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Old German Owls – Page 35 – Purebred PIGEON
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compared the red bar cock to the spread ash cock. Mike likes
the spread ash bird and places him First Reserve – a Len Kuz-
minski bird.
Next he asked for us to bring up the reserve in spread ash,
also a cock bird. Mike awards him Second Reserve Champion
– a Len Kuzminski bird. Mike comments that he liked the
rosettes and head on the spread ash.
Next third reserve champion goes to a blue bar hen – a
Bill Henderson bird. Then the blue bar cock comes up and
Mike begins to compare him to the silver check hen. He takes
a few minutes and then picks the silver check hen for fourth
Reserve Champion – a Len Kuzminski bird.
Going through a few more birds he picks the black Fifth
Reserve Champ – a Bob Kuzminski bird. It is a nice, cobby Old
German Owl type bird.
There you have it. The complete lineup of 2019 Louis-
ville, Kentucky National Young Show!! The largest Old Ger-
man Owl meet to date. I have to say the quality was three and
four deep in some of the color classes and just minor things
kept them from winning the class. There was a lot of good
comments and constructive critiquing while judging to help
breeders get to the next level of quality. To be in the show
and to be a consistent winner in the top five birds is quite an
accomplishment on a yearly basis.
We have a lot of new breeders putting their heart and
soul into breeding the Old German Owl. Showing your birds
not only lets you see where your birds stand as a show bird,
but is helpful to be compared on a one-to-one basis. You don’t
want to become loft-blind. Without showing you will always
have the best birds in your loft, of course.
These are some of the things that we need to be aware.
Does the bird have thumb feathers? Is he over flighted? Does
the bird have rosettes on both sides of its head with correct
placement? Does he have two bull eyes and have good back
cover (sideboards)? Is the bird long in body – held in the hand
– that’s how you’ll be able to tell. Is the bird short and cobby
as the standard says? Lastly does the bird have the correct
color of cere? Is it dark in color or red possibly?
All of these things will help to pick the best birds to
breed from.•
Marrying Into Pigeons
By Jordan Bondurant
F
ebruary 29, 2020 was single-handedly the happiest day of
my life.
On that day, before about 250 of our friends and
family, I married the love of my life, Sarah Perkinson. And on
that day, I also married into the pigeon world.
I knew early on what I was getting myself into. When I first
met Sarah and her parents, Clif and Teresa, in the summer of
2018, one of the first questions they asked me was “Do you like
birds?”
Little did I know that I was dating, and would eventually
marry, one of the most well-known pigeon breeders around.
Sarah and her dad raise Old German Owls, Figuritas and Ring
Neck Doves. Sarah also used to raise Shortfaced Budapeasts and
Shortfaced Stettiners.
I’ve been inside the lofts, I’ve been to a pigeon show (Myr-
tle Beach, January 2019), and I’ve seen firsthand Sarah and Clif
handle and care for their birds. It’s something that brings me
immense joy and happiness.
We know that while we embark on our marriage journey,
eventually when we buy our first house we’ll have to make room
for our first lofts. That makes me very excited.
Sarah’s had the chance to see me in my element. I’m a jour-
nalist by profession. She knows the thrill I get out of writing and
being in the radio field.
Ironically in a way, I was recently laid off from my full-time
journalism position. So to be able to pen this article is nice. It
keeps my skills fresh in a way.
But while Sarah’s seen me more in my element, I’m really
happy to have seen Sarah and Clif in their element with the
birds.
Sarah’s explained to me a lot of the criteria with which
birds are judged at shows. She’s explained the different breeds,
what goes into making the different kinds of features you see in a
particular breed, and the kind of feed used to keep the birds happy
and healthy.
It makes me excited that I get to be a part of the pigeon
world. I’m an animal lover at heart, and while I’ve never had any
experience with birds, it makes me really happy to get involved
in something new.
It’s going to take some time, and I know I’m going to have
to rely on Sarah and Clif’s expertise. But I am really looking
forward to the day that Sarah and I can take the birds that she
and I have bred to a show and see how they do. It’s also going to
be awesome just to have birds on our property. It’s not just about
showing them off, it’s about enjoying the company of these
animals and observing how they interact with each other and
around other people.
And I’m sure much like how Clif felt when he was able to
introduce the birds to Sarah and let her get involved in the pi-
geon community, I very much look forward to one day introduc-
ing my own children to this unique hobby.•