Preparing for competition

Preparing for competition

NGTC to DDS, 25^th December 2013

Hi David,

Read your blog on the above and I fully agree with you that consistency is very important, afterall if the form of that shama has peaked in that manner BAU should therefore be maintained as much as possible.

I have seen 2 casual shama friends pushing their shamas hard in their preparation work, ramping up the amount chai sessions as well as on the foods, and sadly both their shamas failed to perform on the big day though one of them was pretty consistency at the chai arena.  Sometimes the more "kan cheong" you are the worse it becomes.

You mentioned that after molting the form could rise in about a month and thereafter how long will this form last and when would there be a peak?  Of course I am presuming the best care has been given.

Regards,

TC

Hi TC,

Consistency, to me, does not mean that we should do the same thing over and over again with never any change whatsoever.  It means making any changes gradually and only after we have reason to think that the change will be beneficial.

As I lack much competition experience, I myself need to give thought to try to determine what is required to bring a male shama to top form and to maintain him there for extended periods.  I am lucky in that I already have a sound base from my years of keeping and breeding shamas.  I therefore have the basic knowledge and all that is required is to try to tweak what I have been doing in order to prepare the bird for competition.   I should note that for breeding purposes, the shama need not be in competition form.  Just as humans do not need to be athletes to beget children, so also shamas do not need to be in competition form in order to be successfully paired.

To be a top competitor and to be regularly successful in competitions requires the shama to be brought to a substantially higher level of performance than a breeding shama.  The competition shama needs to sing and display under the stress of having many other shamas in close proximity to it for over 2 hours or more.  This is something that is not required of a shama in the home.  To be in competition form also requires the shama to be accustomed to transportation, the presence of other shamas in good form and also the presence of people.  All this needs to be done over a period of many months so that sometime before the competition the bird is already ready and all that is required in the final 2 weeks is to maintain the form.

Michael just came back from a trip to Thailand where he visited Jambul farms and also met and spent time with one of the top Jambul competitors there.  He was told by the top Jambul competitor that his birds are prepared for competition with proper food and care and, in the final 2 weeks before a competition, the birds that are intended for competition are kept secluded from other Jambuls.  I would think that the same applies to shamas. Contrast this with some of our local shama competitors who bring their birds to the chai tio regularly and even the week before a competition.  Such a bird is unlikely to have fully recovered before it is required to perform again.

If we are to successfully compete our shamas, we should try to understand and accommodate their individual personalities and remove anything that causes them unnecessary stress in the home.  For instance, you may find that a shama may not like a particular location in the home.  He may be restless when his cage is placed in that location and may seem to be more comfortable somewhere else.  When I see this, I transfer the cage to the place where the shama seems comfortable and try to consistently keep him there.  

I could go on and on with regard to what I think is required to prepare a shama for competition but what I have is still only theory which will need to be tested and proven correct by actual competition.  This is something I have just started to do.  I am looking forward to the forthcoming competition this coming Sunday to see if I am on the right path with what I have been doing.

I answer below your query regarding the form after molt.

If the shama has been well cared for during the molt, its form will begin to rise even before the molt is completed.  It should continue to rise and the bird will be in breeding condition about 1 1/2 months after the molt is completed.  I would think that this is when its testosterone will be at its highest and this will be the peak of the bird's form. I have tried to mate males that seem to be in good form before 1 1/2 months have passed after molting.  Whilst the male will accept the female, I have found that if she lays eggs shortly after the pairing, the eggs tend to be infertile.

The shama should molt only once a year.  If it molts more than this, the molt is induced by stress of some kindthe form should gradually rise after the molt and then go down as the molt approaches.  

A bird with tails of say, 6 inches, will take about 1 1/2 months to complete the molt of its tails while a 12" bird will take about double the time.  Often, the head and body feathers will start to molt about 2 to 3 weeks before the tails are shed.  A short tailed bird will therefore be in good form about 1 1/2 months longer than a long tailed bird.  The form should start to deteriorate about a month before the bird starts to molt.

A short-tailed bird should therefore potentially be in good form for about 8 1/2 months while a long-tailed bird should be in good form for about 7 months.

Hope the above helps.

Best regards,

David

Skyhawk

Skyhawk placed 6th out of about 70 shamas in the Bukit Purmei Zone 'B' Residents' Committee Shama Bird Singing Contest yesterday. The competition was managed by the Shama Club of Singapore and the judging was in accordance with its rules.

I felt that Skyhawk performed very well with regards to frequency, consistency, loudness and variety of song.  However, he hardly displayed and should have got little or no marks for this section. This was probably the cause of his lower ranking.  He displayed less than in the competition 2 weeks ago and it may be that he may not have fully recovered from it.

There is no day competition scheduled in the next month or so and, rather than wait for one, I have paired him with a female yesterday.

Training: For Night Outings

Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 2:50 pm Post subject:

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It is not surprising that the shama will not readily chai at night. By 7 pm it is bedtime for him and unless a bright light is left on at home he will go to sleep by this time. If you take him to a gathering at 8pm or later, he will be going to a place to compete that is completely outside his experience both in terms of space and time. Further, the journey in the dark will have frightened and stressed him.

A bird that will chai in the daytime may not necessarily chai at night if it is not used to doing so. For instance, if Rooster had been at Blk 534 Ang Mo Kio on the morning of Sunday 11 June, he would have seen Quest performing well at the shama gathering there. Although, this was the first time that I had placed him in a gathering of shamas, he has become more or less used to travelling in the daytime and he is courageous. Although he did not sing and display last night his courage may be seen from the fact that even though this was his first outing at night the "white flower" on his back remained open and he would still occasionally flick his tail and whistle. With frequent travel at night he should soon become used to it and if I want to train him for night gatherings I can leave a bright flourescent light on in my home at night for 2 hours or so before again bringing him out to chai.

As I have mentioned, Quest is going to molt soon and his form is coming down. There are certain signs that indicate to me that this is so. For one thing, a bird that is in good condition and has been singing well, like Quest, will gradually reduce the frequency of his song as he approaches the molt. Also, the feathers and especially the wing feathers will start to lose their shine. Finally, did you know that when a male shama is in top form, the inside of its beak will turn from a light flesh color to a very dark purple, almost black. Well, this is so and when it is going to molt, the inside beak will lighten over a period of time until it becomes flesh colored. The inside beak of a shama in top form can also lighten within a few hours if the shama is stressed.

Age of Shama for Competition

Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 7:10 am Post subject:

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How old should a shama be before it is entered for competition?

Let's first briefly consider what is involved in competitions in Singapore. Just before the competition begins, each contestant ballots for the spot where his shama's cage is to be hung. The location of the cage in the competition therefore depends on luck. If a contestant has a fierce bird in good form, he might wish for his bird to be located close to another fierce bird as they will then compete and each bird will give its best. On the other hand, if his bird is not in top form or it is young, he might want less fierce birds around his bird. If he has purchased several tickets for the competition, he will have some leeway as to where to place each bird.

There are 2 schools of thought as to how old a shama should be before it is entered for competition. Some apply the adage that a good shama is a good shama. In other words, age does not matter and so long as the male wears its adult plumage, it may be entered for competition if it has form. My good friend Michael Leong used to belong to this school. In support of his view, he noted that his shama, Super Model had won first prize in competition when it was only 18 months old. The second school, to which I subscribe, is that a young shama should not be placed close to a fierce adult shama. For this reason and especially because of the uncertainty of placement of the cages in a competition, young birds should not be competed. I further believe that exposing a very young shama to competition could have a detrimental effect on him, especially if he is competed at a very young age, such as 18 months.

From my more recent discussions with Michael, I think he has modified his views. He now agrees that a young shama, i.e. one who has only completed 1 or 2 molts from juvenile, is not likely to perform at its best in competition and that birds such as Super Model are exceptions. Even in the case of Super Model, Michael has noted that as it attained maturity, it has tended to display and sing more when in the company of other males. For instance, it was only after SuperModel completed its 5th molt that it started to "play cobra head". This is the term we use locally when a male shama slowly nods and weaves its head from side to side in the presence of other males. Of course, playing cobra head is not necessarily the mark of an adult bird since SuperModel's son played cobra head even when he was a juvenile.

I will illustrate the effect of an aggressive adult on a young male shama. About a week ago, Michael brought Super Model to my home as I was to breed him. Before transferring him to the breeding aviary, we hung his cage at my porch with Dream’s cage about 15 feet away, within sight and hearing of each other. Those of you who have seen the video of Dream at page 35 of Video of Quest will have got the impression that he appears to be a dominant bird. Nevertheless, it is only 8 months old and within a few minutes of hearing and seeing Super Model, he stopped singing. It was clear that he felt intimidated. I then moved his cage further and out of sight of Super Model. He soon recovered and started to sing and display. To me this is illustrative of what happens in the wilds where the young shama will not try to compete against a much older and dominant male. Bear in mind that the territorial song is used to establish and demarcate territory and for a young shama to sing it in the presence of an adult male in breeding condition is to proclaim that the territory is his. No adult shama worth his salt will tolerate the young upstart.

I would liken a shama that has completed its first molt from juvenile to be similar to a boy that has attained puberty but has not reached him prime. He has the hormones that make him want to mate but not the strength to wrest his prize from an adult male. Whilst I have been successful in breeding 10 months old males (BTW I no longer do so), I doubt that a male at this age will have an opportunity to mate in the wilds as he will not be able to contest an older, stronger and more dominant male. This is bourne out by observations in the field where males in the company of females that are trapped are invariably mature adults.


I would like the provide 2 examples of the behaviour of territorial males - one from the animal kingdom and another from a close relative of the shama. A male lion will drive a young male from its territory before it is sufficiently mature to be a threat to it. Thenceforth, the young lion will live on its own or in the company of other young males until it is mature and strong enough to wrest a territory and the harem from an adult male.

The Magpie-Robin is a close cousin of the shama and behaves much like it. Like the shama, it holds a territory and will chase away a male that enters it. I have no experience of Magpie-Robin fights but Louden who has, tells me that the birds are classified according to their age. Thus year old birds are matched against males of the same age. He tells me that a year old male that is matched against a 2 year old male will invariably lose no matter how strong and aggressive he may seem.

Does it make a difference that each shama is in its own cage and cannot get at the other. I think not bearing in mind that fighting is a last resort and in most cases the more dominant male will drive away the lesser merely by singing its territorial song.

Shama Training

First posted August 2006

Firstly, I should mention that I presently do not have any shamas that are ready for competition. I have a total of only 9 adult male shamas. Of these, the 6 eldest that would be suitable for competition have been used as studs. Once a male is used for breeding, it is unlikely that he will be interested in competing outside his territory, which is your home.

The other 3 males are Quest, Ideal and Icon. These are young birds that were bred last year. I do not like to compete birds that are too young. While they may perform, their character may be adversely affected by long exposure to fierce adult birds. It's like having an 18 year old boy compete in the ring against an experienced 26 years old boxer.

I had previously concentrated on breeding and not on competition. However, I think it's time that I start to prepare my young males with the view of eventually having them ready for competition when they are older. Competition will enable their characters to be tested. In this respect, I am trying to breed birds that have everything - good song, strong character, excellent display, physique of the type I like, medium soft curved tails and birds that are not "thick-feathered".

With the view of preparing my 3 young birds for competition, I intend to breed them only when they are much older and have been tested in competition.

Now to your question: In considering how long a bird should be exposed to other birds in the arena, you will need to decide what your aim is. Bear in mind that a territorial bird like the shama is under great stress when it is placed amongst other male shamas for prolonged periods.

If the aim is to test the courage and endurance of the bird than of course, it should be placed in a gathering for 2 hours or more. But such tests must not be carried out too often. If the birds are brought to the "chai" place for several hours every week, it is like a boxer being in the ring for a serious fight every week.

Doing so will result in one of 2 things. If the bird has a strong character, it will get so used to other birds in the arena that it will tend to take things easy. It will then never perform at its optimum in a competition. It may win a prize in competition but it is unlikely to be the outstanding performer and win first prize as it will lack the electric spark that makes its song and display spectacular and stand out from all the other birds. This "electric spark" will only be shown when the bird is unafraid of its surroundings and it is not jaded by having been too often in the arena.

On the other hand, if the character of the bird is not strong, the stress in being often in the arena may be so great that it causes the bird to molt prematurely. As about 25% of the bird's weight is comprised of feathers, the hormonal and nutritional requirements of a premature molt and the replacement of 25% of its body weight, will tend to weaken the bird. You will find that it is difficult to bring such a bird into top form.

A bird that is in top form will easily last the period of a competition. In my experience, there is no need to expose the bird to prolonged periods in the "chai" place too bring up its form. In fact, too much exposure to other birds dampens the form.

Often, we spend long periods at bird gatherings not so much to test our birds but rather to enjoy the company of friends with the same hobby as ourselves. If this is the purpose, the cage should be covered with a cloth and kept some distance away from the other birds when the training session is over.

In preparing a bird for competition the following matters need to be attended to. These matters assume that the bird's nutrition and environment are at their optimum, it has completed its molt and is starting to sing and display at home.

A bird whose form is not rising should not be brought to the "chai" place. Such a bird will be intimidated by the presence of the other birds. If the form is rising, a few minutes at the "chai" place will result in a boost in its hormones and improvement in its form.

It is a prerequisite that a bird that is intended for competition must get used to being transported. Otherwise, just transporting the bird in a car, van or taxi will so stress the bird that it will compete at a disadvantage in the arena. Its like giving an athlete a big fright that causes him to hyper-ventilate and then require him to compete in a long distance race immediately thereafter. He just will not be able to compete at his best. In training the bird for transportation, he should be brought out say, twice a week, until he is completely steady and sings while being transported.

Next, the bird needs to get used to having a crowd of people around him. If not, this is another cause for stress as there is always a crowd at the competitions. For such training, the bird may be placed in areas where there are people constantly passing his cage, such as at coffee shops. Initially, if the bird is highly stressed by the presence of people, the period of exposure may be short. This period can be lengenthed progressively until the bird gets so used to people that it does not mind them being around.

Thirdly, the bird should be trained so that he is comfortable and will sing outside your home. This is necessary as a shama will not normally sing outside his own territory in the wild. For this purpose, it may be brought to places such as the Rifle Range Nature Reserve where there are no other shamas except possibly wild ones. After a few outtings, it will have the confidence to sing outside his territory. This was why I brought Quest to Rifle Range and you can see him there in the video.

Finally, the bird will need to get used to actually being in the arena. This need must be balanced with the other requirment that it should not be unduly stressed. For this reason, I usually spend only a short time at the "chai" place. If the bird will not sing when the cage is still covered with a cloth at such a place, it is not going to perform well when the cloth is removed and its cage is placed amongst the other birds. Perhaps it is not ready. In such event, for the sake of the bird it may be better to take it home and try another day.

If the fethaers of the bird are still tight against its body and it is singing and displaying well after 20 minutes amongst the other birds, it will probably be able to last 2 hours or more. There is therefore no need to stay too long and unnecessarily stress the bird.

Whilst I have concentrated on breeding and not competed in recent years, my good friend Michael Leong, has been successfully competing his shamas using the above methods. Out of 6 times that his bird "Bishan Champion" competed, he won 4 times and was 2nd twice. On both occassions when he was 2nd, his points were equal to the winner.

Michael's Super Model, which was bred by me from Godfather, also won first prize at Ang Mo Kio in Ausgust 2004 when he was 18 months old. After this Michael bred him and he has not really been suitable for competition since. However, this bird has an exceptionally strong character and Michael and I have decided that after his present molt is completed in about 3 months, we will not breed him for the time being but will enter him for competition.

Think about what I have mentioned above and decide how much of it is relevant and useful to your own bird and your training programme. I wish you all the best.