Jack Barkel

Hello PJ, 1. The narrower the correlation the further the pigeon will fly, so as the correlation gets wider the birds capabilities tend to reduce in distances flown. However I prefer no step in the wing and the humerus bone no more than 1/4 inch from the body. This shows positive signs for a good all round racer. 2. Although not always accurate in assessing a good racer, it is usual for a good racer to show a lot of composite on the adaptation. As the distances get longer it is not as necessary as the short to middle distance. I hope you have no after effects from your car accident PJ. Kindest Regards jackbarkel@mweb.co.za http://mysite.mweb.co.za/residents/jackbarkel/

Hello Anthony, Because we have no idea what is the base colour of the bull eyed cock, it would be good practice always to pair it to a yellow eyed hen. This way we know for definite we are not putting two pearl eyes together. Regards Jack

Hello Spencer, I have shown here in the last couple of weeks the build up of a clear eye, I also showed a made up composite on the same eye. Please refer back to my previous pictures of the build up of the eye to answer that question. One may breed a winner from putting two pearls together, but continuous practice of this will bring deterioration to pigeons producing mostly birds with little homing ability and heavy losses. I have travelled to many top lofts in the world and can honestly say I have never found one without their share of yellow eyes in the stock loft. Therefore I can safely say I do not know of any top lofts that would engage in such a practice, but I myself strongly advise against it. To know how the modern day racing pigeon originated and to understand basic genetics, is to understand where our pigeon breeding is drifting to when we indulge in such practices. We may for a time increase speed and vitality, by pairing pearl to pearl, but stamina and homing ability will eventually be forfeited. This is one of the reasons why some lofts have to continually introduce an outcross. To line breed correctly one can keep the same family for twenty years or more without any outside introductions. This is part of my theory and many other top breeders in the world, which I have proved to many and I will certainly stick to it. No one needs to follow what I advise, but be warned of what I know to be the eventual consequences of such practices. Regards jackbarkel@mweb.co.za http://mysite.mweb.co.za/residents/jackbarkel/

Hello Ted, Yes in the stock loft you need as 50 / 50 as possible. Regards Jack

Hello Anthony, If you pair two yellows together, you will breed towards slower pigeons, therefore it is better to put yellow to pearl. This way you stand a better chance of producing pigeons with speed, vitality, stamina and homing ability. Regards Jack

Hello Anthony, You are correct, but I would try and pair a clear with 50% up to 100% composite. This will ensure that you will produce racer / breeders from such pairings. Regards Jack

Hello Tony, Eyes three and four are larger all round than 1 & 2 and 5 & 6. Therfore the pupils look larger in comparison. No 2 looks the smallest pupil because the eye is the smallest photo. They were all taken at seperate times and brought together as a collage. I agree the actual make up of the eye is more important than colour, for colour is based on the amount of light refraction they can absorb. I put these eyes up to show people what the difference is between a Pear and Yellow, and those we call a violet or a green. I do know of families where colour regularly shows the improvement of the quality of the bird in that particular family. Regards Jack

Hello All, I have submitted some examples of different samples of violets and greens. There are many eyes which have a semblance of these hues, but again I say it is all in the eye of the beholder. No 4. The Catalyst Eye, can be seen to have the iris of the pearl eye and the correlation of the yellow. Therefore it is neither yellow or pearl, but a split gene of the two. Many would name it a dominant violet, but there is no such thing. Violet only occurs in pearl eyes, and as we know all pearl eyes are recessive, therefore, there can be no such thing as a dominant violet. As soon as you hear or see of an eye sign person referring to dominant violets, you know immediately that he or she, is not up to the subject. Please keep the questions coming, as this gives me a chance to see where I need to further explain certain aspects to clarify how I see the eyes personally. Regards jackbarkel@mweb.co.za http://mysite.mweb.co.za/residents/jackbarkel/

The top two on the right are Cocks, No 1. is a Busschaert, and No 2. is a South African Slimme. They are not related in any way, and they are not violets. I will put up a collage of Violets soon and a coupke of green eyes. Regards Jack

Hello Stevie and All, The pearl is the recessive eye and is inherited from the fancy pigeons that was introduced into the homing pigeon. Therefore being recessive, when they are paired together they can never breed a dominant ( yellow ). They will also increase in speed and vitality, but will drastically reduce in homing ability. Therefore I would never pair two pearl eyed pigeons together. It shows a total lack of understanding of the whole concept. I would on occasions pair two yellows together, which would reduce the speed and vitality, but increase stamina and homing ability. I would put them together to produce extreme distance pigeons. If we pair a pearl eyed pigeon with a yellow eyed pigeon, depending on the quality of both selections, we should increase, speed, vitality, stamina, and intelligence. (homing ability ). Our striving is to include these four ingredients in the one bird. As I said prior to this, Nature or Genetics is constantly trying to return to normal the different characteristics that go to make the racing pigeon. ( GENETIC DRIFT ) With this understanding of genetic drift we can improve our breeding techniques at least 50% by applying all what we have discussed on this thread. I hope it will cause many of us to approach our breeding plan with a new zest and vigour to put right what many fanciers are unthinkingly or unknowingly putting wrong whenever they put a pair of racing pigeons together. jackbarkel@mweb.co.za http://mysite.mweb.co.za/residents/jackbarkel/

Hello Stevie, Here are some selected pairings as promised. Regards Jack

Yes Ted, The thicker the foundation the better the bird. Regards Jack

Hello Stevie, I will try and put some examples up sometime tomorrow, Monday. Regards Jack

Hello Ted, The correct terminoligy is rods, not tubes, whatever the length of these rods/tubes are the thickness of the correlation. Therefore the deeper they extend into the eye, the better foundation to build the rest of the genes on. Regards Jack

Article 5. Continued. All who are following this must now agree that the correlation is obviously the base circle. If we can agree on this, then maybe we can agree that some base circles are thicker or deeper than others. Then my theory of how the clusters come to be in the pupil of the eye is more easily to accept. If we agree that any base or foundation must be as strong as possible, then we can understand that the star cluster reveals a very strong genetic foundation in the eye. As I said previously many star clusters move to the outer edge of the pupil and merge with the inner edge of the correlation, which tells us that some birds with no visible star cluster may also have a very strong foundation. Be this as it may we can assume that all star clusters come from a family or part of a family with a strong foundation. I have many star clusters in my loft, but have found that if there is a very strong composite on the adaptation, then it seems to prevent the excess moving underneath the adaptation and dropping into the pupil. I believe I breed more star clusters than most, because of this realisation, leaving out any heavy composite or extra large adaptation when pairing to breed this characteristic in the eye. It has been said many times about eye sign people that they have selected a bird, and made a statement that it will never breed anything, and consequently the bird has produced some good quality pigeons. Because of this fact many have condemned eye sign people. I believe that those for and against on this account are making a gross mistake, for neither the critic or the evaluator have taken one moment to stop, think, and realise that there are two pigeons that go towards the equation of making another pigeon. This being the case the genes of one of the pair could be producing the goods and the other not supplying any good genes at all. We will always have these conflicting concepts of how to breed good pigeons in greater quantities as long as fanciers are prepared to make bold statements that one or the other method is just an unproven theory, without really applying any background intelligence to their statements. I myself have been subject of unfair criticism, and even now these stupid remarks such as, “ It only takes two eyes to fly”, are becoming regular quotes amongst the lesser informed public. Be that as it may I will continue to defend what I deem to be true in this regard. It takes four eyes to share in the breeding of a champion, plus several other just as important requisites. I enclose a collage of some star cluster eyes for those who are interested. I will continue to answer questions on this subject to the best of my ability. Regards jackbarkel@mweb.co.za http://mysite.mweb.co.za/residents/jackbarkel/

Hello Stevie, It is a pity the hen has a heavy iris as you state the cocks iris is overdeveloped. The youngsters from such a pairing will have these heavy irises, and the chances of reproducing the star cluster is very slim with the hen also having a very wide adaptation. Without seeing the eyes I cannot be more specific about what to expect from such a pairing. Regards Jack

Hello Ted, I have raced star clusters with great success in the past, but yes I do believe the best place for a pigeon with a star cluster is in the stock loft. They come in the two base colour eyes, pearl and yellow. I do not think that a star cluster will ever develop in a pigeon after it reaches maturity ( 18 month).s Regards Jack

Hello Tony, I have found that STAR CLUSTERS, remain right up until dying of old age. I do not doubt that they may shine more brightly on a super fit pigeon, but I would not choose it as my best bird in a certain race because of these markings. I have found that they can manifest themselves in a bird any time up until 18 months old. Once settled in a permanent place in the eye it is there for all time. Regards Jack

Hello Ted, I have found that the size makes no difference, they are aqll prolific breeders when paired correctly. Regards Jack

Article 5. During this new thread which the Administrator has allowed us, there have been a couple of mentions about the Star Clusters in the eye. I have my own theory on how they are formed, and have never seen or heard of anyone giving an explanation of why it appears in the pupil of the eye. Let me say I hold much store in this sign, and it is the only time I allow the genetic drift of the iris to go over the limits of my normal acceptance. I must say when I make such an allowance; I only keep those that improve on the five circles to that of their Star Cluster parent. If we return once again to the separate segments of the eye as I have depicted them on this thread, we will see that the correlation, starts at the outer edge of the pupil and extends to the outer perimeter of the eye. We know this correlation to be similar to a pigmented gel, for if it is damaged with a sharp instrument, it will all run out and the eye will be of no more use to the pigeon. Now I believe that this correlation / gel come in different thicknesses. My theory is that when we place the adaptation and Iris on this correlation it causes displacement. The adaptation pushes the excess towards the outer perimeter of the eye, after going under the iris it tries to go over the top, but the iris acts like a dam wall and the excess correlation or base material recedes back towards the centre of the eye. The excess gel then drops into the pupil of the eye and remains there for everyone to view. However there are some that can be seen as floaters in the pupil. They often move around until they come in contact with the inner edge of the correlation and join up there, to be lost from view forever. Please remember that this is only my theory, and until it has been proven scientifically I will consider it as the true and the only explanation written about it up till the present time 21st February 2008. I will put photographic examples up, but have ordered a very expensive close up lens to record this particular aspect of the eye. The example I use will be photo’s taken with my old equipment until the new lens arrives. I enclose a photograph here of the pupil of a star cluster eye. This hen bred two winners and a son to breed six winners. I can assure all that it does not seem to affect the vision of the eye. Once again, I will try to answer all questions to the best of my ability. Regards jackbarkel@mweb.co.za http://mysite.mweb.co.za/residents/jackbarkel/

Hello Ted, I still work for a living, managing a breeding station and evaluating pigeons. It is not easy to sit down and compile articles at the drop of a hat, when I must share out my time. I need to write a little on star clusters, and then as this whole concept I have been writing about is to develop a better method of breeding to type, this must also be addressed. I will not let this list down, but the pace of my articles will slow down as I get involved in other things. Please have patience, I am still here. Best Regards Jack

Article 4. I now present a collage of three eyes, of three separate wild pigeons. The reason for this is to show that in pigeons untouched by humans, there is little or no genetic drift. The eyes may seem to be of one bird, but on closer scrutiny there can be seen slight differences in these eyes. Each eye shows a similar amount of correlation, which tells us that these birds although possessing speed are limited to a short distance. This can be perceived by these eyes showing a very wide correlation, which causes the iris to recede outwards towards the perimeter of the eye. They all have nearly the same amount of superimposed composite between six and seven-o-clock, showing the family is inbred having very little variation in quality. This should convince the believers and sceptics alike, that the variation in eyes from the Bush Dove to the Racing Pigeon shows remarkable contrast. The main feature being that there are no pearl eyes (recessive) among the wild pigeons. There only similarities are to the pigeons that some people breed for speed and short distance. I believe this should be a warning that breeding for speed without a real understanding of what I am trying to reveal in each of my articles, can lead to a regression that can destroy or take years to rectify. Regards jackbarkel@mweb.co.za http://mysite.mweb.co.za/residents/jackbarkel/

Hello Ted, I thank you for your comments, yes you may print it out even for your friends who may be interested. As long as it bears my name as the author I do not mind. Regards Jack

No they are not star clusters, I do however hold a lot of store for those birds that have star clusters and will later reveal here my theory as to how they are formed, and what it tells us. Regards Jack

Article 3. We have now covered most of the basics of the eye, as I myself see them. I put on these two collages to show the eyes of some of my stock pigeons. Please do not forget that I also look for body confirmation and wing feather. All of these aspects are tools for us to use to breed a larger percentage of the desired type of bird we must keep. As I have said before, the gene pool is very complex. To master it entirely has not been achieved as yet by the best biologists and scientists in the world. I believe I have mastered the art of what is available to us at this day and age, up to a point where 90% of the time the genetics do not disappoint me or send me back to the drawing board. The continuous haphazard breeding of Racing Pigeons will always present many gene pools that are a conglomeration of many facets. I have tried by selective breeding to narrow this down to a point where I can more or less know what to expect from my pairings, for not only do we need "My Choice" birds, their pairings must be of a compatible nature. Besides having good stock birds we need to learn how to combine the genes of each pairing to give us an improvement in the gene pool. I believe there will always be genetic drift to one or other of these strains of pigeons, we will continue to have mutations for better or worse.To understand a little of my methods which I have put forward will help those greatly who are prepared to give it a thought and dare to try it for themselves. This is not the end of my articles here, in fact it is just the beginning. I hope you have enjoyed the start to what has been my life's study of the Racing Pigeon. Regards jackbarkel@mweb.co.za http://mysite.mweb.co.za/residents/jackbarkel/