Purebred Pigeon Sept/October 2025

GIANT HOMER – Page 34 – Purebred PIGEON Breed of the Issue - AMERICAN GIANT HOMER Feathers of Distinction: RememberingMaster Breeders of Giant Homers and FrenchMondains By David Hurt, Dallas Texas I n the captivating world of show pigeons, where feathers flair and forms dazzle, where some people have traveled 1,000 miles to compete at the highest level – master breeders stand as the true artisans. The pigeon fancy isn't just a hobby to some people, it's a meticulous craft, blending science, persistence, passion and an overwhelming desire to win. Enthusiasts have selectively bred for traits like elab- orate crests, striking plumages, graceful postures, or powerful structures and bodies over hundreds, maybe thousands of years, turning wild rock doves into living master- pieces. Specialty breed clubs like the Ameri- can Giant Homer Association, the National French Mondain Association (now defunct) and the National Pigeon Association honor the highest achievers with “Master Breeder” awards which are presented to those who've produced uniform, high-qual- ity show birds bred to a Standard of Perfections over some time, often with a required number of local, regional and national wins. Sometimes, these people are the greatest ambassadors of their respective breed and the hobby in general, and sometimes, they are so fiercely competitive, one can scarcely get a bird from them, no matter how much one pleads or offers to pay. I have known a few master breeders in my time, most notably, Paul Cook, Earl Golding and Marvin Koenig in French Mondains, and later Maurice Durkee and Darvin Jenner in Giant Homers. These masters are either deceased or out of their mastered breed now, and as I ponder my future in pigeons, I reflect on what I’ve gleaned from all of them. How will I become a master breeder myself? The five guys I mention had a lot in common and if they had chosen dogs, horses or chickens instead of pigeons, they would have been just as successful. In fact, Darvin Jenner is a master breeder in English Budgies, American Show Kings, American Giant Homers and had a lot of success in show horses, too. These master breeders ALL had their own line of pigeons with a common ancestry. Sure, they brought in new blood from time to time, but they never lost sight of their own standard. When they got a bird from someone, most of the time, they didn’t keep it but a breeding season or two, testing it with a few birds in their own line, perhaps raising some- thing useful and then moving on. I was getting into Giant Homers in 2005 and went to Maurice Durkee’s farm in Minnesota. I had a blast with him and his lovely wife Maxine. Maurice proba- bly had 150 blue bars, checks and velvets and I recall lining up about 15 hens in the show coops and thinking this is the most uniform group of pigeons I have ever seen. If it weren’t for differences in color, only the person with the most discerning eye could tell them apart. It was hard to get a bird from Maurice, really hard! His superpower was intense competitiveness. He culled pigeons that people would have given their eye teeth for. Like it or not, he kept his birds to himself and when he wanted a bird from somebody else, he had to pay dearly for it. The first time I visited Maurice, I came back all excited with several boxes of Giants. They were good and I was pleased, but when I looked up their numbers, I learned that at least half of them were bred by other people, three of whom were master breeders themselves. Over the years, I ended up getting a lot of good birds from Maurice but I drove from Texas to Minnesota to do it. We got to know each other and he was getting older and, I guess, wanting to pass a few birds along to the next generation. Over the years, I spent hundreds of hours in these five guys’ lofts. I cleaned Marvin Koenig’s loft and changed the waterers every Thursday while was in college in Austin, Texas. I was Paul Cook’s loft partner the last 5 or 6 years he was in the hobby. I observed these guys at the shows, Darvin Jenner, Giant Homer Master Breeder from Camp Verde, Arizona, sitting on the windowsill of one of his 4 flypens, the perfect perch for evaluating pigeons.