1. Genetic Potential
The most important criteria is the
pigeons genetic potential. To determine
the bird’s potential it is not essential
to handle it. It is a matter of looking
at the pedigree. I always say “that you
can’t make a race horse out of a cow”.
It is already difficult enough to breed
top pigeons, that is, those
“Exceptions”, those that shine regularly
or weekly during the season. That can
only be done by looking at the pedigree
where one should find several
generations of top pigeons. That is
pigeons that can win or “leaders” as
Piet de Weerd used to say.
You have to find them on both the sires
and dams side for at least three and
preferable five generations and not just
on one loft but on several lofts.
A good loft is not only one that
performs well itself but is one that can
turn other lofts into champions. That is
where it begins. We call that genetic
potential.
2. Charisma or Aura
This second point is one we find very
important. What does the pigeon radiate?
How does the pigeon carry itself, does
its carriage say, OK here I am, now
what? How does the pigeon present
itself, does it look alert, does it show
character? When you hold the pigeon:
does it feel vital; does it want to get
away? Does it look around? Does it look
intelligent?
3. Balance
The third important point is when you
hold a pigeon in your hand: How does it
lay in the hand?
Good pigeons are always in balance. When
you hold these pigeons, they lay flat in
your hand, the back doesn’t move to the
right or the left. The back may be a
little weaker but it is important that
they are in proportion to each other.
Hold that Ace pigeon – we have held so
many- and you will notice instantly:
when you hold a good pigeon in your
hands there are no faults.
Balance is a very important point.
4. Wing
In order for pigeons to perform well the
wing is very important. The wing can be
divided into three important components.
When I look at a wing I automatically
look at the front wing and then the back
wing. There is a small bone where the
wing comes out of the pigeon’s body; you
should be able to only push one finger
between the body and that bone: if you
can insert more than one finger, between
the bone and the carcass, than the back
wing is too large. The second thing I do
is take the back wing in my hand. The
back wing and feathers must be thick and
soft. When you open the wing it should
not feel like you are holding newspaper.
With a back wing like that, the pigeon
can never develop real power.
When opening the wing I believe it is
extremely important that the last four
flights have a swallow type shape and
that they have enough ventilation
between them.
The best ventilated wings I have seen
was about twenty five years ago at
Westerhuis’ in Gouda. Westerhuis
selected heavily for the ventilation of
the last four flights.
These are the power flights they use to
develop the speed with which the birds
fly.
This is extremely important!
5. Muscles
Naturally the muscles are of great
importance to the pigeon. Of course, we
can observe many differences in muscles.
Muscles can be long or short. Pigeons
with longer muscles are suited to racing
the one-day distance or further, while
pigeons with shorter muscles are more
suited for flying the short distance
races.
I feel the muscles along the breastbone
with three
fingers; I call it playing the
piano, when the bird relaxes in your
hand than the muscles should start to
vibrate or tremble. They must have this
quality. Pigeons that don’t have it,
have “dead” muscles and these pigeons
are done after 50 to 100 km and come
down like a rocket, not on your loft but
somewhere in a field.
Whether the capacity of the muscles is
for long distance or short distance
flying, they must have the ability to
use sufficient oxygen.
Therefore, muscles are of great
importance!
6. Organs
There are many people who have asked me:
“I can’t feel muscles, now what?” For
these people I have another something
else that they can use. If you can’t
feel muscles, than pick up a healthy
pigeon. After a few minutes the pigeon
will begin to relax, when it does look
in its throat. The throat should lie
deep within it so that you literally
look over it. This hole should be as
small as possible. If the pigeon has
good muscles and a good throat you don’t
have to look any further, these are
fantastic pigeons, they will usually be
good performers. A good throat indicates
small organs which lie deep within the
pigeon. It means that the pigeon has as
it were a very efficient motor, in other
words we have a pigeon that uses very
little energy on the way home.
We often visit other countries and have
been on many lofts and I know that there
are a number of knowledgeable fanciers
and that they can pick out the good
pigeons blindfolded as it were, by
feeling the muscles and looking at the
throat.
7. Feathers
The pigeon’s feathers, when in the hand
should feel very greasy. What do I mean?
I mean that the feathers, when the bird
is in your hands, should feel waxy, or
oily.
One of the last examples, that made a
real impression on me, is the mother of
the “Harrie”, she is a daughter of the
“Kleine Dirk”. Truly one of the best
hens out of the “Kleine Dirk” that I
have ever seen!
When I held that hen in my hands, it
seemed like I felt wax all over the hen.
As if there was a layer of oil on her.
It’s like when you look out of the
windshield of your car after running
your car through the car wash you can
see water drops lying on the car, this
also happens to a pigeon with fatty
feathering. Oily feathers, those that
have it are almost always good pigeons.
Through years of experience I can
quickly feel, in a split second, whether
a pigeon has fatty or dry feathering.
Feathering is
therefore very important!