After a false spring, once agian we get a backlash of severe winter weather, heavy snow and -6 degrees C overnight. So far I have been very lucky, my Indian pairs are doing a good job of keeping young and eggs tightly covered. Early March was shirt-sleeve weather and we were enjoying tea/coffee in the garden listening to the song of Blackbirds, Thrushes and finches such as Goldfinch and Chaffinch, etc. So what went wrong, is this true global warming, as we reach for our thermal clothing once more?
Many thanks to Darrin Ring, one of our Irish members, for a long newsy letter. Darrin has been breeding Indian Fantails for a few years now and says how much he really enjoys his time spent with them.
Darrin has put ten pairs of Indians together during the first week of February, nine pairs laid two eggs each within two weeks and pair number ten are still thinking about it! One pair of 06-bred birds walked away from their eggs within five days but have since laid two more eggs. Darrin had twelve of the 16 remaining eggs hatch around 10/12 March which, I might add, is a very good average, showing the fertility rate to be high. Darrin also states that he does not over trim his birds. At the same time last year, Darrin used the same system with 13 pairs of Indians and did not get a single egg until the middle of April? He reckons Mother Nature is the boss at the end of the day, in case we forget! Darrin says his Indian stud is based on birds from the lofts of Roger Smith, Vic Sylvester and Simon Shaw and he is very grateful to these fanciers and keeps in regular contact. Thanks again Darrin, maybe you could send me a photo or two of your Indians sometime, as we all enjoy seeing what is being bred around the lofts of our BIFC members.
Just before the winter returned, on 14 March, I had a trio of Indian fanciers pay me a visit. The ringleader was my old friend Colin Jones, who is a Master Breeder of English Long Faced Tumblers and has a stud of international fame. What isn't so well known is the fact that Colin and Linda have also helped me during the early years with my Indian outcrosses by collecting pigeons of rare colours on their travels, eg my first silver qualmond came from a trip they made to Bonny Scotland.
