Text and photos: Jan Janssen and Aviculture Europe, With our thanks to the French Specialty Club of the Boulant Lillois.

Transcription

1 Jan Janssen, talking about his breed: The Lille Pouter Text and photos: Jan Janssen and Aviculture Europe, With our thanks to the French Specialty Club of the Boulant Lillois. Jan Janssen lives in Klimmen, a village in South Limburg (Netherlands) which was a separate municipality until 1982, and then merged into the current municipality Voerendaal. In 2005 the village had about 1,980 inhabitants, plus about 1,500 in the corresponding hamlets and villages. Left: The monument on the Vrijthof of Klimmen, in front of the St Remigius Church. This statue, a "caged" bronze bird, was created in September 1989 by the artist Cyriel Laudy. There is a plaque at the base, with the motto in Limburg dialect: Vuer die zich neet kinne waere (For all those who cannot defend themselves). Right: Jan Jansen, in front of his new pigeon loft in the backyard. The loft is specifically designed for his great passion: the Lille Pouter. My first birds were a present from my fatherin-law in For years I bred Steiger Croppers, then for quite some time the Voorburg Shield Croppers, followed by Old Dutch Tumblers and finally, in 1990, I switched to a breed that was hardly kept by anyone at that time, the Lille Pouter and I still keep these. In those early years I was very involved with the Fancy, sitting on boards of various clubs, organizing shows etc. Lately I have come to the conclusion that my hobby at my home is the most beautiful.

2 Left: Lille Pouter black tigered, in front of its breeding compartment at Jan Janssen s. Some time ago, November 2011 we exhibited some of our pigeons in Charleroi (Belgium). Together with the Lille Pouter breeders from Belgium and France, we truly enjoyed to see the 85 Lille Pouters that were on display here. For me, this was a splendid opportunity to see where I was standing in the fancy. Here I learned that I was too much breeding for the German type of the Lille Pouter. Right: Another black tigered Lille Pouter. Fortunately, breeders in Belgium and France were a great help to me to point out and make that clear. I also have had the pleasure of receiving beautiful birds from Mr Devos from France. Words cannot describe what Jules Devos being president of the French Specialty Club for the Lille Pouter (Boulant Lillois) means for this breed. Wherever there is anything to do with Lille Pouters, he and his wife Claudine Devos, who is the Club s secretary, are present. Super to have met such wonderful people, that care so much for our beautiful French breed. In August 2012 we adjusted our loft properly. I now have a loft measuring 5 x 3 meters for my pigeons. The loft is divided into 4 separate parts of 2.5 x 1.5 meters. Two are equipped with 6 breeding compartments and 16 perches, the other two have 3 breeding compartments and 16 perches. I now have a total of 18 breeding compartments and 64 perches available for the pigeons. Left: A pair of red Lille Pouters, recently mated for the first breeding round. To make optimal use of this space, I had to select early in In the autumn there were 15 pairs left and 13 of them are likely to stay as breeding pairs and two pairs as foster pigeons. So, my 2013 breeding birds are 4 pairs of Black and Black Tiger. Then another 4 pairs of Red, of which 3 pairs may sport Red White barred, and then there are 4 pairs of Yellow, of which 3 pairs may throw Yellow White barred.

3 Right: A black tigered Lille Pouter, performing to impress his hen. Finally there is one pair Yellow x Dun white barred. For some reason, I just cannot say goodbye to this dun white barred cock, I never had a better bird to rear the young. So you see, late September I was already very busy preparing for the breeding season of The Show Season of 2012 I was very satisfied with the breeding of 2012, so I was curious about the results of this year's show. Although I intended not to enter my pigeons to a show any more, I finally decided to enter a few in Namur (Belgium). The results were even better than expected. Especially in the colours Red, Yellow and Yellow White barred I was awarded the highest scores. Although that year I actually had selected my pigeons mainly to create my new own breeding line, I still was very keen on comparing with the breeders in Belgium and France. At the exhibition in Namur, where 75 Lille Pouters were on display, I was more than happy with my 2 times 95, 3 times 94 and 1 time 93 points, especially considering the fact that I've changed course in 2010 and started to breed for the French type. For me it was a feast for the eye to view so many beautiful Lille Pouters. Below is the report of the Special French Club. CHAMPIONNAT France-Hollande-Belgique du BOULANT LILLOIS 2012 à SPY (NAMUR) At the 36 th Exposition du Pigeon Club Namurois de Spy, near Namur, on 27 & 28 October 2012 in Belgium, the Championship Show of France Holland Belgium of the Lille Pouter Club was held. At this Show 460 animals had been entered, of which 75 Lille Pouters, by 9 participants in 10 colour and marking varieties. The following points were awarded to the entered Lille Pouters, by Emmanuel Poncelet, Judge of this Championship: 2 x 97 points 5 x 96 points 8 x 95 points 22 x 94 points 15 x 93 points 9 x 92 points 7 x 91 points 1 x 90 points 1 x 0 points and 5 birds were absent. Met betrekking tot de opgave van de kleuren, waren grote verschillen tussen de ingeschreven en de uiteindelijk geshowde dieren. 44 Black 2 Blue black barred 3 Silver dark barred 15 Black Tigered 1 Blue grizzle 2 Red 1 Blue white barred 3 Blue chequer 2 Yellow 2 Yellow white barred The Awards, granted on this Championship by the Pigeon Club of Namur, go to the following winners: For the Best Young Pigeons of 2012 Best Cock Cage 114 Owner: Animavia 97/1 Black Tigered Best Hen Cage 135 Owner: Jules Devos 96/3 Blue grizzle

4 Right: Lille Pouter blue white barred. Champion bird with 96 points. Photo and owner: Jules Devos (France). Left: Display of the Lille Pouter Club (Club du Boulan Lillois) with some members, left to right: Mrs. and Mr. Devos, Mr. and Mrs. Castany and Mr. Pronost. Steadily improving contacts with my fellow breeders in France helped me to purchase some very valuable birds to breed Lille Pouters according to the French breed standards. The pigeons purchased by me in Germany were on the large side and had too many features of the Brünner Pouter. The Lille Pouter is a French breed and I like breeding with the French type and style and not in the German type and style. I had beautiful breeding results from the ones I've been able to purchase in 2011 from my good friend Jules Devos. The balance after participating in the last Championship 2012 in Namur, I can say that after initially having some bad luck with a number of sick birds, I felt very lucky. During the exhibition in Namur I was able to purchase some birds to strengthen my loft, being a pretty Red and a Yellow White barred Lille Pouter of Mr. Hurel, and I also got some Blacks from Mr Dewez and of Mr. Goeber, who had decided after the exhibition to stop breeding the Lille Pouter due to lack of time. Because of all this I now have seven pairs of unrelated lines in my loft, and thus, together with the new birds from last year, I probably will be able to go ahead breeding for many years to come, having so many unrelated birds. At this time, the first 20 young fly through the loft and the 2nd round are about to hatch. As it looks now, after a cold start of the breeding season, I can stop breeding late March; I will have enough young by then and will be out of leg rings! I found that the breeders in France and Belgium are very helpful. Although I will not forget the help form the German breeders in the past years. It just goes super at this time and I hope that I can make some more people interested in keeping this breed. History of the Lille Pouter With our thanks to Jules Devos of the French Specialty Club of the Boulant Lillois The Lille Pouter originated in Northern France and the neighbouring Belgian regions. In 1824 the Lille Pouter appeared for the first time at an exhibition. At the beginning of the last century, these elegant birds enjoyed a great interest. The two World Wars however were almost fatal to the breed and it was only in 1980 that some breeders from Lille decided to revive the breed. They were Marcel Dhénin, Jacques Michaux and Georges Vandenaebelle. After searching they had found several breeding pairs from Germany and Belgium which were the start for a new lease of life of the Lille Pouter in northern France. They were, however, not aware of the existence and work of Marius Kirsch Hoffer and Lucien Florence, they had the same goal and neither did the 2 latter men know about the plans of the 3 fanciers from Lille.

5 Left: Lille Pouter blue black barred. Champion pigeon with 97 points. Photo and Owner: Jules Devos (France). Jules Devos, President of the French Lille Pouter Club, writes that after numerous hunts for the Lille Pouter, he met Marius Kirschhoffer in eastern France. He was made aware of this man because of his effort to rebreed the Lille Pouter, what he did in the 1970s with the help of his friend Lucien Florence. Jules Devos is convinced that we don t know all yet about the origins of the Lille Pouter and by the many conversations, helped by the growing popularity of the breed, the knowledge about the Lille Pouter will slowly expand. As happened during the last Animavia exhibition (near Lille), where he met Mr. Simoens, a former Belgian pigeon judge, who promised him an article about the long history of the Lille Pouter in Belgium. And we should keep in mind that the Lille Pouter has also been bred in Germany for many decades. There is even a German specialty club of the breed, although their Lille Pouter is bred with some minor differences compared to our Lille Pouter. Right: Head study of a black tigered Lille Pouter. But of course these differences will have to disappear over the course of time, as the French standard years ago has already been approved by the Entente Européenne as the official standard (country of origin). The Northern-French region is the area where just about the most pigeon breeds have originated in France, thinking of the Carneaux, the Manotte, the Crested Picard, the Roubaisien, the French Tumbler, the Lille Tumbler (in the process of creation), the French Highflyer, the Revellois, the French Cropper and finally the Lille Pouter. When enumerating all these Northern-French breeds, then our thoughts are with much gratitude and admiration to Daniel Delporte, because we think he is great specialist in that field, giving the method and the correct genetic information for the maintenance of the Crested Picard and the Manotte, after fifty years of absence in the French Fancy. This was a direct result of the two World Wars, so many French varieties such as Lille Pouter were affected and disappeared from our exhibitions. Unlike other breeds, the initial popularity of the Lille Pouter after its creation, lasted only for a short time. The Lille Pouter fell into total anonymity. One of the reasons for the disappearance of their own pigeon breeds, was the popularity of foreign pigeon breeds, because of the quality of their meat and a greater weight, and impressive productivity; all characteristics that the foreign meat pigeon breeds were known for.

6 Above: The Lille Pouters on the roof of the loft at Jan Janssen s, enjoying the sunshine and free flying in the sky above the city of Klimmen in Limburg. Another reason was the huge popularity of racing pigeons and tumbler breeds, for which contests were held that attracted many fanciers. Don t forget that the people in those days, in the beginning of the last century, successively were confronted with the horrors of two World Wars and also with the economic malaise of industry and culture. When those times were overcome, the world was looking for discoveries, new ideas, tastes, colours, fashion and passion; a time that changed everything. The same happened in the world of fancy pigeon keeping, especially after some breeds had disappeared. Left: Lille Pouter blue white barred. Champion pigeon with 97 points. Photo and owner: Jules Devos. It was only in 1824 that we first heard about the Lille Pouter by two authors, Messrs. Boitard and Corbie. It is also during this time that the word "Crop or balloon" was discovered to indicate the "inflated throat" a term formerly used to indicate the blowing of this breed. Several assumptions are made with regard to the creation of the Lille Pouter: For some it was just another variety of the French Cropper, who were in fact divided into three groups according to size, as follows: 1) the Lille Pouter, 2) Amiens Pouter and 3) the large French Cropper. For others, however, it was indeed a separate breed with its own ancient origins, which even today still are regularly cited as a reference for today s Cropper breeds. In 1883 La Perre de Roo, being a prominent pigeon expert, subdivided several Cropper breeds and classified the Lille Pouter as an original French pigeon breed. Other pigeons authors had already done so in their writings before Meanwhile, there was indeed a Cropper of Amiens, which again by others was called the French Cropper, but was it the same bird? And was there any affinity with the Lille Pouter? The classification, naming and standard descriptions were not the same as today, so it is difficult to form an opinion. Even more so because we are keen to see similarities in the varieties that were named after the area or city where they occurred at that moment, or varieties coming from certain families that were using specific breed names for their pigeons, or names depending on the region in which they resided.

7 Right: Lille Pouter, yellow white barred. Photo and owner: Jan Janssen. That is why different authors often wrote conflicting stories about the same breed. Why is currently less spoken on the Amiens Pouter than on the Lille Pouter? The answer seems obvious, probably because of the Amiens Pouter was kept much more local and therefore occurred more isolated than the Lille Pouter. For the record, the city of Lille was at that time (19th century) considered the capital of Flanders, whose territory extended to the River Somme in Antwerp. It is therefore understandable that the Lille Pouter have spread in both Northern France and Belgium. Left: Lille Pouter, isabella. In the loft at Jan Janssen s. From: Der Taubenzüchter, 12 July Newly published by: Paul Trübenach, Chemnitz (Germany) At that time (1925) France had some primary pigeon breeds, but their development was limited. It was 100 years ago, in 1824, that two biologists, Messrs. Boitard and Corbie wrote a monograph on pigeon (breeds). Using their large pigeon knowledge this was a pioneering book on the French pigeon breeds. Their comments on the Cropper breeds was admittedly limited to comments about their colours, but striking was that these two men in 1824 for the first time mentioned the name of the Lille Pouter: In the north of the country where the Pouters were loved, that was in the cities of Amiens and Lille, where the French Pouters have emerged. At this time in 1925 the French Pouters were described by some authors in three variants, so the Lille Pouter being described as the smallest cropper of the group, the Amiens Pouter represented a middle group in size, and finally there was the large French Cropper! Northern France is known for their good pigeon breeders, with great knowledge in the development of new varieties, but on the other hand, there is little interest in specific breed characteristics and details! Nevertheless the present colour varieties are very impressive. Right: There should not be any loss of pigmentation in the flights.

8 Left: The young Lille Pouters are not at all afraid of the dog. In one of his articles Charles Darwin wrote about the head shape of the Lille Pouter and he had the impression that this pigeon had swallowed a large orange, with the largest circumference found in the upper part of the crop. Concerning the legs he noted that the middle toe was feathered. In Germany, in the middle of the last century (1850) the large French Pouter played a more important role and became so popular that he almost took away the leadership of the English Pouter. At that time, the French Cropper was a more elegant bird than the English Pouter and this was partly due to the feathered feet. Dietz noted the following fixed sizes: length 470 mm, distance between the wing ends 850 mm, chest circumference 280 mm and 170 mm leg length. In earlier times, these large sized birds were called "the Amiens Pouters". Many were imported into England and served in the perfecting of the English Pouter, because the English (John Bull) never wanted to accept another large Cropper than their own Pouter (the English Pouter). The excessive exportation of Amiens Pouters was one of the reasons of the increasing scarcity of this bird in the homeland. The Lille Pouter were preferred by the breeders because of their smaller size, although the type was close to that of the Brunner Cropper, given the size of the waist, approximately 36 cm for the Brunner and 37 cm for Lille Pouter. At the latter, the crop has an oval shape, of which the highest part is the widest. With our thanks to Henrich Wickert (Germany), breeder of Lille Pouters and member of the French Specialty Club. He traced the above article in Der Taubenzüchter, dated 12 July Right: A dun white barred Lille Pouter, seen at the back, at Jan Janssen s. Breed description and history The Lille Pouter is one of the varieties that has had more attention in the last 10 to 15 years. It is a breed that we do not find at every exhibition, but it is one of the breeds that has a number of solid supporters. Since the moment the French breeders started to pay more attention to this breed, the interest gained increasingly. The founding of the French Club du Boulant Lillois in 1980 in Lille has been an impetus for the current state of this breed. Also the German breeders, especially around Munich, have made efforts for reconstruction. At present there are regions where some breeders do everything in order to promote this breed. In the Netherlands there is also a small group of breeders, the number has begun grow in recent years. Up to about 3 years back I was the only Dutch breeder cherishing this breed, and in the past there was only sporadically a Lille Pouter breeder in the Netherlands. At this moment there are 4 breeders. As with most Cropper breeds it is a specific group of breeders that pays attention to these birds. They are mainly a number of breeders who have been dealing with expanding the colour palette, but also took great care to maintain the correct type and character of this pouter.

9 How to assess this breed It is a breed which is very good to keep; the pigeons are quiet and can be kept in an aviary. It is also a breed that is very well suited for free flying. Not for nothing they were called "the Lille Clappers" (les Claquers the Lillois) - which says something about their flying style, which was loud and lively. They have the characteristics to be good flyers. The rearing of their own young is generally not a problem. It is usually so that the hen starts the next round as the young of the previous round are still dependent on the parents. So there will not be a problem to breed a fair number of young from a pair. It is indeed nice to see the pleasurable behavior of this breed; it is incomprehensible that they get so little following and attention. As with many breeds, it was the German breeders who bred the very intense colours on the birds. Above: Lille Pouter, blue black barred. Right: Lille Pouter, ash red barred. The breeding of Tigereds has some specific problems. To breed good Tigereds, you have to bred Tigered X Self. There are Tigereds that become whiter each year. There are also Grizzle that are born fully self coloured. In their juvenile plumage the Tigereds are self coloured with a few white feathers. According to the latest standard the Lille Pouter is only recognized in the Dark Tigered marking. This means that all flights and tail feathers are self coloured and the rest of the plumage mottled in a ratio: Coloured : White = 2 : 1. The type of the Lille Pouter looks somewhat to that of the French Cropper, with a slightly set forward. Breast bone. But the specific three-bows outline is not wanted as extreme as in the French Cropper, where it is a breed characteristic. The thighs have a significant influence on the bows, but should be only moderately prominent. For proper Overall impression, 2/3 of the body should be before the legs, 1/3 behind the legs. The legs should not be too short but in good proportion to the body. Because of this distinct features, this breed has its specific own characteristics that are not directly similar to another breed, thus the breed distinguishes itself clearly from other breeds.

10 Why this breed Once you have been involved with this breed, which is pretty difficult because of the limited supply, you will be readily inclined to hold on to it. It is a lively breed which can be kept without enclosure. Birds that are accustomed to fly free will gladly make good use of these opportunities. The character is enjoyable and certainly not aggressive, not even among themselves. Without any problems, several breeding pairs will rear their young in peace in the same breeding area. It is a breed that is easy to keep, they are very sociable birds on the loft. It is very easy to change eggs or young to another pair, even when they are a few days older or younger. It is also no problem during the breeding to have larger young flying around the breeding pigeons. Some birds will also feed the young of other pairs. Above, left: The Lille Pouters are provided a full bowl of pigeon mix food available to them all day. This is a standard feed mixture that is given throughout the year. It also contains whole-kernel corn and sunflower seeds. Anticipating the European standard for the Lille Pouter (next page), applying to all countries involved in the EE, the French Special Club on its website gives us some additional information, which we have to take into account during the breeding and particularly in choosing the breeding pairs and the subsequent selection. - The type and posture is one of the most important points. This overall impression can be disturbed by: failing in upright posture or a too high blown crop, with the beak disappearing in the crop. The widest part of the inflated crop is above, this we call pear shaped or egg shaped. The opposite is a round crop or a crop inflating at the back of the neck; both are not desired. - The thighs deserve special attention from the breeder. They should be slightly forward curved, not too much. The same holds for the breastbone, slightly protruding, but not too much, not resulting in a three-bows effect (thighs, breast and crop) of the French Cropper. Due too rough feathering the thighs could give the impression to curve too much forward. - The hocks are just slightly bent, not frog jointed, no stiff legs. Legs not too narrow or too broad a stance. Leg length should be about 45 mm. - Wing tips are allowed to cross on the tail, but not too much. - Frizzle in wing and tail tips is a not wanted feature, which can be prevented by the right mating. - Another not wanted thing is hanging of the outer tail feathers. Left: Beautiful photo of a performing yellow white barred Lille Pouter. Right: Lille Pouter blue grizzle. Champion pigeon awarded 96 points at the Chambery EXPO. Owner: Matthieu Bailly.

11 Standard of the Lille Pouter Country of origin: France Overall impression Barely medium size, smaller than the French Cropper; slim Pouter with upright posture and high stance; pear (or egg) shaped inflated crop. Hind parts shorter than the foreparts; approximately 2/3 fore and 1/3 behind the legs. Breed characteristics Head: elongated and rounded, the forehead slightly arched. Eyes: Dark in Whites, orange to red in other colours. Eye ceres narrow, pale to dark, depending on the colour of the bird, never yellow or red. Beak: Slim, medium long, black to pale, colour according to the feather colour. Wattle small and smooth. Neck: Long, upright. Balloon/Crop: Pear (or Egg)shaped, widest at the upper neck, narrowing below, reaching up to the breastbone. It should not inflate at the back of the neck. Smooth waist line. Breast: Narrow, long, lightly outward and upward curving Breastbone Back: Narrow, straight and steeply sloping. Wings: Long and well set, carried well up at the buts, held high on the rump, primaries crossed on the tail. Wing shield narrow, clearly showing the thighs. Tail: Narrow and medium long, not broad, in a level steeply sloping line with the back, not to touch the floor. Legs: Medium long, not a broad stance, unfeathered, thigh curved slightly forward; nails to match the Beak colour. Feathers: Tight and smooth, also on the thighs. Colours Self: White, black, red, dun and yellow. Bars: Blue black barred, ash red barred, silver dark barred, ash yellow barred. White bars: Black, blue, red, dun, yellow and isabella white barred. Grizzle: Blue, ash red, and ash yellow grizzle. Tiger: Black, red, dun, yellow, blue and silver dark tigered Colour and marking All colours clean and with intense sheen. White bars should be well defined, long, narrow and desired well separated. Dark tigered: ratio colour/white = 2 : 1, white feathers ideally distributed evenly. Faults Too large, too small, too plump in body; failing in upright posture; too short in neck; legs too short; thighs too close; thighs too flat or too round; waist too wide or too narrow; too little action; too large, too small or too short balloon; neck carried backwards; wings too short, broad or hung flights; tail fanned, wry or split; round or flat head; red, yellow, or too broad eye ceres; light eye colour; wrong nail colour; quills on the legs and toes; badly mis-marked. Order of importance Overall impression Posture and Stance Action Frontal length Crop Wing position Colour and Marking. Ring size: 8 mm

12 Ideal body type. Balloon too large and not pear shaped. Too plump in body and tail too long. Left: Red Lille Pouter of Jan Janssen. Breeders In the Netherlands there are three breeders of the Lille Pouter: Henk Schaft, Heldringstraat 11, 6901 BX Zevenaar P. Breedveld, Boermastreek 5, 9574 PC Exloerveen Jan Janssen, Bourgondië 44, 6343 DD Klimmen (Voerendaal). website: Club Français du Boulant Lillois. website : President : M. Jules DEVOS, Lys Lez Lannoy, France Tel.: In the Netherlands, the Lille Pouter is under the umbrella of the Dutch Rare Pouter Club. Secretary: M. Timmerman, Oudepolderdijk 1, 4301 PA Zierikzee m.timmerman@zeldzame-kropperrassen.nl website: Copyright 2013 Aviculture-Europe. All rights reserved by VBC.