The Importance of Training Your Rollers
Richard May, Lou Abbott Roller Canary Club
Now that we have raised and weaned those chicks, comes the time we must separate the young males in to male only flights so they can begin the early training. Separating the the males from females as early as possible prevents the young males that are developing strong personalities from dominating the young timid hens and keeping them away from the food.
Young males should be fed well so they can develop to the best of their genetic possibilities. In addition to a dry seed mix, this is the time I like to feed them sprouted rape seed, a song seed mix, dandelion, slices of apple, zucchini, cucumber, and carrots are fed two to three times a week but only one or two items at a time. The song seed mix consists of rape, finch millet, sesame, flax, canary, thistle, poppy, white lettuce, and anise, to which I add hemp, sunflower seed chips, and oatmeal. I keep the lights dimmed down during this time as well as offering privacy perches. The individual perches allow the young males to practice singing those immature notes without interruption. Any young males singing faulty glucke notes need to be removed immediately from the bird room and passed on as a pet. Faulty glucke spreads faster than anything I have ever heard, it can spread to all the young birds in a matter of days ruining all your potential show birds. Any other ugly notes should also result in the immediate removal of the offending bird. As summer moves into fall the breeder needs to keep his or her ear on alert for bad notes.
When should young birds be placed in show cages? What has worked for me is to basically cage them up one month prior to competition. At that point they either be placed on shelves with a curtain that can be pulled over the shelves to dim the light, or placed in show cabinets. Either way the birds should receive plenty of light the first couple of days so they adjust to the cages and learn where to find the food and water. Once the young birds are familiar with where the food and water is they can be darkened down by pulling the curtain if on shelves, or shutting the cabinet doors. I use the cabinets so I open the cabinet doors and turn up the lights for thirty to forty minutes each morning to allow them to eat and drink.
How do you select birds for a team? I first try to group brothers and half brothers since they are the birds most likely to sound similar. Placing a young male in the team with a different song can create problems and confusion within the team. I find that high pitched cause the most problems during training. All the young males will stop singing to listen to the odd sound, and then try to copy it. High pitched birds are of little value, they are best passed on to the pet bird market. Once the young males have been placed on teams it is best not to move them around between teams. The four birds learn each others position, call notes, song, and starting preference in the song and team. Feeding becomes of utmost importance during this time. A basic seed mix of canary seed and rape is blended depending on your preference, mine is seventy percent rape to thirty percent canary. A finger treat cup is used to feed extras and control advancement of each bird. Song food, sunflower seed chips, hemp, and eggfood can be used for this purpose, but must be used with caution. Too much rich food will result in fast, loud, over the top song. Once that point is reached it is next to impossible to slow it down. The breeder must pay attention to where each bird’s song is headed and adjust the food accordingly.
I start out setting the teams of four birds out for a half an hour a day. It can take a few days for the birds to get used to the idea that they are out to sing, but one will usually start and the others realize that this is why they are out and stacked. Once all four birds are singing on a regular basis when stacked I start cutting back on how long they are out. The longer the birds are left out increases the chances of faulty notes developing, of the birds singing faster than they should. I try to limit them to twenty minutes, and then down to fifteen minutes. Some breeders will set the birds out twice a day, I prefer only once. Birds should only be shown when they are well trained. Non singing birds are a waste of the Judge’s time, the show worker’s time, and places the breeder whose birds are well trained in a position of having to wait sometimes until late afternoon before their team reaches the Judging table. It also leaves a sour taste for guests and potential new breeders in the Judging room to sit through team after team of birds that do nothing but hop back and forth. It sometimes happens a well trained bird won’t sing for some odd reason, but most well trained birds will do their job. It is the bird’s job to sing, but it is the breeder’s job to train them when to sing. Birds that are trained by using short cuts are unreliable singers, and spoil the show for everyone.
Now that we have raised and weaned those chicks, comes the time we must separate the young males in to male only flights so they can begin the early training. Separating the the males from females as early as possible prevents the young males that are developing strong personalities from dominating the young timid hens and keeping them away from the food.
Young males should be fed well so they can develop to the best of their genetic possibilities. In addition to a dry seed mix, this is the time I like to feed them sprouted rape seed, a song seed mix, dandelion, slices of apple, zucchini, cucumber, and carrots are fed two to three times a week but only one or two items at a time. The song seed mix consists of rape, finch millet, sesame, flax, canary, thistle, poppy, white lettuce, and anise, to which I add hemp, sunflower seed chips, and oatmeal. I keep the lights dimmed down during this time as well as offering privacy perches. The individual perches allow the young males to practice singing those immature notes without interruption. Any young males singing faulty glucke notes need to be removed immediately from the bird room and passed on as a pet. Faulty glucke spreads faster than anything I have ever heard, it can spread to all the young birds in a matter of days ruining all your potential show birds. Any other ugly notes should also result in the immediate removal of the offending bird. As summer moves into fall the breeder needs to keep his or her ear on alert for bad notes.
When should young birds be placed in show cages? What has worked for me is to basically cage them up one month prior to competition. At that point they either be placed on shelves with a curtain that can be pulled over the shelves to dim the light, or placed in show cabinets. Either way the birds should receive plenty of light the first couple of days so they adjust to the cages and learn where to find the food and water. Once the young birds are familiar with where the food and water is they can be darkened down by pulling the curtain if on shelves, or shutting the cabinet doors. I use the cabinets so I open the cabinet doors and turn up the lights for thirty to forty minutes each morning to allow them to eat and drink.
How do you select birds for a team? I first try to group brothers and half brothers since they are the birds most likely to sound similar. Placing a young male in the team with a different song can create problems and confusion within the team. I find that high pitched cause the most problems during training. All the young males will stop singing to listen to the odd sound, and then try to copy it. High pitched birds are of little value, they are best passed on to the pet bird market. Once the young males have been placed on teams it is best not to move them around between teams. The four birds learn each others position, call notes, song, and starting preference in the song and team. Feeding becomes of utmost importance during this time. A basic seed mix of canary seed and rape is blended depending on your preference, mine is seventy percent rape to thirty percent canary. A finger treat cup is used to feed extras and control advancement of each bird. Song food, sunflower seed chips, hemp, and eggfood can be used for this purpose, but must be used with caution. Too much rich food will result in fast, loud, over the top song. Once that point is reached it is next to impossible to slow it down. The breeder must pay attention to where each bird’s song is headed and adjust the food accordingly.
I start out setting the teams of four birds out for a half an hour a day. It can take a few days for the birds to get used to the idea that they are out to sing, but one will usually start and the others realize that this is why they are out and stacked. Once all four birds are singing on a regular basis when stacked I start cutting back on how long they are out. The longer the birds are left out increases the chances of faulty notes developing, of the birds singing faster than they should. I try to limit them to twenty minutes, and then down to fifteen minutes. Some breeders will set the birds out twice a day, I prefer only once. Birds should only be shown when they are well trained. Non singing birds are a waste of the Judge’s time, the show worker’s time, and places the breeder whose birds are well trained in a position of having to wait sometimes until late afternoon before their team reaches the Judging table. It also leaves a sour taste for guests and potential new breeders in the Judging room to sit through team after team of birds that do nothing but hop back and forth. It sometimes happens a well trained bird won’t sing for some odd reason, but most well trained birds will do their job. It is the bird’s job to sing, but it is the breeder’s job to train them when to sing. Birds that are trained by using short cuts are unreliable singers, and spoil the show for everyone.
