You can't just specialise

DAVE BROWN recalls his progress through the show ranks and realises how important it still is to support CBS events

- DAVE BROWN

I’VE been a breeder and exhibitor of birds for a good few years now and I am sure that the evolution of my show calendar and habits are very similar to those of many other established fanciers.

I served my apprenticeship showing at my local cage bird society open show each year. Initially, this show plus another couple of similar events close by were the real highlights of my year and to win a rosette at one of these was the objective when making my pairings in the early spring.

The judge engaged was usually someone who knew foreign birds and not necessarily exhibition zebra finches. I can remember the eminent aviculturist Raymond Sawyer once judging my birds at a show that took place at the Ascot Racecourse, where I won best zebra finch with a pair of whites. Those local shows provided the ideal opportunity to learn the ropes of shows and showmanship.