'Four supers' (17-11-22)
The courier had delivered the four youngsters to the Eastern European and the man was very pleased. They were pigeons with 'a fast wing', he emailed. Perfect pigeons and you could also tell by the eyes that they were four supers. I took notice.
The main thing for now was that he was satisfied. Let's hope he stays that way.
FOUR SUPERS
And of course it wasn't 'four supers', he would find out. Who in pigeonworld, by the way, breeds four supers, even over a whole year?
To-day, quite a few fanciers will be breeding 100 youngsters annually. If there were always two "supers" among them, that would mean "eight supers in four years."
Whoever has 8 supers can send me the results of his 9th best pigeon. Then we'll talk. I didn't respond the man to those ‘four supers’. Wishful thinking perhaps. Leave him, if he's happy with that, I thought. There is enough misery in this world already.
FAST WING
I have never heard Dutch or Belgians talk about 'pigeons with a fast wing'. Germans even more so. They probably refer to longer last four flights.
That generally characterizes faster birds. With chickens in particular and other birds that can fly slowly or not at all, it is the other way around. They have wings with short last flights. Better pigeons because of a 'fast wing?' A wing that other pigeons would not have? I don't believe in that.
Moreover, many champions are of the opinion that pigeons all fly equally fast over shorter distances and under the same conditions. The extent to which they navigate correctly on racing days, i.e. choose the shortest way home, determines the result.
WITHOUT DEFECTS
By 'perfect pigeons' the man probably meant pigeons without defects. That is indeed a good start. I have handled lots of real super pigeons in the past. Pure vitesse pigeons and, strangely enough, also ‘two day racers’ were not always ‘perfect birds’. But… as for Middle Distance and short Long Distance I never saw a good pigeon with bad feathers or other shortcomings.
They were almost without exception perfect pigeons without defects.But beware: That does not mean that perfect pigeons without defects are 'therefore' good. You can't turn things around.All cows are animals, but all animals are not cows.Conclusion:
As for middle distance a pigeon with defects is a bad pigeon. Among perfect pigeons without defects there is a CHANCE they are good.
GRADING
People who think they can tell from a pigeon whether it is a good one are of all times. Some even get paid for it.Among them are ‘graders’ who honestly believe that they have that gift, others are charlatans.
When it comes to performance they are usually average or not even that.Strangely enough, it is mainly the greatest champions who claim to know little or nothing about pigeons.Klak for example never made a secret of his ignorance. Nor do most contemporary star players.Bas keeps all his youngsters through the winter, because he knows nothing about it, he claims himself.
I myself have once labeled pigeons as 'very good' that were also very good indeed. But… I've forgotten the number of times I completely missed the mark...
Still I think I am not completely a dummy.
So I cannot say if a pigeon is any good. But I think I can tell whether it is a bad one. And, believe me, with that knowledge you've come a long way.
There are of course pigeons with defects. Those don't stay in my loft for a day too long. As a 19-year-old I was champion in the club.
In 2022 I became 'King' in the Fed called South Antwerp Union, against many great names. Races were even destroyed. Then you are obviously doing things right.
EYES
The Eastern European praised the eyes of 'his acquisitions'.So as not to embarrass him, I didn't ask him what was so good about it.
Admittedly, I also look a pigeon in the eye, but don't ask me what I like to see in it except a forward-facing pupil. I would be speechless.
By the way, 'the eyes of pigeons?’ Books have already been written about it.
The eyes, as they should be, multicolored and with 'serifs' you see especially in fancy pigeons. But don't release them 2 kms. from home, you will never see them again.
What is he looking for, I ask myself.
BY THE WAY
By the way, why should you be able to read certain qualities from the eye of racing pigeons in particular?
- Can you tell by the eye of a horse whether it is a good racehorse?
- Do we look at a dog's eye to judge whether it is a good watcher?
-Do farmers study the eyes of cows to see if they are producing good milk?
- Do we look songbirds in the eye to judge their singing skills?
For ‘eye graders’, our pigeons must be very special creatures, different from everything else that lives on our planet. I understand that shit.
We humans are rational beings, looking for an explanation for everything. But as far as pigeons are concerned, we are looking to explain something that cannot be explained.
We are looking for certain qualities that are not visible outwardly. Unfortunately? On the contrary, fortunately. It is reminiscent of Gust Janssen.
GUST
I was there once with some foreigners. They had a magnifying glass with them with which they looked long and carefully into the eyes of his pigeons. Until it started to make Gust bored:
'Do those guys from the other side of the world have to come and tell me which my better pigeons are? Come on. Wouldn't I know better myself? I know their parents, ancestors, brothers and sisters and see them every day. That gentleman who has been looking into the eyes of a pigeon for so long now, can continue to do so until he weighs an ounce, what he is looking for he will never find.
So far the wise words of someone who never studied but was born with a pigeon in the heart as they say here. Gust had qualities that cannot be learnt in books.
David, my partner and his wife. Too bad David passed away too young.