|
THE COTSWOLD QUILLThe Newsletter of the Cotswold Pheasant and Poultry ClubIssue 31
December 2011
Chairman’s
Chatter After an extremely mild autumn it appears winter has finally
arrived, with frosty mornings and the possibility of a dusting of snow soon. Walking my local fields with the dog I couldn’t
believe how many wild flowers were still in bloom in the first weeks of November. These included both White and Red Clover,
Hop Trefoil, Ox-eye Daisy, Meadow Cranesbill, Hogweed, White Deadnettle and several annual weeds such as Shepherds Purse,
Groundsel and Speedwell. All these are usually dormant by October. The other side of the coin is that the wild birds have
been slow to take up the offer of free food supplied in our garden feeders. This should change as the colder weather begins
to make natural food sources difficult to locate.The
AGM was well attended in October and the officers of the club gave their annual reports. One issue that came up was the general
financing of the club. We attend exhibitions throughout the summer and this helps to keep the membership fee at a low level.
Without support from more of the membership we may have to curtail the amount of exhibitions we attend with the inevitable
consequence of a rise in subscriptions, so it is up to you.During the talk about Owl Pigeons in September, Simon Harvey was busy judging eggs for a mini egg show. The results
of this are included at the back of the newsletter.Our
November meeting was the Knock-out of Birds Competition the results of which are on page 4. Our Annual Members Show will be
held on Sunday, January 29th 2012, at the Cricklade Town Hall. At the AGM Simon Harvey agreed to be Show Secretary so let’s give him all our support by
entering a lot of good quality birds. The schedule and entry form is included with this issue. All that remains is to wish
you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.Ken
Cservenka editor and chairman Thoughts & Tips of a Show Judge Over lunch at
last years show I was handed a piece of paper with the thoughts and tips from the judges and their stewards.The show, they all agreed; a fantastic job by Steve!All agreed, pen training essential. Definitely no mites or lice, dirty vents,
long nails or spurs. No unofficial leg rings and don’t leave a box with your name on it under the pen.Don’t ever give food or water before judging, or until judging is complete.Never speak to the judge or attempt to influence him or her
during judging. Cleanliness essential, use nail brush on legs and rub Vaseline onto them after washing. White birds may benefit
from the use of Glo-white.Definitely no cheating:
No boot polish, marker pen, lipstick or anything to enhance the colour.Don’t panic if one feather is damaged it may still do well.Remember to present the bird at its best and pen trained.Important to walk away from the show knowing that you have done the best that you can. Rat bait and Poultry equipment.The club has now secured an alternative supplier and we are
now able to source most products. We will keep you informed of any further developments. Rat
Bait is now available for CPPC members only.
Contact Kathy Harrison for delivery to the next Club Meeting or to
arrange personal
collection from Cirencester – weekends only.
German Owl Pigeons For our September meeting, members, John Marfleet and Ray Parkes gave us a talk about Pigeons.First of all a bit of biology, pigeon’s only lay two eggs
per clutch and they rear their young by feeding them with crop milk for the first ten days or so and thereafter regurgitated
corn . All domestic pigeons, including those for racing and the diverse fancy breeds on display this evening are descendants
of the wild Rock Dove Columba livia. These live and breed on cliffs around our shores and it is said that only those
in the remotest corner of North-west Scotland are pure, as the artificial colours and types bred by man have diluted the purity of the wild stock.
You only have to look at the feral pigeons in our towns and cities to see the different colour patterns usually associated
with racing pigeons. Having said that, many of the Pigeons/ Rock Doves seen around our coasts are displaying characteristics
of their wild ancestors, with the white rump being the most obvious. The Old German Owl has a small
almost round head, with a low shell crest around the back of the neck finishing with a tight rosette at each side.The beak is short with a light coloured cere and the eyes are
full and bright. The breast is full and rounded and the neck should have a well developed frill. The general appearance is
of a proud bird with breast held well forward.The
body colour is white and the shield marked varieties should have 10 white flight feathers and a thumb print size white mark
on the wing. They are available in numerous
different colours, including Black, Silver, Cream and White.There are quite a number of other owl breeds such as Chinese Owls, English Owls, Old German Owls, Polish Owls
and African Owls, the latter having an exceptionally short beak. Another variety of owl is the Oriental Frill that originated
in Turkey.
These also have a short beak, with feathered legs and lacing being two essential features. John displayed
a selection of Old German Owls and an Oriental Frill. Competition Tipplers, as opposed
to Exhibition and Show Tipplers which are bred for exhibition, are the endurance athletes of the pigeon world bred for their
ability to fly for many continuous hours above their loft with the record being around 22 hours non-stop. There are still
competitions where the judge remains at the Fancier’s Loft for the duration of the fly and, if the birds remain out
of sight for more than 5 minutes and do not all land within 5 minutes of being called down they can be disqualified. As
you can imagine they require intensive training which includes returning to their loft in the dark, guided by artificial lights.
Tumblers are the largest group of fancy pigeons
and although they were originally bred to tumble or roll over backwards in flight, they have been recorded as existing in
India
in the 16th century, though the greater majority of the Group have been bred for generations solely for exhibition.
Charles Darwin mentioned them in his book “Origin of Species”. They have exotic sounding breed names such as Iranian
Highflying Tumbler, Felegazer Tumbler, Kormornor Tumbler and the Australian Performing Tumbler. Many like the Budapest, Viennese
and Berlin Tumblers derive their names from their place of origin. Ray displayed examples of Budapest, which have bulging eyes and
a head like ET, and Viennese, which have red eye ceres and square heads. Both these breeds are known as ‘short face’
Tumblers due to their short beaks There is a general misconception that the short face breeds are
unable to feed their young, but this myth has been dispelled to the satisfaction of the European governing body, that had
come under pressure from authorities that wanted to ban them. While short face breeds of tumbler are not
generally as reliable at rearing their own young as long face or long-beaked breeds, many will rear one or both of their young
and can be assisted, if required, by ‘topping-up the smaller of the chicks for a few days after the crop milk has ended.
It is not that they are incapable of feeding their young, but their young are slower to wean and they get fed up doing
so. If given a long face chick they will rear it successfully. Many continental breeders use a long face
breed as feeders to maximise the number of young and usually give the short face one or more long face chick to rear so safeguarding
their ‘parenting abilities’. Ray then displayed a Pygmy Pouter which is one of the Cropper
breeds bred purely for exhibition and displayed wooden carvings done by a Polish friend showing the ‘ideal type’
of those 3 breeds. The Pouter or Cropper breeds have been bred to detailed written standards and unless they blow (i.e. inflate
their crops) when being judged they cannot display the ideal type and will inevitably be passed-over. Many of the Cropper
breeds have relatively long slender legs and should blow or inflate their crops to project well in front of the head and display
the respective required shape, a perfect globe in the case of the Pygmy.Additional information courtesy Ray Parkes Chris Green then gave a short
talk on Fife Canaries. These were thought to be made around 1957 by crossing Border Canaries with Gloucester Canaries. They
come in many different colours .AGM
Balance Sheet Query Some of you queried the
entry on the financial statement, ‘cages sales … £0’.No cages were sold during the period covered by the statement and the entry wasleft on the template from the previous year.Chook Racing Margaret’s friend and one time member of the club, Ruth, sent the following snippet from ‘Countryfile
Magazine. How she obtained it is almost as funny as the item.Hi Margaret
I thought you’d like to see this about “HEN RACING”Sorry about its condition, I tried to tear it out of the magazine at the hospital but the old dear
sat next to me was peeping at me.I thought the
Cotswold Club would like to do this at an open day. Article below!HEN RACINGPut your
money on the Columbian Blacktail. Every August, The World Hen Racing Championships comes to the Peak District village of Bonsall in Derbyshire. Anyone with a hen can enter, but only hens hatched and reared
in Derbyshire are eligible to race. Competition along the 9m (30ft) track in this sport of wings can be fierce, but not all
hens manage to navigate the entire course; sometimes none do, in which case the one which makes it farthest wins. The races,
held in the Barley Mow Pub, must be conducted in silence so that the birds are not distracted from their challenge. www.barleymowbonsall.co.uk
Article courtesy Countryfile Magazine Handy
Tip Feather PeckingAt an exhibition the conversation came around to the subject of feather pecking in birds over one
year old and running free range. The usual answers were forthcoming such as removing the culprit and giving them something
to do, such as pecking at the upturned remains of a cabbage stump and leaves. Margaret Saunders came up with her tip to cover the affected area with Vick. Yes, the chest rub
remedy for colds. Apparently, the birds don’t like the taste and stop feather pecking. It also works for self pecking
too. For Sale Polyhatch Incubator,
42 hen eggs, Automatic turn. £125Graham Harvey. 01793 784965 Galavanised
trap cage - mink, squirrel size £10.00Larger galvanised trap cage - rabbit, cat size £15.00Professionally made carrying case for four bantams lightweight German model £35.00I
can bring these to the next meeting.Ray Parkes Tel. 01242 232821 Club Diary Dates CPPC Annual Members
ShowSunday 29th January 2012 Wednesday 8th FebruaryTalk on Runner Ducks with live propsMike Hatcher. Wednesday 14th MarchTalk on TurkeysPeter Hayford Show Dates 17 & 18th December 2011: National Federation of Poultry Clubs Show.Staffordshire County
Showground 2nd January 2012: Hants and Berks Members Show, Whitchurch. Schedule from Kay Roadnight, 01962
771156 Show Results I didn’t attend Whitchurch in October or The National Poultry Club Show at Stoneleigh so I
was hoping I would get a report from one of our members.If
you attend a show please make a note of achievements by club members. I am not asking you to write the article as I can do
that if you just give me results. Knock of Birds Competition As usual this was held in November but sadly entries were down
compared to previous years with only two junior entries and no ducks.The junior class was first to be judged with the only entries being an Old English Game Bantam and a Light Brahma.
The Old English Game was judged the winner so well done to Teegan Howse for entering the winning bird and gaining the junior
trophy.In the senior class a Tuzo met a Sumatra
Game in the first round with the latter being the victor. The Sumatra Game went on to defeat a Sebright and a Blue-laced Wyandotte before being knocked out of the competition by an Australorp. The Australorp reigned supreme against
a Serama and a Gold-laced Brahma Bantam before coming up against an Ancona Bantam. The Ancona Bantam knocked out of the competition
a Welsummer Bantam followed by a Buff Rock, Sicilian Buttercup, Old English Game Bantam, German Langshan, Cuckoo Barbu D’Anvers
and another Sebright.Well done to Mark Hammond
for winning the trophy for the senior section with his Ancona Bantam and then achieving best bird in the competition and winning
the overall trophy. The
Website
From the President’s Perch Here
we are at the end of one year and the beginning of another, a tight financial one just gone and now it looks like a tighter
one to come. The probability is this means that we will all have to look at our pennies a little more than we would like?
Less birds will be kept and young ones reared, be a bit more ruthless on what we kill off, like the ones that we had hoped
might get better as they grew up. It will lead to saving on food bills and other costs, it may mean that we shall not be able
to go to so many shows and exhibitions that we would like to do. It may mean that we will have more time to devote to less
number of birds and our standards may rise. I do hope no one gives up keeping their birds and I also hope that as many of
you will enter our Club Show in January. That
is the gloomy bits dealt with, now the happier bits. This year’s programme of meetings looks to be one of the best,
covering a wide range of subjects and for this we must thank Margaret Gardner for all her hard work including the frustration
of trying to get hold of the possible speakers. Thank you Margaret. Now to finish off with wishing you all a Happy Christmas
and a Very Prosperous New Year.
Neil. The present committee:
President | Neil Harvey | | Chairman and Editor (Cotswold Quill) | Ken
Cservenka | | Vice- Chairman andExhibition
Secretary | John Smith | | Treasurer | Kathleen Harrison | | Secretary | Margaret
Gardner | | Show Secretary | Simon Harvey | | Trophy Steward | Charlie Berry | | Webmaster | Jules
Reading | | Committee: | Don Vines | | | Margaret Saunders | | | Dennis Norvill | | | John Marfleet | | | Richard
Barrow | | | Wayne Mc Shane | | | | | | |
The views expressed in this
Newsletter by individual contributors are not necessarily those of the club committee. Editorial Deadline for next issueSaturday
February 25th 2012(01285) 656480ken.cservenka@sky.com venka@sky.com
|
