Rare birds

[pigeonperson]

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pb.../NEWS/70210004


Rare birds
Not ordinary street pigeons, these are bred to be beauties

Pigeon fan:
Bill Dunn of Independence has been raising and showing fancy pigeons since 1908, when his son brought home a couple from school. Dunn raises and shows several varieties, including Parlor Rollers, which roll backward.


Parlor Tumbler, Oriental Roller, Fantails.

Racing Homers, Powder Puffers, Giant Runts.

Many who live in the city are familiar with the grey and black birds who form a dirty carpet in so many an urban park. But a small faction of Iowans is committed to the beauty and sport of pigeon breeding.

"I know there are a lot of misconceptions," said Don Delany of Des Moines, president of the Iowa State Pigeon Association. "You say pigeon, and they think of these commons flying around and setting on buildings. They've never been to a show and seen all the varieties."

The variety of pigeons is astounding, with some birds weighing as much as 8 pounds. They come in almost every color imaginable. There are birds with curly
feathers on their feet and some that can puff their chests out like they just swallowed a tennis ball.

"They're all kinds of shapes and colors. That's what really excites people about pigeons," said Stephen St. Clair, co-secretary of the National Pigeon Association, based in Topeka, Kan.

The most common pigeon to see at a show is the Modena, a bird of Italian descent, with a proud chest and wings that contrast in color with its body. The color of the birds is perhaps what attracts so many, given that breeders have produced a collection of possible colors that would fit a parrot.

Bill Dunn, 62, of Independence, raises the popular Modena variety for show competition and has been involved with the sport for more than 26 years, first encountering the hobby when his son was given two birds by a high school teacher.

"It gets you outdoors, and it doesn't take as long as video games," Dunn said.

Those initial two birds are long since gone, but in their place are dozens of prize-winning Modenas, housed in three pigeon lofts.

"Every person looks at the birds differently and has a different concept of what they're raising pigeons for," Dunn said.

Enlarge This Photo
Photo
(Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
On a roll:
A parlor roller comes to rest after rolling backward through the snow at the home of Wes Phadenhauer in Beaverdale.

And while he raises his birds like any other show animal, others raise pigeons for food or to take advantage of their natural homing ability or to race them.

Wes Phadenhauer, 57, of West Burlington, has been breeding pigeons for more than 40 years. He said he got started as a kid and has been enjoying the challenge of improving his Racing Homers and Parlor Tumblers ever since.

"It's kind of a dying hobby," Phadenhauer said. "The kids today are more into video games and whatnot."

In the 1850s, Paul Reuter, godfather of the international Reuters news service, used the birds to speed delivery of news from Brussels to Berlin (a distance of more than 80 miles).

The birds were invaluable to armies starting with the French Revolution, ferrying urgent messages to commanders. The birds were often killed in the line of duty, and were awarded medals and buried with military honors.

"The use of pigeons (to carry messages) goes back thousands of years in warfare," said Derek Buckaloo, a professor of history at Coe College in Cedar Rapids. "As late as World War II, there were times when pigeons were the only way to communicate between various elements of the military."

While it is true that commercial pigeon use has gone the way of the dodo, today's birds are bred to be stronger and faster and in more colors than ever before.

Phadenhauer's birds have returned to their loft from more than 200 miles away. The distance record is more than 1,000 miles, with some birds able to fly for more than 20 hours in one shot.

To train a homing pigeon, the breeder releases the bird close to its home loft; the next time the release is from a longer distance and so on. The handler, for example, might first take the bird down the block, then to work and then to the next town, until the birds are able to fly home from miles and miles away.

The sport is even more popular in certain parts of Europe, with pigeon breeding Belgium's most popular sport, St. Clair said.

And while St. Clair has heard of pigeons going for as much a $15,000 in the United States, many a champion Belgian bird has been sold for $100,000-plus.

In Belgium, "their lofts are nicer than our houses!" said St. Clair, who has nurtured a fellow pigeon fancier in his own loft -- Noelle, his wife.

"It's kind of like when you marry a fisherman: If you don't like to fish, you're going to stay home a lot."

[Lady Tarheel]

Pigeonperson

Thanks for posting this positive story. I enjoyed reading it.

[pigeonperson]

It's very difficult to find a positive story about these birds.

[canaryjayne]

Interesting and informative. Pigeons are such fine birds. Thanks for that. Canaryjayne

[patrick]

<<<loves all those good stories, Ilove my pigeons, and allow them to be a large part of my life. i can sit for endless hours just watching them fly and roll some times they get as much attention from me as my kids. I even care for sick and injured ferals because i just love them all each one has it's own personality keep up the good thoughs folks maybe it'll rub off on the others

[Victor]

Good post pigeonperson....THANKS FOR SHARING!