Most of the hens have hatched their chicks with the exception of a few stragglers. First round has produced nearly 40 chicks from 9 hens with a 90% fertility rate- pretty exceptional.

The only clear nest was from a male who was only 8 months old- clear eggs from him was not unexpected. The 2nd try with him produced five babies.

I will have a very selective 2nd round- only 4-5 hens as I will have so many chicks this year from the first round. Too many more and I will be overrun.

A breeder should always be very aware of the number of birds he or she can properly care for and still enjoy the hobby. The number I am likely to have this year is at the upper end of my ability- the birds are no problem until fall when the males must be caged up in individual show cages. That is when things really become labor intensive.

With American Singers, the challenge is always being able to LISTEN to the birds. Unless one does some pretty intensive listening, one can make major mistakes in choosing what to sell and what to keep. Breeders who breed 150 birds are setting themselves up to listen to 75 birds (assuming that there is a 50/50 male to female ratio) every day for several weeks- that is almost half of a 151 bird show! (Not to mention 75 show cages - plus older males in show cages- to clean each day.)

I know some "top breeders" - and I cannot begin to express how much that phrase amuses me - who simply let the judges decide which birds they will keep and which they will sell. In particular, one breeder has a policy of always selling birds which do not sing at the shows. One of his young birds didn't sing at a couple of shows so he was slated for sale. At the next four shows, he took 1st place and became a Grand Champion. How close was that breeder to selling the best bird he had bred that year???

If you aim to win at American Singer shows YOU HAVE TO BECOME A JUDGE. By this I do not mean that you must become a sanctioned American Singer judge, but that you must learn to JUDGE YOUR OWN BIRDS at home. How do you do this? By sitting in the judging room as long as you can at as many shows as you can for as long as you wish to remain a winning breeder.

For years I have watched the top breeders in the country at the shows- they can always be found in the judging room. Even though they may not be a judge, they know song better than anyone else because they listen, listen, listen!

~Marie