Showing > Thinking Ahead

Thinking Ahead

This article is being written on August 31 and it's time to think ahead to the main show season. Showing your racers helps extend interest after the racing is all finished. Shows are social occasions and the place where the good-looking racers are recognized.

There are some fanciers who will say that a good-looking show bird cannot be a good racer. I have proved this wrong many times but in my opinion there is only one sure way to assess racing performance -- by racing the birds and not by conformation.

At shows the birds are usually judged according to a standard. Fancy breeds have specific standards, but this is not the case with racers. There are some standards available but usually in a racer show the standard used is the one in the judge's head. Some years ago there was a standard produced for the American racer by the editor of a pigeon racing magazine and there is the Olympiad standard for the European Olympiads, but in the end it is the individual judge's opinion that is important.

I've had a lot of experience judging and perhaps I should explain what I do when I am judging. I emphasize that this is just my opinion, but after all I am the self-appointed judge of this show!

First, I make sure I know which birds are in the class I am dealing with. When I was showing myself, I had two very good birds in a class and when the judging was over I found that they had not been placed. I asked the judge why he had not placed these birds so that I could learn from his opinion. These birds had been penned away from the main class and the judge said that he had not actually handled them. To his credit he insisted on rejudging the class and my birds did place. That's why I need to know all the birds in the class before I start judging.

The next step is to get a first impression of each bird without handling it, bearing in mind that this a beauty contest. A good first impression would be: a neat clean appearance, each part of the bird blending smoothly into the overall profile, clean neat plumage, clean feet and beak, an intelligent looking head and obvious good health.

Now comes the handling part and here again there is a first impression as you take the bird into your hands. For novice fanciers I must explain that this process you must learn by experience. I will try to describe what I look for but it cannot take the place of actually handling good birds. After just about talking myself out of doing it, here goes.

• The bird should handle as a complete unit and appear well balanced. Some describe it as 'apple bodied.' I think it is better described as pear shaped, the large end of the pear towards the front of the bird, of course.
  
  
• The tail should extend straight out from the body and not pop up or go down. I prefer a one-feather-width tail.
  
  
• The keel should appear strong and straight and not too deep.
  
  
• The vent bones should also appear strong and close together but this will depend on the sex of the bird --, hens being allowed more leeway.
  
  
• The whole bone structure should appear strong and unyielding. Strong does not necessarily mean large.
  
  
• Next I will check the wings and prefer all flights to be grown, but this will depend on the time of year.
  
  
• The wing butt should be thick and well feathered.
  
  
• The last three flights I prefer to be about the same length with a gap between each. The Belgians say you should be able to throw a pea through the gap. Many prefer that there is a step up from the secondaries to the primaries, the theory is that it is aerodynamically better.
  
  
• If you look at the extended wing from the front, I like the flights to be curved slightly down. The theory here being that the flights would retain their shape better on prolonged flights.
  
  
• All the time I am handling the bird I will be checking for feather defects and feather quality. Defects are such things as twisted feathers, missing and broken feathers, fret marks (some consideration given here in flown classes), pin holes and dirt on the feathers. Feather quality is best described as sleek and silky.
  
  
• Checking for general health is also an on-going process during handling. External parasites on the feathers will downgrade the bird as will caked droppings around the vent and dirt around the beak.
  
  
• The wattles must be healthy looking and the inside of the mouth free from any signs of disease.
  
  
• The eye should appear bright and healthy looking. I don't subscribe to eyesign so I never consider it.
  
  
• What I cannot see, I cannot judge, such as general intelligence, homing instinct and the courage to home under hazardous conditions. These are judged by performance in the races.

Email me at laurholb@telus.net.