies -probably 99% or more are grotesque distortions of one of Nature's most marvellous birds.

That is why I love this Blog on reviving The Classical Budgerigar

My favourite budgerigars are those which have the full wild markings intact and are the same size as the wild bird, may be 1 cm bigger is ok. The colours can be different shades of Green, Blue or a mix of Greenish blue and yellow but the Body markings should be exactly as the wild type.

For example this splendid looking blue budgie

i like the wild ones too but if you are NOT living in Australia good luck finding one haahha

I did not mean seeing Budgies in the wild, which can happen only in Australia . Till very recently about 10 years or may be 5 years a small feral population in Florida was there but they have become extinct.

What I meant is the Birds that are very close to the Wild type in their plumage and body size. Color is not much of a criterion.

 

[LaManuka]

Well Amsterdam I really don’t know how many years we may have with our Val. The last budgie we had was Pete and he would have been about 8 or 9 by the time we lost him to cancer. But Pete fought his cancer for probably 18 months or so before his quality of life finally deteriorated to the point where we had to make the decision to have him euthanised. He had started to pluck the feathers from his chest so we knew he was in pain despite daily painkilling meds, but even then he refused to admit defeat! Pete was, as we were always fond of saying, as tough as ten bears!

We would hope to have at least that many years with Val, although budgies are quite prone to contracting all sort of tumours and cancers. He has a happy life and one of Australia’s best avian vets only about a 5 minute drive from our house should he ever need help. He had his annual wellness check about 3 weeks ago and is in excellent health, although he’s going through a very heavy moult at present so he’s looking a bit rough!

How have all your little ones been going?

 

[Amsterdam]

Well Amsterdam I really don’t know how many years we may have with our Val. The last budgie we had was Pete and he would have been about 8 or 9 by the time we lost him to cancer. But Pete fought his cancer for probably 18 months or so before his quality of life finally deteriorated to the point where we had to make the decision to have him euthanised. He had started to pluck the feathers from his chest so we knew he was in pain despite daily painkilling meds, but even then he refused to admit defeat! Pete was, as we were always fond of saying, as tough as ten bears!

We would hope to have at least that many years with Val, although budgies are quite prone to contracting all sort of tumours and cancers. He has a happy life and one of Australia’s best avian vets only about a 5 minute drive from our house should he ever need help. He had his annual wellness check about 3 weeks ago and is in excellent health, although he’s going through a very heavy moult at present so he’s looking a bit rough!

How have all your little ones been going?

the whole flock is fine and healthy i cannot imagine losing one i am glad that my budgies never faced any serious ilnesses except for hayat ofcourse im trying to keep my flock as healthy as possible and provide them with excercise too i just hope they live a long and happy life but i woudnt want to miss one of them

 

[LaManuka]

Good to know your flock is still doing well Amsterdam. I hope you are all able to stay safe and healthy during these increasingly troubling times.