NEWS AND MISCELLANEOUS - Aviculture EuropeOne day, when visiting Australia, we got out late in the afternoon about ten km. from Taree, reaching a relic of rainforest, where hundreds

VARIOUSVARIOUSNEWS AND

MISCELLANEOUS

Part 1February 2012

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A word from the editors……

If you share this feeling with us, you are welcome to support by contributing to our magazine. Information on your Breeders’ Club, Jubilee Show, a remarkable collection of birds or anything special; we are always interested! However, please don’t be disappointed when your contribution is not always published immediately. Sometimes the response is overwhelming, especially with show reviews, this time resulting in a 150 pages issue, which is absolutely too much stress for the Team. For as long as there will be support and enthusiasm, Aviculture Europe will continue to be – free to read for everybody, with each new issue containing about 100 pages.

In the meantime the Year 2012 has amply started, but this being our first 2012 issue, we would like to thank you all for your beautiful cards and photos with Seasons Greetings. To all of you, also a happy, prosperous and most of all healthy 2012.

Please note: The BUY & SELL MARKET - Various 2 – has been updated. New ads will be published in only 2 issues and if you wish to continue the ad, it has to be renewed by you for another posting.We wish you pleasant reading and if you have something to communicate, please contact the chief editor [email protected]

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With thanks to all contributors, sponsors and advertisers,on behalf of the team of Aviculture Europe,Nico van Benten

Dear reader,

We present you with the latest issue of Aviculture Europe with pride. As you know, our aim is to be a world-wide platform of friends in the fancy. We are able to present you news and breed specials from all over the world, while worldwide fanciers also appreciate learning more about our beloved birds.

LLOYD SCHUILENBURG, famous in one weeks time as ‘DUIF MENEER’ (MISTER PIGEON).

By: Aviculture Europe

In an interview on TV West, Lloyd, a 15-year-old schoolboy from The Hague explained about his hobby, practicing thief pouter sport. He gave a demonstration of how he called his pigeons, bowing and calling hoo-hoo. With his typical The Hague tongue and his spontaneous and open behaviour he made such an impression that many Dutch people immediately became devoted to him. Within one day he was back at another news program, Pow News, for a further demonstration in the loft at his home. Next someone got the idea to single the pigeon sound out of the video and create a remix by using his "hoo-hoo” call in the song "Who let the dogs out?" And that was a stunner. The video appeared on YouTube and within three days Lloyd had 2500 followers on Twitter. And that was a stunner. When again on the News - this time visiting his pigeon shop ‘De Zwarte Vogel’ together with Pow News reporter Rutger Castricum, it was Liberty Hall! Dozens of remixes appeared on You Tube, all kinds of –music-videos that have the Dutch word ‘hoo’ or the English ‘who’ in it. . . it never stopped.

Right: Lloyd Schuilenberg. Photo: De Zwarte Vogel.

Saturday Lloyd and Rutger were on the Dam Square in Amsterdam – famous for the many pigeons - where many people wanted to take a picture of him and asked for his signature. Just recently the saga of the Duif Meneer expanded by him bringing out a single to harvest the attention he is getting at this point. Lloyd stays cool as a cucumber, “I liked it”, he said, “but Monday I go back to school, that will be a little quieter”. In the meantime his father had cared for the pigeons.

Lloyd is supported by his parents and his favourite pigeon shop ‘De Zwarte Vogel’ in the Hague. Meanwhile, he has his own website: www.meneerduif.nl and below are some links to the most viewed videos on You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zckwrg9_Bhkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fjOvElfBps&feature=related (Lloyd in his loft) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JZwIOfXPjQ&feature=related (In de Zwarte Vogel pigeon shop.)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-mEUObrvJU&feature=related (Who let the dogs out-Remix)

Left: Typical The Hague lofts; from the ridge of the roof or down on the ground in the backyard; everything goes.

Below: A thief Pouter looking out for ‘strange’ pigeons.

Photos: AE.

Left: Loyd in the Zwarte Vogel shop, during filming by Pow News. He is holding a bag with a newly purchased pigeon in it. Photo: De Zwarte Vogel. www.dezwartevogel.nl

We already introduced the Fawn Silver Duckwing Dutch Bantam project in ‘Various’ - April 2011. The so called dun colour in chickens replaces black feather colour by a chocolate one.

Dun is inherited like Andalusian blue. It can segregate into black, dun/chocolate and the so called khaki.

Khaki is the homozygous/pure form, comparable to ‘splash’, which is the homozygous form of blue.

KHAKI SILVER DUCKWING By: Henk Meijer.

The khaki version was created for the first time this year, meaning Khaki Silver Duckwing. It is a very light colour, because partridge and duckwing are not black enhanced colours like the solid/self khaki Polish bantams.The photos mainly show animals owned and raised by Birgitta Carlson, Sweden. Not shown are the females, which are mainly white, except for the salmon breast!Khaki animals are very well suited for breeding programs. Khaki over black renders 100% dun.For more information you can contact Henk via e-mail [email protected] take a look at his website http://kippenjungle.nl/Henk69_ENGLISH.htm

KHAKI SILVER DUCKWING

AN UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTERJust in a small village somewhere in France, close to the local corn plant. I had to use the telephoto lens, and this pigeon was not willing to pose.As you will notice, the ‘special thing’ is the colour and marking of this bird, not a pattern that you would expect on a homing or urban pigeon. It is a hotchpotch of colours, next to the pied and / or grizzle factor, you see brown or red, or bronze and black. This could be ‘mosaic’, but that is usually only seen on part of the feathering, not the whole bird. Or could this be the result of a field pigeon crossing with an ornamental pigeon that was carrying these colours?Who knows can [email protected]

EXOTIC PIGEON SHOW & COLORING CONTESTBy: Bill Burnside, Florida

October 1, 2011 was a beautiful day to have an outside show at the Home Depot Seminole Florida monthly “Kids Workshop”. For a second month I was invited to present the Exotic Pigeon Show. The first month (September) was a hit with the kids and adults alike.

The show consisted of 11 different birds with two of them being baby rollers of which the babies are always being a hit with the kids and adults. In addition, a pigeon coloring contest was available and several of the children participated. A child in each of three age groups will receive a prize donated by a local banner and t- shirt company. Thanks to Kim Barth the NPA Junior Director for supplying coloring books for this event.

The show lasted three hours with many of the 192 kids plus their parents viewing the show cages and lots of the kids participated by holding various birds. On several occasions a bird pooped on someone’s hand, but it was all accepted with laughter. (On hand was antibacterial spray and towels for such an emergency).

Many of the adults stated they had no idea of the many different pigeons and thought them to be beautiful. Great comments about the pigeons are not unusual.

Pigeon shows are fine, but in my opinion do little to promote the birds to the public in order to change their minds about them. If you want to change the minds of adult and kids, go out and present your birds to schools, clubs, or any place you can...Do this and create “Pigeon Ambassadors”. It’s a win for the future of our hobby.

See also: www.PigeonPresentations.com

The chicks in the last page of the article ‘Concerning Poultry’ in the December issue are not Houdan chicks but Crevecoeur chicks. The difference can easily be seen, without any doubt, even at such a young age, because the Houdan chicks have 5 toes and the Crevecoeur in the photo have 4 toes.

Insert: Chick’s feet with 5 toes. Photo AE.

CORRECTION

BRUSH TURKEY By: Elio Corti (IT)

One day, when visiting Australia, we got out late in the afternoon about ten km. from Taree, reaching a relic of rainforest, where hundreds of years old banyans do lord it; the Ficus bengalensis, with huge foliage having a circumference sometimes of 500 meters, adorned like Christmas trees by restless clusters of fruit bats waiting for the dusk to feed on fruits and nectar.My host promised to show me here a special turkey. Finally it becomes clear; it's the brush turkey, so-called because it resembles a turkey - but it isn't related. It is one of the species of mound-building birds in Australia; the cock ‘brushes up’ an enormous pile of leaves and earth with its enormous feet, to build a nest.Several hens lay their eggs in the nest pile. The eggs are laid the point downwards, and are hatched by the heat of the composting mound. The male checks the temperature by sticking its beak into the mound and regulates the temperature by adding or removing material in order to slacken or increase the fermentative processes which supply the required warmth. A big natural incubator from which the chicks come out quite self-sufficient and never will know the mother, which is running freely through the forest.

‘Australian brush turkey’ is the common name of the Alectura lathami (alectura means ‘tail of rooster’), a galliform megapode spread along the eastern Australian coastal belt. It is a spectacular large bird with black feathers and a red head. Its total length is about 60–75 cm and a wingspan of about 85 cm. They fly only very clumsily and roost in trees.

Also the rarer Mallee Fowl belongs to the megapodes (mound builders) family . Fascinating birds, indeed...

Right: Alectura lathami - Megapodiidae – Brush turkey. Photo taken in 1995 in the Wingham rainforest - Taree - Australia.Photo: Elio Corti.

CHICKEN DRYERPhotos: Wim v.d. Berg (NL)With our thanks to Hans Heemskerk, ZOBK club, the Netherlands.

White or light coloured chickens are generally washed before entered at the Show. Most chickens undergo this without much stress. But when the washing is done, they have to dry. This can be done by using a blow dryer or by letting the chickens air dry (but then they must be put in a heated room to dry).

Wim v.d. Berg designed the following dryer; the photos speak for themselves!

UPDATE ON THE ARTICLE ‘PIGEON ART FROM SOUTH AFRICA’In our December issue we published an article by Jan Lombard, offering a wide range of pigeon figurines. In the meantime the following breeds have been added to this range:

English CLLF Tumbler, English Muffed Tumbler, English SF Tumbler, Medium Face Crested Helmet, English Nun, Komorner Tumbler (American type), American Show Racer, German Beauty Homer, American Modena, Englis h Trumpeter, Voorburg Shield Cropper, Dutch Cropper, Norwich Cropper, Holle Cropper, Marchenero Pouter, Horseman Thief Pouter, Hana Pouter, Pomeranian Pouter, Reversewing Pouter, Danziger High Flyer, Fantail, Indian Fantail, King, Gros Mondaine, Mookee, Chinese Owl, Old German Owl, Dragoon, Birmingham Roller, Russian Tumbler, Lahore (European type), Silesian Swallow, Saxon Swallow, Saxon Spot, Fairy Swallow, Bohemian Swallow (crested & plainhead), Bokhara Trumpeter, left facing Racing Homer, right facing Racing Homer, Memeler High Flyer.

if there is demand for it, he can also make figurines of poultry, waterfowl, e.g., but on the condition that you order at least 5 units of the same breed.

E-mail Jan Lombard:[email protected] also: http://www.aviculture-europe.nl/nummers/11E06A05.pdf

Enjoy this perfect NPA Show Video of the Grand National in Florida. 52 minutes! See the many pigeons and see the judges at work.

This link was provide to us by Bill Burnside (USA)http://youtu.be/xu7Yku2VBh4

SHELDUCKS

February 8, 2012 we received the following message from Martin

Timmerman (NL)

Now with the cold winter weather it is just as busy in my garden as in December 2010. I took a few new videos and added them to my Youtube channel.It is No. 6 and No. 7. Especially no.6 shows clearly that over the years the "wild" Shel- ducks have no more fear for me and come to eat eagerly. They re- cognize the orange bucket and know that it means ‘food’ and if I walk with the bucket they follow me in procession.

http://www.youtube.com/user/martinbergeend?ob=0

More and more events and shows are recorded by video. When you have a YouTube video your friends in the fancy just have to see, simply send the link with summary to [email protected] and share it worldwide through Aviculture Europe! Especially Show videos are welcome!