High-flying Nikolaev pigeons

1988

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Nikolaev pigeons are an old breed that was bred in the south of Ukraine, in the city of Nikolaev. It is not known exactly where their circleless ancestors came from. It is believed that pigeons appeared as a result of crossing breeds brought by sailors from Italy and the Middle East, with local wild birds. Initially, doves were bred for meat, but over time they began to be appreciated for their beautiful planning. According to the current classification, pigeons are classified as high-flying, circleless breeds.

Content

Appearance description
Pigeon colors
Flight features
Features of keeping and breeding
Varieties of breeds

Nikolaev pigeons

Appearance description

The body structure of Nikolaev pigeons is special, which affects the beauty of planning. The feathers on the wings and tail are elastic and wide, which allows them to catch air currents well. On the body, the plumage is dense, dense and smooth, tight-fitting and creating a streamlined shape. The tail and wings are very mobile, and the skeleton is light.

The characteristic, standard and full description of the appearance of the pigeons are as follows:

The body is 38-40 cm long.
The angle between the body and the flat surface is 45 °.
The head is rounded, slightly tapering and lengthening in front.
The forehead merges smoothly into the crown.
The backbone is not pronounced, with a smooth transition to the neck.
The eyes are small, they can be golden, orange, straw, brown and even black, depending on the color of the plumage.
The beak is medium or long, but proportional to the head, thin, slightly curved at the tip, shade from horny to dark gray, small wax.
The neck is short, plump (thinner in females than in males) with a rather lush collar.
The chest is widened, slightly convex, with powerful muscles.
The back is widened at shoulder level, straight, elongated, in the back is in line with the tail.
The wings are rather long, closed, with wide feathers, converging at the tips on the tail, but do not reach its end. The wing is not pressed tightly to the body.
The tail is wide, with 12-16 tail feathers, elongated, even and straight. At rest, it tightly closes, at a height it opens like a fan. The plumage is elastic and lush.
Legs are short, without plumage, red-orange.

Pigeons of the Nikolaev breed have a very lively temperament. They are active, always striving for the sky, while easily adapting to any conditions, they are quickly tamed.

Pigeon colors

Separately, it should be said about the coloring of pigeons of this breed. Since the selection was carried out according to flying qualities, using folk methods, little attention was paid to the plumage.

Birds are very diverse. Now white pigeons are highly valued, they are more expensive, as they look magnificent and elegant. But other colors are no less beautiful - colored doves are gaining popularity more and more.

So, Nikolaev pigeons can boast of the following plumage colors:

Solid: white, black, red, ash, blue, yellow, a shade of fresh cement. The tone should be uniform, only in blue, ash and cement a dark belt is allowed.
Nikolaev colored white-tailed pigeons.The shades are the same, only the tails or extreme feathers on them are white.
Pockmarked - white mixed with any other.
Lateral or shield - the body of the pigeons is white, the wings are red, black, blue or yellow.
Variegated or dusky, dark or light. In dark doves, the main body tone has any color; white specks are scattered over it. In light ones, the main feather is white, and specks of any of the possible shades. Sometimes the colors are of the marbled type. The tail is white, the extreme feathers are colored, the edging is sometimes visible on the wings.
Martins are white birds that have colored spots on the head (red, black, yellowish, gray, blue), cheeks, shoulders and back. Flight feathers are completely colored or white alternating with dark ones.
Mane are completely white pigeons with a dark spot on the back of the head.

The beak, eyes, wax and paws change their color in accordance with the color. Mixing different types of colors is considered unacceptable. For example, the appearance of white blotches in solid pigeons or insufficiently clear spots in variegated ones.

Flight features

The hovering styles of the Nikolaev pigeons are very different. Butt ends are valued most of all, but they are very rare. The fact is that butterfly flight has become popular among amateur pigeon breeders in recent decades. The selection of birds went exactly in this direction, and the end qualities began to be lost.

Nikolaev pigeons fly very high. They can rise into the sky to a flickering point or completely disappear from the field of view. They rise straight up, without circles, they have enough space for takeoff of 1.5-4 m. They fly alone, and not in a flock. Land in a diameter of 4-10 m from the take-off point. They can stay in the air for 2 to 10 hours.

Considering the flight styles, birds are divided into the following species:

Nikolaev end pigeons. They fly up sharply, in a strict vertical plane, and hover high in the sky as a flickering point. In flight, the wings are set to each other at an angle of 90 °.
Nikolaev butterflies. During takeoff, they constantly flutter their wings, do not stop and do not hover in the air, the tail straightens well. The angle between the wings in flight is 30 °.
Nikolaev lark pigeons. Quite a simple flight style. Like butterflies, they flutter their wings, which strongly resembles the flight of a lark (hence the name). Unlike the previous species, the larks hover at a height. The wings are set perpendicular to the body.
Sickle pigeons of the Nikolaev breed. This type of flight differs significantly from the previous ones; altitude for it is not the most important characteristic. Crescent Doves fly horizontally, and do not rise up, like the rest of the breed. In flight, their wing bends in a beautiful arc (hence the name - sickle pigeons).

The flight styles of real Nikolaev pigeons largely influence their market and sports valuation. The first place is occupied by the Nikolaev end pigeons, then there is the style of butterflies. Crescent Doves are valued lower, as they do not rise to great heights. There is even a dispute whether such birds are racing or high-flying. The lark style is considered the weakest, such individuals are sometimes not even allowed to breed.

For birds to fly well, they need regular training.

Features of keeping and breeding

The Nikolaev breed of domestic pigeons is not whimsical at all, therefore its maintenance and feeding is available even to beginners. A standard dovecote should be made for birds. It is advisable to equip it in a separate building in the yard so that the pigeons have a comfortable roof for takeoff. Inside they put perches, equip nesting places, windows for departure.

You can feed the Nikolaev pigeons twice a day: at dawn and before sunset. In summer, birds can get their own food on their own. The diet consists of legumes (yellow peas, vetch, lentils), wheat, flax, rapeseed, acorns. Small amounts are given oats, barley, boiled potatoes.It is important to make sure that the pigeons do not get better, otherwise they will lose their flying qualities. Increased feeding is necessary for birds during the period of incubation and rearing of chicks.

Breeding of Nikolaev pigeons also does not cause any special problems. Winged puberty occurs at 4-5 months. At this time, the male and female are placed in a closed box so that they create a pair. Before pairing, mature pigeons must not be released in flight so that they do not mix with other breeds or wild birds. The female lays 2-3 eggs 14 days after mating. Hatching eggs lasts 16-19 days. The breed does not have any problems with feeding chicks.

All flying breeds need adequate training, pigeons of the Nikolaev breed are no exception. It begins when the chicks are fully fledged, at 30-45 days. Pigeons are trained from April to October. It is advisable to release young birds together with mature birds that have good flight styles. Pigeons are released in the morning when the sun is fully up. The first workouts should not last more than an hour. All data are carefully recorded in order to select the best birds over time.

Varieties of breeds

Nikolaev cloud-cutters are often used to breed other breeds. These pigeons differ in appearance and flight style. Some breeds have evolved from high flying to racing. Others had a fight during the flight. Very often, the owners are afraid to release and train birds, since the losses are quite large (12-47%), so the feathered flyer gradually began to turn into a decorative pet.

On the basis of Nikolaevskaya, the following breeds were bred:

Kirovograd circleless. They are small in size, belong to the race.
Kharkov circus racers with velvet plumage.
Melitopol high-flying, inflated and standard.
Mariupol or Zhdanov battle.
Ochakovsky sickle pigeons.
Rostov stately (moved in Russia from the category of flying to decorative).
Kiev's forelock light, or fireflies, are also now considered decorative.
Donetsk sickle and high flying pigeons.
East Ukrainian racing.

Colors, style and quality of flight, structural features, sizes are different for all breeds. Unfortunately, Nikolaev high-flying pigeons and breeds, in the creation of which they participated, are now losing their purity. Butt ends have become a rarity in general, some breeders say that such a flight no longer exists.

Pigeon breeding is no longer as popular as it was several decades ago. Nowadays, there are few breeders who know how to train birds well, therefore they lose their unique years.