Starting Afresh

After years of adding parts to his old birdroom, Hampshirebased fancier STEVE COX decided to go the whole hog and build a completely new one with the help of some good friends. Here he speaks to Fred Wright about the new set-up

- Steve Cox

BUDGERIGARS

STEVE Cox is a champion budgerigar breeder and lives in Southampton. He is probably best known as a judge and successful breeder of lutinos. Steve used to show in partnership with his father but in recent years he has shown his birds alone.

Steve started out with budgerigars 52 years ago and has never been without them. He has always lived in the Southampton area and has been in his current house for 35 years. It would be fair and reasonable to say his birdroom has evolved over the years from a small shed. He has added on and built an outside flight, but nothing lasts for ever. Steve recently decided it was a question of giving up his budgies or building a new birdroom – so he went for the new birdroom.

The old birdroom went across the bottom of the garden, so Steve needed to build the new one in a different area so that the birds could stay in the old room in the meantime. It took a while to get Steve’s wife to agree to him taking a large part of the garden, because she is a keen gardener, but she appreciated how important budgies are to Steve.