Jack Barkel - Eyesign

[bewted]

hello jack

 

i only directed him to this thread as i believe he will get the  honest straight forward answers he was seeking !!! i hope he will learn as much,if not,more than me or gain some better knowledge of you for his better future in pigeons !!!

 

                    best regards

 

                              ted

[bewted]

hello jack

 

to start with from one cock bird to make a family of pigeons,is there any importance to start with a yellow or pearl or does not make no differance to what colour to start with ?

 

hope i have asked that right jack ?

[Jack Barkel]

Hello Ted,

 

It all depends on the distances you wish to excel at, and prevailing velocities in ones area.

 

I prefer the stock cocks to have yellow eyes and the hens to have pearl eyes. Using a yellow eyed cock enhances the chances of breeding pigeons that will fly all distances and velocities. Pearl eyes are limited in distance at which they can home on their own, and sometimes their stamina is in question. Yellow eyes are sometimes limited in their vitality and speed.

 

So if my area was mainly short to medium fast races, I would use a Pearl Eyed Cock.

 

If my area had a good mix of races, often dropping below 1150 metres per minute, I would prefer a Yellow eyed stock cock.

 

I hope I have made it clear why I would use different preferences for different areas and conditions.

 

Regards

Jack

[bewted]

thank you jack

 

that was perfectly clear to me now !!!

 

i know which course to take now !!!

[bewted]

hello jack,re;the third ring

 

a few of the rods from this ring sometimes seem to wonder of by them selves towards the middle of the eye as if getting lost and returning,,,,is there any significance or advantages if this happens in the eye ?  would it denote breeder,or racer or dual purpose,if,all the rings are the 5 as you state ?

 

i hope you can understand that jack ?

[Jack Barkel]

hello jack,re;the third ring

 

a few of the rods from this ring sometimes seem to wonder of by them selves towards the middle of the eye as if getting lost and returning,,,,is there any significance or advantages if this happens in the eye ?  would it denote breeder,or racer or dual purpose,if,all the rings are the 5 as you state ?

 

i hope you can understand that jack ?

 

Hello Ted,

 

I believe that what you are refering to, is the floating star cluster. Parts of the excess correlation move about in the pupil of the eye, before taking up permanent residence either in the pupil or attached to the side of the correlation, in the latter case it becomes lost to the human eye forever.

 

Such a pigeon with all five circles intact should be a dual purpose racer / breeder and definitely deserves a try in the stock loft.

 

Regards

 

Jack

 

 

[bewted]

hello jack

 

there are many differant shades of yellow in the pigeons eye,light yellow to dark yellow(old gold) would the real dark yellow(old gold) make the best sort of stock bird compared to light yellow ?

[Jack Barkel]

hello jack

 

there are many differant shades of yellow in the pigeons eye,light yellow to dark yellow(old gold) would the real dark yellow(old gold) make the best sort of stock bird compared to light yellow ?

 

 

Hello Ted,

 

I am happy with any shade of yellow as long as it is bright and vibrant.

 

Regards

 

Jack

 

 

 

[Jack Barkel]

Getting Started.

 

 

 

I should have started with this article, but I was not aware that some forum members were not aware of my teachings in the beginning. So to those who may find this to be repetition, have patience until we have covered the start again.

 

 

 

To start correctly we need to purchase a 15x Loupe maximum, any larger magnification than this will distort the pigeon’s eye and give an incorrect reading. We also need to set up an artificial light that does not give off a strong heat and burn the pigeon’s eye. I have found that a 12v- 50 watt light serves our needs perfectly. See picture of myself with the lighting set up (see illustration 2.)

 

 

                                Illustration 2.

 

This photo was taken at the World Of Wings in Oklahoma.

 

 

 

It will be noted that I have my loupe glued into my spectacle frame, leaving both my hands free to examine the bird. If one is going to do several hundred birds per day, then we must consider a comfortable workable posture to make the job as pleasurable as one can.

 

 

 

I strongly warn against using the natural sunlight for examining the eyes. Direct sunlight is dangerous and gives an incorrect reading or variable reading depending on whether it is a brilliant or dull day. The position of the sun as it arches across the sky, also gives variations on the colour spectrum and the amount of movement of the sphincter muscles within the eye.

 

 

 

It must also be noted that types of medication and even thirst, can cause dilation of the pupils and give you an incorrect reading of the genetic imprint on the eye. Many fanciers, who have been medicating their birds or have not seen to giving them water before bringing them to me, are very disappointed with the results. We must all understand that even a good doctor will look in the eye before proceeding with his examination and analysis. If the pupils are dilated, he will ask you, ”are you on any kind of medication”?  if the answer is no, he will give you a glass of water and examine again in ten to fifteen minutes time. If we are going to take eye evaluation seriously, we need to see that all things are correctly in place for it is imperative that the eye gives a constant reading.

 

 

 

 

 

Good pigeons will also tend to pull their heads away from you when holding their beak and pulling the head forward. Good nerve sensitivity must always be noted around the eye and head of your selections, for eye and head reaction go together.

 

 

 

When evaluating pigeons, unless I am evaluating for a new starter, I only evaluate by the eye.

 

I feel all experienced fanciers should have a grasp of the wing, humerous bone and length of keel bone they desire. We do not all think the same way and I do not wish to change anyones ideas that are already set in their ways, although it is good to have a working knowledge of all thnings regarding pigeons

 

jackbarkel@mweb.co.za

http://mysite.mweb.co.za/residents/jackbarkel/

 

[bewted]

hello jack

 

i have read this before in your previous articles on here before this thread,but,thank you very much for refreshing my memory on this and i am sure new fanciers to this thread reading for the first time here will also be thankful of such valuable info on this eyesign thread !!!

          once again,thank you very much !!!

 

                            best regards

 

                                 ted

 

ps,when was the photo of you taken ?

[Guest slugmonkey]

Jack what did you think of Randy Goodpastures birds ( world of wings ) did you meet Bill Bonwell when you were there I live a couple hundred miles from there and am good friends with Both Randy and Bill, Bill flew in my club and we were fierce rivals while he was active he told me one night that I was the person he most enjoyed beating that is pretty high praise for a guy my age

Did you look at the birds that Randy owns or were you there for the gold band loft year before last I took 2nd and 3rd in old and young birds if you evaluated the gold band loft was there anything that you really liked I have several birds from that program and plan on winning another this year

Randy owns several birds that we bred I belive he has a couple of children of the Pinnacle he got from us

[Jack Barkel]

Hello Slugmonkey,

 

I did handle many of the birds at the World of Wings, although I was there to evaluate birds for the fanciers in that area, and to give a seminar. I will look through the records, and see if I met Bill Bonwell although I can't recollect off hand.

 

Yes I did do Randy Goodpastures pigeons, and I did visit his home and lofts, he had some very good birds in my opinion. Although I visited him, I stayed at the World of Wings above the Library.

 

My wife and I had a very enjoyable stay before heading on to California and Oregon.

 

Regards

 

Jack

[Jack Barkel]

  Evaluation Ratings

 

 

 

 

I have over the years gradually evolved a method of grading that will be understood by all, the number system was never satisfactory or explanatory as far as I could see so I evolved the following ratings which have become pretty well used as standard in many parts of the world today.

 

 

 

The Average Eye.

 

We will start with the lowest racing which is average, see illustration 13 below. This eye if we look closely has very little adaptation and no fifth circle, the correlation is spread right out into the iris which is not of strong quality or uniformity at all. This bird could not be expected to produce anything worthwhile for racing or breeding, just a mediocre eye that holds no expectations for improving ones standard of birds.

 

The only thing in its favour is a strong circle of recognition which means it has got homing ability, but there again we are looking for racer breeders not just homers.

 

 

 

 

 

[Castleview]

Ratings  ;D

[bewted]

Ratings  ;D

 

just sit back and digest it all and learn,friend !!!

 

 

                     ted

[Jack Barkel]

A Racer- Not for Stock Eye.

 

 

 

This is the second of the eyes I eliminate as not suitable of those we need to keep, although judging by the strong composite super imposed on the adaptation it shows a strong tendency to be a good racer, I am afraid that is as far as its limitations go.

 

 

 

Its inability to reproduce its like will be a very disappointing factor of a bird with this eye, for you will note that it is very difficult to ascertain where the iris ends and the correlation begins, certainly not recommended for stock purposes.

 

 

 

[Jack Barkel]

The Acceptable Eye.

 

 

 

This is the eye of a bird that although it is the first of the five circle eyes, they are not clearly defined. Again illustration 15 shows a good composite racing sign but the fifth circle is very thin and weak, which means this bird may produce only one in ten good pigeons. Ten percent is not acceptable to me so I exclude such eyes from the stock loft. Remember the world statistics are ascertained to be in the region of seven percent good pigeons that we breed. That says to me that 93% are not worth much, and yet many of them are kept and allowed to produce because the owner likes the look of them.

 

 

 

From now the eyes will start to get better.

 

[Jack Barkel]

The Brilliant Eye.

 

 

 

This is the first of those eyes we can consider trying at stock, there again we must realise that this eye has the bare minimum requirements of those for stock purposes, and will only produce about twenty five percent good honest pigeons. It will be observed from the illustration that this eye has a lot of character, but unfortunately the iris has dominated the eye. This happens when putting winner to winner or pigeons with very wide irises, certainly my last choice when selecting for the stock loft.

 

 

[bewted]

keep it going jack,its certainly very interesting !!!

[Guest slugmonkey]

This is helpful these pictures are worth thousands of words

[doo]

Yep this is top notch stuff & you are so right Slugmonkey

[Jack Barkel]

If you got a bird with a full iris shouldnt you put it to a bird that hasnt

 

Hello Rose,

 

The answer to this is the same as putting a large bird with a small bird, you will not breed medium sized birds. The same with a bird with a full iris to a bird with a weak iris.

 

You will breed full iris birds and weak iris birds. Sorry, genetics does not work the way we would like it to.

 

Regards,

 

Jack

 

 

[Jack Barkel]

The Best Eye.

 

 

 

We can see from this illustration that the eyes are getting more clearly defined, so that we can now start to recognise the five circle distinctly in the genetic make up of the eye. The only fault with this eye is that the iris is broader than the correlation, and although this is a sign of distance capabilities in this type of pigeon, it also reduces the amount of progeny you can expect to produce that will help improve the breeding standards of the stock loft where it is housed.

 

 

 

I would say a bird of this calibre will produce fifty percent good honest pigeons, that is to say birds that can win from one hundred and fifty kilometres up to a thousand kilometres. In my opinion this is what the discerning fancier should be trying to achieve, for in many countries where the money is on short fast races, blow home birds are the sort of pigeons that these countries are now producing.

 

 

 

I call them short, fast, blow home pigeons and I place very little value on such birds, and can no longer respect the breeding prowess of such nations as those that are producing mainly that sort of degenerated racing pigeon.

 

[bewted]

carry on the excellant work here jack !!!

[Merlin]

 

 

 

Jack

I have been down many roads regarding eye evaluation,most have something to offer,some more than others,depending on whom you are studying,but I do find your five circle evaluation easily the complete package of all systems I have studied and also find it very benifical in improving my knowledge of birds whilst improving breeding/performance and I would like to say thanks for printing same,for all to see,in such a basic easily defineable manner,and hopefully you will keep imparting your knowledge, once again many thanks Jack