In breeding Fancy pigeons we are constantly trying to improve upon what we have through selective breeding. The key to making these improvements in our birds lies in individual birds that provide the variation in type that will allow us to make the desired changes. I refer to these birds as breed improvers. What will make you a good breeder is your ability to recognize these birds when you see one. Where do you find these birds? How do you breed one? These are questions you will need to know the answers to or you will never succeed. Without these revolutionary birds the average gene in your breed will kill you. You must have some degree of variation in both the genotype and phenotype of your birds to allow you to kick out the occasional individual that will act as a stepping stone to improve your stock.

            Many breeders may disagree with me but often these rare birds seem to just show up in the young bird pen and you wonder where on earth it came from. Sure a good breeder will be able to make genetic change in his birds through selective breeding over time but when you get your hands on one of these babies and you know what to do with it your progress will speed up dramatically. 75 years ago Jacobins had very poor station and the breeders just accepted it as the norm. One breeder noticed a baby on the floor of his young bird pen that stood incredibly tall. He had no idea from which pair it came from but he recognized it as a bird that could change the breed and bring his stock closer to the standard. He bred the bird and shared its offspring with other Jacobin breeders and it is said that all the good station in our jacobins in North America today can be traced back to this bird.

            I have always desired a slender, refined Jacobin with a longer neck and body. These birds are hard to find, especially with any volume of feather. In 1998 I had a novice fancier over looking at my birds. I was explaining to him what I look for in a good Jacobin and how I select mates for my birds. I had many birds lined up from all different colour families. He looked at the birds and selected a Red cock and an Andalusian hen and suggested that they would make a good pair. That particular mating had not even occurred to me but he was correct about the potential. Now this person had never even kept pigeons before in his life but he had been paying attention. I mated them together and bred 3 babies. Two of them where just average but one was like nothing I had ever seen. He was not the perfect show bird but he exemplified all of the features I had been trying to breed for. In just four breeding seasons this bird has shaped every colour family in my loft.

            Most of the time these breed improving birds are not show winners but will be a diamond in the rough and may excel in one or two features. I remember Judging the National Jacobin show in Calif. a few years back and seeing a white hen that was what I felt to be a breed improver. She did not win her class but she had some very nice features. The owner would not sell her but I am sure this hen could have had a huge impact upon the Jacobin fancy in Canada if I could have got a hold of her. After talking to the owner I do not think he realized what he had in this bird and did not know how to breed her to make the most of her. Unfortunately I think this is all too often the case with these breed improving type birds.

            Something that is very hard to breed away from in Jacobins is thick bodied short necked birds. Many breeders tolerate them and even desire them because they most often carry a heavy Mane and more feather wealth. This is only an illusion. Once you lengthen out the neck and get a bird that will stretch, his mane will stretch out as well and not appear as thick however he still may have just as much feather but he is showing better. The most important thing is not to have a break in the mane and to breed feather that has some “roll” to it so that even though the bird is stretching the feather will still roll in and give the appearance of more wealth or volume of feather. A straight feathered bird that stretches will appear to have much less feather wealth.

            When there is a characteristic you know you want to breed into your birds, go ahead and mate the two birds together in your loft that most strongly exhibit the feature you want. Even if the birds have a similar fault that you may be trying to overcome. You will just have to deal with that fault in future matings. For now you want to create a bird that is dominant for the feature you are trying to breed into your family of Jacobins. Use the offspring that excel in the feature you want and spread them out in matings in the rest of your stud of birds. Through these types of matings you can change the direction of your breeding program and the style of bird you are producing.

            Again I want to remind you that tall birds always stand out in the judging pen and birds with a contrasting narrow neck-line and wide eye-line are always eye-catchers. Take that for what you will, but that is my best advice for you as a Jacobin breeder. It is up to you to do the rest.

Clint Robertson