One used to hear a lot about the quest for "pure" Light Greens - that is to say Budgerigars which are not carrying Blue, Opaline and Cinnamon. The Snell’s view is that the continual pairing of Light Green to Light Green until the unwanted mutations have revealed themselves and been eradicated, is unrealistic if the aim is to breed the highest exhibition standards.
How much they favour the variety can be seen by the fact that of the chicks bred last year, more than 50% were Normal Light Greens, the rest were either Dark Greens or Opaline Greens. The stock on which their Light Green line was founded came from the stud of the late Jack Fisher, whose Normals were admired throughout the Fancy. The first of his Budgerigars they acquired would have benefited from slightly larger spots and Jack recommended pairing the Light Green cocks with their own large spotted Opaline hens. It worked and the Opalines helped to improve their stud of Normal Light Greens. Nevertheless, the strong view is that they must have something to offer the Light Greens if they are to be retained and cocks particularly need to be high quality to merit being used in the breeding room.
Chris believes that although Light Greens used to be supreme on the show bench, they were used so much to improve other varieties that they were ruiued. Where colour is concerned. Light Greens are high on the table of dominance, though Grey Greens are higher with Blues just below. It is often said a dominant variety is easier to retain than a recessive one, but at the same time indiscriminate pairing for years could lose a dominant mutation. if you pair Light Greens, with the intention of producing all Light Greens, you often find a Sky-blue in the nest. But, when you pair two Sky-blues, you never breed a Light Green. Even so, Sky-blues make excellent breeding partners for Light Greens as the two varieties are similar, being the light version of it’s own colour series; Blue and Green.
“When you are as involved with a variety as we are, one tend to assess every other variety on the basis of what it can contribute to your favourite. So when we look at a Sky-blue, Opaline or Dark Green we are weighing up what sort of Light Greens it is capable of producing. It has been said using Dark Greens can enrich the colour of Light Greens, but we believe if you start with richly coloured parents, whatever their colours, you will breed richly coloured chicks. Indeed, we have bred well-coloured Light Greens from a Sky-blue to Grey Green pairing, when both parents were rich in colour. Although excellence of colour is not a major consideration with many Budgerigar judges, like spot size, it can make the difference between winning and losing when the scales are finely balanced.”
Dominant factors, such as Dominant Pied, Spangle and Yellow-face do not detract from the quality of the Normals they produce and can play a role in the production of Light Greens. In late 1970’s Chris and Arthur experimented by pairing a Yellowface Blue with a Light Green. Although Greens have yellow faces, the influence of the Yellowface factor could still be detected because it increases the intensity. They stressed that the pairing was made because the birds were well-matched as Budgerigars, irrespective of their coloration, and promised to produce quality Light Greens. The success of the experiment was demonstrated when the pair’s granddaughter took the Best in Show award at the Yorkshire BS in 1980.
Although Spangles are capable of producing quality Light Greens, they are not keen on the appearance of Light Green Spangles. “It takes a dark factor to bring out the full beauty of this mutation and so in our eyes Spangled Dark Greens and Spangle Cobalts outshine their lighter counterparts.” Varieties like Lutino, Albino, Clearwing or Recessive Pied are never knowingly introduced. Not because they are prejudiced against these mutations but they cannot see how they could improve the stud of Normal Light Greens.
Light Greens often produce Sky-blues and the sight of a Blue in the nest of a pair of Greens makes their hearts sink, it is seen as such a waste. If the chick turns out to be an Opaline Blue, it is viewed as worse. If it carries Cinnamon as well, the word “disaster” would not be too strong for them They try to avoid introducing Cinnamon blood into their stock, as they do not believe that it improves feather texture.
Some years ago, they felt their Light Greens needed more substance and crossed them into large Grey Greens. It worked like a charm and they have maintained their size ever since. Only a few years ago, the best Grey Greens on the show bench were superior to any other variety. However, Light Greens have made a comeback and taken the top prize at the BS Club Show several times since then.