Purebred Pigeon May/June 2020

Old German Owls – Page 52 – Purebred PIGEON

reed of

the

ssue

- O

erman

complicit in maintaining undesirables or you can become overrun

with them. Remember Helga with the lack of thumb feathers? Well

as my foundation hen that provided me with wonderful breed type,

she provided me with my share of bad thumbs as well. So with

type locked in, one year I judiciously culled out all that I could

with poor thumbs and that next year I was rewarded with the best

overall wing markings I ever had.

One last item to keep in mind is that from time to time we

produce a bird that is noticeably flawed in an area that is not typ-

ical of the family traits you have been breeding into place. Do not

despair, this individual can be utilized for I have often found that

the family is stronger than the individual in a breeding program.

You will undoubtedly produce a few offspring with the undesirable

characteristic, but overwhelmingly most will breed true to the

family genetics. This method works best for more closely bred or

linebred families.

In our effort to keep the loft small with a few select quality

birds rather than a large quantity, there are a few strategies the

fancier can employ. First if you are starting out or seeking new

additions, consider other lofts past breeding birds instead of young

birds. Often fanciers are partial to these birds and would like them

to become useful for other exhibitors while still maintaining room

for their own endeavors. Ask to see what these breeders have

produced and what they were mated to and you can learn a great

deal about the family of birds and those individuals as well. I think

there is too much skepticism that comes along with older birds

and the wonderment of perhaps why fanciers are willing to part

with them. To me, breeding a three- or four-year-old tells me the

bird has something to offer in the breeding program if it is still

being utilized. The best producing birds are able to produce high

quality offspring for several breeding seasons. Do not be in a hurry

to replace them. A month ago, I had a situation where I had a bird

that I thought was perfect for what the fancier wanted, but checked

myself when I realized she was a nine-year-old hen this coming

Spring. After all, who wants to acquire a bird that old? Even though

I got two awesome daughters from her last year and her production

has always been great, I just thought it wouldn’t sound well and

sent another suitable hen of that color without even mentioning

her. As a footnote, the old hen just hatched her first round of the

year last week. Perhaps though, she may have been the one to pro-

vide a fancier with an excellent addition. However, the point I am

getting at is that one should not just limit themselves to acquiring

strictly young birds when a two- to four-year-old would do.

Lastly, if you are going to keep a small loft, you need to

maintain its viability by maximizing genetic variety. There are a

few ways to incorporate this into your lofting ideas. First, don’t

compromise quality over color. A good bird is never a bad color. I

am not talking about plumage color quality, but rather the color

preferences we as fanciers may have or of our breeding principles. I

am suggesting that you don’t limit yourself to color breeding as in

only black to black or red to red. Sure, in certain breeds there may

be color combinations to avoid, but you increase your selection

options and genetic variability by allowing for more possibilities

in mate choices. Therefore select mate choices for quality over

color. Second, mix up your pairs. If you select new mates for your

breeders every year, then highly desired specimens in the breed-

ing program that are utilized for several years recombine their

genes through different mate choices adding to increased genetic

variability. Close breeding in a loft this way helps to set family

type, pool the genes of superior specimens and to avoid inbreeding

or producing a loft full of full sibling combinations. In managing

your loft this way, you needn’t rely on an influx of new specimens

of different bloodlines to ensure future viability, but rather allows

you to incorporate them occasionally as needed and desired in

your breeding program.

A small operation can be viable and successful with purpose-

ful selection of quality birds in adherence to correct breed type.

Breed in pursuit to excellence of the standard and take an active

role in mate selection, don’t leave choices up to chance or the birds.

After all, a successful future begins with a strong foundation.•

2019 Central Old German Owl ShowReports

By Brian Elwell

Central OGO Club VP

orm Everhard won the breed with

his typey, compact red grizzle YC

at the Southeastern Minnesota

Pigeon Show in October with an entry of

23 birds. This was the first OGO meet for

the club and it was a beautiful Fall day at a

spacious venue. Although early in the show

season, this show provides experience and

training for those early hatchlings of the

year. We will be looking forward to adding

this site as a regular meet in the years to

come for the Central Region.

The Minnesota State Pigeon Show

in November brought out 48 entries in a

big variety of colors. Newcomer Landon

Brandt was best junior, attending his very

first pigeon show, and has a good start in

OGOs with a nice color selection for himself

to build from. I am sure that we will see

Landon and his father, Chris, coming back

again next year. Norm Everhard had a good

showing again under judge Wayne Fisher

and went Best of Breed with his red grizzle

YC that won at the previous show in Octo-

ber. Norm must be excited about the future

breeding plans with this bird in the next

breeding season. Reserve at this show went

to a red bar YC also belonging to Norm.

In December, the typically large exhi-

bition in Des Moines brought in 74 entrants

from 12 exhibitors under judge Ed Pointer

at the annual Iowa State Pigeon Association

Show. The eleven different color winners

were won by Bill Henderson, Brian Elwell,

Norm Everhard, Jeremy Geiman, Gary Hill,

and Jay Turner. Bill Henderson won cham-

pion with his compact, typey, ideally crested

and ever so showy young blue bar cock. Hen-

derson also took reserve with an awesomely

crested young red bar hen. •