Luck or not ? (1-12-25)
Luck?
Breeding that coveted 'super' is also a matter of (a lot of) luck.
But it is more than that.
Or would luck always be in favor of the same people? I myself have put together the couples with great care for half a century. The series of National Ace pigeons from my pigeons will be expanded with one in Belgium this year, after 'Den Ad' from Wouters and from Robbe Coone. So will I do things right, surely?
WHAT TO WATCH OUT
I do 'compensation breeding', you often read.
But… pairing big pigeons with small ones is wrong in my opinion.
The result is not the ideal mediocrity, as some hope, because you will continue to breed pigeons that are too big and too small. The total picture must also fit 'in the breeding' and of course that also includes origin and physicality. Plus any references.
If someone has a 'super' from you, racer or breeder doesn't matter, then you want to know the pedigree.
It is also possible that it is better not to grow even from your 'super racer'. That's when you don't have even one brother or sister who meets the requirements. I once wrote about such 'a wonder pigeon' in the 90's.
Two nest mates that both perform super is an advantage when it comes to the breeding value. I predicted Maarten Huijsmans that he and his buddy Stef had gold in their hands with their '09'. It turned out to be too mildly expressed. The 09 gave a pigeon that performed extraterrestrially.
Also remember that 3 worthless brothers/sisters of the super is more normal than a super with three brothers/sisters who are equally 'super'.
ALSO THAT
Recognizing 'atavism' and physiognomy can make the difference. (Exceptionally, a few learned words for which I apologize).
Physiognomy is the view that external characteristics say something about the inner self. So you sometimes hear ‘that pigeon rarely give young with 'white feathers (chequered or whatever) but THOSE that come out are good ones'.
They don't know that learned word, but some firmly believe in it.
You can hardly set too high requirements for breeding.
The best is hardly good enough. ‘Growing good from the good is hard enough.’
You sometimes read 'good blood never lies'. As far as I'm concerned, that's the biggest lie there is in pigeon sport.
ATAVISM
That other difficult word was atavism.
It means: the reappearance of a hereditary trait of an ancestor, which seemed to have been lost in intermediate generations.
In other words, a biological trait that was not present in direct parents reappears. So says Mr. Google.
For example, it can happen to the fancier that there is a youngster in the nest with a very strange colo.
The boss doesn't understand it. The parents did not have that color, nor did the grandparents. Then he continues his search and sighs 'Oh well'. Several generations ago, one of the ancestors also had that color. If it was a super racer then that is promising for the youngster in the nest. If that was a trinket, there is a good chance that you are dealing with a trinket again.
NOTHING PROVEN
So: Do you have a better chance of success with a pigeon from a certain couple if it has a certain colour?
Many believe in it. Think of 'only the blue ones (or splashes or whatever) from that couple are good'.
Daily practice shows that it is not gibberish and that there can indeed be a connection between outwardly observable qualities and inner ones.
I can't prove anything, but the fact that at least ten pigeons from me produced a National Ace pigeon, is a proof that I don't mess around in the breeding loft.
ATTRACTION
There are locals who still remember my 'Home Alone'. The pigeon that flew ahead for minutes against more than 13,000 pigeons under difficult conditions. In the year of his birth I was not yet smart enough to let racing pigeons freely choose their partner. They were forced to have the partner I had in mind for them.
Now there was a couple that could not be separated, how hard I even tried:
A super pigeon that I called 'Ace Four' and a hen that was very related to it.
I tried to prevent that. 'Too much inbreeding.'
No matter how I tried, they only had eyes for each other. Until I got tired of it and let them do their thing. ‘I could throw the eggs away.’
That was forgotten and the pigeon originating from that unwanted pregnancy became the aforementioned 'Home Alone'.
On the site of Henk Simons you can read which national Ace pigeons originate from this family. Without my ‘Ace Four’, Bubbels from Verkerk would never have existed, ‘Murphy's Law’ from de Bruijn wouldn't, the National Ace Pigeon KBDB from M Wouters wouldn't have existed, ‘Cameleon Spitfire’ Timmermans wouldn't have (won 3 firsts against an average of 6,000 p), Romario (legendary top breeder for O L races wouldn't), ‘Fleur’ from Jespers v d Wegen wouldn't have been and Berth Knaven would never have become National Champion Long Distance. He owed a series of excellent long distance pigeons to 'Els', a birthday present to him, and daughter of 'Home Alone'.
'Home Alone' the most famous son of Ace Four.'
ZOO
There was recently a documentary on TV about birds in a zoo. In a number of boxes a male and female of a certain bird species were placed. In other boxes a male had been placed with two females.
What turned out? The young from the forced pairs were less vital.
A few years before they had done similar tests with (I believe) a kind of finches in America, but much more drastic. Again a number of boxes containing a couple and... a large number of males and females in a large aviary who had complete freedom in choosing a partner. Again less vital birds from the forced matings.
It is the story of 'Home Alone':
It seems clear that you should not force racers to couple. And... This may also be inadvisable for breeders.
Comb Maegh-AS is me:
entered 16 birds and won from over 2,000 birds Prov: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 , 6, et cetera.