The Ultimate Specialisation – Japanese Crested

The Ultimate Specialisation – Japanese Crested

Moheb Nabil

I began breeding budgerigars when I was six years old.

I breed both the English quality budgerigars and also the Japanese Crested variety – it is the latter that I refer to in this article.

Six years ago I managed to buy three of these fascinating budgerigars in the local market place.

One was a cock and two hens were also available.

Breeding Technique:

I have now managed to extract many new colours in that time in this way, stage by stage:

1. I obviously mated the male to the two females
2. I then crossed the two lines together with the chicks that had been produced
3. I then mated the original male to normal hens as well as to another full crested hen I found and cross bred these English and normal results with other various colours
4. I mated Japanese crested hens to another group of normals and other Full Crested males with more different colours
5. I mated the two original crested hens to the new Japanese males produced from previous clutches

My project was to select birds with the highest quality bloodline (full circular crest on the heads with a large back frill and feathers on both wings).

All my surplus Japanese Crested are sold to a contact from Dubai who knew of me via an Egyptian forum.

Feeding Technique

• Canary and millet seeds
• Boiled radish seeds and sunflower seeds
• Green fresh clover which enhances breeding because of its vitamin content – which acts like Viagra, hence breeding is easy!
• Lettuce and cress also has the same effect – particularly the cress
• Sweet potato — one slice / week when there are no eggs around and I increase it to two slices once eggs are present
• A few drops of honey and black molasses each week
• Boiled eggs with grounded up toast
• Minerals and vitamins from a pharmacy

Now, in this region, this specialist variety favoured by many, can reach $500 – depending on colours, sizes, full circulars, back frills and feather distribution – as it is so difficult to get the desired result all together in the one bird.

Rare, near perfect ones can reach double that if they are ever sold.

Photographs

Japanese Crested 1

Japanese Crested 2

Japanese Crested 3

Japanese Crested 4