Book Review: A Vision of the Perfect Yorkshire

 It has been a few years since the publication of a new canary book for serious canary breeders.  2020 will be The Year, with one valuable book already released, and a second coming this fall.

A Vision of the Perfect Yorkshire, by Stephen R Dominey & Robert Pepper, is for sale NOW and I have read my copy three times!

First:  this book is not for a pet canary owner looking for soft food recipes.
Second:  the book is specifically concerned with the Yorkshire canary.  However, anyone with a standard model for their type/breed will find the Yorkie Supreme BREEDING PLAN helpful.  For someone seriously beginning breeding work, the section on FOUNDATION provides guidance for selecting and purchasing the birds which will become the basis of your future birds.

Although I had read the basics of their plan from Steve's website, and have researched similar opinions, somehow, in some way, after I closed the back cover of this book.... I UNDERSTOOD. 
Instead of  "methods of pairing, pedigree charts and genetic inheritance tendencies" floating around my head, I had a clear picture of MY breeding plan for MY goals!  (More on my personal goals in a future blog post.)

The book begins with an introduction, stating the authors' purpose for writing the book:

     "... Our intention is to cover our breeding methods through the creation of a stud, together with our selection process which we trust will be of interest to both the newcomer and the experienced breeder of Yorkshire canaries and indeed we consider that our words can be carried to cover all varieties of type canaries.
     We are also pleased to touch upon some of our personal experiences within the fancy and give respect to some of those who have influenced our thinking over past decades. ...
     The production of top quality Yorkshires is a challenge but a challenge that is worthy of your best attention.  You will need a degree of patience and you will need to develop an eye for the breed.  The remainder we trust we can provide within these chapters. ..."

The book's dedication is to three breeders.  Their biographies explain how they earned their place at the beginning of this book.  The authors also include 'Memoirs':  of The Great Men, which they thank for their friendships, and The Great Birds, which they thank for the memories.  I appreciated these respectful tributes, as PROOF that excellent stock can be obtained, and MOTIVATION that hard, proper work with our birds has benefit.

I must admit that I felt sadness as I closed the book and looked at it sitting in my hands.  The book contained wisdom of the men gone from the hobby, and of men currently at the top within the Yorkie world.  As I saw it, a great deal of their purpose for the book was to prod those in the hobby to 'strive for greatness'.  The biographies of their mentors painted pictures of kindness, patience and generosity toward newcomers.  The book also points out common courtesies and gracious behavior toward other exhibitors/breeders at shows and contests.  In this social media age when 'Joining An Online Bird Group' has replaced 'Going to a Club Meeting', there are many things celebrated in this book I will never experience.  May this be a reminder for everyone reading, that the canary itself is the proper goal, not rosettes, monetary awards, or how many comments can be made to Facebook posts!

The book may be purchased directly from the authors:  🕮  Book Sales  🕮 
Steve's website also contains information about the Yorkie Supreme partnership and the enduring friendship of these two 'stockmen'.

I am looking forward to re-reading the advice of other successful breeders, with my new-found understanding!
There are many good, accurate and respected articles available online... on various topics that serious canary breeders may find useful.  The authors of these articles are knowledgeable and respected breeders, exhibitors, or judges of all types of canaries. I have listed the articles I found most interesting on the Canary Seeds List of Links page.  I have listed some of my favorite Canary Books, here.

Matt Eld, of The Canary Room, is also working on a book, with plans for publication later this year.  I can not wait for it's release!

June, July and August In The Bird Room --- Month By Month Journal

The past three months have flown by so fast.  Sorry, I haven't kept up to date on this Bird Room Journal!
Breeding went well, and I ended up with 100+ chicks. 
There are many absolutely beautiful youngsters!

I also have a NEW BIRD AREA!
Here are several photos as it looked in June.... before it housed any birds!

I have not MOVED the Bird Room, simply added MORE CAGES so everything will have more elbow room!
This second area will be used as space for youngsters, and an area for my keeping adult hens.  This will also be the area for any color bred birds with song habits I do not want in the Bird Room with my young impressionable males.  :)

I also learned something very important!  I will include a book review of a newly printed book, and a blog post about how I came to my NEW UNDERSTANDING of my breeding goals of the future. 😎

Is It Safe To Ship Birds This Year?

Special Shipping Situation For 2020

Here are some things to think about!

IS IT SAFE TO SHIP BIRDS
IN THE MIDST OF THE PANDEMIC CRISIS?

*** Please, read the shipping page completely and think about the unique conditions
before you make the decision to ask me to ship birds.

Everyone has to make the decision that is best for them, and I hope all of you give this serious thought. USPS states PRIORITY EXPRESS guarantees will not change. (link)

(Read about it HERE!)

Canary Talk Videos!

After thinking about this idea for nearly a year, TWO Canary Talk videos are ready!
Every ten days to two weeks, I will upload a new CANARY TALK video
to my Savoy Singers Aviary YouTube channel!

I enjoy other breeders making canary videos, so I am sharing my joy in canaries, as well as some tips and tricks I have learned... and will be asking questions as well.
In each video's description, there will be timestamps/shortcuts to the various segments of each video... as well as links to webpages I think contain good information on the topic.

Please SUBSCRIBE to my channel,

as I may not announce each new video on this website.  :)

May In The Bird Room --- Month By Month Journal

We are HALF WAY into breeding season in the new bird room!
I did make a Bird Room Make Over video together;  watch it below or larger sized on my YouTube channel.
The 'new' birds I bought last fall were a bit slow to set/hatch, but the hens of my own raising are doing well.  I am most excited over the beautiful American Singers!  Even a couple of older AS hens have given me chicks.  A five year old agate opal-carrying hen is on her second nest!  Several older males are also producing youngsters.

Soon, the FUN of choosing the youngsters to include in next year's breeding BEGINS!
I love to watch the young ones as they mature and begin to show their potential!
This year will be even more exciting as my favorite birds have produced Beautiful Kids!
I will have LOTS of youngsters to choose my own keepers and to sell! (See photo, left, for my Bird Room Numbers!)

I made THREE decisions:

#1)  I will be removing each egg as it is laid, and replacing it with a fake egg... storing each hen's eggs in a little cup, and returning them all when she lays the fourth or last egg.
I just left the eggs with the hens, for all the first round of nests.  And I lost a few chicks!

Half of the hens did okay.... because they laid an egg each day, thus the eggs were hatching day after day.  Most of these same hens also did not begin incubating until the final egg.  And, they fed well after hatching, searching out the youngest ones and feeding them in turn.  The other hens were less efficient, in all aspects of breeding.
The males behaved similarly:  half were skilled, half not so much.

This was a good learning experience for me.... but for this second round of nests, I removed the eggs as they were laid, and returned them all at the same time!  :)

#2)  When/IF I buy new stock birds, no matter how 'well-known' the breeder is, I will carefully, and cautiously, observe them before I mingle them with my own birds!

Ten years ago, when I first began buying 'new birds' in the fall of one year, I would pair some of them with my own birds the very next spring.  And, in the following years, I would pair their offspring with more of my own birds.
Three years ago,  I took a critical look at the 'new birds' and discovered some of them produced good offspring, and others did nothing but pass along serious faults!
In the two breeding seasons since, after culling some birds that 'should have been good' but were NOT, and keeping my own lines clean, I am now seeing some great results!!

After the past 10 years of buying birds, I am convinced the best birds are of my own breeding!  I am learning how to pair birds!  :)

I have found about 6 'good' birds, and several exceptional ones, from various American Singer breeders.  I am building the opals from very good groups of birds I bought from two breeders, both of whom I believe are no longer breeding with the same bloodlines.  I have several great, solid families of yellows from Bruce Thompson.  I am thinking of selling all my bronzes and mahoganies, but they are really very nice birds, from three breeders.

Long story short:  I have LOTS of good families.... with good solid genetics.
From here into the future, I need to remind myself: 

no matter how fun it is to get new birds,  resist the temptation!

#3)  36 pairs are too many!  :) 
I have no idea how I will make the decision of which ones to keep, but I am setting a goal of 25 pairs for 2021!  I'll keep you all updated on how well I am doing toward this goal!

Cleaning and Disinfecting Things In Our Bird Cages

I have always used a very dilute bleach solution to soak watering tubes, feed dishes, nests, and etc.
The use of bleach is a topic of debate among bird owners.
I have experimented with bleach, vinegar, citric acid, botanical/natural disinfectants and various soaps to wash bird cage accessories.

My usual method is to pour a few 'glugs' of bleach into a shallow sink of warm water, to a level to cover the water tubes, and leave them to soak for a couple hours or overnight.  I rinse each well under the faucet, keeping the original bleach water in the sink and letting the rinse water fill the sink.  I then add the feed/seed saucers to soak.
I don't soak the wooden perches, but do use a scouring pad and the bleach water to clean them.

• Actual 'soap' may leave a cloudy residue on the dishes, if left to soak die for longer than an hour.
• Rinse well.  I don't skimp on running clean water.
• I have a complete second set of water tubes and cups.
  This means I can soak, rinse and let dry one set while the other set is in use in the cages.

I decided to do a little research to learn more about the proper use of various cleaners and disinfectants.

I first looked for mixing instructions for a handful of common ingredients.  Then I found the time needed for effective cleaning.

• Heavily soiled and built up debris should be removed/rinsed before soaking.
• BLEACH:
  1 TB to 1/2 cup chlorine bleach per gallon of water
  Soaking for 10 minutes is effective.
• VINEGAR (5% white vinegar):
  1:4 vinegar to water for general cleaning
  1:1 vinegar to water for heavier cleaning.
  Soaking/remaining wet for 1 hour is recommended.
• CITRIC ACID:
  2 TB per quart of warm water
  Soaking for an hour is recommended.
• BOTANICAL DISINFECTANTS, using thymol oil:
  Most are Ready To Use products.
  Keeping wet for 10 minutes was the average time for effective disinfecting.

I have used all of the above, with success. I have also used hand dish soap, which seemed to rinse off well.
I dump out the 'dirty' water in a water tube every day, and put up clean ones weekly.
Unless there is algae growth, or something slimy in the bottoms, an actual disinfectant is not necessary, but it does make all the cage dishes look clean.
We have a private septic system, so I am careful to use the strongest 'antimicrobial' cleansers sparingly, to prevent problems with our septic tank and drain field.

A Good Website With LOTS Of Information is back online!

Matt's Fife Canary Page is back online!
Great!
This site has lots of information

for anyone looking for guidance to serious breeding of canaries.

 

Matt also has eight episodes of Season Three

of The Canary Room on YouTube.