Written by D Cottrell for the Event brochure
Without doubt, the Frank Silva stud is recognised as the dominant stud of exhibition budgerigars currently within Britain, and not many knowledgeable fanciers would argue that it is also one of the top three studs currently held anywhere in the World. Not since the great Harry Brian, has a fanciers ring number become almost as well known as the fancier himself, but the FS2 number is instantly recognisable as belonging to this great fancier. Having visited Frank, Joy and their family in Watford on more than a dozen occasions, I have been able to watch with admiration the rapid improvement in this wonderful stud. I am constantly being asked just what is the difference between Frank and the majority of other budgerigar fanciers in the UK. I put the dominance of the Silva stud down to five key elements.
1. Frank is a very knowledgeable livestock breeder who has proven his expertise with fish and racing Greyhounds as well as a varied assortment of other livestock in his childhood country of Ceylon.
2. Frank has managed to produce large numbers of offspring from his top winning birds. Most other top exhibition-winning budgerigars struggle to reproduce a single youngster during their often-short lifespan, while the top Silva birds regularly breed 20 plus youngsters in a single season.
3. His attention to the cleanliness and health side of the hobby is of the very highest calibre, some would say fanatical. I remember my first visit a number of years ago and my amazement at being asked to disinfect my shoes before I was allowed entry into the aviary. The current outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease shows just how easy some viruses and bacterial infections are to pass from one area to another. It is just a small item, but indicates just how Frank thinks. Constant use of Aviary Scrub ensures clean and bacteria free hands, reducing the chance of any cross contamination should a bird become sick. The same attention to cleanliness means that Silva nest box inners are used for just a single round with a new liner being used for subsequent rounds.
4. Frank plans his feeding routine to the finest detail. A wide and varied diet is offered that is sourced from as many different growing areas as possible. The Just Silva rearing food is sourced from four different Continents, and Frank is currently making arrangements in Sri Lanka to ensure that the special herbs that are an important ingredient are grown in sufficient quantity to safeguard the product.
5. Most important of all are the involvement and support from Frank’s wife, Joy and their family. Without doubt, support from his very close family encourages Frank to push back the boundaries of the hobby we all love so much.
I look forward with great anticipation to see how the Silva stud develops over the next decade, Fanciers such as Frank are so important to the continuation of our great hobby, I just hope that we are all able to continue in a friendly way without petty jealousies destroying the Silva enthusiasm.
Frank is the Principle of Silvacare homes and was formerly an assistant general manager in a top NHS hospital. Frank spent his childhood in Ceylon, now known as Sri Lanka, and had his first Budgerigars in his homeland. Although these colourful Recessive Pieds were not exhibition quality, they were an enjoyable part of his childhood. Arriving in Britain on the 6th July 1969, the historic day man first stepped onto the surface of the moon, it was not long before Frank was to make his mark with livestock. Between 1974 and 1992 Frank became the first person in the World to develop Koi Angels and Phantom Blue Angels. Frank also succeeded whilst breeding, training and racing Greyhounds between 1972 and 1982 with a number of his home produced dogs competed in the finals of the English Greyhound Derby, winning a large number of top open races over the same period. Frank met his wife Joy during his time working in hospital, and created the Silvacare homes with Joy after their marriage.
Franks interest in Budgerigars was rekindled after buying a pet budgie for a lady resident in one of their homes. Frank Joined the Budgerigar Society in 1993 and has created one of the outstanding studs of exhibition budgerigars in just eight short years. Frank amassed 9 Best in Shows with Spangles in 1999, and each and every one of these Spangles can be traced back to either a Spangle from Doug Sadler or a second Spangle, also from the original Ormerod Spangles obtained from Alf’s good friend Peter Johnson. The other major influence in the Silva aviary was a Light Green obtained from Junior Yvonne Nash when she left the hobby and Cobalt obtained from Ron Pearce. The 2001 breeding season will see Frank capable of breeding birds in all of the Challenge Certificate colour groups, and it will be interesting to see if an overall improvement is noticeable in some of the lesser or rarer varieties such as Grey wing, Recessive Pied, Clearwing, Crest and Clear body.
With a demanding job and a large family (6 Children) time is limited to devote
to the administrative or political side of the hobby, but Frank has been very
generous with donations to many clubs and shows, especially the Budgerigar Society
Club Show, and the Spangle BBA. Frank intends to continue to breed and exhibit
super budgies, and more importantly to enjoy and promote friendship within our
wonderful hobby.