Seven months old captive-bred shama (DDS344) practicing his songs and display:
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2013 Season
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Video of captive bred shama
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Captive-bred shamas in competition
Skyhawk was 2nd (out of about 60 shamas) in the Kebun Bahru Bird Singing Club Shama Competition yesterday.
The competition was supposed to start at 9.00 am but it only began at about 9.40 am with the birds singing in their covered cages during this time. There was then 3 half-hour rounds, at the end of which 30 birds were selected for the final round which took place over 40 minutes.
The competition was supposed to start at 9.00 am but it only began at about 9.40 am with the birds singing in their covered cages during this time. There was then 3 half-hour rounds, at the end of which 30 birds were selected for the final round which took place over 40 minutes.
Skyhawk’s entry in the competition was the result of a decision that Michael and I made recently that we should try to compete our birds more. This is necessary to dispel the myth that long-tailed, captive-bred, shamas cannot compete on equal terms with short-tailed shamas in a competition lasting 2 hours or more. The general belief is that the long-tailed birds will tire more quickly since they have to wave their longer and heavier tails and this adversely affects not only their ability to display, but also their song.
In the past, Michael and I have seldom entered out shamas in competition. In a choice between mating or competing them, we have invariably chosen to breed them so that we can see the quality of their progeny.
An example is Skyhawk who has hardly been competed. I have no regrets as I have obtained some outstanding offspring from him. These include Falcon who embodies practically all that I want in a male shama. He is more beautiful and more aggressive than his father and he will probably make a great competitor. Unfortunately, I will not be able to compete him anytime soon as he has been mated and the female is presently sitting on eggs.
An example is Skyhawk who has hardly been competed. I have no regrets as I have obtained some outstanding offspring from him. These include Falcon who embodies practically all that I want in a male shama. He is more beautiful and more aggressive than his father and he will probably make a great competitor. Unfortunately, I will not be able to compete him anytime soon as he has been mated and the female is presently sitting on eggs.
It must be conceded that a long-tailed shama (with tails of 13” or more) can be expected to tire more quickly than a shama with shorter tails as it takes much more effort to lift the long tails. Nevertheless, I have reason to believe that this disadvantage can be overcome with selective breeding, nutrition, care and training. I would like to consider these briefly below.
Selective breeding
Breeders who wish to breed quality shamas should try to breed birds that excel in all departments and they should not confine themselves to just producing long tails. The first thing to note is that to enable the shama to carry its long tails with ease, the bird should preferably not be too small although I have seen some smaller sized long-tailed shamas that were able to perform magnificently in competition over extended periods.
A bird that embodies the size that I try to breed in my birds is Falcon. He is slightly larger than his father. There is a photo of him elsewhere in this blog. This larger size (with little fat) should provide room for more muscle to more effectively leverage the longer and heavier tails.
While size is important, it is even more critical that the bird must have a strong character. This is a characteristic that can also be bred into the birds. I read in a book on breeding gamecocks that it should be assumed that all characteristics are reproducible. A strong never-say-die competitor will be able to overcome all odds as his will to compete will cause him to not give up and he will strive to perform at his best even when he is exhausted. The consistent production of such birds is something that I try to achieve in my breeding program.
Nutrition
A shama intended for competition is an athlete. As such, it should be fed a diet that will enable it to perform at its best and to have sufficient energy for the duration of the competition. The diet should not be such as to make the bird fat. I have found that a combination of live insects and a commercially available dry food is best. Any of the popular dry foods that have been in the market for some time should be suitable. The important thing is to ensure that the bird likes the food and eats well.
Suitable home environment
A suitable home environment for the competing shama is one in which it is isolated and as far away from other singing shamas as possible. I am told that rich shama owners in Indonesia even go to the trouble and expense of housing their top competition shama in a home in which it is the only shama. “Jockeys” are hired to look after and to train the birds. The birds are trained by being surround with other species of songbirds known as “masters”.
For me, it is impossible to have such an environment for my birds as I have about 20 male shamas in my home and some of them are paired and with young. I therefore need to make do when preparing my bird for competition. I also cannot use the garden to train the competition bird as this will disturb the breeding birds. There is also the difficulty of training him away from the home because of the problem of transporting the cage, which may be as large as 30”.
Transportation
The competition bird will need to be transported from its home to the competition grounds, probably by vehicle. It should therefore get used to such transportation. A sign that the bird is stressed by the transportation is that it will have its beak open when the cage cloth is removed and one of the first things it will do is to drink water.
Familiarity with people
I was astonished to see advice given some time back by a local distributer of supplements for birds, that a competition shama should be afraid of people but not of birds. This seemed bonkers to me. If the shama is afraid of people, it will hardly be able to perform at its best as there are always crowds at a competition. Even removing the cloth cover from the cage will cause the bird to panic. Also, the judges will be moving around the arena and if the bird is not used to people, it will tend to stop singing or to sing less as the judge approaches.
I believe that a bird intended for competition should be used to its cage being handled and be familiar with the movement of people around it. As part of it’s training, the caged bird should be placed from time to time in an area where people pass by.
Training for bird gatherings
The bird that is intended for competition should be used to the close presence of strange shamas. Start with small gatherings and gradually work up to the large gatherings at a chai tio such as at Block 159, Ang Mo Kio, on Sunday mornings where there may be 40 to 50 shamas.
Ability to recover quickly after a competition and consistency
It is undesirable to have a shama that takes a long time to recover after a competition or that is so stressed out by a competition that it goes into moult. Such a bird lacks courage. What we should be looking for is a bird that has the ability to quickly recover after a competition and that looks forward to competing. The ability to do so is the result of a combination of genes, nutrition and care.
I will be able to test Skyhawk’s competitiveness, consistency and ability to recover quickly from a competition in 2 weeks as I will enter him in the competition to be held in 2 weeks time (Sunday 29 December).
Birds for future competitions
For next year and longer, Michael and I have picked out a number of young birds that we are tentatively setting aside for competition. The idea is to compete them first and only pair them at a much later date. These birds include Goose, Jazz and some of the offspring from this year. Amongst this year's promising males are the offspring of Alpha and Killer that Michael is breeding.
We have tested the eldest chick from this couple on several occasions on Sunday morning at Block 159, Ang Mo Kio. At 5 months of age, he showed no hesitation in singing his primary song and displaying for extended periods in close proximity to the adult birds. He is totally unafraid and if he continues like this, he should be ready for competition after March next year.
I end with a recent photo of Will's male offspring which look promising.
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Birds for future competitions
For next year and longer, Michael and I have picked out a number of young birds that we are tentatively setting aside for competition. The idea is to compete them first and only pair them at a much later date. These birds include Goose, Jazz and some of the offspring from this year. Amongst this year's promising males are the offspring of Alpha and Killer that Michael is breeding.
We have tested the eldest chick from this couple on several occasions on Sunday morning at Block 159, Ang Mo Kio. At 5 months of age, he showed no hesitation in singing his primary song and displaying for extended periods in close proximity to the adult birds. He is totally unafraid and if he continues like this, he should be ready for competition after March next year.
I end with a recent photo of Will's male offspring which look promising.
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Breeding Season 2014(1), shamas for sale
For this year as in previous years, my captive shama breeding program has as its aim the production of top quality birds that will be a joy to own. For me, shamas have always been a hobby and I breed shamas to satisfy my own need to have the type of shama that I want for myself. I do not, and never had, any wish to breed shamas indiscriminately to supply the market.
Photos and videos of my shamas can be found in this blog. Below are photos of 2 random examples of the type of male shamas that I strive to consistently breed:
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In early March, I paired my top males that were in breeding condition, Ballet Dancer, Falcon, Firefly, Apache and Flame to carefully chosen females. The selection was made on the basis that the birds in the chosen pairs would complement each other so that certain desirable characteristics or features may be improved or retained.
The first crop of male chicks arrived in late March. Below are photos of 3 of the 4 male taimongs (juveniles) that were hatched in March. I think they are likely to be males from their bright markings and very dark colour.
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[By the way, the poop on the floor of the cage above is from 4 taimongs at the end of one day.]
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[In the photo above, the hind toe of the chick on the right has slipped into the band. This often happens when the chicks are very young. Its a simple matter to ease the toe out of the band.]
April should be a very productive month. All the 5 pairs are sitting on eggs. As far as possible, I try to let the parent birds incubate the eggs. I believe that this is the best way of ensuring that quality offspring are produced. While robbing the nest and artificially incubating the eggs may result in more chicks, the possible long-term detrimental effects are just not worth it.
I candled the eggs of Ballet Dancer, Falcon and Firefly. They have, respectively, 4 eggs, 4 eggs and 2 eggs and all the eggs are fertile. Its too early to candle the eggs of the other 2 pairs as signs of the developing embryo may only appear from the fourth day of incubation.
I have been trying for years to achieve 100% fertility in my breeding shamas and it would seem that the lessons I have learnt are bearing fruit. Another reason for me to be happy with the fertility of my shamas is that poor fertility could indicate that the birds have been over-bred and the fact that my shamas are more fertile than ever suggests that my breeding methods are along the right lines.
The eggs of Ballet Dancer and Falcon should hatch today or tomorrow and Firefly's eggs should hatch in the middle of next week. The eggs of Apache and Flame should hatch in about 10 days.
BTW, Ballet Dancer was hatched in 2001 and at 13 years of age he is more productive than he ever was. I attribute his continuing fertility to the lessons that I have learnt over the years in providing good husbandry and management.
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[By the way, the poop on the floor of the cage above is from 4 taimongs at the end of one day.]
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[In the photo above, the hind toe of the chick on the right has slipped into the band. This often happens when the chicks are very young. Its a simple matter to ease the toe out of the band.]
April should be a very productive month. All the 5 pairs are sitting on eggs. As far as possible, I try to let the parent birds incubate the eggs. I believe that this is the best way of ensuring that quality offspring are produced. While robbing the nest and artificially incubating the eggs may result in more chicks, the possible long-term detrimental effects are just not worth it.
I candled the eggs of Ballet Dancer, Falcon and Firefly. They have, respectively, 4 eggs, 4 eggs and 2 eggs and all the eggs are fertile. Its too early to candle the eggs of the other 2 pairs as signs of the developing embryo may only appear from the fourth day of incubation.
I have been trying for years to achieve 100% fertility in my breeding shamas and it would seem that the lessons I have learnt are bearing fruit. Another reason for me to be happy with the fertility of my shamas is that poor fertility could indicate that the birds have been over-bred and the fact that my shamas are more fertile than ever suggests that my breeding methods are along the right lines.
The eggs of Ballet Dancer and Falcon should hatch today or tomorrow and Firefly's eggs should hatch in the middle of next week. The eggs of Apache and Flame should hatch in about 10 days.
BTW, Ballet Dancer was hatched in 2001 and at 13 years of age he is more productive than he ever was. I attribute his continuing fertility to the lessons that I have learnt over the years in providing good husbandry and management.
If I continue breeding my shamas at the rate I am doing this year, I will have more birds than I have space for and I will need to find homes for the birds that are surplus to my needs. There may therefore be male shamas for sale later in the year.
The birds will mostly be sold as taimongs and they should become available to go to new homes from around September this year when they are at least 3 months old. At this age, the taimong tails will be fully grown and the character and type of display will be more evident. Also, at this age, the taimongs will have had the time and opportunity to learn the songs from my many adult birds.
The prices for the taimongs will range from S$2,500.00 to $6,000.00 or more, depending on my assessment of the potential length of the tails and the bird’s other qualities.
I price my taimongs on the basis that, with proper care during the molt, the buyer can expect to own a shama that he will not only be proud to own but which will likely also have a market value that is not less than the price that he paid.
In many cases, the market value after the first molt should be substantially more than the price paid. Be aware though that whilst I price my birds according to my assessment of them, it is not possible to be always correct and things may turn out differently. A shama that I price low may in fact turn out to have longer tails and be worth relatively more than a higher priced shama as the true potential of a taimong will only be proven after the first molt.
In many cases, the market value after the first molt should be substantially more than the price paid. Be aware though that whilst I price my birds according to my assessment of them, it is not possible to be always correct and things may turn out differently. A shama that I price low may in fact turn out to have longer tails and be worth relatively more than a higher priced shama as the true potential of a taimong will only be proven after the first molt.
If you are interested in acquiring one of my captive bred male taimongs, please send me an email at daviddeso@gmail.com. I would be grateful if you could indicate the quality of shama that you are interested in purchasing using the above indicative prices as a guide. If you are a serious buyer, I will place you on the list of potential persons who are interested in acquiring a shama from me and I will contact you when a shama becomes available that meets your requirements. It will help if you provide your mobile number.
N.B. I regret that I do not export my birds and delivery must be taken in Singapore.
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Shamas for sale
To the many people who responded to my post of 11 April and registered their interest to obtain a shama from me, thank you. I have acknowledged all the emails that I received. Your names have been placed on the list and I will contact you if I have a taimong that I think may interest you. You can then view the bird and decide if it is what you want.
Unlike in previous years and for the first time, I intend to try to breed sufficient male shamas to meet market demand for my birds. Persons who wish to obtain a male shama from my line of birds may therefore wish to register their interest with me at this time so that they can be assured that I will have them in mind. This is important as I intend to stop breeding when I have sufficient taimongs to meet demand.
As always, I breed shamas as a hobby. It is not my business and I don't intend to make it a business. My shamas will therefore not be bred using "puppy farm" methods. Pairs will be carefully chosen to match features and characteristics that I myself want and there will be no indiscriminate mass production to satisfy market demand. As always, I will be fair in my dealings with people who want my birds.
Below is a video of Chilli. He was bred by me in 2012 and he is now owned by Darren Yeo. He is an example of the best of what I strive to produce. The video which was recorded by Darren on his hand-phone, shows Chilli towards the end of his 2nd molt but he should still be in sufficiently good breeding condition for a final clutch of chicks before he enters into molt.
Darren has successfully bred him and the early indications are that he is prepotent (i.e able to produce as good or better than himself).
A shama such as Chilli does not come along very often. In most years, I will be lucky to get one like him. In 2012, I was exceptionally lucky and had 3. Last year, I only had one comparable to him. This year, as I intend to breed more shamas, it is possible that I may have a few of this quality.
Yesterday, there was a small gathering of friends with their shamas at Michael's home. I brought along my 10" 2nd molt shama, Jazz. He is the son of a 12" shama from Vietnam crossed with one of my females.
The video below shows him at the gathering. The shama behind him belongs to NGTC. The shama on the right is Michael's 8 months old shama from Alpha and Killer. The shama on the left is Michael's 9 months old shama from the same parents.
Unlike in previous years and for the first time, I intend to try to breed sufficient male shamas to meet market demand for my birds. Persons who wish to obtain a male shama from my line of birds may therefore wish to register their interest with me at this time so that they can be assured that I will have them in mind. This is important as I intend to stop breeding when I have sufficient taimongs to meet demand.
As always, I breed shamas as a hobby. It is not my business and I don't intend to make it a business. My shamas will therefore not be bred using "puppy farm" methods. Pairs will be carefully chosen to match features and characteristics that I myself want and there will be no indiscriminate mass production to satisfy market demand. As always, I will be fair in my dealings with people who want my birds.
Below is a video of Chilli. He was bred by me in 2012 and he is now owned by Darren Yeo. He is an example of the best of what I strive to produce. The video which was recorded by Darren on his hand-phone, shows Chilli towards the end of his 2nd molt but he should still be in sufficiently good breeding condition for a final clutch of chicks before he enters into molt.
Darren has successfully bred him and the early indications are that he is prepotent (i.e able to produce as good or better than himself).
A shama such as Chilli does not come along very often. In most years, I will be lucky to get one like him. In 2012, I was exceptionally lucky and had 3. Last year, I only had one comparable to him. This year, as I intend to breed more shamas, it is possible that I may have a few of this quality.
Yesterday, there was a small gathering of friends with their shamas at Michael's home. I brought along my 10" 2nd molt shama, Jazz. He is the son of a 12" shama from Vietnam crossed with one of my females.
The video below shows him at the gathering. The shama behind him belongs to NGTC. The shama on the right is Michael's 8 months old shama from Alpha and Killer. The shama on the left is Michael's 9 months old shama from the same parents.
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Shamas for sale
The response to my invitation to shama hobbyists to register their interest to acquire a taimong from me has exceeded expectations. I have received many emails in which the writer says how happy he is that I am finally making some of my birds available. I hope to publish a few of these emails soon with the names withheld.
I think it is fair that potential purchasers be provided with some information of what I have been trying to achieve with my breeding program and whether or not there is any value in getting a captive-bred from me. I therefore intend to set out in this and subsequent posts my rationale for line breeding and what can be expected from my birds.
The first thing I want to say is that if you are buying an adult male shama and you only want it for competition or as a pet at home, then its bloodline does not matter at all. If you like the bird that you see and the price is what you are prepared to pay by all means get the bird. Basically, the adult shama is there for you to assess and a good bird is a good bird no matter what its parentage.
The situation is different if you are getting a captive-bred taimong. Here the bird’s character and features are not yet set and you will need to rely on the honesty, experience and knowledge of the breeder to advise on how the taimong is likely to turn out. The breeder may tell you that the parents have "long genes", meaning that their tails are long. This means nothing. Unless the parents have been closely inbred, their chicks may have no resemblance to them.
Also, long tails are not everything. There are other aspects such as character, song, display and structure that are just as important. I would therefore suggest that when buying a taimong, you may wish to obtain more information of how long the breeder has been breeding, his line breeding methods and examples of the results.
Also, long tails are not everything. There are other aspects such as character, song, display and structure that are just as important. I would therefore suggest that when buying a taimong, you may wish to obtain more information of how long the breeder has been breeding, his line breeding methods and examples of the results.
Be careful about the seller who offers you a taimong and tells you that he expects it to turn out a certain way after the molt and that if it does not he will exchange it. Ask yourself, if you are not happy with how the taimong turns out, is this seller likely to give you a better bird in exchange. He has already taken your money and there is no financial benefit to him in changing the bird for a better one.
If you intend to breed shamas only for the experience of doing so, there is no need to get the top quality. Its different if your objective is to breed shamas with specific traits of character, structure, display, song, long tails, soft feathers etc. In such case, you will probably want to get highly inbred birds that already exhibit the traits that you want. When these birds are bred there is a much higher chance that they will be able to pass on their genes to their progeny.
In formulating my breeding program for my shamas, I researched what had been done with horses, dogs, birds and others. In every instance, I found that that the characteristics that have been consistently produced were the result of line breeding over a considerable period. I would like to say something today about the influence that the breeding of racing pigeons had on my thinking.
Pigeon racing is a sport in many parts of the world with cash prizes being awarded to the winners. As many as 25,000 pigeons may take part in a single race. In the most famous race, The South African Million Dollar Race, the total prize money is US$1,000,000.00 with the winner receiving US$150,000 and the runner-up US$100,000.00. The entry fee for a 3 bird team (1 entry and 2 backups) is US1,100.00. Seven thousand pigeons from 36 countries took part in the 2012 race and the race was over 553 kilometres.
It will be seen that for a racing pigeon to do well, it will not only need to have the stamina for the long flight but it must also have the strength of character to endure the suffering that such grueling effort requires. To meet the needs of pigeon racing, the pigeons have been bred over countless generations. All racing pigeons are inbred in order to preserve and improve on the desired qualities.
People with little or no knowledge of line breeding are often against it as they claim that doing so will produce “nuts and fools”. This is obviously not true if line breeding methods are correctly understood and applied. If true, the pigeons would be flying all over the place instead of making a beeline for home hundreds of kilometres away from the place of release. It is only with careful and selective in breeding by people who understand the subject that have resulted in the wonderful pigeons we have today.
In his book, Long-Distance Pigeon Racing, John Clements interviewed 9 top breeders in the UK and Europe on their breeding methods and other aspects of pigeon racing. Below, are some excerpts from the book with their views on line breeding.
Jelle Outhuyse
Must they (the pigeons) be from an inbred family of performance birds?
I prefer it if that is so, but today there are not so many successful inbred colonies of pigeons based on a related family. So I often encourage inbreeding in my own loft, pairing father to daughter or mother to son in the hope that I can preserve the genes of the good ones.
Mevr Deweerdt and Sons
Is it essential that the birds you consider importing into your own family descend from an inbred family of birds?
Yes, I would say if possible we go for inbred pigeons or pigeons from a related family of birds. We have tried importing pigeons, sons and daughters of champions who were themselves superb pigeons but not inbred or related to a family. I have to say they were not a success. Nowadays we don’t consider a cross unless it comes from a family of pigeons. There are fanciers who have a super pigeon from time to time, but apart from that nothing. Importing pigeons from this type of pigeon has always been a failure.
Geoff and Catherine Cooper
So when you get the imports or other pigeons in your loft, all you have bought is good genes in an endeavor to make your loft as strong as possible?
Yes, totally. That’s all I want.
Alan Darragh
So in the early days of your loft you brought all these good pigeons together and bred from them to form a family. Did you pick them in any particular way?
I always maintain that blood will sooner or later come out. It may miss a generation but, sooner or later, if you have the good blood it will come out. Possession of good blood (i.e genes) is more than just important. It is essential.
Mark Gilbert
I have been told over and over again in the course of my research for this book that the ideal situation is to have a basic family of related pigeons of high quality and then to cross into them individual top pigeons from a similar but unrelated family. Do you agree with this?
Yes, I think I do. I have probably gone over the top with my crosses but I am still learning. I recognize that this is the time when it is getting harder to make decisions about breeding. If it were not difficult then it would not be worthwhile. It is this kind of decision-making that makes the sport so fascinating. I hope I eventually manage it.
John Clements (author of Long-distance Pigeon Racing)
Line Breeding
… all the fanciers interviewed agree that it is necessary to have very good blood if one is to have even a small chance. Good blood, as defined by good fanciers, is blood that consistently produces good pigeons time and time again in racing, in breeding or in both.
The importance of having good blood lies at the heart of this book……
….The chance of actually breeding an extraordinary champion pigeon, .. is remote.
Successful line breeders always have a fall back position though, that of being able to produce a good quantity of very good pigeons without producing the totally exceptional. If the exceptional occurs it is special, regardless of which breeding method is used, line breeders expect to produce good pigeons from within their own family without the expense of having to buy introductions on a regular basis.
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Sunday Chai session
Below is another video of the chai session that my friends and I had last Sunday at Michael's home. The camera first focuses on Michael's 9 months old shama. It then moves slightly right and lingers on NGTC's shama in front and my shama, Jazz, behind it. The camera then moves slightly right again to showcase Michael's eight months old shama (in front of the urn) before finally moving right again to show Darren's shama (banded AP144) in front, and behind it, the other shama brought by NGTC.
There will be a shama competition on 28th April 2014 and Michael intends to enter his 8 months old shama. It has a very strong character and loves to compete. I am sure it will do well although it is so young. I will post on how it performs.
Below are some photographs that I took last weekend of Falcon in the breeding aviary. The female is Funkie's daughter.
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There will be a shama competition on 28th April 2014 and Michael intends to enter his 8 months old shama. It has a very strong character and loves to compete. I am sure it will do well although it is so young. I will post on how it performs.
Below are some photographs that I took last weekend of Falcon in the breeding aviary. The female is Funkie's daughter.
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Shamas for sale - Taimong tail length
I have inbred my shamas for so many years that I know, from past experience that I am not likely to get male shamas with tails below 10" after the first molt even if their taimong tails are very short. I would classify taimong tails of my shamas as very short if they are 5" or less, measured tip to tip.
At the other end, my taimongs with tail length exceeding 6" have invariably had first molt tails of 11.5 to 13.5".
I am often surprised at the length of the first molt tails from taimongs with short tails. The tails have almost invariably exceeded 10" after the first molt. Of course, this does not mean that I will be able to predict with certainty the length of the first molt tails. Sometimes, taimongs with tails exceeding 5" have also had first molt tails of about 10".
To a large extent, buying a taimong is a gamble as to how it will turn out. Its just like buying a puppy. The breeder grades the puppy according to its parentage and his early assessment of its conformation, temperament etc but even the experienced breeder can make mistakes.
Below are 2 shamas that had taimong tails of 5".
JL54
This is a photo of Apache's grandson, JL54, with Flame's daughter. He was bred by Jeffrey out of Funkie. Flame's daughter was bred by me and she is now owned by Jeffrey.
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JL54 had taimong tails of only 5". His brother, JL57 had longer taimong tails of 5.5" but, after the first molt, JL54's tails were 11.5" and JL57's tails were about 10".
Jl 54 had a small problem with feather mites which Jeffrey has treated. Feather mites affect not only the beauty of the tails but if they are present during the molt, may also affect the length. I expect that he will look really wonderful after his next molt under Jeffrey's care.
Boy Wonder
Another of my captive-bred shamas that had 5" taimong tails is Boy Wonder. He is a direct son of Ballet Dancer. He was hatched on 21 October 2013 and he is 6 months old today. The photo below was taken over the weekend and shows him towards the end of his first molt. I estimate his tails to be now about 10" but I think that they are still be growing and I hope they will reach or exceed 11".
Boy Wonder is turning out fabulously. He is above medium size, with a good conformation and strong temperament. He tends to hold out his wings a little just like Falcon, a characteristic that I would like in all my shamas. I will only be able to confirm this after he has been transferred to a cage and he comes into good form. He will likely be added to my stud birds in due course, probably after the 2nd molt.
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Shama videos
Over the weekend, I recorded some videos of shamas. The video below is of Darren Yeo's Chilli with a 7" female in the breeding aviary.
The video below is of Sunny Lim's top competition grade shama. It has a wonderful variety of songs and the strong character necessary to compete.
At the other end, my taimongs with tail length exceeding 6" have invariably had first molt tails of 11.5 to 13.5".
I am often surprised at the length of the first molt tails from taimongs with short tails. The tails have almost invariably exceeded 10" after the first molt. Of course, this does not mean that I will be able to predict with certainty the length of the first molt tails. Sometimes, taimongs with tails exceeding 5" have also had first molt tails of about 10".
To a large extent, buying a taimong is a gamble as to how it will turn out. Its just like buying a puppy. The breeder grades the puppy according to its parentage and his early assessment of its conformation, temperament etc but even the experienced breeder can make mistakes.
Below are 2 shamas that had taimong tails of 5".
JL54
This is a photo of Apache's grandson, JL54, with Flame's daughter. He was bred by Jeffrey out of Funkie. Flame's daughter was bred by me and she is now owned by Jeffrey.
JL54 had taimong tails of only 5". His brother, JL57 had longer taimong tails of 5.5" but, after the first molt, JL54's tails were 11.5" and JL57's tails were about 10".
Jl 54 had a small problem with feather mites which Jeffrey has treated. Feather mites affect not only the beauty of the tails but if they are present during the molt, may also affect the length. I expect that he will look really wonderful after his next molt under Jeffrey's care.
Boy Wonder
Another of my captive-bred shamas that had 5" taimong tails is Boy Wonder. He is a direct son of Ballet Dancer. He was hatched on 21 October 2013 and he is 6 months old today. The photo below was taken over the weekend and shows him towards the end of his first molt. I estimate his tails to be now about 10" but I think that they are still be growing and I hope they will reach or exceed 11".
Boy Wonder is turning out fabulously. He is above medium size, with a good conformation and strong temperament. He tends to hold out his wings a little just like Falcon, a characteristic that I would like in all my shamas. I will only be able to confirm this after he has been transferred to a cage and he comes into good form. He will likely be added to my stud birds in due course, probably after the 2nd molt.
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Shama videos
Over the weekend, I recorded some videos of shamas. The video below is of Darren Yeo's Chilli with a 7" female in the breeding aviary.
The video below is of Sunny Lim's top competition grade shama. It has a wonderful variety of songs and the strong character necessary to compete.
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2014 season
This year's breeding season is proving to be very interesting. Below is a video of Firefly that was recorded after his first molt.
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In February this year, I bred him for the first time with a female that was also being mated for the first time, so the quality of their offspring was unknown. The initial results have exceeded expectations. Here are photos of one of his sons at 32 days of age.
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The taimong's tails will be fully grown at about 65 days of age for long tailed birds. It takes fewer days to reach full growth for shorter tailed birds.
If a taimong seems to have the potential to have long tails, I cannot resist measuring the tails when the taimong is 32 days of age. I will again measure the tails when they have achieved their full length.
Taking measurements at 32 days of age will give some indication of the eventual length of the taimong's tails when they are fully grown. I have found that if a taimong's tails exceed 3" at 32 days, there is a good chance that its tails will exceed 6" when fully grown.
Taimong tails exceeding 6" for my line-bred birds will almost invariably result in tails of 11.5" to 13.5" after the first molt.
Firefly's taimong tails at 32 days was 3.25". If I recall correctly, they grew to a length in excess of 6.5" and his first molt tails were 13.5". His son's tails at 32 days is 3.4" and if they continue growing at this rate, they should also exceed 6.5". An indication that the taimong tails will likely be long is the fact that the white tails are presently the same length as the black tails and look like they still have some way to go.
Early rapid tail growth may not necessarily result in full grown taimong tails of 6.5". For example, Boy Wonder's taimong tails at 32 days was 3" but they stopped growing at 5". Nevertheless, as a breeder, early assessments of tail length, conformation and potential development make matters interesting.
Firefly's son has made me excited not only in the length of his taimong tails so far but also in his conformation. Both the sons are likely to be larger than Firefly and with better overall conformation although it must be said that there is nothing wrong with Firefly's conformation.
Another thing that excites me is that the taimong's brother from the same nest has similarly long tails and looks like his twin. Not only are the tails long but they are also piped, being close together instead of spreading out. As Jeffrey has noted, a bird's feathers are a window to its health and the taimong's piped tail feathers and shine reflect its good health. The piped tail feathers also suggest that the birds are not likely to have tail faults, such as scissors tails, after the first molt.
The uniformity of the tails and physique of Firefly's sons suggest that he is prepotent, at least when mated with the female that is the mother of these chicks. This also is something to be grateful for.
The uniformity of the tails and physique of Firefly's sons suggest that he is prepotent, at least when mated with the female that is the mother of these chicks. This also is something to be grateful for.
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Juvenile feathers
This is a photo of the wings and tail feathers of my juvenile male shama, DDS261, at 37 days of age. It shows what can be achieved through careful selective line-breeding over many generations and proper nutrition and care.
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The feathers of wild-caught and captive-bred juvenile shamas (taimongs) are often ragged and lack shine. Here the feathers have a health and sheen usually seen only in well kept adult shamas in top condition.
DDS261's father, Firefly, had taimong tails of 3.75" when he was 37 days of age. These grew to the very great length (for a male taimong) of about 6.75" at 65 days. The length of Firefly's taimong tails indicated that he would likely have very long first molt tails and he did not disappoint. His first molt tails were 13.5".
In comparison, DDS261's tails at 37 days are 4" i.e substantially longer than his father's at the same age. His brother from the same nest, DDS262, also has very long taimong tails of 3.75" at 37 days i.e. the same length as Firefly's tails at the same age.
Not only are the taimongs' tails long but they are also "piped" suggesting that this desirable feature may have been incorporated into my strain of captive bred shamas through selective line-breeding. It remains to be seen if the tails will remain piped (as in many of my shamas and all of Skyhawk's progeny), when the taimongs become adults.
The taimongs' tails still have a long way to grow. Hopefully, they will be as long, or longer, than their father's tails when fully grown in about a month. I should mention that their other physical aspects are also not lacking and they have good heads and conformation.
What is exciting Jeffrey, Michael and I is not so much the length of DDS261 and DDS262's tails but the prospect that Firefly may be that one in a million bird, a "super male". By this I mean that he may have the ability to pass on his attributes and exceptionally long tails to his offspring even when he is mated to females with short tails that do not carry the genes that produce long tails.
The mother of the taimongs is a wild-caught with primary tails of only 5". Firefly was outcrossed to her as she possesses certain characteristics that I want to have, or fix, in my shamas, including "piped" tails and a very good head.
The genes for long tails are recessive as they must be since, otherwise, all shamas would have long tails. When a long tailed shama is mated to one with short tails that does not carry the gene for long tails, the resulting offspring should have short tails as the short tailed shama's genes will be dominant over the recessive genes for long tails. The subject of genes and inheritance is more complex than this but this explanation suffices as an introduction to the subject.
I expected the offspring from the mating of Firefly and the short-tailed female to produce taimongs with short tails. Imagine my surprise to see the very long tails of his male offspring.
How is it possible that such long-tailed taimongs were produced from a mating with a short-tailed female? Jeffrey suggests 2 possibilities. One is that the short-tailed female carries the genes for long tails which are not expressed in her features. I think this is unlikely as the female was wild-caught and there are hardly any long-tailed shamas in the wild that could have bequeathed the genes to her.
The other possibility is much more exciting. Jeffrey notes that generations of selective inbreeding and line-breeding would have resulted in a concentration of genes for long tails (and other desirable features) in my strain of shamas. He speculates that such a concentration of genes could have resulted in the chance production of a "super male" in the form of Firefly that has the ability to beget male offspring with exceptionally long tails regardless of which female he is mated to.
If what Jeffrey speculates is true then Firefly is priceless but this is all conjecture at this time as it is much too early to come to any conclusions. Nevertheless, the possibility that Firefly may be a super male makes for interesting conversation and endless discussions when we meet.
BTW, Andrew Tan mentioned to me yesterday that the taimong with 5.7" tails that he had acquired from me had tails of 12" after the first molt and 15" after the 2nd molt. He should be congratulated on the care of his shama. I understand that the 2nd molt was in an outdoor aviary and this may have assisted the molt.
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The feathers of wild-caught and captive-bred juvenile shamas (taimongs) are often ragged and lack shine. Here the feathers have a health and sheen usually seen only in well kept adult shamas in top condition.
DDS261's father, Firefly, had taimong tails of 3.75" when he was 37 days of age. These grew to the very great length (for a male taimong) of about 6.75" at 65 days. The length of Firefly's taimong tails indicated that he would likely have very long first molt tails and he did not disappoint. His first molt tails were 13.5".
In comparison, DDS261's tails at 37 days are 4" i.e substantially longer than his father's at the same age. His brother from the same nest, DDS262, also has very long taimong tails of 3.75" at 37 days i.e. the same length as Firefly's tails at the same age.
Not only are the taimongs' tails long but they are also "piped" suggesting that this desirable feature may have been incorporated into my strain of captive bred shamas through selective line-breeding. It remains to be seen if the tails will remain piped (as in many of my shamas and all of Skyhawk's progeny), when the taimongs become adults.
The taimongs' tails still have a long way to grow. Hopefully, they will be as long, or longer, than their father's tails when fully grown in about a month. I should mention that their other physical aspects are also not lacking and they have good heads and conformation.
What is exciting Jeffrey, Michael and I is not so much the length of DDS261 and DDS262's tails but the prospect that Firefly may be that one in a million bird, a "super male". By this I mean that he may have the ability to pass on his attributes and exceptionally long tails to his offspring even when he is mated to females with short tails that do not carry the genes that produce long tails.
The mother of the taimongs is a wild-caught with primary tails of only 5". Firefly was outcrossed to her as she possesses certain characteristics that I want to have, or fix, in my shamas, including "piped" tails and a very good head.
The genes for long tails are recessive as they must be since, otherwise, all shamas would have long tails. When a long tailed shama is mated to one with short tails that does not carry the gene for long tails, the resulting offspring should have short tails as the short tailed shama's genes will be dominant over the recessive genes for long tails. The subject of genes and inheritance is more complex than this but this explanation suffices as an introduction to the subject.
I expected the offspring from the mating of Firefly and the short-tailed female to produce taimongs with short tails. Imagine my surprise to see the very long tails of his male offspring.
How is it possible that such long-tailed taimongs were produced from a mating with a short-tailed female? Jeffrey suggests 2 possibilities. One is that the short-tailed female carries the genes for long tails which are not expressed in her features. I think this is unlikely as the female was wild-caught and there are hardly any long-tailed shamas in the wild that could have bequeathed the genes to her.
The other possibility is much more exciting. Jeffrey notes that generations of selective inbreeding and line-breeding would have resulted in a concentration of genes for long tails (and other desirable features) in my strain of shamas. He speculates that such a concentration of genes could have resulted in the chance production of a "super male" in the form of Firefly that has the ability to beget male offspring with exceptionally long tails regardless of which female he is mated to.
If what Jeffrey speculates is true then Firefly is priceless but this is all conjecture at this time as it is much too early to come to any conclusions. Nevertheless, the possibility that Firefly may be a super male makes for interesting conversation and endless discussions when we meet.
BTW, Andrew Tan mentioned to me yesterday that the taimong with 5.7" tails that he had acquired from me had tails of 12" after the first molt and 15" after the 2nd molt. He should be congratulated on the care of his shama. I understand that the 2nd molt was in an outdoor aviary and this may have assisted the molt.
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Correcting Falsehoods (2)
Below are comments by Alan Pang in a post to the Singapore Shama Club Forum in December 2011. At that time he had not yet become a super sifu (or so he sees himself in his own misguided mind) and he had not yet claimed that he had taught me all he knew about artificially incubating and raising shamas but I had still failed.
Falcon
Below are photos of Falcon that I took yesterday. His mating with Funkie's daughter had produced 3 fertile eggs that had hatched the day before. Both he and his mate are feeding the chicks. He was wary but not too disturbed when I entered the aviary to check the nest-box.
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Dec 26 11 8:38 AM
David,
Without your detailed blog most of us won't even has a chance to enjoy keeping healthy Shamas! As i said before i have tried keeping shamas long time ago but all of them is gone due to fits and it really puts me of shama till i come across your Blog.
Secondly, should you did not share the tricks of shama breeding i believe Shama trend and market will be very different. it trend od shama might even fade away! Now, not only shama is Hot ! Its has also become a well Known " Singapore Captive Bred Shama" internationally! We should Thank You for all the years of your effort in pushing the Limits of what a top shama can and should be.. Spending your precious time educating and instill high standard mindset on rookies like me; encourage Breeders to produce and uphold the Quality of Our Captive Bred Shamas!
And thanks for your 5star Venue for us to chai our birds and free flow of cold soft drinks ya! let me know if you wanna upgrade the rating to 6 star, i am thinking maybe some tibits, liqour, or steamboat buffet might do.. haha!
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Falcon
Below are photos of Falcon that I took yesterday. His mating with Funkie's daughter had produced 3 fertile eggs that had hatched the day before. Both he and his mate are feeding the chicks. He was wary but not too disturbed when I entered the aviary to check the nest-box.
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A lazy weekend
Last weekend was a pleasant time with no urgent office work to do or meetings to attend and with leisure to enjoy my shama hobby.
My friend and I had breakfast early on Saturday morning before we made our way to Asby Ang's retail outlet in Balestier to pick up some Nekton vitamin B and bird breeding accessories.
Asby was recently appointed the sole distributer for the Nekton range of bird supplements. I already had some of the Nekton products but I wanted vitamin B in powder form and Nekton is one of the very few brands that supply this. I used to buy this product online but the price and the freight charges made it more than double the price of S$15.00 that Asby charges. I had therefore found it more convenient and less costly to purchase vitamin B in tablet form for humans from iherb.com and grind it to powder to add to my dry shama food. Now that Asby carries the B in powder form at a very reasonable price, it saves me the hassle of buying it online.
From Asby's place, we went to Ah Kow's place to collect a bird. We then headed to Ang Mo Kio, Block 159 to have a look at the shamas there before returning home.
I had 2 pairs of shamas that had commenced brooding their eggs on the same day 11 days ago and the eggs were due to hatch sometime on Saturday. The pair of particular interest was that of Falcon and Funkie's daughter. They were housed in a large aviary and I had an armchair close by where I could comfortably see what was going on inside.
Before I left the house at about 8 am, the first egg had hatched. I had seen the female emerge from the nest-box with half a shell. She had carried it to the far corner of the aviary where she proceeded to break it up and consume the tiny pieces. If I had not been watching, the shell would have been eaten and I would not have known that an egg had hatched.
Sometime in the afternoon, the second egg hatched. The last egg hatched the following day. That made up 3 fertile eggs, all of which had successfully hatched. This pleased me as I had tweaked the nutrition provided to the breeding birds to try to achieve 100% fertility and hatching.
My wife and I went out for breakfast on Sunday morning. The free time that I had during the rest of the day was spent pottering around the house attending mostly to shama matters, such as providing nesting material for the new breeding pairs and enjoying watching the parents feeding their chicks. I never tire of this. In the evening, Michael dropped by and stayed for some time. We discussed some ideas that he had regarding changes he wanted to make in his dry food for shamas.
I am happy with the progress I have made in the care, maintenance and breeding of the white-rumped shama but what makes the hobby continue to be interesting is that there is always something new to learn or some problem to solve.
For those who may be interested in getting supplements, incubators or brooders from Asby, his contact particulars are:
My friend and I had breakfast early on Saturday morning before we made our way to Asby Ang's retail outlet in Balestier to pick up some Nekton vitamin B and bird breeding accessories.
Asby was recently appointed the sole distributer for the Nekton range of bird supplements. I already had some of the Nekton products but I wanted vitamin B in powder form and Nekton is one of the very few brands that supply this. I used to buy this product online but the price and the freight charges made it more than double the price of S$15.00 that Asby charges. I had therefore found it more convenient and less costly to purchase vitamin B in tablet form for humans from iherb.com and grind it to powder to add to my dry shama food. Now that Asby carries the B in powder form at a very reasonable price, it saves me the hassle of buying it online.
From Asby's place, we went to Ah Kow's place to collect a bird. We then headed to Ang Mo Kio, Block 159 to have a look at the shamas there before returning home.
I had 2 pairs of shamas that had commenced brooding their eggs on the same day 11 days ago and the eggs were due to hatch sometime on Saturday. The pair of particular interest was that of Falcon and Funkie's daughter. They were housed in a large aviary and I had an armchair close by where I could comfortably see what was going on inside.
Before I left the house at about 8 am, the first egg had hatched. I had seen the female emerge from the nest-box with half a shell. She had carried it to the far corner of the aviary where she proceeded to break it up and consume the tiny pieces. If I had not been watching, the shell would have been eaten and I would not have known that an egg had hatched.
Sometime in the afternoon, the second egg hatched. The last egg hatched the following day. That made up 3 fertile eggs, all of which had successfully hatched. This pleased me as I had tweaked the nutrition provided to the breeding birds to try to achieve 100% fertility and hatching.
My wife and I went out for breakfast on Sunday morning. The free time that I had during the rest of the day was spent pottering around the house attending mostly to shama matters, such as providing nesting material for the new breeding pairs and enjoying watching the parents feeding their chicks. I never tire of this. In the evening, Michael dropped by and stayed for some time. We discussed some ideas that he had regarding changes he wanted to make in his dry food for shamas.
I am happy with the progress I have made in the care, maintenance and breeding of the white-rumped shama but what makes the hobby continue to be interesting is that there is always something new to learn or some problem to solve.
For those who may be interested in getting supplements, incubators or brooders from Asby, his contact particulars are:
2 Balestier Road, Balestier Hill Shopping Centre #01-687
Singapore 320002
Tel: (65) 6251 1858 Fax: (65) 6251 1067
Email: asby2@singnet.com.sg
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6 1/2 months old shama
This is a 6 1/2 months old captive bred white-rumped shama. The video was taken about 2 weeks after he had completed his molt. He is singing on his own at home with 2 other house shamas about 20' away. He shows potential to be a strong competitor when he matures.
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Falcon, temporarily out of the breeding aviary
I think this is the first video recording that I have made of Skyhawk's son, Falcon.
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Shama chicks
Flame and his mate are proving to be very productive. Below is a photo of their latest offspring. The female laid a clutch of 4 eggs. All were fertile and all hatched.
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When there is a pronounced difference in the size of the chicks in a clutch that I am hand-raising, I separate them as seen in the photo. Otherwise, there is every likelihood that the older chicks will get on top of the younger chicks which may suffocate. In a day or two, when the chick at the top right is bigger and stronger, I will transfer him to the container with the chick on the left. To avoid overcrowding, I do not place more than 2 or 3 chicks in a container.
The 2 chicks at the bottom of the photo hatched on Tuesday morning. The chick at the top left hatched yesterday morning and the chick at the top right hatched yesterday at 2.30 pm. There is slightly more than a day's difference between the older chicks and the youngest but the earlier chicks are almost twice the size. There is even a clear difference in size between the single chick on the right and the chick on the left which hatched only a few hours earlier. There is only a one meal difference between the 2 chicks. The chicks show how quickly they can grow when their environment (temperature and humidity) and nutrition are correct.
This is what happens at hatching. The chick will squeeze itself into the narrower part of the egg and occupy about 60% of it. It will then pierce the membrane separating it from the air sac in the wider part of the egg. This allows the chick to breath. It will then use its egg-tooth to chip at the egg-shell. The chip can be seen and felt by running a finger over the egg-shell. At this stage, the membrane separating the egg from the outside is still not broken.
I made the mistake once of "assisting" the chick by removing a small part of the shell above the air-sac. The chick hatched very quickly after that but there was blood in the shell and a part of the yolk was outside the chick. As I had no problems with my other chicks, the cause could only be due to the larger hole that prematurely let in humidity. BTW, the chick survived my bungling.
After the chick has made an initial hole in the shell, it will use its egg-tooth to chip the shell, turning slightly each time until it has chipped around the entire shell. It will then make repeated heaves of its body upwards against the shell until the top half comes off. The lower part of the chicks body will still be in the bottom half of the shell (the narrower part) and it will eventually struggle out of it.
It will take about 2 1/2 months for a chick to grow to its full juvenile size.
Below are photos of one of my chicks from this year at the age of 33 days. He looks promising. Not only does he flick his tails high but, even at this young age, he is already dropping his wings and this is a trait that I am trying to breed true in my strain of shamas. He also has long legs, good posture and a nice head. I also think that he will likely have long tails. At this stage, he seems to have the potential to be a top class shama.
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When there is a pronounced difference in the size of the chicks in a clutch that I am hand-raising, I separate them as seen in the photo. Otherwise, there is every likelihood that the older chicks will get on top of the younger chicks which may suffocate. In a day or two, when the chick at the top right is bigger and stronger, I will transfer him to the container with the chick on the left. To avoid overcrowding, I do not place more than 2 or 3 chicks in a container.
The 2 chicks at the bottom of the photo hatched on Tuesday morning. The chick at the top left hatched yesterday morning and the chick at the top right hatched yesterday at 2.30 pm. There is slightly more than a day's difference between the older chicks and the youngest but the earlier chicks are almost twice the size. There is even a clear difference in size between the single chick on the right and the chick on the left which hatched only a few hours earlier. There is only a one meal difference between the 2 chicks. The chicks show how quickly they can grow when their environment (temperature and humidity) and nutrition are correct.
This is what happens at hatching. The chick will squeeze itself into the narrower part of the egg and occupy about 60% of it. It will then pierce the membrane separating it from the air sac in the wider part of the egg. This allows the chick to breath. It will then use its egg-tooth to chip at the egg-shell. The chip can be seen and felt by running a finger over the egg-shell. At this stage, the membrane separating the egg from the outside is still not broken.
I made the mistake once of "assisting" the chick by removing a small part of the shell above the air-sac. The chick hatched very quickly after that but there was blood in the shell and a part of the yolk was outside the chick. As I had no problems with my other chicks, the cause could only be due to the larger hole that prematurely let in humidity. BTW, the chick survived my bungling.
After the chick has made an initial hole in the shell, it will use its egg-tooth to chip the shell, turning slightly each time until it has chipped around the entire shell. It will then make repeated heaves of its body upwards against the shell until the top half comes off. The lower part of the chicks body will still be in the bottom half of the shell (the narrower part) and it will eventually struggle out of it.
It will take about 2 1/2 months for a chick to grow to its full juvenile size.
Below are photos of one of my chicks from this year at the age of 33 days. He looks promising. Not only does he flick his tails high but, even at this young age, he is already dropping his wings and this is a trait that I am trying to breed true in my strain of shamas. He also has long legs, good posture and a nice head. I also think that he will likely have long tails. At this stage, he seems to have the potential to be a top class shama.
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Shama chicks
The chicks from Flame's last clutch are all doing well. Here they are at 8/9 days of age:
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Visitors from Indonesia
I had 2 visitors from Indonesia to my home over the weekend. Catur, who is based in Singapore, came with Setiady, who lives in Java. We spent some time in my home before proceeding to Michael's home.
I can understand and speak a little Indonesian and Setiady can communicate a little in English. Catur, who is fluent in English and Indonesian, translated where necessary.
Setiady is extremely knowledgeable about shama breeding and he generously shared his breeding methods with Michael and I. He gave us details of his polygamous method of shama breeding that I found to be informative and interesting. Michael and I don't practice polygamous shama breeding and we don't intend to do so in the foreseeable future but we tucked the information away in our minds for future reference or use.
Setiady shared that, from his observations, if an egg is destroyed shortly after it is laid, it is the female that has done so. If the destruction takes place one or two days later, than the culprit is the male. To give the eggs a better chance of hatching, Setiady removes the male after the pair have mated. He said that in captive breeding where food is plentiful, the female is quite capable of looking after the chicks on her own.
Setiady also saw the chicks in my home and Michael's home that were about 11 to 12 days old. With the chicks to illustrate his points, Setiady, explained his method of sexing the chicks at this very young age. Amongst the points he made was that the calls of the chick will likely indicate its sex. Listen to the chick when it calls for food. If the voice is sharp and rising, the chick is likely to be a female. If the voice is lower and the call is shorter, it is a male.
Setiady was impressed with the song and character of one of Michael's first molt males from Alpha. As with other Indonesians I have met, Setiady likes the song that is sharp. He also liked Flame's son Rave (2nd molt), whose photo is below:
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There were other bits of information about shamas that Setiady kindly shared with Michael and I. For instance, he said that when any of his shamas have an attack of fits, he would feed it a cricket laced with vitamin B complex. If the bird is able to swallow the cricket, it would likely be all right within 1/2 an hour or so.
I can understand and speak a little Indonesian and Setiady can communicate a little in English. Catur, who is fluent in English and Indonesian, translated where necessary.
Setiady is extremely knowledgeable about shama breeding and he generously shared his breeding methods with Michael and I. He gave us details of his polygamous method of shama breeding that I found to be informative and interesting. Michael and I don't practice polygamous shama breeding and we don't intend to do so in the foreseeable future but we tucked the information away in our minds for future reference or use.
Setiady shared that, from his observations, if an egg is destroyed shortly after it is laid, it is the female that has done so. If the destruction takes place one or two days later, than the culprit is the male. To give the eggs a better chance of hatching, Setiady removes the male after the pair have mated. He said that in captive breeding where food is plentiful, the female is quite capable of looking after the chicks on her own.
Setiady also saw the chicks in my home and Michael's home that were about 11 to 12 days old. With the chicks to illustrate his points, Setiady, explained his method of sexing the chicks at this very young age. Amongst the points he made was that the calls of the chick will likely indicate its sex. Listen to the chick when it calls for food. If the voice is sharp and rising, the chick is likely to be a female. If the voice is lower and the call is shorter, it is a male.
Setiady was impressed with the song and character of one of Michael's first molt males from Alpha. As with other Indonesians I have met, Setiady likes the song that is sharp. He also liked Flame's son Rave (2nd molt), whose photo is below:
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There were other bits of information about shamas that Setiady kindly shared with Michael and I. For instance, he said that when any of his shamas have an attack of fits, he would feed it a cricket laced with vitamin B complex. If the bird is able to swallow the cricket, it would likely be all right within 1/2 an hour or so.
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Bird song learning
This video was sent to me by Teo Sartee.
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2014 Season
As visitors to this blog may know, I have made, and intend to make, shamas with my blue bands (i.e. shamas from my line), available to hobbyists within and outside Singapore. Jeffrey has kindly agreed to assist me to provide buyers outside Singapore with shamas from my line and I see from his blog that 3 of my birds are already going to new homes.
The response to my invitation to persons who wish to purchase my line of birds to let me know of their interest has been overwhelming. I try to keep the chicks for at least 75 days, when the chicks will be fully developed, so that the new owner and I can be more sure about how the chick will likely turn out. May I ask all persons who have registered their interest with me to be patient and I will let you know as soon as there is something that may be within your budget.
Over the weekend we had a small gathering at Michael's home. Below is a video that I recorded on my handphone of his 7 months old male from Alpha and Killer which has just completed its molt.
The response to my invitation to persons who wish to purchase my line of birds to let me know of their interest has been overwhelming. I try to keep the chicks for at least 75 days, when the chicks will be fully developed, so that the new owner and I can be more sure about how the chick will likely turn out. May I ask all persons who have registered their interest with me to be patient and I will let you know as soon as there is something that may be within your budget.
Over the weekend we had a small gathering at Michael's home. Below is a video that I recorded on my handphone of his 7 months old male from Alpha and Killer which has just completed its molt.
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Some young shamas
Wonder Boy at 7 1/2 months of age:
King David at 65 days of age:
King David's younger brother at 19 days of age. He is already eating well on his own and only supplementary feeding is required:
King David at 65 days of age:
King David's younger brother at 19 days of age. He is already eating well on his own and only supplementary feeding is required:
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