Observe lots of changes in shama Kakis lately... was at bishan bird arena the other night I realise the mindset of captive bred has change... Long genes can't play theme is off the topic unlike last time when I first get in touch with birds Kakis.
At least now I felt more relax around the normal tail lenght shama player and I no longer need to face the question about why long genes mostly stand in the middle and sing but not much display?
Well, I agree to some extend but not all long genes are such. I do see some display and play cage very well... It is just the matter of how long they can perform in that way... I would suggest if anyone wants a long genes that display and play cage for a longer duration, go for 11-12" type with strong character. Ultimately Shama is a mainly about aggression. It is their aggression that brings out their beautiful posture, voice loudness, display etc... Their tail lenght is a bonus to support their overall gracefulness... But ofcourse if it has a tail that is too long for its rump to support then certain things has to compromise. So we have make our own choice as to fine tune what we are looking for if we were to own a long genes shama.
Personally, I like shama with super strong character ! The tail lenght best to be between 11-12", or 13" and above would be better if they are able to play for longer period for let say 45mins to 90mins would be great. But those are really hard to find as far as I know... I have a breeder friend who breeds 13-15" shama but constantly trying to control tail lenght of his line because too long. Haha... ! Not that his breed is lousy, it is just that he is pretty much the same as me, we want "fighter" aka "player" birds not opera singer type. He often complain to me first and second molt (which is 11-12") he still get to enjoy but once it hit third molt the bird becomes lazy.... Well, unless you have a big room or avairy (12feet long or so ) to give physical training to the bird daily. But it can be bothersome after sometime . In comparison ( in cage) among my own shama 11-12" vs 13.5") I notice although the tail lenght is just different by an inch or two, surprisingly it makes a lot of difference... I can't figure why, maybe 1 inch needs much more effort after the tail exceeds certain lenght?
The other thing that a few players mention is that long genes shama needs 2-3years to see the character unlike wild shama which show quite a fair bit of character after first molt.
I would say those that they encounter is probably just a handful of long genes shama that has maybe lost it's nature character. But not all are such and also to be fair to the bird as bird keeper we all know there is many other factor that might cause the bird to not molt well and therefore after molt the bird can't achieve top form etc... I would say with a good blood line plus proper care a captive bred is as aggressive as any other first molt shama ... And there is no such things that we have to wait till third molt for the character to develop. But hey! There are also a handful of wild shama first molt not doing well too right ? Haha...!
Anyway, these are just my thoughts thinking back what I have done for the past few years and it leads to all these... Whatever good and bad things that has happened and pass I am glad that I am here enjoying shama even more than I just started ! I hope I can find a few more Rockets and Rooster or even better in years to come and to share with friends in same tune as me...
