Nov/December 2025

CHINESE OWLS – Page 22 – Purebred PIGEON Breed of the Issue - CHINESE OWLS Above The Shoulders: THE KEY TO BOLD AND BALANCED By Dick Holmberg T he National Chinese Owl Club’s focus in its new drawings and revised standard was to breed birds that are compact and smooth but have a bold and balanced appearance. The practice in the past was to breed them bigger to get the look of power to the point that they were getting to be much too large in the opinion of some, including myself. To address this issue the Standard Development Committee decided to set parameters for the ideal size in terms of inches for height and length. 8 inches tall and 8 inches long was determined to be the ideal size on average. The cocks will tend to be a bit larger and the hens a bit smaller but they should both be within one-half inch of the 8 inch ideal size. However, balance is still the most important factor. A bird that is 9 inches tall and 9 inches long is better than one that is 8 inches tall and 10 inches long or vice versa. In order to achieve the bold look we desire without exceeding the ideal 8 inch size I believe we need to focus on the head, neck, and beak setting. The head must have a strong frontal portion that rises up from the wattle at a 120 degree angle and then gradually and smoothly slopes back to the neck. The head should be wide between the eyes when viewed from the front. The beak should be medium in size. A narrow, pinched frontal is a listed major fault in the standard and a beak setting other than 120 degrees is a listed minor fault. Both should be avoided when selecting your matings. The neck should be very thick but not too short and blend into the shoulders. It should be long enough to hold the head high enough to keep the neck frill above the top of the breast frill as required by the standard. The comparison of two young cocks shows a strong contrast in the overall look of the birds from the strengths and weaknesses above the shoulders. Note that the crossbar on the coop is at 9 inches. The bird in the two pictures to the left is larger than the desired 8 inches in height and length but does not have the bold look because of his pinched face, lack of frontal and back-skull, long, thin neck, and beak setting at more than 120 degrees. The bird in the two pictures to the right is the desired 8 inches in height and length. He has good width in his face, strong frontal and back-skull, thick neck, and the proper beak setting. All of these features combined result in a bold, balanced bird without being too large. Bigger is not always better. Our new standard has laid out a new look. It is up to our judges to pick them that way to make it the new normal. •