Left: Klaas standing in front of his aviary and pigeon loft, with a beautiful collection Old Dutch Turbits and American Giant Homers.

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1 A visit to Klaas de With in Leeuwarden-NL Text and Photos: Aviculture Europe Our appointment to visit Klaas dated from the time that he kept his pigeons together with Jan Charisius, his friend since kindergarten. However, as Jan departed a few years ago to the island of Lombok, Indonesia, where he found his love, there is no longer a Combination (Partnership) Charisius - De With. Klaas nowadays exhibits the birds by himself. Left: Klaas standing in front of his aviary and pigeon loft, with a beautiful collection Old Dutch Turbits and American Giant Homers. Before this interview we visited several other fanciers in the region thus on arriving at Klaas it was late in the day. Moreover we learned that Mrs. De With on this day been admitted to the hospital for a kidney transplant. Notwithstanding we were very welcomed by Klaas. Considering the circumstances we made our visit a short one. Right: During our conversation Klaas s dog never budged from his side. Give him some time to get used to you, was the advice and we were very willingly to follow the orders. We were informed this was a Chinese dog breed: the Shar-Pei. According to the description in Wikipedia these are very independent and reserved dogs. Nevertheless, the Shar Pei is extremely devoted, loyal and affectionate to its family, and is amenable to accepting strangers given time and proper introduction.

2 Klaas de With is in his early 50 s and has been in the hobby for quite a number of years. He got his first pigeons from his father when he was 12, and he kept them in a simple orange box. His first Old Dutch Turbits were purchased in Mr. Boskma, the then president of the Old Dutch Turbit Breeders supplied him with several red and yellow barred birds that improved his loft stock considerably, resulting in the Combination becoming Champion in 1980 at the European Show in Amsterdam, with an Old Dutch Turbit. Left: The Championship Diploma, hanging on the wall in the living room of Klaas de With, was won with an ash yellow Old Dutch Turbit hen and awarded to the Combination Charisius De With at the Annual Meeting of the Dutch National Fancy Pigeon Union NBS in It was very unusual that this hen, born in 1994, won all three necessary certificates of being Best in Show awarded by three different judges in just one show season, being her first show season! The shows were the Fancy Pigeon Show of South Netherlands, the Keistad Show and Avicultura January Finally the Partnership decided to choose for only breeding the cream barred Old Dutch Turbits. An extreme selection was carried out, because in that time the breeders Club had chosen for a less heavy bird with a more characteristic head form and coloured thumb feathers. The most important aim was a bird which just like in the old days - could feed and raise its own youngsters. This selection procedure was accompanied by a technical (Standard) commission, planning to have a new type of Old Dutch Turbit in three years time, in which they succeeded. Right: One of the top pigeons from Klaas de With. Left: A standard drawing of the Old Dutch Turbit, made in the 50 s by Joh. Lentink and according to the today s view standard again it presents a top bird.

3 Right and below: Old Dutch Turbits on box perches. Droppings fall down backwards by means of the sloping bottoms of the boxes, so they will not soil each other. These box perches can be quickly dismantled and easily cleaned. Left: This head is rather rounded in the skull line. The ideal form of the head is a very slightly curved (almost straight and horizontally) line from the peak crest to the highest point in front of the eyes. From this point (the so called stop ) a gently rounded, unbroken curve lead to the beak tip, like de bird left below. The History of the Old Dutch Turbit As early as in the 1600 s Aldrovandi and Willughby (1678) mentioned this breed. The first Dutch author to describe this breed was J. van Vollenhove in 1686 according to C.A.M. Spruijt in his book Onze duivenrassen in woord en beeld (Our Pigeon Breeds in Words and Pictures) published in Spruijt concludes that the Old Dutch Turbit is the oldest known Owl breed in Europe and brought in by the Dutch sailors from East Asia to the Netherlands, where it was very popular for a long time. Then in 1930 it was observed that the breed - which in those days was hardly bred to conform to any standard, was in danger of

4 disappearing. One of the persons that took action was Henk Moezelaar; together with a number of breeders he gathered the remaining birds and finally helped found the Specialty Club of Old Dutch Turbit Fanciers in May On his website Klaas de With gives the following information: Characteristics: The Old-Dutch Turbit is an elegant bird to see. The pigeon is not very long and does not stand low on its legs. Its tail is carried horizontally and the quill-feathers are resting on the tail. The dark-brown eyes give the bird a vivacious but gentle expression. The head is oval, on top decorated with a beautiful point-shaped crest. The flesh-coloured beak is mediumlong, under which a well carved out throat gives the head a bold look. On the broad, deep and well-rounded chest there is a vertical row of curled feathers, named the jabot (frill). Colours: The Old-Dutch Turbit is known in different colour varieties. All are white with coloured wing shields. The colours of the wing shields are white, black, red, yellow, blue, dun, blue-diluted, mealy, cream, blue-checker, red-checker, yellow-checker and dunchecker. Breeding: The Old-Dutch Turbit has a medium-long beak by which it, in contrary to some other Turbit-breeds, is very capable of feeding it young. Assumed that the breeding-season lasts from February till June, 6 to 8 young pigeons from a breeding pair is not unusual. Flying: Although the Old-Dutch Turbit is kept in aviaries by many breeders, it can free fly very well. It's not a big flyer, but when let loose, it's routing around in the garden and by its familiar and curious character, always to be found close by people. Feeding Left: Klaas pays a lot of attention to the feed of his birds. He uses to mix pigeon feed of three different brands, in order to get a mixture as rich and varied as possible. Above: During the breeding season, Klaas adds an egg feed supply. (A supplement developed to provide essential nutrients.)

5 Left: This vitamins supplement comes from Poland and is added twice per week in the pigeon drinking water. Right: Seen and used more and more by pigeon fanciers: liquid sheep fat for pigeons. It is the ideal source of energy, containing vitamin E and the exact proportion of Omega 3, 6 and 9 fat-acids. The product supports the general condition of the bird. Left: Klaas, judging the head of his Giant Homer. Below: A Giant Homer and an Old Dutch Turbit together. They go together very well, with some reserve, but without any aggression. Giant Homer In 1996 it was decided to start with a second breed: the American Giant Homers. From the start the breed was very appealing. The type of the new pigeon was much to their liking and soon they learned that the character of the bird was very pleasing, almost gentle. The breed was not aggressive or combative. An additional pleasure was they could be kept together with the Old Dutch Turbits without any problem. Moreover same as the Old Dutch Turbits - the Giant Homers could perfectly raise their own young and they also had a high production rate. Believing at first this heavy breed could not fly very high, turned out not to be the case! The Giant Homer easily flies up to the highest places in the loft; the breed is very vital, with a muscular body. The breed type is short, compact and robust. Their first birds came from Otto Schatske and later Koelman from Bremen, Germany. The latter keeps over 100 Giants and Klaas visits him every year, keeping contact in the inbetween time. Koelman is not really an exhibition-breeder, but keeps the birds for his pleasure, always busy developing new colours like Opal, Indigo and anything that pops up from those colour crossings, like Andalusian blue. As usual with heavy breeds, Klaas had in the beginning problems to keep the breastbones of the young pigeons straight. However, by means of optimal care and selection he succeeded in eliminating this problem from his stock. This is mainly achieved by feeding the Giants a mixture of three different brands pigeon feed, which during the breeding season are enriched with egg feed.

6 Klaas thinks it is sad to see that the Giant Homer has so few breeders in the Netherlands, while the Show Racer being introduced much later here is so much more popular. It won t be the bird s fault. The breeders are enthusiast and always willing to help other fanciers. Moreover the breed gives an extra attractive challenge by coming in so many colour varieties. More colours turn up, coming from the Opal and Indigo factors, which not only brought the Andalusian Blue, but a whole range of colours which are always very surprising. Combination Charisius de With gained their last big success during the Jubilee Exhibition of the French Pigeon Society (Société National de Colombiculture) that celebrated her 100th Anniversary in December 2003 in Chambery (France) with an exhibition where an amazing number of pigeons were entered. The Combination participated and one of their Giant Homers was awarded Excellent with 97 points. A great achievement in the country of Utility Pigeons! Left: Note the nicely outlined head of this Giant Homer. Right: Dominant Opal colour Giant Homer in the loft of Klaas de With. Left: Recessive yellow Giant Homer hen. It is beautiful in colour with tight feathering. Right: Since autumn the pairs are separated. Here you see the cock compartment. It is remarkable how at ease the birds are; obviously Old Dutch Turbits and Giant Homers can be kept in together perfect harmony.

7 History (According to the American Giant Homer Association AGHA) It all started in the early 1920s when a group of Eastern and Southern fanciers engaged in a collective endeavour to produce a super-squab breed that was also suitable for exhibition. Various breeds were crossed on to large Homers with the dual-purpose qualities of production and exhibition forging together to create the Giant Homer. In 1927, nine breeders formed the American Giant Homer Association and two years later, the Giant Homer was recognized by the NPA (National Pigeon Association) as a standard breed. The McNinch sketch was adopted as the first standard visual, which demanded a deep-keeled, Racing Homer type of bird. The new standard imposed weight limits and production was stressed. The 1930s and 40s saw a steady rise in the membership under the Association's strong leadership. The first Annual Meet was held and the first NPA Master Breeder Award was bestowed in The Fowler sketch, which required a beefier bird, was adopted along with a slogan which stressed the dual-purpose qualities of the breed. As the Giant Homer became known nationally, the breed improved in body and exhibition traits. Numbers at the shows flourished and the Association promoted squab-production contests to promote the breed. The club's Bulletin also started to expand and grow. The early 1950s noted a dramatic interest in colour genetics as breeders introduced mutant genes such as reduced, dominant opal and indigo into their Giants. The Association became the first club to offer a Rare Colour Class for exhibitors as the colour explosion hit the scene. The 1970s experienced a membership explosion mainly due to the APJ (American Pigeon Journal) specials on the breed. This led to even stronger leadership within the Association as changes in the standard and Constitution became necessary with the progression of the Giant Homer's type and popularity. In the 80s we found a need for a new standard drawing and the Diane Jacky sketch was adopted. Over the years, our club has continued to grow and prosper. Through it all, the demand for new and rare colours is still strong and still attracts new breeders and members. As for the future, it is promising and we remain progressive. We hope that once you get your hands on a Giant Homer and see the balance of our Association, you will want to be a part of our future. Standaard Type: The term type commonly refers to the combination, station and profile. It is clearly illustrated in the sketches above. Size: Show winners, will commonly show moderate variations in size with a range from 10 to 11 inches in height, from 9,5 to 10,5 inches in length and from 5 to 6 inches across the wing butts. Concern for excellence in type should take preference over concern for size alone. However, excessively large or excessively small birds are both undesirable.

8 Weight: A top quality bird in good show condition will have a distinctly solid feel in the hand. Looseness and fatness are undesirable qualities and will be penalised. The ideal weight of a cock is 35 ounces and for a hen is 33 ounces, range is +/- 5 ounces. Head: Head profile rising gradually and smoothly from tip of beak to above the eye, then descending in an unbroken line to the neck. Top skull showing no flatness. Top view showing good width between the eyes, narrowing smoothly towards the wattle. No sign of gullet or of pinching above the wattle. No show of angularity in outline. The whole head should express strength with no sign of weakness or thinness. Eyes: Sharp and clear, expressing alertness. Ruby red or orange in colour with ruby red preferred Gravel, pale or cracked eyes are a serious fault, a bull or a solid eye is admissible in whites and slashes. Both eyes must have the same colour. False pearl eye acceptable in browns and khakis. Eye ceres: Medium size, neat, smooth and even. May vary from dark or plum colour in coloured birds to flesh colour and pink in whites and white splashes. Beak: Medium length, stout and straight. Both mandibles of nearly equal strength and substance. Set smoothly into face with no broken outline with the head line. Colour is according to the feather colour. With whites the flesh colour is preferred. Wattle: Medium size, smooth in texture and free of coarseness. Should fit smoothly between head and beak. Free of warty growths at base lower mandibles. Neck: Stout, medium length. Tapering gradually and smoothly from head to shoulders. No signs of neck creases or gullet. Back: Flat and straight with broad shoulders tapering to a well filled rump. Forms a line with the tail carried at about a twelve degree angle below horizontal. Breast: Prominent, broad (5 to 6 inches over the wing butts.) Deep and well rounded. Showing well beyond and below the wing butts. Wings: In proper proportions to length of body. Prominent and powerful through shoulders to butts fitting closely to the body in front view, flights resting on the tail with the two wing tips touching or nearly so. Wing covers should cover the rump smoothly and well. Tail: Short, not extended over one inch beyond tips of flights. Carried well closed with feathers overlapped to give appearance of little more than one feather in width, with no sign of splitting. Legs: medium length and set well apart in a slightly bent stance. Strong in appearance denoting thickness of bone. Thighs full and muscular. Shanks and feet free of feathers. Toe nails uniform in colour corresponding to that of the beak. Colours: Giant Homers are known in Racing Homer colours, solids (recessive and dominant), with bars, chequer, pied/splash, grizzle, white flyted and tigered. Above that in the colours opal, indigo, andalusian blue, almond, faded and a.o.c. with diluted and other rare colours from the genetic spectrum. All this combined with the 13 standard colour classes. Right: Giant Homers, drawn by the fa mous American animal artist Diana Jacky, in Obvious is the tapered form of the adult Giant Homers. For more information about here drawings, see:

9 In 1986 the former President of the American Giant Homer Association AGHA sent us these pictures of American Giant Homers - all birds from his own loft - to give an impression of the situation of the Giant Homer at that time in the USA. Left: Giant Homer, Cream barred cock from First at the: National Young Bird Show, National Giant Homer Futurity. Champion at the AGHA 2e district Show, Bred and shown by: Sam Peavey. Right: Giant Homer, blue black barred cock from Bred and shown by: Sam Peavey. Left: Giant Homer, opal cock from Nest mate from the blue black barred cock above. Bred and shown by: Sam Peavey. Right: Giant Homer, opal cock from Nest mate from the blue black barred cock above. Bred and shown by: Sam Peavey.

10 To end with If you are open to it, the hobby offers many possibilities to employ your ambitions in the various Clubs and Organisations. Many fanciers, once started with only a few birds, put their administrative or executive qualities into the service of the fancy during the years. Others qualify to become a judge. Almost always the many hours spent with subservience result in having less time to attend to their birds, and often their names disappear from the highest rankings and champion s lists. Not so with Klaas de With; although he is a board member of the Frisian Fancy Pigeon Club and the Old Dutch Turbit Breeders Club, his pigeons still belong at the Top in the Netherlands and abroad. He won Champion at large Shows in Nuremberg and Leipzig (Germany) and at the French Pigeon Union Show in Chambery. He thinks it s a pity that there is so little zest in Holland for the Giant Homer, while in Germany there are often some 600 entered at a Club Show. We very much appreciated that Klaas was willing to give for this interview, some of his precious time during this special visit. With this article we tried to propagate Klaas pleasure in keeping fancy pigeons and as such hope this interview will be interesting and valuable for pigeon fanciers in the Netherlands and abroad. For more information about the (American) Giant Homer: Schoonheidspostduivenclub SPC Nederland Website: Secretariaat: Sytze de Bruine Burg. Dusarduynstraat 7, 4551 SV Sas van Gent NEDERLAND tel. **31 (0) sdebruine1@zeelandnet.nl American Giant Homer Accosiation AGHA Website President: Clifton Padgett 1841 Trail Rd., Chapman, KS USA Tel. (785) / pailoans@aol.com Sonderverein der Giant Homer Freunde Vors.: Alfred Schwanitz, Ostrauer Weg 12, Barchstedt, Duitsland. Tel (0) For more information about the Old Dutch Turbit: Oudhollandse Meeuwclub Website: Secr.: J.P. Kastelein, Geersdijkseweg 13, 4494 NJ Geersdijk. The Netherlands Tel. **31 (0) Sonderverein der Züchter Altholländischer Mövchen von 1960 Vors.: Rainer Bertlich, Dorstener Strasse 1, Herten, Germany Tel. **44 (0) Copyright 2009 Aviculture-Europe. All rights reserved by VBC