I reckon that my own strain of high flying Tumblers that I keep now and the
3 strains of Tipplers that I used to keep many years ago had much in common.
They are, or were, typical of the general issue of highflying kit pigeons.
There are days when my pigeons rise to such a ridiculously high altitude
that I worry. Up there in the haze or behind clouds I wonder whether or not
I will ever see them again.
Once these pests acquire the taste for pigeon flesh, it is on the top of
their menu. It's the same with rats and cats, which will go to any extremes
to get at the pigeons.
This is a poor diagnosis but whatever it really is, it has showed up in wide
spread areas of England, especially with Rollers and the general so called
issue of Fancy pigeons.
Typically young pigeons die between the age of 1 week and 3 weeks old. The
parents seem not to be effected.
Tippler pigeon contests, for duration of time on the wing started in and
around Sheffield England about 150 years ago. At the same time men from
other areas of England started up with Tipplers. The nearest hotbed area to
Sheffield was Macclesfield., only one hour in the rail train. Hence a
rivalry between the two old English towns.
Friends, it does not matter to me, if you want to try for world records,
national records, club records or your own personal top time on the honor
system or simply flying for your own pleasure.
The old English Macs were floaters. So were the Polish Orliks, Ukraine
Skycutters, Bok and several other breeds of European high flyers. High
flyers they certainly were when the atmosphere was conducive.
The pigeons that I now keep are certainly floaters and after 25 years of
selective breeding I would reckon that they are of my own strain.
Tippler men of Sheffield would meet in one of several pubs and commiserate
about the previous Sunday contest fly. These typical old English pubs with
sawdust on the floors, brass and copper spittoons, tobacco smoke and the
reek of old English Ale.
Many Tipplers fly extremely well and put in some excellent times, but yet
get disqualified due to lack of control. They fail to respond to the
droppers, no matter whether flown into darkness, or not. In my humble
opinion, backed up with some experience, these nervous and highly-strung
tipplers are the ones that are most likely to win.
Our own magazine, 'Feathered World' is as good as the Editor can make it.
Not much is written about the behaviour of 'pigeons and fowl' - for which
the magazine exists.
Due to TV a vast number of people have become grossly interested in animal,
bird, reptile and insect behaviour.
