OBTAINING WELL BRED BIRDS
by Jim Emerton
Yer pays yer money yer takes yer choice, yet there are many ways to obtain birds of good origin. I will spend money on what appears to be a specimen introduction, and have done so in the past. Now I have a UK/Irish network, where the founding principle is strain development and the exchange of pigeons at carriage cost. All the birds are long distance/marathon genes and with the proper techniques some will sprint too. We do not go to the vendors on the continent, although some of the birds have some Belgian and Dutch ancestry. The fact is that there are great birds/fanciers in the UK - why pay a fortune to line a dealer’s pocket??? Chris Booth of York is my key person in the supply network and does a great job. It is like an extended brotherhood of dedicated men, where the key is improvement up to Barcelona International level - we all get our kicks from it.
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Elimar - May 2014
