Exhibitor Spotlight: Fred & Linda Buckley
By Blake Ma
--> (This article was featured in the Oct/Nov/Dec 2005 issue of Agapornis World)
Most of us and live and show in different regions of the US , Puerto Rico , and across the world. Some people show and concentrate in one particular area, whether that is the Midwest , the Eastern regions, or other neighboring areas around which we live. For many people Nationals is the only time where we may get to meet exhibitors from across the country and even that only gives us a couple of days to socialize and get to know our love bird peers. For those who do not get to attend, they may not get a chance to meet some of the best exhibitors in other regions or get to learn more about them. One such couple I would like to introduce are Fred and Linda Buckley. Fred and Linda are of one of the top lovebird breeders and exhibitors. They have been breeding for 15 years and exhibiting for 13 years. They currently live in Brick, New Jersey . In 1997, Fred and Linda were tied for top exhibitor and have been in the top 10 for many years. They have achieved over 17 first places all at major shows and over 109 bench placements.
After reading this article, next time you meet a nice couple at a love bird show named Fred & Linda, be sure to say hi and admire their lovely birds!. A big thanks to them for taking their time to be interviewed for the journal and sharing their experiences.
What is it about love birds that drew you to them?
Linda: I saw a Blue Masked and wanted one as a handfed pet and after many phone calls and attending a local NJ show there were NONE to be found. One breeder said, "No one hand feeds Masked, they get nippy". I was determined to have my pet, but couldn't find a pair...so purchased a Green Pied and an Olive Peachfaced(Dark) pair. I eventually found a "pair" of masked, and fortunately I had a written guarantee of a "pair". After 1 year and NO eggs it was decided I had 2 males and so another bird was given to replace one of the males, and 2 years later I had my first masked baby.
Were you able to breed Masked and get them to be calmer and not as nippy?
They definitely did require more work, I did find that if they were fostered at birth under a calm Peachfaced pair, and pulled and handfed with peachfaced they were much tamer then if raised and handfed with their own. BeepBop was fostered by a Pied Mom and fed with a Pied sibling, and she is 8 years old and can still be handled without being bitten…she will even fly to your shoulder if she is out and about.
How much time per week do you spend on your birds?
This is a very difficult question to answer since if there aren't babies being handfed which takes up a good part of a day, there is feeding/watering/cage cleaning but on an average caring for adults and disregarding any hand-feeding then a minimum of 15 hours a week.
How is your aviary setup? How many babies every year does your aviary produce?
Linda: We pick and pair which birds will breed together to produce what we want for showing and future breeders for selling as pets. We do have a flight that is used for resting and holds a maximum of 30 birds(of once species). Right now there are only 9 since we are at the lowest amount of birds ever. This year our aviary produced only 33 babies. We have downsized considerably so we only have 60 lovebirds in residence at this time... In our heyday, we had 125+ and held back about 10-20 babies from Masked, Fischer’s and Peachfaced. This year we only kept about 4 babies back for showing.
How did you get into exhibiting lovebirds?
We showed dogs(Miniature Schnauzers) for 20 years, and when we attended our first bird show, Paul Crow was judging at the South Jersey Bird Club(SJBC). We sat in the gallery and being dog show people were so intrigued with the comments that we decided we would like to do this... Paul asked if there were any new comers in the audience, and he gave us an application to ALBS and the rest is history.
Who are some of the people that helped you along the way when you were first started exhibiting?
We were attending shows for a whole year before we entered a show. We watched, listened, and learned. We purchased our first peachfaced pair that I mentioned above from Charlie and Anna Gadd , PA (this pair was the foundation for our Green Pieds) and a Yellow fischers from Paul Crow.
How long before you placed a bird on the top bench and took 1 st in show?
We placed our first bird on top bench in November of 1993, and it was the "1992" Yellow Fischer’s we purchased from Paul Crow. The 1 st in show we took was in October of 1994 at the SJBC under Phil Ryan. It was very stressful watching our bird and the 2 nd place bird being rotated back in forth in 1 st and 2 nd place and then the final exuberance of the tags being marked and our Green Fischer’s coming out 1st.
What mutations/variation have you worked the hardest at perfecting? What bird are you the most proud of?
We have mainly concentrated on Fischer’s and Pieds.I am going to use the terminology of the timeframe of the bird Yellow/white Masked(aka Dilute Green Masked). BeeBop took Best Young at the Chester County Bird Club in "1997"at 4 months of age. She finished her Championship in 1999 and made Grand Champion in 2000 with three 1st placements. I believe she was the First of her mutation to achieve these honors.
What do you feel is the toughest thing about exhibiting lovebirds in comparison to other animals such as dogs? Birds are by far much easier, dog shows are political, and it isn’t always the best dog that wins but the best known/politically positioned handler. We like to have a hands on approach. It isn’t a business but a hobby, so we would not put our dogs with a professional handler. Who wants to wait for a call, ”You won 1 st” You want to be there to experience the thrill .
What is your favorite mutation?
If you have a really good marked pied, the mutation is stunning. The combinations of coloring all within a single bird are beautiful. I am especially partial to Green Pied love birds.
Do you have any lovebird pets?
We have 1 lovebird pet, and his name is Ollie. Ollie is an Olive (Dark Green Peachfaced) Ollie doesn't know he is a bird. He was hatched on 12/31/95 . Ollie is terrified of other lovebirds. At the time, he was the only love bird in a cage in the house, not setup with a mate, and at this time we didn’t know his sex, so we put him in the flight with other peachfaced lovebirds. A few days later Fred comes in and says you have a green bird on the ground in the flight. When I went out to see what bird, here was Ollie, weak but hopping along to crawl onto my foot. His keel was protruding, and evidently he hadn’t eaten. So back in the house he came, and it was definitely touch and go for a few days and when he regained his strength I put him in a cage with a single bird. He however huddled in the corner and wouldn’t go near the food, so since that day almost 10 years ago, he is a single bird. He sits on the perch closest to my side of the couch, and if my glass is near enough he will reach through the bars and take a sip or splash some out onto my arm. Ollie is a strange bird. He will not eat anything but millet spray, parakeet seed and an occasional piece of pop corn, and that is only if he sees me eating it (the popcorn that is). He loves to crawl in your shirt, and that has been a favorite of my niece since she was 3 years old. She always asks to have Ollie put under her shirt, and he makes his way up and pokes his head out the neck opening. Angela is now 10 and when she visits she still wants Ollie to take his shirt journey and when her Mom says, “He will scratch your chest”, her response is “NO, I put an undershirt on so he can go between the two tops.”
How do you decide if you keep a bird for showing?
We keep mostly pied, and occasionally another mutation if it is the parent’s first clutch or is sex-linked, and I have a specific bird in mind that I need a mate for. 95% of our babies are sold at 3 weeks. Since we mostly concentrate on pieds these days, if a baby's flights aren't breaking the skin as clear pins, the bird isn't considered.
How do you go about training your birds for a show?
Probably not the best thing to admit, but we don't really. I look at the birds that are sitting in their cages and if they look good I take them with me to the show. I look at the birds starting in August, and sometimes I will pull a bird and put it in the show box and decide NOPE not this week, you don't look good enough .
Do you have any aspirations of becoming a judge?
Fred:It was brought up to Linda since she does most of the handfeeding/stewarding and picking of the show birds. We have achieved all we hoped to with showing. We currently have too many commitments at this time but it is something that Linda may consider in the future.
You have been successful exhibitors for a long time, what advice can you give to other exhibitors?
It’s important to h ave a good attitude, and not to be a sore loser. Judging is subjective and not everyone likes the same things. Listen to the comments, learn from them, or disregard them, that is your choice. But remember to have fun or else it isn’t worth it...
What direction would you like to see the African Love Bird Society head towards in the future? How can you and others help be a part of that?
This would take a lot of thought...it takes a large commitment for any organization to flourish. ALBS is beneficial to a few but needs the support of many. ALBS should do their best to also focus more on pet owners or breeders who are not interested in showing. We give direction and encouragement to any one who purchases a bird whether it is show quality or is someone's pet. We also do our best to promote Love Birds as a great species to own and dispel myths such as needing 2 lovebirds, etc.