Today in Bucharest as well as in the near past if somehow you are lucky enough not to be surrounded by block of flats , you certainly are surrounded by 3-4 floors houses. As you cannot build a place for your pigeons to stand as high as a block they will stand most of the time on the block or houses in the neighbourhood. This can generate possible arguments. The fact that the Romanian breed pigeons have a ,,butterfly flight,,is very well known they being different from other pigeons that get down diving.
During the communist period entire areas of blocks have been built the house areas disappearing . Many breeders gave up and slowly the numbers of pigeons of Romanian breed( bred and selected in Bucharest and its surroundings) became fewer and fewer till they almost disappeared. It is the case of the cherry coloured pigeons .If over 25 years ago Feliciu Bonatiu wrote in his book,, Romanian pigeon breed,, ,,today the cherry coloured pigeons are bred in big cages for their beauty,, it is obvious that the flight of these pigeons diminished. As these pigeons have been bred and selected to fulfill the specific features of the breed, it is desirable to try and preserve these features their improvement and if possible, eliminating the deficiencies, trying to get a lot as homogenous as possible. This trial will be a success by suitable pairings but if you lose valuable pigeons when flying it is difficult to replace them their number being small already. So here are the premises that made this pigeons to be today for ornament only. But how beautiful they are ! Silky features, metal brightness, the cherry colour and the whiteness of a wide open tail ….with frames in the wings sticked to the body, the tops being under the tail with the white collar around the neck, with the small square head with rounded corners with white beak and orange eyes..short-legged with the curved chest.
Of course I,m not for the breeding of the cherry colour ones in big cages , but unfortunately under the present conditions in Bucharest this is to be preffered or better said it,s happening. ! Once the number is increased having a group of reproducers, I will accomplish a flight group.
I hope that I soon can present white cherry pigeons for flight. I have written these lines to be understood that you have to adapt yourself to the existing conditions and under any conditions, to try and succed in continuing the breed.
But the features of the breed must be preserved.I had the chance to talk with old breeders people that are born and grown among the Romanian breed pigeons, people that carry their own experience on their back and that of their predecessors the creators of the breed.I,m sorry I,m not one of them. In exchange I am trying a better improvement being careful with details and stealing profession.And when you take it to your heart it is impossible not to manage. When you do something out of love and passion the results may come late but they will certainly come.Coming to know my own cherry coloured pigeons, coming to see and know different cherry coloured ones, I saw that there are enough deficiencies with the standard in Feliciu Bonatiu,s book ,,the Romanian Pigeon Breed,,
Of course, not even this great Romanian breeder could know everything nobody could pretend that he would . We have to learn all the time and I,m not ashamed to learn day by day a little something from anyone. I don,t have the absolute truth, I don,t even think of it. But… the cherry coloured pigeons must have ,, the nut,, mustn,t have drawers and other such details maybe smaller but which in a long run make the differences between a good pigeon and one of real value.
Many breeders in Bucharest and other places know this things for sure. I started with good pigeons especially in colours and step by step I managed to get superior pigeons.But this doesn,t mean that I will stop here. On the contrary. The history is written by all of us every minute of our life. I allow myself with all the modesty and my consideration for the old breeders, to make a few appreciations of the white cherry coloured pigeons.
It is important for you to know where you are coming from what you are tending towards and wher are you at a certain moment. Because I love this bred I keep on going to their perfection perfectioning myself first. You cannot cease learning about something that you really love. I have started my way with pigeons acceptable from the standard point of view. I have soon realize that out of pigeon with medium genetic luggage can be a pigeon over medium only by chance . This pigeon should be preserved and its beauty should be valued but this is a not enough.it is preferable to breed pigeons with a good genetic luggage and this way the results will be closer to the expectations.This is how I did, eliminating (out of the breed , not physically) the pigeons less successful and keeping the ones that wore at a greater extent the most of the features of the breed. You have to take into account that when you mate two pigeons you mate in fact the grandparents and grandgrandparents of each one of them That is why I tried to find out as much as I could what is behind each pigeon that I have from the genetic point of you.That is why I have strict evidence in the breed, including the pigeon that I don,t have anymore.I am for the breeding of a smaller group but fenotipically more homogenous . As long as this present numbers of cherry coloured pigeons are dramatically diminished, as long as from different reasons the cherry coloured pigeons mated pigeons of other breeds but very much alike such as brown ones tumbler white tail of Romania today the work of selection is very hard to be done. It was difficult before, too, that is why the old ones said that the cherrycoloured pigeon is the cursed feather.but what is easy today? And the more difficult and sometimes maybe discouraging the way to the success the greater the satisfaction.But what kills you strengthen you and that is why .I have always gone straight head! Sometimes discouraged other times disappointed , but always with determination.
