Pigeon Show in Leipzig December 2001
In total more than 30 000 pigeons were shown, in some breeds large numbers, in others only a few birds. Some examples: 134 Runts, 293 Texan, 161 Saarland Pigeons, 236 Cauchois, 168 Mondaine, 935 Strasser, 203 Moravia Strasser, 519 Lynx, 524 Coburg Larks, 355 Mittelhäuser, 337 Lahore, 203 Spanier, 82 Lebanon, 427 Show Racers, 295 Giant Homers, 895 German Beauty Homers, 1143 King, 336 Modena and 1984 German Modena. A lot of Pouters: 97 English Pouters, 253 English Pigmy Pouters, 170 Reversewings, 131 Saxon, 277 Hessian, 260 Magpie Pouters, 478 Swing Pouters, 190 Steller, 299 Starwitzer, 1116 Silesian, 270 Voorburg, 109 Norwich, 400 Brunner. German Toy were well represented: 303 Archangel, 220 Ice-Pigeons, 298 Starlings in different groups, 598 South German Toys of different breeds, 1235 Thuringian Toys of Different Breeds, 525 Saxon Toys of different Breeds. There were 199 Swiss Pigeons of Different Breeds, 1564 Trumpeters in total with 642 Altenburg as the greatest sub-group, 327 Frillbacks, 92 Schmalkalden Moreheads, 315 Danzig Highfliers, 36 Pomeranian Eye Crested Highfliers, 270 Cologne Tumblers, 372 Vienna, 599 Oriental Roller, 129 Mookees, 151 Felegyhazaer, 161 German Nuns, 207 Rhine Ringbeaters and 25 Anatolic:
Pomeranian Eye-Crested Highflyer sprenkle
The second time after Nuremberg an AOC class was offered, and this class devoted my special interest. There was a dun mottled Montauban, Texan cocks with black flecks, sometimes also flecked beaks, probably they have a black colour basis. In the standard class of the Texan also some typical blue check hens were shown, but not accepted by the judge, probably he did not like the faded colour and wanted unmodified blue checks? Not blue check, was to read at the cages. Some of the blue Texan hens in the general class appeared like normal blue, may be that by crosses with King the Faded factor got lost? Very different shade also at the mealy hens. At the Moravian Strasser one with a near black andalusian like colour, the Show Racers with a dun, a dominant opal, two indigo tigers and a group of faded or faded like checks and bars, the cocks heterozygous. From the pedigree the trait is a sex-linked dominant, what is missing to be sure that it is faded are pure cocks in the progeny. The breeder will save the birds and will again mate two of them together next year. A pure indigo bar was shown in this breed without comment by the judge in the class for mealies. That worked also well at the Giant Homers, in this breed also a dominant opal check was shown instead of the hetero indigo check announced in the catalogue. Dominant Opal was also shown in the AOC of the Giants, in addition a dilute Spread Ash, black tiger and a dark check grizzle. Interesting also a group of mealies with a uniform bleaching, similar to some at the photos from Mike Bordelon in Pigeon Genetics in the discussion of his bleached birds. Also the bars are affected, similarity also exist with mealy reduced. Several Almond King with a proper ground colour were shown, in addition pure andalusian, a brown check, pure indigo bar, indigo check, a dark check ash yellow, a pure andalusian tiger or grizzle, and also two pure blue checks with darker checks compared to the impure checks. Such checks were also shown at the Silesian Cropper, and there in addition two black tigers, still lacking type. Brunner were shown in dun and dark bronze (Kite-like), a beautiful bronze or copper shield was shown at the South German shield pigeons. The Bernburg Trumpeters in the AOC was a red old cock intermingled with some grizzle, beautiful. I believe to have seen such a coloration at a photo several years ago in one of our Journals. There were two milky (bar and check) Jacobin, three excellent Chinese Owls red white shields, a black sprenkle Pomeranian Eye Crested Highflier cock from my loft, East Prussian hetero Spread Ash Cocks with a bluish ground and a lot of black ink spots, an English Short Faced Baldhead not red, not ash, darker than Strawberry, two hetero andalusian Oriental Roller and a pure andalusian Persian Roller, Kasan Tumbler, probably hetero Spread Ash. Königsberger Morehead related colorations were shown with a Rosewing and two self white with dark eyes. Rosewings and the self white in this breed produce Moreheads, and Moreheads will produce besides Moreheads also Rosewings and self whites.
1,1 Show Racer faded (1,0 heterozygous)
At the great national shows in Germany there is always a class for new breeds and new colours to be or not to be adopted for the standard class. Shown were this year blue and yellow veined Spanier, Lower Bavarian Cropper as a new breed in Archangel outfit bronze and gold, some with white flights. Norwich Cropper were shown in Andalusian and indigo bar in fine quality from Thomas Voss, in addition khaki and strawberry. Strawberry are excepted as standard colour in the Netherlands and the fanciers would like to have it also in Germany. I take strawberry as a sub-variety of Spread Ash, and several of the exhibited birds were identical with the usually shown "Aschfahl" (engl. mealy ash). Altenburg Trommeltauben in mehlicht are dilute blue with the lark gold breast, Frillbacks with blue, black, and mealy shields were shown, in addition red shields with a shell crest, also dilute blue, and Cologne Tumbler Spread Reduced as “hellgrau dunkelgesäumt”, that means light grey with dark lacing. Also some foreign breeds like Barbarisi Owls, Polish yellow Owls, Szolnoker Tumbler, and some Catalonian Tumbler in not yet accepted colours were also present. Two of them had a specific coloration and were exhibited as dominant yellow. The colour is stable and will be reproduced by the parents, but it is neither identical with recessive, nor with dominant red. I hope they can survive in the AOC class. In many breeds it is a problem to get light (smoky) beaks, therefore, also some black beaked Budapest Short Faced were shown and asked for acceptance. By the way, some years ago there was a discussion whether it is possible to raise blue tigers in good quality, in Leipzig 17 German Beauty Homers in an excellent coloration were shown by two fancies. I learnt in Leipzig, that blue tigers got lost in the Danish Tumblers, but somebody is at work again. Tigers in the Danish tumblers, however, lack the quality of most of the other standard colorations in general, thus, a complicated task.