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58 – Purebred PIGEON
Flyingor ShowTipplers
By Stan Ogozalek
Fanciers that have an interest in Tipplers must decide what
they want to do before they acquire them, will it be to fly or to show?
There is a difference, a big difference with Tipplers. The fancier must
realize this beforehand and do some research before buying – other-
wise disappointment may follow.
Know this –.Tipplers are not all the same and I would not
listen to anyone saying otherwise. Tipplers were developed,in the
mid 1800’s, in and around the towns of Sheffield and Macclesfield,
England, for the sole purpose of long time flying – into the “teens’ of
hours on contest day. This contesting with Flying Tipplers continues
to present day in this country and in others.
There are different strains of long time Flying Tipplers to be had
by the newcomer to the sport. The difference being the preference
for higher or lower flying while still maintaining the long time flying
ability, of course, the colors vary but the emphasis should be towards
long time flying. If the colors come with the endurance factor, then
all the better.
Time, effort, dedication and sufficient patience are required
when one wants to do well with Flying Tipplers. In the beginning, it
can be frustrating when things don’t go as hoped for. But, with time
and acquired knowledge in the training, housing and management of
Flying Tipplers, success in ascending degrees can be realized by the
fancier. One important factor and that is to buy quality stock from a
fancier whose Flying Tipplers have proven themselves in club spon-
sored flying contests – year after year.
Contesting with Flying Tipplers is a challenge and much time
and effort is involved. It can be rewarding, but it’s not for everyone
and there is another way to enjoy the breed, once more than a few
pairs of quality bred Tipplers are acquired, enough youngsters from
them can be settled and flown as a group or kit. There needn’t be the
strict conventional Dropper Training applied as with competition
Flying Tipplers, whose sole purpose is to fly from sunrise to sunset
and beyond.
A reasonable number of Tipplers, as a group, can be flown
and enjoyed by the fancier on a daily basis, just for pleasure. These
Tipplers can give a fair account of themselves and give satisfaction to
the owner. Again, the flying times will vary depending on how they
are managed, etc. A late friend of mine flew a kit of between 30-40
Tipplers on a daily basis for 3-5 hours, depending on the weather,
etc. There was no special training applied, just sound management
by the fancier. His Tipplers were his very own, no well-known strain
names attached to them. Through selection of the better flyers and
the culling of those that didn’t make the grade, he improved them
and enjoyed each day of pleasure flying. He maintained that with
Conventional Dropper Training, his Flying Tipplers would do much
better.
Until this point, we have talked about true Flying Tipplers. Let
us now talk about Show or Exhibition Tipplers. Being a competitive
Flying Tippler fancier, I have little knowledge as to the showing
aspect with Tipplers. That I leave to others. One thing that I do stress
is that there is a difference between the two. The Flying Tippler
has been bred to improve the long time flying ability in the breed
and was never meant to be tossed at varying distances from the loft
similar to what is done with Racing Homers. As my late friend, Jack
Prescott from Sheffield/UK would say, this “...goes against the grain
and isn’t what Flying Tipplers were intended for.”
The true Flying Tippler has no ornamentation such as crests, etc.
The show or Exhibition Tippler does not have the same endur-
ance capability as the Flying Tippler. It is strictly for showing purpos-
es and is enjoyed as such by fanciers, some of the show Tipplers have
acquired a crest on the head that took years to improve. This crested
show Tippler is the creation of fanciers in the Metro New York City
area. I’ve heard that these show Tipplers are flown in large groups
in and around the five boroughs of NYC. The difference is that their
flying times are on a much lower scale and cannot compare to that
of true Flying Tipplers. But, these fanciers pay the feed bill and enjoy
their pigeons for what they are – strictly show Tipplers.
There are some Flying Tippler fanciers that exhibit their Flying
Tipplers in local shows. However, their Flying Tipplers have been
bred from well- known Flying strains and so are not true show
Tipplers.
In conclusion, any fancier that has an interest in the Tippler
sport, must decide as to the direction that he wants to take – Flying
or Showing.•