The Lizard Canary Association

hi all
well up and running at last....even earlier than last yr.
i dont know why as iv no heat and limited light at the moment. a broken cap gold hen has laid 2 eggs already (in the hen flight cage )
they are all now paired up with the slides withdrawn for 48 hrs but are bickering ...a expected.
i will replace the slides tonight and commence as normal and see how we go .
got to ay though....iv not got a good feeling about this yr and iv never had that in all the yrs iv kept birds

good luck all

ttfn andy

Been stood on the back garden this morning peaking through the bird room window and all the cock birds are singing their heads off, i can smell the testosterone in the air. Will be pairing up i think on Monday 16th March (i think that they are ready now) as i am off work that day, hopefully it will mean first round are all hatched and rung before i go on holiday at the end of April. Can't wait.

I too have good feelings for this season, 2 bad uns in a row can't happen.

how many LCA rings have been sold so far this year, is it up on previous years due to new members or does it generally remain the same?

good luck everyone

regards

darren

I've issued 1200 rings so far Darren , with still a few of the 'big players' to order , last year the entire issue was 1500 and I ran out so I upped the order to 1800 for this year.

Heres a thought for you though , last year we issued 1500 rings and the entry at the Classic was 170 odd , just over 10% of the issue , makes you wonder eh? The CCBA issued over 19,000 rings and the entry at the All Colour was around 700 , about 5%.

you missed my point steve/darren i said "iv NOT got a good feeling about this yr "
been in the shed this morning and a ccsh has built a lovely nest but the cock aint interested in her.
im expecting a good few clear eggs in the 1st round but we see how we go

this iS what i luv about keeping birds.....the unknowns. any joe soap can bye 2 birds and breed a best in show , but it takes years of up and downs to build a strain to do well in all classes....god i luv it lol

ttfn andy

I haven't even thought about starting yet , my hens are still in the outside flight , the weather has 'bashed' them up a bit but has toughened them up and when they come in next month they should be nice and fit.
I like to get the two rounds over and done with as quick as possible and allow 10 to 12 weeks for it , I try to plan so that the first round are about 12-14 weeks old in August which should see them through the moult mid October .

I feel like a bit of a traitor to the cause this year as I'm only putting down 4 pairs of Lizards but I couldn't find the right birds to complement what I already had . I agree with Andy about developeing good family lines and two of my lines have been 5 years in the making so far , I'm not there yet but not far away from producing consistancy so I will not just add any old bird into the stud . I'll know 'em when I see 'em but haven't seen 'em yet.
One new Silver Cock bird was introduced last year and threw a good proportion of Silver Non caps that got second places everywhere they were shown ---its a little risky but he's going over his best Gold daughter this year to see if I can improve things a little .

Last year I did what I was told not to and used a gold to gold pairing and although the birds bred never saw the show bench due to size the ground colour is exceptional on one cock bird in particular ---he's destined for the biggest Silver hen I have to try and redress the size issue .

Only time will tell but you have to have a long term plan and if ever I do win the Classic it will be the culmination of the plan!

Regards Paul .

hi all
had a right shock yesterday morning when i went into the shed. a ccsh that had laid in the flight cage was sitting on 2 dummies in her nest. i was going to take them away and break up the nest to start her cycle again and found her sitting on 5 eggs....
the cock bird has been in with her (flighted broken cap) so maybe 1 or 2 will be good.
iv 3 other hens laying at the mo and have seen the cocks treading them but still expect a lot of clear eggs. if any of the first lot are good then i could have a chick by 15th march.......at this rate in 5 yrs time i will finnish breeding at xmass lol

ttfn andy

hi paul
on the gold to gold pairing you said you made i also did it....in 2007
i paired the broken cap gold cock that won birdshow uk and the welsh national to the broken cap gold hen that was best novice for me at the East anglian lca show in 2005
i produced 2 chicks a gold (died in the nest) and a silver hen (damaged its toe in nest) so never showed it.
this hen is outstanding for colour has a good back and straight tail. last yr i paired it to a ccsc i got from stan and they produced 5 chicks...4 broken cap silver cocks and a broken cap silver hen....iv retained 1 cock but lot the hen a few weeks ago....2 of the 4 cocks were 3rd and 4th in the classic.
cant wait to see what she produces with the gold cock iv got her with this yr..
ttfn andy

When is everyone else pairing up. I have 6th April in my diary as it fits with my social calender and holidays. i paired up in April last year as well around this time but my birds had only been in my shed for 2 - 3 weeks so wasn't that hopeful. As it turns out last season was about as good as everyone elses.

Exciting times for everyone just around the corner, come on lets hear about it. As Bob Hoskins used to tell us in the nineties

"It's good to talk"

darren

hi steve
in some ways im pleased for you if it happens but sad in other ways.
where you are at the moment you are in a good area to get to plenty of quailty shows within 1 hrs travel. but that sure isnt the case in kent.
the lca classic and bsoty are now 3 hrs traveling.
on a brighter note your dead handy for me to do the london bulldog clubs shows lol (£15 / night b&b) or free if my big boy guards your birds

ttfn andy

hi darren

why 6th april?????? thats the worst date possible as its (A. MY DADS BIRTHDAY & (B. START OF THE NEW TAX YR. LOL

for yrs now iv enjoyed a good breeding season (british / norwich/ lizards)...thats put the mockers on this one lol.. and have always followed sum advice given to me when i was just 7 yrs old........"watch your birds and they will tell YOU when they are ready"
by useing heat and light we can alter the cycle to sum extent but nothing can beat nature..look at the birds in the wild , see what they are doing and if you'v got a draught free shed and plenty of natural daylight then the birds in the shed will be about 2 weeks behind.
i personally feel we pamper our birds to much these days to suit either us or the food suppliers.....if so and so wins a big show useing a certin brand of eggfood then everybody uses it, or a brand of seed ect.
millions of canaries were reared each yr on just boiled egg/rusk and soakseed..nowadays biopics/antibioitcs ect are pumped in them....WHY ???
one thing i am thinking about is the water...the fish in our rivers are not breeding like they used to and many are sexless WHY??? about 20 yrs ago when the river trent went into a deep slump for fishing i thought about the pill yes a womans contaceptive.. which was first tested in and around nottingham in the 60's. it entred the water course and the fish stopped breeding . i see on the national news the other day sum boffin has just proved that it is infact TRUE....and we give our birds the same water to drink now there a topic lol

ttfn andy

Andy,

You really need to get out more mate. My missus has been drinking that same water for years and i have 2 ankle biters spending my hard earned faster than i can earn it. I need to have a word with severn Trent water, if they had more contraceptives in our water then i could have saved a fortune, wouldn't give em back now though.

6th April fits my diary, is around the time my IOA rings are delivered (not for Lizard) and should see all pairs sat on eggs when i go on holiday 2 weeks later so handy for my partner who will after the birds.

darren