Take a look at me now!

[laurab]

Hi all,

my name is Elvis :razz: I have been called that because I appear to have the Elvis 'curl' to my beak and I can sing!

What do you think of me now? You know me better as 'Hecks-alese' or Benge-hecks. ;-)

[Waxbillman]

hello Laura,

what a grand little bird you've got thier laura, a great picture as well.

matthew

[kenny]

hi laura

what a great looking bird that is,its a real beauty

ken

[laurab]

I have to admit, I think so too ;-)

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Laura,

You already know my view on this Bird, it is an excellent example of it's Parentage!
I am blown away by the size of the Bird compared to any straight Hecks or Bengalese you have, the feather quality is A1 and the markings show the Parentage perfectly!!:grin:

As you may have gathered, Hybrids can be frowned upon in Foreign Birdkeeping, but for a mistake this Bird is simply outstanding!!

I would love for you to train this Bird for Showing, I know you are not a huge fan of the Showing circuit, but please believe me you will do well with this Bird!

Also I know of a man who would be very interested in buying this Bird from you (no not me:roll:), Ken Semple, he is a good Foreign Bird Judge and he has a distinct love of Foreign Bird Hybrids.

I doubt you will ever wish to sell this Bird, but if you do I'm sure Ken will part with at least £20 (maybe more) to own this Bird, my advice to you is to show the Bird for yourself, if not please let the public see it through the pages of Cage and Aviary.

Paul.:grin:

[Gary]

ace bird, i love it

[chris]

Hi laura,

very nice bird! do they still allow the showing of foreign hybrids now as i was under the impression that it had been stopped? also will you be attempting to breed from the little chap/chapette:grin: next year if it should be fertile, if not it would make a great foster parent

Chris:wink:

[kenny]

hi laura

it will be a shame if you cant show it as there should be a class for individual species when i used to go to shows there always was an any other species

ken

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Chris,

There are still classes available at Shows for Hybrids, I think this Bird is a great example of both Parent Species, so for this reason alone it should do well on the Show Bench, but when you see the Bird in front of you it is breath taking in more ways than one, the feather quality is excellent and the Birds size is greater than any Bengalese or Hecks in Lauras aviary.

Generally Hybrids don't win major awards in the Foreign section, but this Bird with some training will take the Best Hybrid award at any Show!!

By the way I doubt very much this Bird will be fertile, but as you say Chris the Bird could prove to be a great Foster Parent.

Paul.:grin:

[chris]

well from it's size i'm guessing it has a crop to match, so that's a lot of food for any chicks! and it's got the bengalse in it to make it a great foster parent

Chris:wink:

[laurab]

He is more Benge than Hecks. He sings like a Benge and generally hangs out with the Benges'.

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Laura,

Well I guess the name of Bengehecks is a more fitting name for your Bird, but you still haven't answered the question, will you Show him at least once?

Paul.:grin:

[dave85]

hey paul,

I beg to differ - i feel it may possibly may be fertile since its a bengie hybrid as we all know bengies are a hybrid of there own right, so we could be surprised when he has funny looking chicks :P

Just sexing it is going to be the problem, put with 2 females (1bengie,1hecks) 2 cocks (1bengie, 1 hecks) and see what happens.

Thanks
Dave H

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Dave,

With the Bengalese we are talking about a combination of Asiatic Mannikin Hybrids over many generations, so when paired to an Australian Grassfinch I fail to see why you would think there could be a fertile Hybrid?:shock:?

Laura has already mentioned that the Bird sings, call me stupid but wouldn't this indicate a cock Bird?

Paul.

[laurab]

Hi Guys

If I were to show Elvis (Great name huh :razz: ) how would I go about it and when?

[kenny]

hi laura

the welsh national next year in january.

ken

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Laura,

The local shows would be your best bet to begin with, if you do well then the obvious step forward would be the Open Shows.

Paul.:wink:

[kenny]

hi laura

was reading a really old book on breeding australian finches by G.W.ILES parsons masked and longtailed grass finches have hybridised with zebras ,bicheno,spice bird,bengalese,diamond sparrow,cherry finch,chestnut breasted finch.so you had better get started on the rest you have already got the bengie.7 more to go:grin: :grin:

ken

[PAUL HEARN]

Hi Laura,

You may need to train your Bengehecks/Hecksalese before thinking about showing him, all this will involve is putting him into a suitable Show Cage for short periods in an attempt to steady him, if he doesn't seem steady enough in a Show Cage after four or five training sessions then it would be wise to give up on the idea.

A few years ago I bred an excellent cock Diamond Firetail/Sparrow, he was absolutely huge with a good cobby body shape etc, I was sure I would clear up at any Show I entered him in.
Unfortunately, despite the weeks of training I gave him, he would never settle down enough to be shown.:(
My only option with only a week to go before the Show date was to try his younger brother, he was quite small in comparison to his scatty, but huge Brother, but still was a very nice Bird, I put him into the Show Cage and within minutes he was perching as steady as a rock.:)

After a three year absence from the Show Scene, I entered him in the Current Year Bred Class into the Camberley and District CBS Open Show, along with a hen Current Year Bred Red Crested Finch and an Adult hen Red Crested Finch.
I won every Award I was eligible for, Best Rare Seedeater, Best Current Year Seedeater, Best Seedeater and Best Current Year Foreign.:D

What I'm trying to say in my rather long winded reply,:roll: is that not all Birds make good Show Birds, they can look great in the aviary they were bred in, but when you put them into a Show Cage, they can go to pieces
With the so called Elvis I see a Bird that displays both Parent Species well, great size and shape, great feather condition and a very confident nature, give him a go with Show training, I reckon he could be a good one.

Paul.

[laurab]

I have some more news about Elvis! When he sings he starts off in Bengalese, then right at the end of his rendition, he finishes in Hecks!


I have a bilingual bird!! :razz:

[chris]

Hi Laura,

i think most hybrids tend to do that, My Greensinger hybrids sing both canary and greensinger all mixed up, still learning to sing though yet but he is getting there now

Chris:wink: