ICRC Lawn Show: Saturday, September 26, 2009

The ICRC is holding it’s Annual Lawn Show this Saturday, September 26, 2009. The ICRC show has been a staple event amongst roller breeders in Southern California and beyond. Under the stewardship of Rayvon Hall this years festivities are surely not going to disappoint anyone.

Location: 535 E. Scott Street, Rialto CA 92376   [Home of Rayvon Hall]

Time: 10:30 AM

Show Details:

Judging will be performed by Johnny Smith

• Entry Fee is $3 dollars per bird

• Young Hen & Cock Class
• Old Hen & Cock Class
• Muff Hen & Cock Class
• Best 10 year Old Class
• Reserve Grand Champion

• Grand Champion

As always there is going to be a huge raffle with far to many things up for grab that can be listed here; however, there will be a nice double kit box going home with some lucky ticket holder.

Delicious lunch plates will be sold as well so come to the show hungry!

1929 Pensom on Kit Competition

Competition Flying With Rollers pigeons
By: William H. Pensom

From Pigeons, of England, September 20, 1929

Does competitive sport with rollers improve the quality of the bird as a roller? Myself, as a fancier of about twenty years, I think not. We know that a given number of birds are flown in competition, and the kit making the most turns is judged the winner including, of course, the style of fly, but the quality of the birds, which should come before anything, receives no notice or attention.

Now to get a kit of birds to make these turns requires little or no experience whatever. You can buy them from anywhere, and breed them without any thought in selection and stock, and get good results. Birds of this caliber are those, which can do anything but roll.

When performing a turn, it is noticed that the fall is a good depth, but I have noticed no good rolling. Of course, you get one or two that roll, but surely these pigeons cannot be classed as good rollers, not in the sense of the word known to fanciers and breeders of the true English Roller.

A good roller is a bird, which can roll tight like a ball through the air for four or five yards.

I find it most difficult to describe a good bird, but I have noticed that strangers to the hobby have easily discerned the marvelous way in which they roll. They readily grasp the fascination of keeping birds that roll in the way described, birds which are really worthy of being called rollers.

There are dozens of ways in which birds roll, but only one way that appeals to and attracts the attention of a real lover of a quality roller.

To get a kit of rollers together takes some time and patience. Firstly, the selection and breeding and the fixing of a strain covers a period of years. Tumbler breeders are aware of this, although it would seem that some of them will not be educated to know what a good bird is, or they will not go to the trouble to cultivate the real roller.

They appear to be content to keep, breed, and fly birds that are in their opinion, more likely to win them a few shillings. They thereby deceive not only themselves but also the public, that their pigeons are genuine rollers. It is quite safe to say that today there are fewer breeders of the true English Roller, better known as the Birmingham Roller, than there were twenty years ago.

Wayward Thoughts

We are nearing the time when it is a must that we lock-down our kits of rollers, lest be butchered by birds of prey. I can remember the time when locking a kit bird down for a period of months was a non-starter, unless of course they were headed to the stock loft. Potential stock birds were “proven” beyond belief oftentimes for no other reason than the inability to shelve a true acrobatic champion.

I recall a red & white ender fondly named GQ because of his stunning looks. GQ flew for no less than 6 years straight, day in and day out, causing many a fancier to pause when he started rolling. Hilly Flowers and I would marvel at these performances and come up with an assortment of reasons why we should not place him in the stock loft. At first it was because he was not as frequent as let’s say, the number one hen; however, around year-three his frequency quadrupled immediately taking away that excuse. Next, we would reduce his value based on size in comparison to some other bird, again leaving out the most important factor, his ability to burn up the sky.

After six plus years of flying GQ made the decision for us, he flew away and now we will never know if his abilities in the breeders loft would be commensurate to his aerial prowess.

Fast forwarding 10-15 years the aggressive presence of hawks, falcons and other birds of prey have left little opportunity to fly kit birds for extended periods of time. Although we reluctantly lock our birds down during the height of their feeding periods we still lose out on valuable time. In addition, the altering of our flying regimen will inadvertently affect our selection process and ultimately the birds we strive to breed.

We are experiencing Darwinism in its most rudimentary form–in the laws of use and dis-use what will Birmingham roller breeders lose.

–PW