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| "Your website along (with your MOST AMAZING, DROP DEAD COCKATIELS I HAVE EVER SEEN) is awesome! I cannot believe there are actually cockatiels out there that look like this." - Joey, Ontario Canada "I am just in awe with the wonderfully colored birds you have... Just wanted you to know how fantastic your birds are." - Debbie, Indiana "You have one of the best web site and THE most beautiful Cockatiels I have seen. " - Adriana, Dallas Texas "Don, The birds are just absolutely great! The one pearl pied and the normal felt like Turkeys when you hold them! THey are very full in the chest and solid birds!!" -Linda, Laguna Hills CA |
After admiring one of the winner of the 2005 Nationals, Feret announced “This bird
almost makes me want to cry…Everyone knows that my favorites have been Pieds. I
can remember ten years ago, a number of breeders said you will never get anywhere
breeding Pieds and that isn’t so.”
While Feret’s band 16P, and his aviary name, Calico Cockatiels, have become
synonymous with breathtakingly beautiful Pieds, it was a Cinnamon Pearl hen named
“Aura” that would spark an unparalleled breeding and exhibition pilgrimage spanning
nearly fifteen years.
Phil’s venture into cockatiels started in1990. He owned a pet shop in a Seattle
suburb that dealt exclusively in birds, but had a hard time finding healthy, handfed
babies to offer his customers. Having bred and exhibited various types of livestock
throughout his life and being infatuated by cockatiels, he decided that he’d try his
hand at breeding. Feret admits, “Those first pairs were ‘good’, but certainly not
exhibition quality. I loved the Pieds and that’s what most of my pairs were.”
Three years later, Feret began his initial search for exhibition quality cockatiels. He
recalls, “Having exhibited livestock, I knew that there had to be high quality cockatiels
out there somewhere.” It was at the same time that he joined NCS and looking
through the Journal, he kept seeing the same name at the top of the show results –
Linda Greeson. A call was soon made to Linda to inquire into what she had available.
Feret still remembers Linda asking, “Why do you want show birds?” to which he
replied, “How else will I know what show birds look like?”
Soon there was a pair on their way fromFruitland Park, Florida to Redmond,
Washington. What Linda had selectedwould become two of the foremost birds in
Feret’s breeding program; a Normal /PPd cock (ACS 55G-557-93) from Linda’s
illustrious Pair 16” line who was named “Chicken George”, and a stunning
Cinnamon Pearl hen (ACS 55G-648-94) who Phil would call “Aura”. While Feret now
had his start in exhibition cockatiels, he wanted to improve on the Pieds that he was
breeding for the pet shop. Later in 1993, along with Kathy Short and a few others, a
trip was made to the Rose City Exotic Show and Fair in Portland, Oregon. The group
entered the mart, and while everyone else went left, Phil glanced right and was
mesmerized by cages of “Lutino” cockatiels a few tables from the entrance. The
gentleman selling these birds was Bob Cape and he explained to Feret that the birds
he thought were Lutinos were actually ‘Clear’ Pieds (solid yellow birds with dark
eyes). In the neighboring cages were also heavy, symmetrically marked Pieds, the
likes of which Feret had never seen. Cape went on to explain how he had been
linebreeding these heavy and clear Pieds for nearly 30 years. Several birds were
purchased that day to add to Calico’s flock, including a foundation pair that would be
cornerstone for Feret’s entire line of exhibition Pieds.
Under the guidance of Greeson, Feret entered his first show in the fall of 1995 –
Portland’s Rose City Exotic Show judged by Charlie Kruger. Although he had leaped
into the Advanced Division, Feret sat and studied the entire judging, soaking in all of
the judge’s knowledge and his reasons for placing the birds the way he did. After all
was said and done, “Aura” had taken Best Cockatiel in Show and Best Bird in Show.
Feret also placed 2nd with a Calico-bred Heavy Cinnamon Pearl Pied hen produced
out of the foundation pair purchased from Cape the year before at that very show. “It
was a weekend not soon to be forgotten,” recalls Feret. “It exceeded any and all
expectations I had. I was elated and therein started my passion for beautifully bred
cockatiels!”
Over the next few years, more birds were purchased from Greeson, with Keith
Jennings’ lines introduced as an outcross. The combination created a strong Normal
line, but Feret still dreamed of taking his gorgeous Pieds to the next level. Having
seen pictures of the Whiteface Pied mutations, he insisted on buying only from the
best. Greeson recommended just one name to Feret - Lloyd Bailey.
Bailey was at his peak in the mid-1990s, winning wherever he went and for Feret,
genes like that were exactly what he had in mind. Feret purchased 40B-110-93, a
visual Whiteface /Pd cock, from Bailey’s Grand Champion WF Cinnamon Pearl Pied
cock “Sweetie”, and immediately bred him to a daughter of the Cape foundation pair.
This cross produced Pieds split to Whiteface offspring who had inherited the size
from Bailey’s lines and the color and class from Cape’s. Yet Feret needed a
Whiteface Pied cock to breed to these hens so he returned to Bailey later that year.
“I told Lloyd that I needed the best and he told me he had a bird for me, but he was
going to be $750.” Trusting Bailey’s word and guidance, Feret bought 40B-83-93,
sight unseen. He paired him to 16P-43-95, a daughter of 110, in 1996, and this
combination went on to produce 13 Grand Champions; including 16P-12-00, a
Whiteface Lutino hen who won the 2000-01 National Cage Bird Shows and was not
only the first Whiteface to ever win, but also the first bird to ever win consecutive
national titles.
Feret’s knowledge of cockatiel husbandry and his exhibition prowess are sought by
many of the breeders and exhibitors who are looking for guidance. He has mentored
many of today’s top breeders and and his generosity is contagious as they pass
along the knowledge to the new. After almost fourteen years and all of these
milestones, Feret continues to raise the bar on quality cockatiels higher with each
new breeding season.
almost makes me want to cry…Everyone knows that my favorites have been Pieds. I
can remember ten years ago, a number of breeders said you will never get anywhere
breeding Pieds and that isn’t so.”
While Feret’s band 16P, and his aviary name, Calico Cockatiels, have become
synonymous with breathtakingly beautiful Pieds, it was a Cinnamon Pearl hen named
“Aura” that would spark an unparalleled breeding and exhibition pilgrimage spanning
nearly fifteen years.
Phil’s venture into cockatiels started in1990. He owned a pet shop in a Seattle
suburb that dealt exclusively in birds, but had a hard time finding healthy, handfed
babies to offer his customers. Having bred and exhibited various types of livestock
throughout his life and being infatuated by cockatiels, he decided that he’d try his
hand at breeding. Feret admits, “Those first pairs were ‘good’, but certainly not
exhibition quality. I loved the Pieds and that’s what most of my pairs were.”
Three years later, Feret began his initial search for exhibition quality cockatiels. He
recalls, “Having exhibited livestock, I knew that there had to be high quality cockatiels
out there somewhere.” It was at the same time that he joined NCS and looking
through the Journal, he kept seeing the same name at the top of the show results –
Linda Greeson. A call was soon made to Linda to inquire into what she had available.
Feret still remembers Linda asking, “Why do you want show birds?” to which he
replied, “How else will I know what show birds look like?”
Soon there was a pair on their way fromFruitland Park, Florida to Redmond,
Washington. What Linda had selectedwould become two of the foremost birds in
Feret’s breeding program; a Normal /PPd cock (ACS 55G-557-93) from Linda’s
illustrious Pair 16” line who was named “Chicken George”, and a stunning
Cinnamon Pearl hen (ACS 55G-648-94) who Phil would call “Aura”. While Feret now
had his start in exhibition cockatiels, he wanted to improve on the Pieds that he was
breeding for the pet shop. Later in 1993, along with Kathy Short and a few others, a
trip was made to the Rose City Exotic Show and Fair in Portland, Oregon. The group
entered the mart, and while everyone else went left, Phil glanced right and was
mesmerized by cages of “Lutino” cockatiels a few tables from the entrance. The
gentleman selling these birds was Bob Cape and he explained to Feret that the birds
he thought were Lutinos were actually ‘Clear’ Pieds (solid yellow birds with dark
eyes). In the neighboring cages were also heavy, symmetrically marked Pieds, the
likes of which Feret had never seen. Cape went on to explain how he had been
linebreeding these heavy and clear Pieds for nearly 30 years. Several birds were
purchased that day to add to Calico’s flock, including a foundation pair that would be
cornerstone for Feret’s entire line of exhibition Pieds.
Under the guidance of Greeson, Feret entered his first show in the fall of 1995 –
Portland’s Rose City Exotic Show judged by Charlie Kruger. Although he had leaped
into the Advanced Division, Feret sat and studied the entire judging, soaking in all of
the judge’s knowledge and his reasons for placing the birds the way he did. After all
was said and done, “Aura” had taken Best Cockatiel in Show and Best Bird in Show.
Feret also placed 2nd with a Calico-bred Heavy Cinnamon Pearl Pied hen produced
out of the foundation pair purchased from Cape the year before at that very show. “It
was a weekend not soon to be forgotten,” recalls Feret. “It exceeded any and all
expectations I had. I was elated and therein started my passion for beautifully bred
cockatiels!”
Over the next few years, more birds were purchased from Greeson, with Keith
Jennings’ lines introduced as an outcross. The combination created a strong Normal
line, but Feret still dreamed of taking his gorgeous Pieds to the next level. Having
seen pictures of the Whiteface Pied mutations, he insisted on buying only from the
best. Greeson recommended just one name to Feret - Lloyd Bailey.
Bailey was at his peak in the mid-1990s, winning wherever he went and for Feret,
genes like that were exactly what he had in mind. Feret purchased 40B-110-93, a
visual Whiteface /Pd cock, from Bailey’s Grand Champion WF Cinnamon Pearl Pied
cock “Sweetie”, and immediately bred him to a daughter of the Cape foundation pair.
This cross produced Pieds split to Whiteface offspring who had inherited the size
from Bailey’s lines and the color and class from Cape’s. Yet Feret needed a
Whiteface Pied cock to breed to these hens so he returned to Bailey later that year.
“I told Lloyd that I needed the best and he told me he had a bird for me, but he was
going to be $750.” Trusting Bailey’s word and guidance, Feret bought 40B-83-93,
sight unseen. He paired him to 16P-43-95, a daughter of 110, in 1996, and this
combination went on to produce 13 Grand Champions; including 16P-12-00, a
Whiteface Lutino hen who won the 2000-01 National Cage Bird Shows and was not
only the first Whiteface to ever win, but also the first bird to ever win consecutive
national titles.
Feret’s knowledge of cockatiel husbandry and his exhibition prowess are sought by
many of the breeders and exhibitors who are looking for guidance. He has mentored
many of today’s top breeders and and his generosity is contagious as they pass
along the knowledge to the new. After almost fourteen years and all of these
milestones, Feret continues to raise the bar on quality cockatiels higher with each
new breeding season.
| Philip Feret (continued) |