About Me

My Story

One thing we all have in common is the fact that once upon a time we were all starting out in the hobby. Some of us were lucky enough to be guided by relatives or friends already in the fancy but generally, we all acquire our knowledge the hard way, through our own experience. And even as the years go by we still learn something new each day.

As a boy, I kept Zebra Finches and Border Canaries but after a break from bird-keeping of almost 25 years, I came back to this wonderful hobby in 1998. It was a visit to the National Exhibition in 1997 that inspired my fascination with the Crested Canary; this was the breed I was going to keep.

I developed a stud of Gloster Canaries alongside my Crests. So many times people told me to concentrate on one breed and maybe rightly so but it was my hobby and I was attracted to the Gloster Canary. The Gloster being so popular meant there were more shows, more available info and a good social circle of fanciers to meet and swap notes with. I made my own decision in 2000 to part with my Gloster Canaries and concentrate on my stud of Crests but in the beginning, the Gloster and its fellow fanciers fuelled my enthusiasm for the hobby. I also met some of the nicest people whom I can now call my friends.

The Newcomer to the fancy has a wide choice of available breeds to choose from. For a decorative aviary, crested birds are probably not the best choice due to the restricted vision of the crested bird. Financial reward is not the right reason for starting in the canary fancy and it has it’s fair share of disappointments, but it is a bug that gets in your blood and can be a fantastic world to disappear into after a hard day at work or even during or after an illness. If you fancy developing a stud of exhibition canaries, think of how much time you can set aside for your stud, how far you want to go as far as an exhibition is concerned. How much space in the garden can you dedicate to housing? It is sometimes more cost effective to start with a small shed but once the bug keeping bug bites, you will soon want to enlarge your setup.

Whilst it is no easy task to breed any quality exhibition canary, the Crest, I believe, offers the ultimate challenge. Through this site, I hope to share my experiences with you.

The last few years have seen a dramatic decline in the popularity of the crested canary here in the UK, which around the turn of the century appeared to be gaining ground with canary breeders. With the National Exhibition of Cage Birds now gone forever, the crested canary’s shop window, which exhibition provided, has gone too. Today there are only a handful of dedicated breeders who keep this magnificent breed in its country of origin, England.

If you require information on the breed or have information to share, please e-mail me.

Thank you for visiting my website.

Nick Hall