The Spring Event show will be staged by colour rather than by sections. With this system, the judge will judge the colour/variety where they are benched, thus reducing the movement of birds.

In recent months, the Budgerigar Society has received a considerable number of concerns from show organisers and judges alike about the potential of non-BS or non-Area Society rung birds being entered into Young Bird classes at 2022 shows. The main theme of these concerns is how difficult it will be to identify non-BS issued rings without checking every bird individually, which is clearly impractical. However, should an exhibit not wearing a BS or Area Society ring remain unidentified until ring checking, the implications for show officials and judges is significant. In response to these concerns and to avoid the possible mis-identification of non-BS or non-Area Society rung Young Bird entrants at 2022 shows, BS Official Rings for 2022 will be the colour PINK.

Updated 3rd February 2022

The Budgerigar Club – The Budgerigar Society Launches New Pet Owners Club

www.budgerigarclub.com

The Budgerigar Society had a Pet Section some years ago and it never really took off because the main focus of the Society was exhibition budgerigars. The new concept of a separate club came about prior to the Covid pandemic but was delayed because of lock-down issues. Eventually, The Budgerigar Club was launched in November 2021.

The name The Budgerigar Club was chosen because it was the original name of The Budgerigar Society and it seemed befitting to celebrate the society’s long and illustrious history by using this name.

The principal of the club is to provide a support network to all owners of budgerigars and those who breed budgerigars mainly for pets. The club is open to anyone world-wide for a single family payment of £10. This covers a 12 month period, irrespective of when you join.

The club will also provide a Pathway from pet budgerigars to exhibition budgerigars should you choose to take it.

Budgerigars make wonderful companions, and the aim of this club is to enhance the enjoyment of ownership.

Membership Benefits

• A Welcome Letter from the Chairman of The Budgerigar Society.
• Extensive information on the care of your budgerigars – developed since 1925.
• Access to (and a place on) the Budgerigar Pet Breeder’s Directory.
• The “Gold Standard” in closed rings for breeders.
• A unique membership number and virtual membership card.
• Exclusive Budgerigar Club seed mixes and other products.
• Specialist veterinary list.
• A dedicated website, with Members Only access to exclusive parts.
• Member’s features and photo gallery.
• Be a part of an exclusive community of budgerigar enthusiasts.
• With more great opportunities being added.

For more information and to join visit  www.budgerigarclub.com

The Budgerigar Society has a new Twitter account – @TheBudSoc

There was a full attendance of the GC.

Chairman’s Welcome – The Chairman opened the meeting and apologised for having to cancel the original meeting planned for 21 October at such short notice due to illness and other commitments of several GC members. He had made the decision to be fair to all and maintain the democratic decision making process.

Sub-group updates
Engage sub-group – The membership engagement survey will be included with the November issue of “The Budgerigar”. The second set of Q&A from Members will also appear in the same issue, as will the Chris Snell article on Rosettes.

Pathway sub-group – The new Budgerigar Club website is almost complete and ready to launch. The only missing items are the seed and associated products details.

Shows sub-group – Exhibitor incentives are still to be discussed and the Judges Handbook is now complete and will be distributed to the GC for review. The updated Rule Book will also be printed by the Office and sent to the GC. (Note- the rule book has been updated and is on the BS Web Site)

Patronage update – The Patronage Administrator advised that the Welsh BS 2020 show had been cancelled due to illness. This means that only two Area Society 2020 shows will take place this year – MBA and London & SCBS. The £250 BS sponsorship for each show will now be paid. There are two further CBS Rosette shows to be held before the end of the year, following which, the stock of rosettes and CC’s will be audited ready for the accounts.

The National – the Chairman thanked the GC for making the decision that the BS stand attends the National. It was reported that the stand had been well received by members and non-members who took the opportunity to renew subs, order rings and purchase products. Over 10 new members joined on the day and contacts were made with potential advertisers and supporters. The event overall had been a success despite a number of stands, exhibitors and attendees being unable to attend due to Covid and the fuel shortage.

Organiser of the National Budgerigar Show, John Cosby, reported that the show had been a success with over 300 birds benched despite a limit of 8 being set on the number of cages per exhibitor. At least 5 exhibitors did not attend due to the fuel situation. It is planned to run the show again in 2022 but without any restrictions.

BS Attendance at Future Events – It was discussed and agreed that the Society will attend three events each year plus the Club Show. The events are the National at Stafford in October – the Stafford March event and the Newark event in late October. These are all important events in the bird calendar. The Society Administrator and Vice-Chairman Grant Findlay offered to attend on behalf of the Society.

Junior Subs – Aiden Bird’s communication on the cost of membership for Juniors. A full discussion on this matter ensued when various views were raised including raising the junior age limit to either 18 or 21 or for members in full time education; free membership for juniors; ask the juniors what they would like from the BS to justify the existing subs; how expensive the cost of joining and paying subs and ordering rings are for juniors; how good value the current subs and two year deal is for juniors joining; the steep jump from the current £18.50 junior sub to the adult sub of £28.50 that juniors experience when they get to the age of 16. Following the discussion, it was agreed to ask Juniors via the magazine what they would like from the BS. The Finance sub-group will also review the subscriptions for this membership category next Spring and report back to the GC.

Rings – Bob Allen – requested we re-look at the posting date for rings. Various views were expressed, and it was explained that the posting date of the first posting day after 30^th November was only introduced by the members this year and this would be the second year. The express delivery service at an additional £10 has been offered for the 2022 rings and has been taken up by some members. Any alterations to these arrangements would be subject to a rule change. The GC decided to leave the dates as they are.

Website update – The main website is now fully functional despite a few members experiencing problems when renewing subs and ordering rings. This was down mainly to members not fully understanding what they needed to do to gain access to the site.

Social Media – Over the years the Society had experienced challenges dealing with social media. Our website design company Paragon manages social media for other clients and has offered to manage both our Facebook and Twitter sites for a cost of £30 per month. This would be on an input only basis and would take the pressure off the Administrator, who will still monitor the site for adverse comments etc. If the GC agreed this would increase our presence on Facebook and while we would still have to supply Paragon with the content this will be done via the Editor. It was unanimously agreed to trial this over a 6-month period.

T Terheege Concerns – A letter expressing various concerns has been received. The Society non-attendance at the National had been addressed but others including lack of action on the 2018 Development Day opportunities; the need to revitalise the Club Show and an annual National BS Spring Show, which could include a Sales Day and taken around the country and to include the Society AGM still existed.

After discussion it was agreed that the three outstanding items should be discussed when we next meet face to face.

Club Show Referral re a Budget for the Spring Event – the Chairman advised that the Club Show Committee are seeking a budget for the forthcoming Spring Event at which their main expenses will be hall hire, judge’s expenses, speaker expenses and one off trophies. After discussion it was unanimously agreed to give the Club Show Committee the same principal as they have been applying to the Club Show for the Spring Event that while the event will not make a profit, we do not expect any tremendous losses either.

Date, Venue and Subject(s) of the next GC meeting – Following a discussion it was agreed to hold a zoom meeting on 13^th January 2022 when a discussion on potential rule changes from earlier discussions during since the formation of this Council will be carried out. It was further agreed that the first planned face to face meeting will take place on Saturday, 19^th March 2022 – subject to any restrictions in place at that time.

As a part of the Members Engagement Project, the BS is looking to create a list of UK wide mentors for new and less experienced fanciers. This list will be published in The Budgerigar and on the BS web site by area.

If you would like to join the BS Mentors list will you please email your details to – bestofbreeds@gmail.com .

Update 3 November 2021:

• An Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) has been declared across Great Britain effective from 5 p.m. on 3 November 2021 – see the AIPZ section for further information.
• Avian influenza H5N1 has been confirmed in birds at a premises in the Angus constituency in Scotland. Further testing is underway to confirm the pathogenicity of the strain. 3 km and 10 km Temporary Control Zones have been put in place surrounding the premises.

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NEW MEMBERS ONLY

Adults – £36 (Save £57)
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The three year membership offer is for the calendar years of 2021, 2022 & 2023

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 Offer Ends 31^st December 2021

The Budgerigar Society would like to wish a very warm welcome the many new members that joined the Society at Stafford last weekend.

The Budgerigar Society’s attendance at the National Exhibition at Stafford was a huge success with many members taking the opportunity to meet new BS Administrator, Jason Julien for the first time. As Jason said, “It was great to meet so many of our members and put faces to names.”

Business was brisk with many members renewing their subscription for 2022 and ordering their rings. A record number of new members were also signed up together with a huge volume of product sales.

Thank you for your support on the day.