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Helmet – Page 24 – Purebred PIGEON
Breed of the Issue - Helmet
TheAdvantage of
ComplimentaryBreeds
By Bob Bollinger
O
ver the years, some of our most striking and desirable show breeds have become less productive
than many of us would like to see. There are a number of possible solutions for dealing with less
than perfect breeders. Some people hand feed, many use feeder pairs, and others just let the pairs
struggle though with low productivity. My preferred strategy is to keep complimentary breeds where I can
swap eggs and have the opposing pairs raise each others’ babies. By using other nice show breeds I get the
advantage of feeders without necessarily wasting space for pairs whose sole purpose is to be foster parents.
With the complimentary breeds I show my feeders, enjoy other clubs, and have nice birds to look at in the loft.
My passion is English Shortface and my wife and I both keep several Helmet
varieties. The Helmet and Shortface babies are smaller and more delicate than other
breeds. It seems that they require more care than the Helmet parents can provide. To
increase productivity, I routinely swap their eggs and babies with others in the loft.
Along with the Helmets, we also keep Brunner Croppers, Horseman Pouters, and some
other breeds. I have found that the Helmets will raise the other breeds’ babies as they
tend to be more robust and tolerate the sub-optimal parenting of my Helmets.
When choosing a complementary breed I pick birds that have a reputation for
being great feeders. I try to match size and temperament to the birds I am working to
foster. I pair the birds at similar times to match the timing of the eggs. I have found
that some pairs tend to be a little bit faster or slower than others. I just account for that
when I pair them so they match timing. I have found that eggs can be swapped +- 3
days and babies can be swapped any time as long as they match size and color. It is
acceptable to move babies from pair to pair as they grow.
Record keeping is important when swapping parents. However, the process does
MFC - 5 days old