TRENDS IN PIGEON SALES

 

Although no pure ones bred by Aarden exist the name is promulgated by commercial publicity. All racing pigeons today are of diverse and assorted origins, in the evolution of the types we see today. Some popular human names, as references survive for very many years such as Stichelbaut/Janssen/Vandenabeele and Busschaert. We hear very little of Logan/Osman/Gits and Barker now. It is adverts, articles, publicity and the spoken word that generate fame in the popular pigeon consciousness of the day. I have put 39 years of inbreeding into my strain, housed at people’s lofts and they are still impure. The modern, continental trend is to exchange birds amongst enthusiasts and friends from the good birds of the day and I have indulged in this practice. A good bird is the result of the person who tests it out in practical breeding and racing and I follow a strict policy in this regard. Whatever the trend and whatever the name of the origin, very few racing and breeding champions are bred and sold - It is a sobering REALITY of the sport. Men of dreams search for the elusive champion and thus fashions and trends are born and we all become excited once more - Be shrewd in your purchases.

 

 

Jim Emerton

 

 

WHAT WE DO NOT SEE

 

Assuming that racing quality is in part dictated by the inner workings of the pigeon as a result of DNA and GENES and then at the moment we are blind to something profound. I would love science to isolate some genes that are linked to say long distance ability-to isolate and name them. Until this happens in horses and pigeons, then this complex world is concealed. Knowing something of my strain, I am most impressed by real breeders and racers, since great looking pigeons can be hopeless on both accounts. I regard this fact as being illuminating and very important for the novice to know, especially when looking at sales ads which work on your mind and senses. The Ferrari parked in the road might be without an engine! When a pigeon proves itself, I am satisfied that it is right inside and the DNA is good for purpose. It is all I need to see.

 

 

Jim Emerton

 

 

THE HUMAN ELEMENT IN PIGEON RACING

 

Good bloodlines of great origin abound at every distance that may interest you. With a shrewd eye they are easy to obtain and people love to covert them, to have, hold and collect them. Enthusiasm tends to be ephemeral and transient and thus thousands of birds change hands like quicksilver. Rare is the fancier today, who endures over aeons of chronological time and creates a strain of distinct birds, when outbreeding tends to be the modus operandi. Birds and man are mutually dependent on each other in a form of symbiosis. Believe me the key element in the equation is the person flying the pigeons. Man will fly and create the champion from selective breeding and racing-pigeons are easy to find, good practitioners - fanciers of real knowledge like Jim Biss - are rare. Personalities make the sport prosper and thrive around the globe, especially if they breed good producers.

 

 

Jim Emerton

 

 

 

INTEGRITY AND TRUST

 

Even with a DNA certificate, it may not always be the case that the bird is what you think it is. It pays to be wise and shrewd when deciding about birds and pigeons. In your own colony where you have tested and bred every bird, you can know a little of the background of the birds, especially reared in single pair flights. There are certain people who can be trusted to a large degree and they are often strain makers with a champion or two from back garden lofts, especially where money is not the modus vivendi and operandi. Not matter what the analysis is, your racing and breeding will prove the real value of the birds in the hands of the purist. I like the principle of exchanging birds of good breeding between apparent friends, yet still test them all, as the basket is a superior judge to man, who tends to pick on good looks and bias. My partner and I value any bird in the clock at Barcelona International - a house rule.

 

 

Jim Emerton