Purebred Pigeon May/June 2020

Old German Owls – Page 51 – Purebred PIGEON

reed of

the

ssue

- O

erman

Keeping a

Small Loft Viable

By Brian Elwell, Master Breeder & OGO Club

Central VP

onstraints come in all forms and for the pigeon enthusiast,

it most commonly appears in time, money or space. Space

is the real issue as we enjoy spending the time, and the

cost is negligible, especially when compared to most other hobbies.

So then, pigeon breeding requires utilizing limited spacing at its

maximum advantage. We have all heard the phrase, “Quality over

quantity,” and it behooves us to do just that. How though, does

one keep a small loft viable?

First and foremost, the breeding stock has to be healthy and

robust. The birds should be hardy and considered easy keepers

regardless of the breed. There are times that medical intervention

might occur, but it has been my experience that if you treat an ail-

ing bird back to healthy status and it relapses – cull the bird from

the breeding program. Sickliness has a genetic component and

there is no excuse for keeping the genes in the line. All too often

one is tempted to keep this inferior bird because it is a favorite in

color or characteristic, but the

results are almost always disap-

pointing in the end.

Like health, fertility and good

parenting also need to be ne-

cessities. They will doom a loft if viable offspring can not be both

produced and raised adequately. In nature, poor parents don’t raise

offspring so these bad genes are quickly lost in the population

through evolution. We must emulate this concept and not provide

excuses for poor performance in their reproductive roles.

The signature mark on the production of a loft comes down

to the choices breeders make in their selection process. Breeding

birds do not have to be show birds, but they do need to represent

essential breed type. There are just certain characteristics that are

a must in any breed to establish this look. In OGOs, breed type

is related to the desired cobby body, rounded head, owl eye and

proper cresting to name a few select features. Always focus on

the big picture first and the detailing second. Sometimes fanciers

and judges alike, spend too much time on the details, such as the

number of flights in a breed like OGOs, and overlook the more

important features. Remember that your long term goal is to have

it all on the same bird (good luck with that!). If a typey bird has an

incorrect number of flights, while a perfectly colored bird is lacking

type, which one is going to be able to help propel your breeding

program forward?

I wish I had pictures to document the following passage but

alas I do not. However, I did want to expand upon my preceding

point. It took me a while to come across OGOs when I first started

in the breed and I was quite happy when I acquired a blue bar hen.

I am a namer, so I called her Helga. Now what I do remember about

her specifically was that Helga had great breed type, a beautiful

full crest year after year, and spectacular rich color. I did show

Helga over multiple years, but she couldn’t win a single class and

I believe it to be on her lack of thumb feathers. So Helga lacked in

detailing, but she did represent the bigger picture of type in my

mind’s eye. To this day, I have not produced a blue bar hen that I

feel is her equivalent. However Helga did something more import-

ant than win in any show arena,

she became my OGO foundation.

She was mated to three different

cocks over her breeding career

and produced four Best of Breed

Champions and two Reserve Best of Breed champions in five differ-

ent colors. Her last daughter, a silver grizzle, started earning me my

first Master Breeder points when I joined the OGO Club and I still

have some of Helga’s descendants today in my breeding program.

In 2015, two of Helga’s grandchildren won at the NYBS in Louisville

– a yellow check went best cock and a blue check hen won overall

reserve champion out of 109 entries. Helga taught me that in this

scenario that you must never forgive the absence of breed type. You

can work with the flaws in detailing, but the absence of type will

propel your breeding program nowhere.

In nature, animals select mates according to certain desirable

features that communicate honest signals to the opposite sex in

mate choice. However, pigeon breeding is an artificial scenario

dependent upon the characteristics fanciers decide they want to

incorporate into the breed standard. Since this often goes against

natural selection, fanciers must be the ones needing to hone in on

their selection process. Do not leave it up to the birds to decide for

you. As the fancier, you are embarking upon a creative process and

must select the pairs yourself. When pairing, try to pair individuals

that do not share the same flaws. Virtues of course are fine and

desired, but it is never a good idea to double up on flaws. Try to

select a mate that is as near perfect as possible in the flawed area.

You are trying to balance the genes in the family tree, making it

possible that the desired trait or characteristic can be inherited by

at least one parent, but preferably both of them. However, don’t be

Helga’s granddaughter was First Reseve at the 2015 NYBS

Helga did somethingmore important thanwin in

any showarena, she becamemy OGO foundation.