The breeding season has now come to an end for the majority of Fantail fanciers and, from the information I have received from various sources, I know that most of us have had a good year with lots of youngsters being bred. I hope the quality of your young Fantails pleases you and I am looking forward to seeing them at the forthcoming shows.
The first show for some of us is on 20 August at Catforth, near Preston. This is a chance to meet up, show some youngsters and have a good old chin-wag.
Most of our Fantails will be in the moult by the time you read these notes. It's the biggest pain in the butt for a Fantail fancier, with the loft looking a real mess with feathers everywhere and the birds looking like vultures. The moult can make a break a bird so extra time and effort needs to be put in by the fancier to ensure that the birds have a least stressful time as possible. Your birds need to be fit to have a good moult, but do not reduce the amount of food, vitamins and minerals you give them as they need all their energy at this time.
This is also the time of year when some hard decisions need to be made regarding which birds to retain and which birds to dispose of. The standard of Fantails in Great Britain has never been higher so anything with a small tail, bad legs or bad head setting should be put on the transfer list. If you keep saddles or tailmarks the difficult decision of which birds to retain is doubled due to the fact that its sod's law that the mismarked birds are sometimes of better type than the well-marked ones.
Let's hope that we see lots of top drawer birds at the shows - we all want to win but we must never want our own birds to win if there are better birds in the same class. Remember it's the best Fantail we want to win.
Some of my methods may be new or old to novices and experienced fanciers alike. They reflect my own experiences in working with Fantail pigeons. I have found that Fantails need to be trained before they are shown. The training phase actually begins when the birds have just left the nest and are able to fend for themselves.
The first thing I do is to cut the sides of the tail, just leaving six to eight centre tail feathers. A piece of masking tape is placed across the back of these feathers. This method has two advantages, firstly, the young Fantails learn to drop their flights down their sides and it stops them from learning the bad habit of placing their wings through the tail. Secondly the bird learns to place its head in the centre of the tail.
I also believe it important to handle the birds every day. This gets the birds accustomed to their owner. By placing them gently on the floor of an empty breeding pen, they learn to walk correctly and gracefully.
When the birds have fallen into a heavy body moult, the entire tail is pulled out to allow the feathers to all grow fully to adult size. By pulling the whole tail you are assured of it being ready in a certain time. While the tail is growing any sheaths that don't break out naturally should be broken out with your fingernail. With the tail feathers still in a soft condition the tail is laced up by hand and a piece of masking tape placed on the back of the tail. This process is repeated until the tail feathers are firmly set in place.
