Colors Don't Fly

[ZigZagMarquis]

... I've recently heard the phrase, "Colors Don't Fly".

I think that I have heard in the past that some serious racers will only fly Blue Bars or Blue Checks... ya know, the "a typical" pigeon coloring.

Personally, I find the reds, silvers, white flights, pied, opals, meally bars and spreads to be much more exiting birds... but what do these "off color" variants really have, if anything, to do with a pigeon's homing or racing abilities?

I've heard that the lighter colored birds "stand out" more and may be more likely to become targets for hawks and I've heard that the all white birds are usually so inbreed that their stupid, but I don't really know if that is fact or just opinion?

What has been the experence of some of y'all serious fliers out there?? Do colors fly??

[zoo keeper]

My understanding of the term "colors dont fly" does not actually mean different colors cant fly, it means that muscle tone, training, feeding, stamina, strong backs, how the bird handles, the care/conditioning you give them, vigor, etc., is what makes a bird fly. If you have a pretty colored bird that has all this stuff, it could fly real good. I like a pretty color group of birds and I was told to remember colors dont make a bird fly and that is what they were meaning ... I need to fly birds with stamina, vigor, strong back, handles well, etc

As for white, I do believe you will find a lot of white birds have had the homing ability bred out of them. My opinion of white is to buy delbars, white grizzles, Belgium whites and breed those. Just my opinion. My personal experience was that buying unbanded white pigeons was risky because they did not have strong backs or the homing ability to get home. That does not mean I loved them any less, actually l protected them more because I knew their outcome if flown. I still have one of my old whities that is dumber than dirt..... wait... I can just call it chimney diver pigeon. I have now saved it from two chimneys. It has a thing for flying down chimneys and hanging out in dampers. That bird has a will to live. The first time it was in one neighbors chimney for 5 days until it managed to fly out the damper into their house. The next time it fell down another neighbors chimney and after it had been gone for 10 days I got a knock on the door and said there was a white pigeon in the chimney and to go see if it was mine. Low and behold it was Sweep. Sweep got her name for her chimney diving....she is now retired to my loft as my loft pet. The second time she disappeared I figured she was a goner, she came home once again, thin as can be and covered in soot, not to mention wing injuries both times. Sheesh. That bird is as sweet as can be but just no brains.

[re lee]

What I have seen Is if any color is doing good getting wins. People will want it. even if its red with pink polka dots. The fad now is bule bar or check. And as more bule birds are bred and win people stick to that base line. Colors. some colors have softer feathere that gets damaged aftyer a few races . hampering that speed and flying of the bird. A person has to set down. harden the feather quality To enable that color to fly better and longer. Or just use it out to say a 250 rqace. then pull it for the year. As for whites. Yes I believe thru inbreeding white mutated over. But when bred on a family line to maintain the needed quality they will do ok. The people that fly and race there birds. Fail often in being able to go slow enough to build a line of birds. THEY WANT TO WIN NOW. If they would look at the belgium netherlands and such. And relize the flyers there developed ther birds through years of breeding to where they hold up for the type of races they have. Color can and does fly just as good as blue. But quality has to be maintained. Some people out cross to another bred then back to homer and set a new color in racers. they have to establish The strong trait agin. And that to takes years. An out cross color can be set and race performance set in say 5 years. Some poeple do not wish to take that time in building. Like I said. People are GREEDY when it comes to wins. They wnat it. The people who use a line to build after a few years. will win more often and be more pleased from the time took to do it right. Some will disagree But if you study flyers. Top many try to by into a winning line rather then buy into it. And spend the years to develop it to there needs. They get frustrated. Change lines And never reach the top. And then wonder why. The sport is fun When you do not worry how to get the win. But learn how to build and let your birds grow to a winning line. AND if you raise a pink with yellow polka dot bird that wins and wins. People will beat your door down to by them. So color to me just means if you work it it will work.

[ZigZagMarquis]

... ooops, my bad, thanks ZK and ReLee for the wisdom. I'll go back out into the loft and tell my reds that they can really fly and that they weren't just faking it... I had been trying to explain to them that they couldn't fly.

[Motherlodelofts]

The beauty of the wild colors is breeding is done strictly on performance and "pretty" doesn't to play into the breeding program.
My money says that phrase came from a color breeder, the rare color type where the breed was mongralized to bring in different colors and factors.
It is like a disease plauging this country in all breeds, stick with the wild hard colors.

[TAWhatley]

Originally Posted by Motherlodelofts

It is like a disease plauging this country in all breeds, stick with the wild hard colors.

Yeah but .. Scott .. you Roller guys have the most beautiful of little birds .. don't think I've ever gotten in a "common" colored Roller .. today's arrival is a gorgeous little bird with his or her chest basically torn out .. twill heal and be OK, but still this little pigeon has the coloration of a specially bred dove .. extremely beautiful in spite of the hole in the chest. Then those white irises in the eyes .. also very pretty and unusual. I think it would help us here if you might tell us a bit about the colors of Rollers and their eye colors, etc.

Terry

[Motherlodelofts]

Terry the Birmingham allready has striking colors "within" the breed. Within being the key word here.
When "pretty" becomes a factor within the the breeding loft of performance breed birds something has to be given up.

[re lee]

Different colors have been in seveeral breeds for a very long time. Yes new shorter reconized colors are put in by people testing and cross breeding that color over to a different breed. The wild typr has mutated it self over thru the inbreeding prosses in most all cage /loft birds thru the years. And true colors have to be redone towards flying needs. As a person goes to new colors. And the racing homer is across set towards its improve homing abilty . And several of the old crosses were of color. It takes time years to reset new colors for improved vigor and homing ability. And that is what a person needs to work on. Now ash red, black and such old colors the work has been done. Pied birds also.To me black came from closing the T pattern light check blue check dark check black check then black. By pairing blue check to blue check closing the T pattern Over time. Then some refined the sooty black color to give a gloss and beetle sheen to it. To get any color to fly even the blue line You just have to breed towards it. And be stead hard in the program.

[SmithFamilyLoft]

I went with my strain because I like reds, silvers, and I don't know if this is the correct color description but very dark checks, almost black. My pairs will throw very beautiful birds, and they do indeed fly.

http://hometown.aol.com/smithfamilyl...e/profile.html

They have an advantage of a very soft feather. The very lite silvers will show faster feather wear, but I try to breed a darker mealy color. As a general rule, I do not use the very lite almost white silvers, for breeding.
The exception is a son from Vos 77, a three time super crack champion, who was a red velvet color, his son is a very lite silver.

[Grizzled]

There are more blue bars and checks raised and as a result, there are a greater number of blues and checks which do well compared to other colours such as reds, whites etc. This doesn't mean that blues are better than reds necessarily. If you were able to count the number of blue bars raised and flown, you could determine the percent of successful blues within that group. If you did the same with all reds raised and flown, you may find that there are fewer reds bred and flown each season, but my guess is that the PERCENTAGE of successful reds would be higher than the PERCENTAGE of successful blues, simply because the group is smaller and more concentrated.

[SmithFamilyLoft]

Hello Grizzled,

I am very biased of course, but many fanciers will avoid reds because of a bias, for reasons real or imagined. I suspect, that for many lofts, a red will only be tolerated if it has really proved himself.

To me, there is something special about a red corvette, a blue one just doesn't do it for me. Same with the little red speed demons that tear acrosss the sky at my house chasing that poor Cooper. If I could find a better blue, I would have it, these babies just don't come in blue.

[re lee]

With more people breeding the blue line of color now days yes it increases. I have heard several concepts to which I see no real base too. Blues attract hawks less, Blues fly better. Blues are tougher birds. blues win more. On and on. I have heard. Any bird that shows any white can not fly. good. Lighter colored birds get hit by hawks more. Colored birds do not win races. This new age of thought has brought about a fad based breeding. consistant wins by any color breaks this base thought.And people run to get that bloodline and color. Fact is good birds win races no matter what color. But yes some colors can be seen better above then others making them a stronger taget to the hawks. And in the new age of increased hawks through out the country. The threat is higher. Of a hit. But different training at the loft site. And luck on the race is the only chance birds have from hawks any more. several colors were of natural mutation from line and inbreeding. Others came from out crossing from other inbred breeds to get the color. Best bet would be to build a line of birds NO matter the color. If you want to be consistant. You have to work at it. If color is what you breed then you put quality In that color. race or show you have to have a bird that not only looks good but can have a chance to win. And thats in its breeding Not just its color. I am just saying If any color is going to go on and be a winner it all starts from the egg from a sound breeding program. Other wise it will be only hit and miss wins never a set foundation. And we all no that this brings only a tearing down to any breed that soon can not compete except through luck.

[-s2-]

Many here understand that the more birds of a specific color or pattern that are attempted to be flown, the more of that color or pattern will be seen as flying and racing well. If only 2 pink spotted birds are ever flown, chances are they won't be on the list of winners. If 400 pink spotted birds are flown, some will eventually make it to the winners circle.

Some of you may be interested in my comments on "Pigeon Radio" of last week (4-26-05) regarding colors. I have included a picture of one of our Qualmond racers. In a recent race we had a Qualmond hen and her son come in 1st and 3rd.

Colors DO fly (and race and win) if you breed them and work with them.


-s2-

[ZigZagMarquis]

-s2-,

Cool looking bird... thanks... and where can I get me one of those pink spotted birds you speak of...

[casnyder]

I want one of those pigeons that are "red with pink polka dots". Where do I sign up for the waiting list?