Sadly I am not the best at preparing my birds. But I do try to cage up a number of birds a few weeks prior to the shows in order for them to put a bit of extra weight on. I spray the birds with cold water two or three times a week and if I am really into getting them ready, I will shampoo their heads a couple of days before a show to make sure their feathers around their heads and faces are nice and clean. I trim the masks with scissors which I find is better than pulling the spots as pulled spots grow quite quickly whereas cutting the feathers will last until the bird moults again.

I don’t employ any specific training method. I think by handling the birds as often as possible in the nests will help them become steady later on and more importantly. I am sure good show qualities can be bred into our birds just the same as any other desirable quality.  I do have a set of three training cages which I utilise by putting some of the promising youngsters into for a short while whilst I am working in the aviary.

On return from a show the birds are put back into the same cages they were in prior to the show, and these cages would have already been supplied with plenty of all the seed mixtures usually fed to the birds along with a fresh supply of water. The birds are then left to settle back down into their familiar surroundings and routines.