Still nothing so far this year

Lady CN was broken of her egg-eating habit but the remaining 2 eggs from her first clutch had turned out to be infertile. The eggs were removed on the 14th day of incubation and confirmed to be infertile through candling. We have other proven females, all from the same DDS line and all very ready to be bred to Funkie but this is not just about producing chicks quickly. For me, it will be worth the time invested if we could get some offsprings from this pairing. Lady CN will be laying again this few days.

Meanwhile, Mr PK was separated from Baby Jane after waiting for about a month with no results from them. He was replaced with JL54. JL54, son of Funkie out of Fatina, was bred and sold last year and we were more than happy to acquire him back after his first molt. He is everything we could hope for in terms of song quality and structure. His tail is about 11.5 inches from this first molt but one of his tail feathers was ruined by tail feather mites. To ensure that the mites will be totally eradicated, I had treated him aggressively for a period of time before pairing him up. His tail feathers will be perfect by the next molt. We were more than willing to pay for him but his buyer had preferred to be replaced with another taimong later on, from this year's breeding. Although we have another 13-inch proven male at our disposal that we can pair up with Baby Jane, the final decision was to use JL54 even though he is unproven and may be a little too young. This is because the arrangement to use JL54 will fit very well into our breeding plan. This pairing and another 2 pairings this year using Funkie himself and his other son Rock, will hopefully result in some of Funkie's desirable traits being inherited by this year's offsprings from them. If all goes well, some of these offsprings could then be selected to provide a foundation that we could build upon to perpetuate these desirable traits, henceforth.

I am greatly inspired by the work and the words of two good friends from Singapore when it comes to captive breeding of the white-rumped shama:

David de Souza, whom I had first met about a decade ago, had shown me that the best strategy towards the goal of producing what one has in mind, is through selective line breeding. One of the traits that he had set out to breed for is the elegant and long tail feathers that will greatly enhance the overall structure of his birds. A decade and a half later, he is breeding true, this as well as other desirable qualities. His generosity to allow me to draw freely from his well of experience and his established genetic pool whenever I need to, has been my greatest source of encouragement.

Today, breeding just for long tail feathers may not be as difficult anymore because of the better availability of long-tailed birds in the market. However, appreciation of the hind structure is not just a matter of its measurement in inches. A long tail must also be able to please the eyes. Only then can it enhance the overall structure of the bird. In my opinion, a hobbyist that do not judge a bird by his eyes but only by the ruler, is not a true hobbyist at all. By itself, the tail must be of the right texture and curvature. A long tail that is stiff and unlively is not much more in character and appeal than a pair of chopsticks sticking out from the hind end. When viewed in combination with the overall structure, an impressive tail must be matched by an equally impressive body and the ability to carry it well. A long tail will not be impressive if it is attached to a badly structured body. A long tail that is on a bird that do not have what it takes to carry it, will likewise, serve to magnify the flaws.

Besides DDS, there are other breeders that I also admire for their success and their dedication. These are the ones breeding not just long-tailed shamas but beautiful long-tailed shamas. Another breeder-friend of mine, Ronald Thia, once advised would-be-breeders in the forum with these words: "He must also not be greedy to breed any pair he can match up but be very selective." I hold these words close to heart for they came from one that has finally tasted success through years of hands-on experience, patience and true dedication. In times like this, when things are not going too well, I draw strength from these words.