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West of England Tumblers – Page 44 – Purebred PIGEON
Breed of the Issue - West of England Tumblers
3rdTime’s theCharm
By Mike McLin, Rice Lake, Wisconsin
G
etting back into West of England Tumblers for the third
time I was not so much interested in breeding a champion
as I was producing a certain color that I had my eye on for
probably three years prior to getting them. I’m sure if I had made a
serious effort I could have found them sooner but I had my hands
full with Oriental Frills and Classic Old Frills.
Peach Lace and Grey Lace is what I was admiring for a few years.
My very good friend Sandy Oleschlegal had both Wests and Classic
Frills so one occasion I mentioned if she ever saw a pair of Peach
Lace or Grey Lace Wests for sale to let me know. It was not long and
she had a phone number for me and we struck a deal. I finally got
rolling with them and found out the lacing was not as good as I liked
and they all did not come laced out of the nest. A challenge accepted.
After getting a few to work with I needed to outcross once to reds to
build some vitality and type. Fortunately I also got some very nice
laced birds out of that outcross to reds. So with a good family of
young Peach Wests going I’m set for a while and looking forward to
the shows. They can vary a little in depth of color so I have a couple
examples of my breeding with this article. The darker one was a
young cock bird at the time of the photo and the lighter one is a hen
from last year.
Next on the list was Grey Lace. I found a couple of people that
Peach Lace cock bird