On Saturday May 19, 2007, I was privileged to once again help with a pigeon exhibit at the Open Barn at Bowers School Farm. Dave and Kathy Bierl were kind enough to assist me. Dave and Kathy have a long history of volunteering to teach people about pigeons and I wanted to hear how they approach teaching people about pigeons.
You can see all the pictures I took at the Open Barn here.
Pictured is Dave Bierl talking to folks at the pigeon exhibit.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Call a Spade a Shovel
Once upon a time, there was only the humble rock dove (Columba Livia). And then they met mankind and they started on a long journey together--mankind and this fascinating bird. Somewhere between that fateful day and ours, someone spotted a rock dove that didn't look like a rock dove. Maybe he (or she) spotted a brown rock dove. Maybe they spotted a rock dove doing somersaults in the air.
Both brown in pigeons and the somersaulting behavior (called rolling) are very old traits and both diverge from the "standard" rock dove. The point is that this first bird that was different from the rock dove necessitated a new name. You couldn't just call it a rock dove, now could you? How would anyone know that this was a special rock dove that turns somersaults in the air or that it was a brown bird as opposed to the blue ones that were everywhere? Hence the need for breed names was born.
From what I know, I believe most of these names were a matter of practicality. The pigeon which is now referred to as the Runt in the US, was probably called a Roman Pigeon by the people of the ancient world. Calling it the "Roman Pigeon" was very practical and sort of pithy. How the name changed from "Roman Pigeon" to "Runt" is an interesting study in etymology all by itself.
But, the more interesting question would be this: did everyone call it "Roman Pigeon"? I mean, if nothing else there's the simple question of not everyone in the ancient world speaking Latin (or more likely Greek). So would the locals simply give it the name "Roman Pigeon" in their local tongue? I don't know. There's also the fact that the name "Roman Pigeon" wouldn't tell you much about the bird other than the fact that someone thinks it originated in Rome. Calling it "Big Pigeon" would have been much more descriptive and handy. In fact the various Mondain breeds of pigeons (thought to have been created from that long lost "Roman Pigeon") all share the appellation "Mondain" which means something like "earthy and large".
This is, undoubtedly, an old problem; Carl Linne (better known as Linnaeus) invented an entire system of nomenclature to address a similar problem--the problem of differing local names in differing local languages for the same plants and animals. Perhaps we pigeon fanciers need to invent Latin names for our breeds. Of course without a central authority to assign names, it's sort of pointless anyway.
A name is just a handle on a particular set of genes regardless; the truth of the matter is that with certain birds--mongrel pigeons--there's not a name to give to the breed. And as long as people want to create new breeds and push forward into new territory there will always be new names to get confused.
Both brown in pigeons and the somersaulting behavior (called rolling) are very old traits and both diverge from the "standard" rock dove. The point is that this first bird that was different from the rock dove necessitated a new name. You couldn't just call it a rock dove, now could you? How would anyone know that this was a special rock dove that turns somersaults in the air or that it was a brown bird as opposed to the blue ones that were everywhere? Hence the need for breed names was born.
From what I know, I believe most of these names were a matter of practicality. The pigeon which is now referred to as the Runt in the US, was probably called a Roman Pigeon by the people of the ancient world. Calling it the "Roman Pigeon" was very practical and sort of pithy. How the name changed from "Roman Pigeon" to "Runt" is an interesting study in etymology all by itself.
But, the more interesting question would be this: did everyone call it "Roman Pigeon"? I mean, if nothing else there's the simple question of not everyone in the ancient world speaking Latin (or more likely Greek). So would the locals simply give it the name "Roman Pigeon" in their local tongue? I don't know. There's also the fact that the name "Roman Pigeon" wouldn't tell you much about the bird other than the fact that someone thinks it originated in Rome. Calling it "Big Pigeon" would have been much more descriptive and handy. In fact the various Mondain breeds of pigeons (thought to have been created from that long lost "Roman Pigeon") all share the appellation "Mondain" which means something like "earthy and large".
This is, undoubtedly, an old problem; Carl Linne (better known as Linnaeus) invented an entire system of nomenclature to address a similar problem--the problem of differing local names in differing local languages for the same plants and animals. Perhaps we pigeon fanciers need to invent Latin names for our breeds. Of course without a central authority to assign names, it's sort of pointless anyway.
A name is just a handle on a particular set of genes regardless; the truth of the matter is that with certain birds--mongrel pigeons--there's not a name to give to the breed. And as long as people want to create new breeds and push forward into new territory there will always be new names to get confused.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
New Shipping Regulations For Pigeons
Joe Powers was kind enough to forward a message from Bob Fragoman. In a nutshell, the Post Office has decided that they're only going to allow people shipping pigeons via the USPS to send them with boxes provided by a particular vendor. I think I've always used boxes from Horizon Micro-Environments (the approved vendor) anyway.
The applicable edition of the USPS Postal Bulletin has the details.
The applicable edition of the USPS Postal Bulletin has the details.
First And Second Gazebo Lofts
Another photo I've been meaning to blog for a while. Fred C. is a fellow pigeon fancier and a real nice guy. Anyway Fred decided to get some lofts built in the shape of a gazebo. As you can see for yourself, they are beautiful. Just goes to show that a loft can look good and be functional too.
(Photo is from October of 2006.)
(Photo is from October of 2006.)
Pigeon Egg Without Shell
I've been meaning to post this photo to my blog for a while. One of the hens laid this egg in January. You can see the dent in the membrane on the upper right side of the egg in the photo. This was an exceptionally rare thing for me (first time in several years of raising pigeons) but other fanciers told me that they've seen this happen before.
(Photo from January 2007.)
(Photo from January 2007.)
Novice Corner - What You Don't Know You Know
As I've worked with novice pigeon fanciers, it's constantly brought to my attention how much knowledge more experienced fanciers assume is obvious that is not all that obvious. For many of us our only experience with novice fanciers will be working with our children or with children that are related to us. That doesn't relieve us of the responsibility for helping other novice fanciers that may not be related to us.
Do you give your birds nest bowls? I provide nest bowls for my birds. In fact, I don't think I know an experienced pigeon fancier who does not. Think about it though; why do we all do this? I mean, pigeons will normally build a nest themselves out of straw. All we really need to provide them with is a shelf and some straw and their instincts would lead them to the rest. We're making it easier for the birds by providing them with nest bowls but there's no reason that a person who'd never kept pigeons before would have any way of knowing that giving a nest bowl is a good idea.
What about feeding your birds? I feed my pigeons pelleted feed; I know lots of folks who feed a seed diet. But to a novice there's nothing to tell them what to feed their birds let alone where to get the feed. This is one of the most common questions put to me by novices: what should I feed my pigeons? Where can I get it? I have known people who buy dove seed 1 lb. at a time and they pay $5 for that pound. That probably seems outrageously expensive to many of you. But put yourself in the place of a novice. If they don't know any better what else would make sense for them to feed their birds? By the way, I do try to make sure that the folks I've been mentoring know where to find good feed at a decent price.
Can you remember the first time you banded a pigeon? I can't. However, I'll wager that for most of us we had an adult standing by to help us through the process. Probably most of us were afraid of hurting the baby pigeon in our hand. I doubt any of us just immediately slipped the band on with one quick motion and then put the bird back into the nest.
You're probably thinking to yourself, "Why is he pointing all these things out?"
First of all, there are times when the constant stream of questions from novices can tire the patience of an experienced fancier. Goodness knows I've gotten to that point myself and I have to confess that I sometimes let my mouth go before my brain has time to stop it. If you get to the point where you feel like telling a novice “Buy The Pigeon, start reading, and stop bothering me!”--stop. Think about the people who taught you. Think about the fact that they put up with all of your questions. Think about how many of those questions you asked so long ago might seem dumb now if someone else asked you.
Secondly, novices should be aware that there are a lot of questions that arise in raising pigeons which have no simple, well-defined answer. There is more than one answer to the question of "What should I feed my pigeons?"; in fact depending on your point of view, there is more than one right answer too. If someone asked me this, I'd advise them to feed pellets if they can afford to and seed otherwise. The main problem with seed . . . well, that's another article for another time. The point that novice fanciers should take away from this is that sometimes if more experienced fanciers give you different answers to the same questions, they're not necessarily trying to confuse you or mislead you. Sometimes there's just more than one right answer. And sometimes if a more experienced fancier won't give you an answer it may be because you're asking a question that they don't know the answer to themselves. Patience is a good thing for both the novice and the mentor.
Third, if you can help a novice to get good birds in whichever breed they're interested in then help them. It's hard enough for an experienced fancier with a network of friends to get decent birds without spending a small fortune; imagine the situation of a novice fancier who has to trust everyone to be fair with him or her. Helping a novice to get into your breed will pay you dividends down the road either way. If nothing else there will be one more fancier in the world who likes your breed as much as you do.
The opposite is true for novices; don't expect people to give you (or even sell you) great birds to start with. Most fanciers that have excellent pigeons have worked years on developing bloodlines; it's a bit unreasonable to expect someone just to hand over their years of hard work just because you want to be immediately competitive. We did have a novice fancier a few years ago that spent a lot of money and was competitive pretty quickly. However, he was pretty well set financially and so for him money wasn't really an obstacle. I doubt any novice will regard this as wisdom but there is something to be said for making novice mistakes with birds that are not top-dollar, best-quality pigeons. If I paid $10 dollars for a pigeon and then had it die a week after I got it home because I didn't know how to settle it into a new loft, I'd be disappointed. But if I paid $300 for that pigeon--well what I'd feel would be considerably worse than disappointment.
If you can work with a fancier who has experience with the breed you want to get then great. Again, though, remember that people don't start keeping pigeons to become unpaid consultants. Be careful not to abuse the privilege of getting help from an experienced fancier.
Mostly, bear in mind that raising pigeons successfully is far from being a simple endeavor. If a novice asks you for assistance, you're doing yourself and the rest of the hobby a favor by helping him (or her). Most fanciers I know are quite willing to help a novice--it's not usually the first favor asked that bothers an experienced fancier. If you find that a novice is starting to irritate you, grit your teeth and try to remember how green you were when you started.
Do you give your birds nest bowls? I provide nest bowls for my birds. In fact, I don't think I know an experienced pigeon fancier who does not. Think about it though; why do we all do this? I mean, pigeons will normally build a nest themselves out of straw. All we really need to provide them with is a shelf and some straw and their instincts would lead them to the rest. We're making it easier for the birds by providing them with nest bowls but there's no reason that a person who'd never kept pigeons before would have any way of knowing that giving a nest bowl is a good idea.
What about feeding your birds? I feed my pigeons pelleted feed; I know lots of folks who feed a seed diet. But to a novice there's nothing to tell them what to feed their birds let alone where to get the feed. This is one of the most common questions put to me by novices: what should I feed my pigeons? Where can I get it? I have known people who buy dove seed 1 lb. at a time and they pay $5 for that pound. That probably seems outrageously expensive to many of you. But put yourself in the place of a novice. If they don't know any better what else would make sense for them to feed their birds? By the way, I do try to make sure that the folks I've been mentoring know where to find good feed at a decent price.
Can you remember the first time you banded a pigeon? I can't. However, I'll wager that for most of us we had an adult standing by to help us through the process. Probably most of us were afraid of hurting the baby pigeon in our hand. I doubt any of us just immediately slipped the band on with one quick motion and then put the bird back into the nest.
You're probably thinking to yourself, "Why is he pointing all these things out?"
First of all, there are times when the constant stream of questions from novices can tire the patience of an experienced fancier. Goodness knows I've gotten to that point myself and I have to confess that I sometimes let my mouth go before my brain has time to stop it. If you get to the point where you feel like telling a novice “Buy The Pigeon, start reading, and stop bothering me!”--stop. Think about the people who taught you. Think about the fact that they put up with all of your questions. Think about how many of those questions you asked so long ago might seem dumb now if someone else asked you.
Secondly, novices should be aware that there are a lot of questions that arise in raising pigeons which have no simple, well-defined answer. There is more than one answer to the question of "What should I feed my pigeons?"; in fact depending on your point of view, there is more than one right answer too. If someone asked me this, I'd advise them to feed pellets if they can afford to and seed otherwise. The main problem with seed . . . well, that's another article for another time. The point that novice fanciers should take away from this is that sometimes if more experienced fanciers give you different answers to the same questions, they're not necessarily trying to confuse you or mislead you. Sometimes there's just more than one right answer. And sometimes if a more experienced fancier won't give you an answer it may be because you're asking a question that they don't know the answer to themselves. Patience is a good thing for both the novice and the mentor.
Third, if you can help a novice to get good birds in whichever breed they're interested in then help them. It's hard enough for an experienced fancier with a network of friends to get decent birds without spending a small fortune; imagine the situation of a novice fancier who has to trust everyone to be fair with him or her. Helping a novice to get into your breed will pay you dividends down the road either way. If nothing else there will be one more fancier in the world who likes your breed as much as you do.
The opposite is true for novices; don't expect people to give you (or even sell you) great birds to start with. Most fanciers that have excellent pigeons have worked years on developing bloodlines; it's a bit unreasonable to expect someone just to hand over their years of hard work just because you want to be immediately competitive. We did have a novice fancier a few years ago that spent a lot of money and was competitive pretty quickly. However, he was pretty well set financially and so for him money wasn't really an obstacle. I doubt any novice will regard this as wisdom but there is something to be said for making novice mistakes with birds that are not top-dollar, best-quality pigeons. If I paid $10 dollars for a pigeon and then had it die a week after I got it home because I didn't know how to settle it into a new loft, I'd be disappointed. But if I paid $300 for that pigeon--well what I'd feel would be considerably worse than disappointment.
If you can work with a fancier who has experience with the breed you want to get then great. Again, though, remember that people don't start keeping pigeons to become unpaid consultants. Be careful not to abuse the privilege of getting help from an experienced fancier.
Mostly, bear in mind that raising pigeons successfully is far from being a simple endeavor. If a novice asks you for assistance, you're doing yourself and the rest of the hobby a favor by helping him (or her). Most fanciers I know are quite willing to help a novice--it's not usually the first favor asked that bothers an experienced fancier. If you find that a novice is starting to irritate you, grit your teeth and try to remember how green you were when you started.
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