Acquiring and Selecting Stock Birds - Marshall Duncan

     If the Performing Birmingham Roller has become your hobby of choice, let me be the first to tell you, if you haven’t heard this before.  You’ve chosen one of, if not THE most complex of all pigeon breeds.  If you’re up for a challenge, well my friend, you’ve found it!  The good thing is; the challenges never end, there’s always room for improvement, there’s no such thing as the “perfect” Performing Birmingham Roller, there’s that overwhelming sense of Pride and Achievement when you win a contest, and most importantly, the enduring friendships and life-long camaraderies are unmatched.  This just scratches the surface of the hundreds of positives that come along with breeding and flying Performing Birmingham Rollers.

     There are lots of ways to acquire stock birds and there is no proper way to do it.  But there are certain avenues to take that will help you avoid some of the inherent pitfalls that come along with starting out from “ground-one”.  If you have the luxury of tapping into a good gene pool from a reputable fancier, you’re already ahead of the game.  But remember, it’s still always good practice to see the birds perform, and then choose accordingly.  Breeding solely from one particular family is a good way to get started.  It can help you get to know the characteristics of your chosen family of birds, and can help keep unwanted characteristics to a minimum.  But it also limits you to one gene pool, which in turn, can limit your advancement in generations to come.  Personally, I would spend as much time as possible reading, asking questions, and watching other teams, before actually going out and purchasing my first breeders.

     PERFORMANCE is always first and foremost, and should always be the basis of selection.  Although “type” is a very important tool, being able to read type and expression on a Performing Birmingham Roller usually takes years of experience.  But don’t get discouraged, all the experience will come with time, as long as you keep an open mind, and are aware that there’s always lots to learn in this hobby/sport.

     Keep in mind that the Performing Birmingham Roller usually has to fly through it’s second season of maturity before it can be considered as showing a true display of it’s performing potential.  The obvious aspects to look for in a good Roller would be how frequently the bird performs, and how deep it can hold the roll and still maintain it’s composure within the team.  But there are more intricate details to the Performing Birmingham Roller.  The two major ones are recognizing superior velocity and recognizing good style within the roll.  “Superior velocity” is defined as “spinning with inconceivable speed”, and I think that’s the ultimate goal to shoot for.  “Style” is defined as a combination of balance while performing, and most importantly, wing placement.  Wing placement and balance are usually noticed after what we call “The Awe Factor” is realized.  (witnessing such a feat, as a little athletic pigeon actually spinning with inconceivable speed, in unison with it’s team mates, with style and depth can easily leave a person in “awe”).  At this time you can settle yourself down and begin to actually take notice of all the components that are included in recognizing a true champion spinner.

     Wing placement has a pretty wide realm.  And the birds are graded on how the wings are positioned within this realm while performing.  The bottom of this realm is when the wings are held straight out in an “axle” position (very undesired).  The top of the realm is when the wings are held directly over-head and almost touching each other (most desired).  Then there’s that rare exception.  That would be for the bird to hold it’s wings so high as they appear to touch each other on the top and the bottom of the stroke and appear to “tuck”.  This coupled with superior velocity and balance, gives the illusion of a blur with no wing action seen at all.  These are rare, and once you’ve witnessed one, you’ll never forget it!  A description of what to look for is always good, but to witness a true Spinning Birmingham Roller first-hand, is worth a thousand words!

     In selecting stock birds, my experience has been that selecting from four or five different families, no more, will give you ample gene pools to work with.  This will allow you room to mold your own family of Rollers by selectively narrowing down the gene pool to fit your needs, with time and proper selection.  Try to pair the birds so that they compliment each other, both physically, and by their performing characteristics.  Try to fly the young as long as possible, hopefully into or through their second season, and then bring only the BEST back into the breeding loft.  There is no “type standard” for the Performing Birmingham Roller, because like most athletes, performance is where the emphasis lies.  But, following is a list of points to consider after you’ve ascertained that the bird in question performs well enough to be considered in your breeding program.

1. A short, athletic looking body is most desired.  The overall look should resemble a little gymnast.  (you wouldn’t
   recruit a Suma wrestler for a gymnastics team!).

2. A hard body.  Feel for muscling around the keel and down the back between the wings.

3. Look for a relatively small bird with enough muscle to be considered “strong”.

4. The keel bone should be short and flow with the body, ending near the vent bones.  Without protruding or
   feeling out of place or proportion.

5. The eyes should be brilliant and sharp, with well-defined lines.

6. I prefer a little “shadow” at the forward bottom of the pupil.  (This is a personal preference of mine.  In the families
   I’ve worked with, this usually indicates that the bird can display depth in the roll).

7. The pupil should easily “flex” or contract when introduced to light, and easily dilate or return to it’s original state
   when taken out of the sunlight.

8. The bird should appear to be alert but not nervous or “spooky”.  He should carry himself as if
   he can “take on the world”!

9. Look for a relatively short wing, displaying short and narrow secondary feathers.

10. The wing tips should almost meet the end of the tail when standing.

11. The tail feathers should stack one on top of the other, to appear as one feather when viewed from the top.

12. A bird that stands on it’s tip toes occasionally and appears to stick it’s chest out at you is always a good sign,
    and is much desired. 

   The bird should look balanced overall with nothing appearing to be out of proportion.  If you pay close attention to the performance factor of the birds, and apply as many of the aforementioned points to your breeder selection as you can, you should do well in this sport!