Mary Allen
At first glance, they look like carrier pigeons. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why pigeon fanciers were initially suspicious of their appearance. In the meantime, Dutch beauty pigeons are taking off.
Racing pigeons similar to carrier pigeons have been known for a very long time. They were even considered to be a separate group in judge training. It included breeds like Genuine Homer, Show Homer, and Exhibition Homer. They all had carrier pigeons as their ancestors and have developed over time into real “noble breeds”.
Most come from England, the motherland of animal husbandry. But also in other countries, breeders have created their carrier pigeon variant. In Belgium the show Antwerp and in Germany the German show pigeon – the undisputed number one. For a long time, breeders were satisfied with this variety of breeds. Almost nothing was known about other carrier pigeon breed pigeons. The Show Racer and Giant Homer from the United States can therefore already be counted among the long-established breeds.
Recently, Competition for Breeding New Breeds Has Developed
Things have been moving in recent years. A fact that corresponds to the general trend towards new breeds. This is how Liège Barbet and the Dutch beauty pigeons came to standard honors. But that’s not all: the Polish show pigeons have also cleared this hurdle and the Hungarian show pigeons are just around the corner. All three have special breed characteristics that make them unique within the group: a jabot in the “Liège”, colors with the ice factor in the “Polish” and short feathering in the “Hungarians”. This seems to develop a real competition for breeders in the racing pigeons, which are similar to racing pigeons. What is striking here is that the Dutch beauty racing pigeons are well on the way to winning this competition.
Many breeders will follow the development of the breed attentively – especially those who do not breed them. This only seems surprising at first glance. Particularly well-informed fanciers recognize in the Dutch beauty carrier pigeons great similarities to the German show pigeons from the time just before the Second World War before their breed characteristics developed into fuller heads. At that time they were still called beauty carrier pigeons so that even the name suggests an approximation. So it will be interesting to see how the “Dutch” will develop. Therefore, to shower them with prejudices would be unfair. Every breed deserves an honest chance. The number of breeders is constantly increasing, which clearly speaks for the breed.
Of all the breeds mentioned, the Dutch beauty carrier pigeons are the ones that have preserved the carrier pigeon heritage the best, not only in appearance but also in behavior. They belong to breeds that have no difficulties in raising their young. In addition, they are characterized by very regular oviposition and great vitality. This simplicity makes it ideal for beginners in pigeon breeding. But beware anyone who thinks that Dutch beauty racing pigeons are therefore easy to breed is wrong. Of course, there is no need to worry about unusual plumage structures and a large number of young animals per pair allows rapid progress to be made in the breed characteristics. Initially, the breed was still quite coarse. There is nothing left of that today. They have developed into a very noble show pigeon.
“Dutch” Comes Closest to Carrier Pigeons in Appearance and Behavior
As an extremely typical breed similar to carrier pigeons, it is undoubtedly within their size range, which is referred to as medium-sized. In addition, there is the necessary firmness in the body, which is to be demanded. It can be a firm pectoral muscle. In general, the breast curvature must be well in front of the wing bow. In homing pigeon fashion, it is imperative that the wings fit snugly and completely cover the back. Everything that shows even the slightest weakness here must be downgraded significantly. This is very much contrary to the claim that is to be demanded. The wings must not be too long, which also applies to the tail feathers. If this is fulfilled, the ratio of wing and tail feather length is usually correct.
The posture must be level, which affects the back and tail line. Only very slightly sloping in the back and in the extension of the tail plumage, one wishes this breed-appropriate. You can often see pigeons that clearly pull their hindquarters, which should not be tolerated under any circumstances. Feet and legs are unfeathered, with thighs clearly visible. Compared to the German show pigeon, however, the stand is not as free.
The neck, which has to taper significantly towards the head, comes out strongly from the shoulder area. Despite all the desire for rejuvenation, the neckline must not become insubstantial. That would seriously upset the breed type, just as a full throat does. Here you have to watch closely and adjust the breeding accordingly.
Special features are required for all racing pigeon-like pigeon breeds. The Dutch beauty pigeons are no exception here. For many breeders and also judges, it was not so easy at the beginning to memorize the required characteristics. In addition, there is also a partly very different breeding status in this breed, between the individual colors. This means that you have to “think something” into it if you want to assess the “Dutch” correctly.
The Head Profile Should be Smooth and the Beak Warts Heart-Shaped
First look at the profile of the head from the side, preferably without holding the pigeon in your hand. The result would be that the plumage is tightened very strongly, which negatively affects the contours. The curved line must run from the tip of the beak to the back of the head without a break. The highest point is ideally directly above the eye. You have to be careful that the back of the head neither appears too developed nor flattens out too quickly. Here some “Dutch” have their pitfalls. The head looks very racist when it is carried horizontally.
If you look at the head from above, the wedge-shaped forehead catches your eye. A good filling of the wedge is absolutely desirable. This means that the wedge must not be indented on the side after the break angle. This feature, called a trick, is just as reprehensible as the pressure. This means the interruption of the curved line after warts – i.e. in the side profile.
A special look is given to the beak and wart shape of the Dutch beauty carrier pigeons. The beak should not be too long, as then some of the desired substance will be lost. Ideally, the beak warts should show a heart shape. This is best achieved when no bar of warts can be seen, i.e. the two halves of the wart can no longer be recognized as a single wart. It is particularly important that the wart is nicely built into the head profile, which requires a smooth and fine surface structure. Older animals in particular are sometimes left behind here. For this reason, old animals with smooth and fine warts are particularly popular.
In older treatises on the Homer breeds, one reads about the usual carrier pigeon colors. But those times are over because with increasing knowledge about heredity, the color varieties are also described much more precisely. Anyone who is familiar with color inheritance can bring individual color varieties to life that are otherwise hardly seen but are recognized. Above all, the pale color hits without bars belong to it, since they are somewhat less substantial. This means that they appear finer in body and head profiles. In order to spice up such color variations, again and again, it has proven itself to cross in cohesive or even hammered representatives. This also applies to the monochrome whites, which the piebald breathes new life into again and again.
Although the figure and the head points come first, the color and markings do not have to be completely neglected due to the enormous joy of inbreeding. On the contrary: the standard describes the individual colors in great detail.