The Thoroughbred Racing Pigeon

J. Kilpatrick

Description

This vintage volume contains a comprehensive guide to thoroughbred racing pigeons, with information on their natural history, breeding, selection, types, and more. Containing a wealth of interesting and practical information, this timeless handbook will be of considerable utility to the modern fancier, and would make for a worthy addition to collections of allied literature. Contents include: “Racing”, “The Breathing System”, “The Digestive Organs”, “The Bird’s Eye”, “The Homing Faculty”, “Bird Flight”, “Marey’s Experiments”, “Genetics”, “Breeding”, “Apropos Origins”, “Pure Strains”, and “Your Questions Answered”. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly rare and expensive. We are republishing this vintage book now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on pigeons.

Informations

• Publié par: Read Books Ltd.
• Date de parution: 08 janvier 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781528762724
• Langue: English

Extrait

THE THOROUGHBRED RACING PIGEON
by
J. KILPATRICK
with foreword by
Mr. J. M. K. McGUGAN
Illustrated
Copyright 2013 Read Books Ltd.
This book is copyright and may not be reproduced or copied in any way without the express permission of the publisher in writing
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Pigeons
Pigeon keeping is both the art, and the science of breeding domestic pigeons - it has been practiced for over 10,000 years in almost every part of the globe. In that time, mankind has substantially altered the morphology and the behaviour of the domesticated descendants of the rock dove, to suit his needs for food, aesthetic satisfaction and entertainment. There are hundreds of breeds of domesticated pigeon arising from this common ancestor, and they are generally split into three groups; Sporting, Fancy and Utility. People who breed pigeons are commonly referred to as pigeon fanciers , although, as is perhaps clear, pigeon keeping is not restricted to frivolity. Flying and Sporting pigeons are kept and bred for their aerial performance, as well as for reproduction. Perhaps one of the most famous examples of these birds are the racing homers ; trained to participate in pigeon racing, but also extremely useful as message carriers in times of war. Speckled Jim ; the popular British comedy sketch in Rowan Atkinson s Blackadder series, plays amusing testament to their important, though not unproblematic usage in the First World War. Sporting races often have large cash prizes of anything up to one million dollars, and the Sun City Million Dollar Pigeon Race is perhaps the most famous of such events. There are also competitions for different types of flight, including Rollers (spinning around in the air), Tumblers (tumbling backwards during flight) and Tipplers (bred for their endurance; non-stop flights of over 22 hours have been reported). Fancy pigeons, the second large grouping of pigeons, are birds which are bred not based on performance, but on appearance. Examples of fancy pigeons would include Jacobins, Fantails and Pigmy Pouters. Similar to sporting pigeons however, they are competed at shows and exhibitions - judged by expert panels on their proximity to respective breed standards. These pigeons come in all sizes, colours and types. Utility Pigeons, the last grouping of pigeons, are generally bred just for their meat, or as replacement breeding stock. The meat of pigeons is customarily referred to as squab , a term of Scandinavian origin, meaning loose, fat flesh , and is considered a delicacy in many parts of the world. Historically, squabs or pigeons have been consumed in civilisations as diverse as ancient Egypt, Rome and Medieval Europe. In the modern day, both the hobby and commercial aspects of pigeon keeping are all over the world, and various specialised societies have been founded to cater for this growing passion.
The Author with his birds.
FOREWORD
It gives me great pleasure to write this Foreword to Jack Kilpatrick s book. I believe, as a pigeon man, that this work merits the sincere thanks of all thinking fanciers. I personally, have read it with much pleasure and profit, and while Mr. Kilpatrick writes mainly for the racing fancier, I think there is much in his book to interest all fanciers no matter what types of pigeons they may keep. It should also be of great interest to those who make a study of bird flight and be helpful to those others who have wrestled with the problem of what brings pigeons home?
As to the author s ability to undertake such a task, I am convinced that no fancier is better equipped for the labour involved in such a production. Few fanciers have so thoroughly studied the pigeon in all its aspects. That this point is largely appreciated is proved by the fact that many of my friends at home and abroad have requested me to try and influence Mr. Kilpatrick to produce just such a work.
I feel sure that The Thoroughbred Racing Pigeon will abudantly satisfy them. For that reason I am delighted to commend the book to the entire pigeon fancy.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
P LATE No. 6- Duck s Wing on Upstroke, from Bird Flight, by Gordon C. Aymar, is reproduced by permission of the publishers, Messrs. John Lane, The Bodley Head, Ltd.
F IGURES Nos. 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13 and 14, reprinted from The Biology of Birds, by the late Sir J. Arthur Thomson, by permission of the authors representatives and the publishers, Messrs. Sedgwick Jackson, Ltd.
PREFACE
My interest in pigeons dates from early boyhood, so that I can say with truth that I have been a fancier all my life. I remember well, though I must have been very young at the time, approaching my mother for permission to keep my first pigeons. She was literally shocked at the idea, and absolutely refused to allow those unlucky things about the house. My mind was exercised for days trying to think up a way to overcome my parent s objection, to prove to her that the pigeon is no more unlucky than any other bird.
Then suddenly I remembered the story my Sunday School teacher had told of Noah flying a dove out of the ark. That recollection gave me an idea. I went to the Bible and searched it for every passage dealing with dove or pigeon. The result of my searchings I presented to mother with one exception, I thought it better to withhold the reference to Jesus casting the pigeon dealers out of the temple.
I must have prepared quite a decent case for I was, though rather reluctantly perhaps, permitted to keep the unlucky birds. The sequel to the incident was that in the course of time my mother became almost as keen on the birds as I was myself, and I could hardly keep her from the loft.
Sixty years have passed since those days, and in all that time I have never lost interest in pigeons or ceased to probe into the mystery which seems to surround them. Indeed, for the last twelve years I have devoted much time to experimenting with different methods of training, racing, and feeding. No matter how successful I might have been with one method, I tried something different the following season.
At the same time I was studying the anatomy of the pigeon, endeavouring to find out exactly how the various organs of the body functioned. As there is no book on pigeons which gives any useful information on this subject, nor is there any which attempts to show the fundamental differences between birds and mammals, I turned to the scientists and read every scientific book that I could find which might have any bearing on the subject. I read books on comparative anatomy, zoology, genetics, migration of birds, aero-dynamics, including The Biology of Birds, by the late Sir J. Arthur Thomson; You and Heredity, by Amram Scheinfeld; The Problems of Bird Migration, by A. Landsborough Thomson; and Mendelism, by R. C. Punnet. This book is an attempt to set down in simple language the result of my reading, coupled with my own observations.
Reading scientific books does not make one a scientist. I wish to make this perfectly clear, as I have no desire to be classed with those who write of their scientific methods and research work in connection with pigeons.
More than fifty years connection with the Grain and Animal Feeding Stuffs Trade has taught me the value of a correctly balanced ration for any bird or animal, pigeons included. Under the heading The Feeding Problem the reader will find many valuable hints on the food value and blending of the different species of grain used as pigeon food. The figures given in the analysis are based on those issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and may be taken as standard.
There are many theories amongst pigeon fanciers as to how the sex of the young is determined and how the characteristics of the parents are transmitted to their offspring. These questions are definitely settled and explained in the chapter dealing with genetics; that chapter also shows the true value of pedigree.
Almost every writer on bird flight mentions Marey s experiments on the movement of the bird s wing in flight and the well-known figure eight which the wing tips are said to trace. As his book Le Vol des Oiseaux has been out of print for many years, and is now practically unobtainable, I have included an extract from it showing, in Marey s own words, how he carried out his experiments, so that the reader may judge for himself how much these have added to our knowledge of this subject.
This book is intended primarily for pigeon fanciers who are anxious to learn more about the different aspects of our sport, upon which there is so much diversity of opinion and lack of knowledge. I trust that it will meet with the approval of all those fanciers, both at home and in America, who have asked me to write it.
J. KILPATRICK.
117/119 Victoria Street,
Belfast,
N. Ireland.
CONTENTS
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Preface
List of Illustrations
I.
Racing
II.
The Breathing System
III.
The Loft
IV.
The Feeding Problem
V.
The Digestive Organs
VI.
The Bird s Eye
VII.
The Homing Faculty
VIII.
Bird Flight
IX.
Marey s Experiments
X.
Genetics
XI.
Breeding
XII.
Apropos Origins
XIII.
Pure Strains
XIV.
Your Questions Answered
LIST OF PLATES
I.
The Author with his Birds
II.
Heroine of Laval
III.
Duck s Wing on Upstroke
IV.
Per Ardua
V.
Invincible
VI.
Champion Eddie
VII.
Underside of Pigeon s Wing
DRAWINGS IN THE TEXT
1. Windpipe and Lungs
2. System