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Breed of the Issue - Helmet
Helmet- Page 43 - Purebred PIGEON
Size.
No points allocated for size but its an
integral part of TYPE. In the official measure-
ments, you will see that the Helmet is a small
pigeon, 8 inches tall and 7.5 inches from chest
to tip of tail. In reality, we are still trying to get
our Helmets down to the ideal size. We do see
from time to time small, typey Helmets. Small
Helmets, especially cock birds are worth their
weight in gold in the breeding pen.
Beak Set. (3 points for beak of which beak set is a small but
very important element) It should be set straight with an imag-
inary line passing between the mandibles to the bottom of the
eye cere and through the center of the rosette.
Where do I begin with this one? Beak set is probably
the last frontier for the Helmet breed. We have been trying to
straighten the beaks of Helmets for decades it seems. Beak set is
not a deal breaker as there are many fine Helmets that win major
shows that do not have perfect beak settings. However, every
now and then a specimen will be shown, and these Helmets are
something special even if they lack in other areas. Presently to
straighten out the beak we have been experimenting with the
English Shortface and Longface Tumblers as well as the Domes-
tic Show Flight. It’s been a long journey so far but with perse-
verance we will produce straight set beaks in the Helmet.
Feather.
When I say feather I mean big crests, full powerful
necks, tight flights and tail. Without good feather you cannot win a
championship. The eye is naturally drawn to big crests and power-
ful necks. Fortunately, in this list I believe that feather is one of the
easier things to breed for. However, we are still battling the need for
long feather in the Crest and neck and trying to shorten the flights
and tail. Every now and then a special specimen does show up at
our shows and these Helmets are sight to be seen!•