Question from Lin
Question from Lin:
Some people pride themselves on the "many friends" they have. I had few, but good ones. One of them was Lin. 'Was' because the good man unfortunately passed away. The name Lin will not mean much to you, because that is the name of many in the Far East.
Shout 'Lin' and half the street looks back. He ran a pigeon newspaper and I worked for him. And take it from me, writing for an exotic newspaper is something you shouldn't underestimate. Because of a totally different 'pigeon culture' you don't know what people want to read there. And if they only play with youngsters, your pen will soon be completely empty. I tried it once. 'What do the fans like to read here?' I asked Lin. 'How to breed good pigeons, can you write something about that?'
STUPID?
'Pfff. Write how to breed good pigeons? That can't be true, it went through my mind. ' And I was reminded of the late Dr Stam whom I met during the Olympiad in Tokyo and with whom I have maintained very good contacts.
One of his famous sayings was: 'There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers.' Incidentally, that Lin was a realist. Where many others look for it in jars, bottles and pills, better antibiotics, better vitamins and better vets, he realized what it is really about in pigeon sport. Quality!
Such as the young Dutch phenomenon in the long distance Sil van Vliet. Doesn't give any medications or even supplements. Of course, luck is a very important factor, but why, one may ask, it is often the same people who are often lucky enough to breed good ones.
STILL IMPORTANT
Take V. for arguments sake. He wanted grandchildren of a certain pigeon of mine. 'Because he already gave very good ones, didn't he?'
I agreed, adding: "but more bad ones. And if I knew if a youngster from him was a good one, it would stay here."
"To whom do you tell it," said V, and continued, "you know that Olympiad pigeon of mine, don't you?" Of course I knew it: A phenomenon at all distances.
Q: "You know. I bred three good ones the first year and then, with the same hen, not one more. Do you understand?' I wasn't surprised at all. Couples who only give good ones only exist in the imagination and in sales programs.
Janeke Janssen found pigeons that produce ONE super every year, a good breeding pair. But Janeke had nothing to do with commerce.
Albert Derwa is also straightforward when it comes to such matters. By the way, V has sold his pigeon 'which did not produce a good youngster'. To the delight of his wife. Of course you need good luck, nut not everything is good luck.
PRESSING QUESTIONS
There was the sprint champion who also became a middle distance champion. In his time at sprint, he was tormented by some pressing questions.
- Why do my winners fail if I race them from 500 kms or further
- Could they not do it or is it due to poor care?
Although no one can tell from a pigeon whether it is a good one, a birds should not have some shortcomings.
And those are perceptible too. His pigeons all had the same flaw: Feathers, especially the last one, too stiff, not pliable, not shining colours. Flights that broke far too easily. 'An accident. Can happen to any pigeon,' he thought. 'Perhaps' I said, 'but not so easy with good pigeons'.
CONVINCED
You should be able to bend the last flights between your thumb and forefinger without them breaking. This indicates flexibility, which is important when distances are required.
Just pay attention to pigeons that have flown for many hours.
Their last flights are bent. Stiff flights make it difficult to fly and tire the pigeon.
The fancier changed his mind, crossed his birds and with the same care he could now compete in the middle distance.
It is important to know the defects of your own pigeons so that you do not buy/import a strain with the same defects. By the way: It is well known, almost all good pigeons originate from crossings. Nevertheless, many foreigners continue to insist on certain lines or names.
Don't you know anything about inbreeding and line breeding? Don't experience it as a shortcoming. If you want to sell, you can hardly do without inbreeding. Take Charel Meulemans, for example. He used to be more of a breeder than a racer until he wanted to change that. He crossed his old family and became a good racer.
WRONG
When fanciers buy pigeons, many act the same: If they buy, say six pigeons, they want three cocks and three hens to be able to pair against each other and 'to keep the species pure'.
Completely wrong if you ask me.
Imports must be paired with the best (proven) own pigeons.
This is a much more direct way to determine the value of the new import.
If you mate 'purchased' with 'purchased', you mate one question mark to another question mark.
If you pair an imported pigeon with a proven top bird, you only have one question mark. It is normal that champions are more successful with pigeons they buy than the average fancier. After all, they already have good ones to cross with the new import. A basic pigeon by the phenomenal Verkerk is called Bubbels, a pigeon from my loft. But would anyone have ever heard of it if it wasn't Bas but someone else who had bought it?
Come on. Don't let me down.
THE APPEARANCE
As far as appearance is concerned, a good balance, soft feathers (think of the last feathers) and a strong skeleton are sufficient. Pigeons have to 'lie well in the hand' as they say, slightly leaning forward. You can tell if they have a strong skeleton if you press lightly on the sternum. If the pigeon makes a kind of snoring sound, you have little chance of handling a good one.
But there is a problem here: Even bad pigeons can have these characteristics! So why are they bad? It also has to be in the head.
The ability to orient well, willpower, stamina, attachment to the territory. And these are qualities that are not outwardly perceptible. Can you breed good pigeons from very old pigeons? I rarely succeed in doing so. A breeding loft occupied by old rascals rarely leads to anything good.
To return to Lin's question; Do you want to improve your family?
With a lot of breeding, a lot of racing and a lot of eliminating, you can go a long way.