Post by barrieshutt on Nov 2, 2011 13:55:48 GMT
A look into the lives of a selection of Exhibition Breeders, compiled by Barrie and BB
Stephen Elliott lives in South Australia, the driest state in Australia, he is a well know Exhibition Budgerigars breeder from South Australia. He has been involved with breeding birds since his childhood days when he would help his father a breeder of many different varieties of birds.
His stud is based on Grand Champion & Color Champions. He breeds quality Exhibition Budgerigars in Normal, Dark Factor, Violet, Red Eye, Cinnamon wing, Spangle Double Factor, Opaline, Yellow Faced Blue, Spangle and Dominant Pied varieties.
Stephen bred and showed Rottweiler dogs for a few years but his love for the hobby made him start breeding Exhibition Budgerigars in 1987. He attended his first show in 1988 as a novice.
Two years later in 1990 one of his birds made the top ten at the North East Budgerigar Society of South Australia Breeders Show. An Opaline Greygreen won third Champion Hen, and he started a line from her.
Stephen left the hobby in 1993 for a few years because of his work and other commitments. He restarted in 1995. This time he was determined not to buy birds from everyone, he decided the way forward was to just buy good quality birds. He rejoined the Budgerigar Society of South Australia and the North East Budgerigar Society of South Australia and bought a pair of birds off Stan Watson, a well known breeder and hobbyist in South Australia who had brought in Gerald Binks blood lines. He also bought birds from a Kelwyn Kackoshke Auction in NSW in June 1999 which was from the Channel Island Line.
He also picked up a pair of Albinos from Allan Kett, who was retiring from the hobby and was well known for his Albinos. In 1999 he purchased a pair of Albinos and a Grey cock split Albino from a partnership of Andrew Plunkett and Tim Tasie in NSW, again focusing on their “Binks” lines.
The Albinos he purchased from Plunkett & Tasie lines bred well and he was having a lot better results in the shows. With another outcross in 2000 from Phillip Dickson from Victoria, his Albinos were getting to feature the bird he considered to be of a very good quality.
Stephen then was introduced to Tony & Sylvia Appleton who were Diploma winning breeders from Victoria and they were introduced at the Australian National Budgerigar Championship Show held in Adelaide 2000. They hit it off as friends and have been ever since. Tony & Sylvia was having an auction as they decided to leave the hobby for a while and he went and bought eight birds from their auction which have blended well with his stock. The Appleton birds he purchased in late 2000 had the following lines: Binks, McGovern, Channel Island, Mannes, Williams, Bonner, Joins’. These lines are the bases of his stud.
In early 2006 he purchased a pair of line bred budgies from Garry & Marion Watson who is a well renowned Champion Breeders from N.S.W. This outcross is blending in well with the stud.
He has also been dabbling with the Yellow Faced Blue Variety from a fellow South Australian breeder Michael Crossley. Michael won best Yellow faced blue in the Australian National Budgerigar Championship Show held in Tasmania in 2002. These are also blending in well with his stud.
Stephen has developed a few good lines over the past ten years and started with his Albinos again. His Albinos have been hanging around the top 3 Albinos in most of the shows he has entered them in. His best achievement so far is to get 2nd in the Blue class at the Australian National Budgerigar Championship show in Cairns Queensland in 2003, and 2nd in the Blue Class at the Australian National Budgerigar Championship show in Melbourne Victoria in 2005, and also 3rd in the Spangle class at the Australian National Budgerigar Championship show in Melbourne Victoria in 2005.
Stephen Elliott has been competitive in the state shows for a while now and has been showing this competitive nature at the National Shows over the past three to four years, striving for breeding a better quality in his whole stud and seeing the average of his stud lifting in features every year.
Stephen uses close line breeding, as far as Father x Daughter, Cousins x Cousins, Half brother x Half sister, Auntie to Nephew, to Impact the good features on his birds, along with feather he has kept size in his stud and have been culling hard to maintain these features.
After ten years of selective breeding, and culling birds, he has created a good stud of exhibition budgerigars which have been winning state Awards, challenge certificates and top awards including best young bird and best in shows, Grand Champions, and Champion Open Birds at the highest level in the state, and top awards at the Australian National Budgerigar Championship shows.
His stud is based on Grand Champion & Color Champions. He breeds quality Exhibition Budgerigars in Normal, Dark Factor, Violet, Red Eye, Cinnamon wing, Spangle Double Factor, Opaline, Yellow Faced Blue, Spangle and Dominant Pied varieties.
Stephen bred and showed Rottweiler dogs for a few years but his love for the hobby made him start breeding Exhibition Budgerigars in 1987. He attended his first show in 1988 as a novice.
Two years later in 1990 one of his birds made the top ten at the North East Budgerigar Society of South Australia Breeders Show. An Opaline Greygreen won third Champion Hen, and he started a line from her.
Stephen left the hobby in 1993 for a few years because of his work and other commitments. He restarted in 1995. This time he was determined not to buy birds from everyone, he decided the way forward was to just buy good quality birds. He rejoined the Budgerigar Society of South Australia and the North East Budgerigar Society of South Australia and bought a pair of birds off Stan Watson, a well known breeder and hobbyist in South Australia who had brought in Gerald Binks blood lines. He also bought birds from a Kelwyn Kackoshke Auction in NSW in June 1999 which was from the Channel Island Line.
He also picked up a pair of Albinos from Allan Kett, who was retiring from the hobby and was well known for his Albinos. In 1999 he purchased a pair of Albinos and a Grey cock split Albino from a partnership of Andrew Plunkett and Tim Tasie in NSW, again focusing on their “Binks” lines.
The Albinos he purchased from Plunkett & Tasie lines bred well and he was having a lot better results in the shows. With another outcross in 2000 from Phillip Dickson from Victoria, his Albinos were getting to feature the bird he considered to be of a very good quality.
Stephen then was introduced to Tony & Sylvia Appleton who were Diploma winning breeders from Victoria and they were introduced at the Australian National Budgerigar Championship Show held in Adelaide 2000. They hit it off as friends and have been ever since. Tony & Sylvia was having an auction as they decided to leave the hobby for a while and he went and bought eight birds from their auction which have blended well with his stock. The Appleton birds he purchased in late 2000 had the following lines: Binks, McGovern, Channel Island, Mannes, Williams, Bonner, Joins’. These lines are the bases of his stud.
In early 2006 he purchased a pair of line bred budgies from Garry & Marion Watson who is a well renowned Champion Breeders from N.S.W. This outcross is blending in well with the stud.
He has also been dabbling with the Yellow Faced Blue Variety from a fellow South Australian breeder Michael Crossley. Michael won best Yellow faced blue in the Australian National Budgerigar Championship Show held in Tasmania in 2002. These are also blending in well with his stud.
Stephen has developed a few good lines over the past ten years and started with his Albinos again. His Albinos have been hanging around the top 3 Albinos in most of the shows he has entered them in. His best achievement so far is to get 2nd in the Blue class at the Australian National Budgerigar Championship show in Cairns Queensland in 2003, and 2nd in the Blue Class at the Australian National Budgerigar Championship show in Melbourne Victoria in 2005, and also 3rd in the Spangle class at the Australian National Budgerigar Championship show in Melbourne Victoria in 2005.
Stephen Elliott has been competitive in the state shows for a while now and has been showing this competitive nature at the National Shows over the past three to four years, striving for breeding a better quality in his whole stud and seeing the average of his stud lifting in features every year.
Stephen uses close line breeding, as far as Father x Daughter, Cousins x Cousins, Half brother x Half sister, Auntie to Nephew, to Impact the good features on his birds, along with feather he has kept size in his stud and have been culling hard to maintain these features.
After ten years of selective breeding, and culling birds, he has created a good stud of exhibition budgerigars which have been winning state Awards, challenge certificates and top awards including best young bird and best in shows, Grand Champions, and Champion Open Birds at the highest level in the state, and top awards at the Australian National Budgerigar Championship shows.
Attachments:
Wish I had them now I am set up again. 
