Mary Allen
The new breeding year is just around the corner. As soon as the weather becomes more constant, the pigeons put together on paper are mated. Here are some tips from an experienced breeder.
As soon as the shows are over, most show pigeon breeders start preparing for mating. The show results are analyzed, compared and the breeding reliability of the last year of the old animals is taken into account. The question arises again and again, how many young pigeons can and would you like to incorporate into your proven breed?
In order to improve or consolidate breeding, it is essential to integrate young animals into breeding every year. In addition to appearance (phenotype), parentage also plays an important role in mating. Is the breeding reliability right, isn’t the degree of the relationship too close, can line-breeding be maintained, are the breeding animals in good breeding condition, is the impact equipment right, and are the temperatures right? These are all factors that need to be considered for successful initial breeding.
Every spring it is a new challenge for me to get my 30-year-old Viennese Tumbler breed going. Having kept my pigeons separate since the autumn, mating is of particular importance. I have three breeding lofts available for my 25 breeding pairs in five different colors. First I put the proven old pairs in their closed nest cell. Now I give the youngsters from last year their partners and cells.
After a day or two, I open the cell door for the newcomers for the first time and observe exactly what is happening. My presence is absolutely necessary for this phase. Because it is crucial that newly introduced pigeons know their partner and the nest box. If they fly the wrong way or if there are arguments, I intervene immediately, but at the same time as inconspicuously and without haste as possible.
Once a young cock has conquered a cell that has not been assigned to him, it is difficult to take it away from him again. Gradually, more and more cells are opened. In the case of old animals, the desired impact community usually works right away. However, if an old cocker finds an unsafe loft resident next to him, he immediately tries to conquer his cell. Again, the breeder’s hand is required.
Changing Couple Constellations is Hardly Possible Anymore
Of my five colors, the blacks are the most spirited and, in my opinion, the most intelligent. They are very easy to get used to and know their assigned cell in a very short time. Once a black cockerel has conquered its cell, it will not be given up for any price. Despite their exuberant temperament, my blacks fly into their cell without “panic” when they enter the loft and remain there. This behavior continues throughout the breeding season. Viennese Tumblers that have been mated once cannot be repaired in the same breeding loft. I gave up trying long ago. It takes several breeding lofts to re-pair old birds.
Instinctive Cocks Should be Kept Busy to Avoid Bickering
In my experience, the cocks bring in nesting material as soon as the breeding cells are opened. You should definitely encourage this drive. Because the actual breeding season begins when the nesting material is flown in, this circumstance contributes a great deal to the social peace in the loft. This applies above all to aviary keeping. It is very important that the impulsive cocks are kept busy and thus avoid quarrelsome secondary activities.
I have often sold breeding pairs, but have hardly ever seen any of their pups since then. With occasional questions, the answer often came that there was chaos in their breeding loft. Young animals were only very few or not raised at all. I came to the conclusion that the frequent presence of the breeder in or before the breeding loft is absolutely necessary for the beginning of the breeding season. With a little experience, however, this can also be very successful.