Left: Henk in the red garden slippers...

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1 By: Elsbeth Eisma Translation: Diana Hedrick In the spring of this year I was brought four "abandoned" Shelduck ducklings that had been found in a pipe that had been used for constructing a veranda... apparently the ducklings were unable to climb out of the pipe to follow the parents. My initial reaction was > dummy (although upon reflection "dummy" is perhaps too emotionally charged), didn't they realize that something special was going on underneath their house? The Shelduck parents were nowhere to be seen at the time when they were discovered by the owner of the house, "rescued" and brought here (we have room for everything here). "Rescued" a misnomer in this case as none survived (later their parents were sighted but it proved impossible by then to reunite them with the ducklings) nor was I able to get them to the Waterfowl Rescue in time...three died here and the other shortly after I had brought it to the rescue centre. However after this sad conclusion, another was found and brought to us and it thrived here and made its home here and in out hearts. We named it Jopie Jopie as we did not know if it was a "he" or "she". Right: Jopie Jopie arrives. Even though analytically I knew we should bring it to the Waterfowl Rescue Centre (so it could be later released with a group). Jopie Jopie had stolen our hearts and we couldn't bring ourselves to do it... we let our hearts rule over our heads and Jopie Jopie remained here with us. We soon noticed Jopie Jopie was following me everywhere (to the chagrin of my better-half Henk who did most of the work involved in caring for the duckling) however, it soon became apparent that this was basically a hankering for my red slippers... where the slippers went Jopie Jopie followed (Henk put on the slippers and sure enough Jopie Jopie began following him around instead of me)! Jopie Jopies strange "bonding" with the slippers explained by a suggestion from a friend that it was perhaps due to the fact that Shelducks have red bills and that this might explain the attraction. (I also noticed him snuggling up to the chickens red comb and wattles) so this is apparently some kind of genetic colour recognition in the breed as my friend suggested. Left: Henk in the red garden slippers...

2 So much to learn >What is this wet stuff that I am drinking? Is this MY dinner? Not all is for Jopie Jopie to stick his beak into! Above: Snuggling down where it's warmest! Here I learn how to swim! Below: Sound asleep. And fit again to play outside.

3 Am I a dog? A cat?... Lets see...colours are the same! Now that I have outgrown the bowl and the kitchen washbasin I find my way to the big out-of-doors and the chickens, where I spend most of my time with. UPDATE: The fairy attraction of the red slippers has passed and Jopie Jopie no longer visits us as often in the house and prefers to spend his time with the chickens, sleeping there too and eating their feed. (Whether or not chicken feed is the best feed for a duck I dare not say as I knew that it was not the best choice for my geese, however, he seems to be thriving on it and this eases our fears about it). I am still on occasion racked by guilt and question my decision to keep him here with us instead of bringing him to the Waterfowl Rescue Centre (he surely

4 would be out and about with other ducks and eventually set free in one of the fields nearby) and I have often wondered if he would have been happier in that situation instead of here where he might leave us and all he has known all on his own...i do wonder how and if he will choose to stay or go. For the moment he chooses to stay and that is fine by me. I do believe that "wild" should remain wild and not forced into domestication which is the reason we have never pinioned his wings >he is free to come or go at will. I am not going to set him out in a strange field somewhere though to try and force him back into the wilderness. He regularly takes flight here in the yard and soars above the trees... once we thought we had lost him but he eventually returned to us. I wonder how it will all turn out in the long run as all Shelducks usually gather together to overwinter....last Update: Joop (a drake) has finally "flown the coop" on a greater journey of discovery. I have not seen him in days here in the yard nor in the distance flying over the fields and there is no evidence of him coming back to eat or such. He appears to have left the area quite suddenly (last seen on the 23rd of September) and so I have had to make an abrupt goodbye through his absence. Although I had prepared myself for this day, my heart wrenches as I secretly hoped he would choose to remain here through the winter. I do so hope that Joop has found himself in a better situation than our home had to offer and wonder if he will return to us in the spring. Photo below: Dirk de Jong Copyright 2007 Aviculture-Europe All rights reserved by VBC

5 COLLECTING CANADIAN PIGEON BANDS AS A HOBBY By Jan Lombard, South Africa My hobby as a pigeon fancier evolved into collecting pigeon bands, amongst other pigeon related items. There are many reasons why this is an ideal hobby: interesting, low cost, small space requirement, abundant availability, and large variety. There are thousands of pigeon clubs around the world that issue bands on an annual basis. Most of these bands carry the clubs unique initials, the year, and the size (in the case of fancy pigeon bands) as well as an individual number. This ensures a very large variety of bands to collect. Because of their size and weight bands can be mailed to any destination in the world, at a very low postage cost. It is also easy to store and display bands, and does not take up a lot of space. Since pigeon fanciers do not use bands from previous years on birds bred in the current year, most do not mind to give away their surplus bands, ensuring a supply of trading material at virtually no cost. What is freely available in one country is not available at all in other parts of the world. This opens up the door to exchange bands with collectors all over the world, as the pigeon sports (exhibitions, races and flying [roller & tippler] competitions) is very popular all over the world. I ve chosen Canadian bands as the topic of this article, because there are so many different bands to collect from this country. The Canadian Union has a large number of affiliated racing clubs. These racing homer bands come in both rolled edge aluminum and plastic coated styles. They all have the letters CU to which the unique club initials are added. Although 35 of these CU clubs are represented in my collection, I know of at least 170 different club initials on CU bands. Some years ago racing homer bands from Canada had the letters CRPU (Canadian Racing Pigeon Union) on them. The latest CRPU ring that I have dates from the year There were also racing rings with the letters BC (British Columbia) on them. I have a small number of these from the 1980 s and 1990 s. Some racing clubs even issued rings without the letters CU or BC. One example in my collection has the letters FCQ-QC on it, and dates from the year The pigeon supply house called Fancier Specialty also issued racing homer styled rolled edge aluminum bands with the letters FS. Then the Winnipeg Pigeon Fanciers Association also issued racing bands. I have WPFA 85 band in my collection. Left to right: Canadian Racing Pigeon Union band from 1983, modern CU band with club initials, Canadian Fancy Pigeon Association band for racing homers, CU band from When it comes to fancy pigeon bands, most national bodies in other countries regulate the supply of bands, as it is their main source of income. Such bands from a national body all carry the same initials. This is however not the case in Canada, where the different breed clubs issue bands with their own initials. The Canadian Pigeon Fanciers Association orders their bands from three different suppliers, to offer some choice to their members. All their current bands have the letters CPFA on them. These come in 8 different sizes: A size = 6mm for doves; B = 7.8mm for racing homers; C = 7mm; D = 8mm; F = 9mm; H = 10mm; J = 11mm and Z = 13mm as per

6 They sell to non-members in units of 5 s. Up to the year 2003 the Gey Band & Tag Company from the USA manufactured the CPFA band order. When they ceased operations alternative suppliers had to be found. Their current supplier for rolled edge aluminum bands is from Serbia. These Serbian manufactured bands come in either plain or coloured aluminum. Colours are the same as on the German manufactured plastic bands for similar years. The CPFA also use solid plastic bands like most European clubs. These are manufactured in Germany. The colours were black for 2004, yellow for 2005 and blue for They also offer plastic coated bands (similar in design to racing homer bands) to their members. These are manufactured in Poland. Of these plastic coated style I have some yellow bands from 2005 and some blue ones from I have a few smooth aluminum CPFA bands from the years 1978 and I do not know where these were manufactured. Some rolled edge aluminum bands from the Canadian Pigeon Fanciers Association came with the letters CPF only. I have CPF bands dating from the years 1972 to It is interesting to note that bands with the letters CPFA were already issued in There may be older ones, but this is the oldest CPFA band in my collection. I do not have an explanation why the letter A is missing from some bands from this period. I have a CPFC band in H size, dating from 1990, which I believe is also from the CPFA. Left: Canadian Fancy Pigeon Association bands manufactured by the Gey Band & Tag Company in the USA, up until Left: Canadian Fancy Pigeon Association bands manufactured in Serbia, after Bill Gey ceased operations. Compared to American manufactured bands, these are slightly higher. Left: Plastic coated racing homer styled Canadian Fancy Pigeon Association bands manufactured in Poland. Some fancy pigeon breed clubs issue their own bands. I have a CANADIAN HELMET CLUB 2004 band in plastic coated racing homer style. This club also issued solid plastic bands of German manufacture: CHC 7 during 2004 and The Club Modena Quebec issued similar solid plastic bands with the letters CMQ. Canadian roller clubs also issue their own bands. I have BCBRC (British Columbia Birmingham Roller Club) form 1998 and The Canadian Roller club issued bands with CRC on. My CRC band from 1972 is of rolled edge aluminum type, while the 1994 version was smooth anodized aluminum.

7 Left: Canadian Helmet Club band from 2004, in plastic coated racing homer style, presumed manufactured in Belgium by Haspesclagh. Fanciers Specialty, a pigeon supply enterprise in Canada issue bands with the letters FS on it. They took over form Roblyn (RL) in the late 1980 s. The Gey Band & Tag Co, USA manufactured the first FS bands. These were typically rolled edge aluminum. My FS rolled edge aluminum bands dates from 1989 to I have a few solid plastic FS bands from German manufacture that dates from the years 2003 to My RL bands are rolled edge aluminum and dates from the years 1981 to I believe there may be many more Canadian clubs and bands that are not represented in my collection. Any help with my hobby will be appreciated. I am willing to help new collectors with a free starter pack of fancy pigeon rings from around the world. I hope this article has motivated a few pigeon fanciers to take up this very interesting hobby. We have a Yahoo Internet group for band collectors. Interested parties can contact me at: jombard@tsb.toyota.co.za or at Jan Lombard, P.O. Box 1544, Randburg 2125, Republic of South Africa Copyright 2007 Aviculture-Europe. All rights reserved by VBC

8 RUSSIAN BEARDED FOWL Text: Bernhard Hanskamp. Photo: Yuris Dmitrijevs. After the Fall of Berlin Wall there were more opportunities to get in contact with East European fanciers. Soon it became clear that there were many breeders who cherished the Old East European chicken breeds. Breeds that had been very popular before the Russian Revolution in Breeds with an ancient history. Breeds that could be an asset to our exhibitions. Fowl with completely different characteristics and completely different looks. This time it is the Russian Bearded Fowl that is in the spotlight. Next time it will be the turn of another East European breed. The picture of this breed, shown above, recently taken by Yuris Dmitrijevs from Riga, speaks volumes. It shows a chicken with a firm stand, its tail carried high, with the front of the body markedly risen, having a very broad and sturdy appearance. The broadness and compactness are breed characteristics. The thick neck and broad head fit this look very well. The full beard, particularly at the hen, completes the picture. The leg colour is slate to black. The breed has a rosecomb. It is a meat breed, with cocks and hens weighing more than 4 and 3 kilos, respectively. The pictures of the Russian Bearded Fowl that I receive almost always come from Russian fanciers; sometimes they are taken at shows in Moscow. Because of its very upright stance the breed is also called the Gluchar ; this is the Russian word for Wood Grouse or more specifically Western Capercaillie living in the woods across Mid- and Eastern Europe. Russian Bearded Fowl are much heavier than Ukrainian Bearded Fowl and Orloff. The heavy weight of more than 4 kilos makes the breed look more like the Kulanga (the Uzbekistani Game). Copyright 2007 Aviculture-Europe. All rights reserved by VBC