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Sickle pigeons are a breed that stands out for its interesting appearance and unique flight style. Due to the unusual structure of the wing and unpretentious care, they are widely popular among breeders. Before purchasing sickle pigeons, experts recommend that you familiarize yourself with the features of breeding in order to get healthy individuals with high rates.
History of the breed
Ancient Turkey and Syria are called the birthplace of the sickle. Here for a long time “beautiful creatures” were bred (as the name is translated from Sanskrit).
Sickle pigeons were brought to Our Country at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. After the first individuals appeared on the territory of the empire, many pigeon breeders wanted to purchase them. So, through the efforts of some Kaiser and Kirichenko, who contributed to the development of the breed, they ended up in the city of Ochakov. In the process of breeding work, breeders bred several types of sickle pigeons:
- garkushinskie;
- musical;
- Kalachovsky.
Amateurs paid special attention to selection: only individuals with excellent flying qualities were allowed to breed. As a result, after a while, the flap of the wing, resembling a sickle or a month, became the hallmark of the breed from the city of Ochakov, and the sickle pigeons themselves received a second name – Ochakov’s eversion.
Description of sickle pigeons
Crescent pigeons, despite their small size, are characterized by strong muscles and extreme endurance. This feature is due to their origin. It is believed that strong sea winds on the coast prevented free soaring. The sickle ones were forced to adapt to sudden changes in the direction of air currents.
Distinctive features of the breed of sickle pigeons are also called:
- developed parental instinct;
- the ability to quickly recover after the appearance of offspring;
- the ability to fly smoothly and easily regardless of the season;
- excellent orientation in space.
The listed qualities are inherent only in purebred individuals, which are becoming less and less in the process of selection work.
Flight of sickle pigeons
Sickle pigeons are a flying breed. They are able to soar high into the sky and hover in the air for hours. They fly out in a flock from a balcony or dovecote platform, and in the air they separate for an individual flight. Birds line up in a kind of whatnot, hovering vertically at different heights.
Representatives of sickle pigeons have different flight patterns:
- End. The bird throws out its wings above itself (parallel to each other), while turning out the flight feathers. This feature served as the basis for the name of the breed – eversion.
- Swing. The dove hangs in the air alternately, now on the right, then on the left wing. Performs the exercise rarely, but for a long time.
- Crescent. The bird folds its wings in the shape of a sickle, which makes it possible to capture the air current and rise high into the sky.
- Rigid wing, or “crowbar”. When ascending and descending, the sickle dove, surrendering to the will of the wind, makes wave-like movements with a rigid wing. At the same time, it looks broken, for which the manner was called “scrap”.
Crescent pigeons do not make circular movements when flying. They soar up vertically, hover, and descend in the same way.
Crescent pigeons do not fly. Due to strong air currents, the pigeon can fly far from the dovecote and get lost.
There is a video about sickle pigeons showing how breeders train birds in frost and strong gusts of wind.
Breed signs and standards
Sickle pigeons (photo below) are slender, properly built. The skeleton is light, not massive. The head is dry, small in size. The chest is not wide. Feathers are dense and dense. Color monophonic or variegated:
- black
- white;
- ashy;
- with red, yellow, blue hues.
According to the generally accepted standard, sickle pigeons are distinguished by the following characteristics:
- Extended body. Body length is 34-37 cm.
- Narrow, sharp-tipped wings. They grow up to 21-25 cm, almost completely cover the tail (a space of 2 cm remains free).
- Convex 4th joint on the wings. Causes an unusual manner of flight.
- Fluffy tail. In length reaches about 11-12 cm.
- Wide tail feathers (12-14 pieces). The gap between them is considered a marriage.
The upper inversion of the wing in representatives of the sickle breed normally consists of 3-4 flight feathers. At the same time, a right angle should be determined between the shoulder and the wing of the dove.
Breeding sickle pigeons
Sickle reversible pigeons are energetic and unpretentious. They adapt well to adverse climate conditions, breed well and nurse their offspring on their own. A novice breeder will also cope with their content.
Egg-laying
The female of the sickle breed in each cycle of oviposition lays 2 eggs in turn. This happens in the second week after mating, in the morning. The interval between the appearance of eggs is approximately 45 hours.
Hatching
In sickle pigeons, females sit on eggs. For the comfort of the birds, the nests are separated by partitions or placed at a maximum distance from each other.
The incubation period, depending on the season, is 16-19 days. Several times a day, the dove turns the eggs on its own. Sickle chicks appear 8-10 hours after the start of pecking.
Keeping chicks
Sickle chicks are weaned from their parents at the age of 25-28 days. For feeding use crushed grain. Vitamins are added to drinking water, and mineral supplements are also given.
Upon reaching 2 months of age, young sickle pigeons begin to be taught the style of flight. The transition of the chicks from squeaking to cooing can serve as a signal for the start of training.
Adult Care
Crescent pigeons do not tolerate restrictions on freedom, so the dovecote should be spacious and bright. Its dimensions are calculated according to the scheme 0,5-1 m2 space for a couple of birds. In this case, the total number of couples in one house should not exceed 15. The height of the room is 2 m. An aviary is also required.
The optimum temperature range inside the dovecote is +10⁰С in winter and +20⁰С in summer.
For feeding adult sickle pigeons, a grain mixture of legumes, wheat and millet is suitable. The amount of grain is calculated according to the proportion of 40 g per 1 individual. It is also desirable to add vitamin complexes to food.
Conclusion
Sickle pigeons are unusual birds, striking the impression with a special manner of flight. Even novice breeders can handle their breeding. And attention, care and regular training will allow you to achieve high breed performance.
