A racing pigeon with excellent feathers must have a moderate body shape, that is, a moderate length and weight. Balance and coordination are the most important conditions for an excellent racing pigeon, and the length and weight are closely related to the balance and coordination of the whole body. In the ranks of champion pigeons, some racing pigeons may be too big or too small, but most champion pigeons are of moderate size. Some people think that long-distance pigeons and ultra-long-distance pigeons should have good flight endurance and slender figure, while short-distance racing pigeons should have good explosive force and short figure, preferably triangular. Judging from the 2000 km champion pigeons in recent years, they are all of medium size.
A homing pigeon with moderate sternum length and tail length is called a long-body homing pigeon. The sternum is moderate and the tail is short and short. The former has endurance, while the latter is more explosive. Short body shape is effective for short-distance races, but not for long-distance and ultra-long-distance races.
So, how much weight is appropriate? A fully developed male pigeon should weigh between 440 and 500 grams. A fully developed female pigeon should weigh between 400 and 480 grams. When people identify pigeons, it is impossible to measure them on the spot with electronic scales and tape measures, and they can only rely on their own experience. When holding a pigeon conveniently, the thumb is pressed on the pigeon's back, and the four fingers hold the pigeon's abdomen, which is exactly the whole keel. Weighed, it feels similar to or slightly lighter than a pigeon. Generally speaking, this kind of feather racing pigeon is of medium size. If the abdomen is bigger than one finger and the weight is bigger than the body, the weight of this feather racing pigeon may be heavier.
The head must be open, in proportion to the body, with a wide forehead and a full back. At present, some imported foreign pigeon heads are small, which is related to the strain. As for the top of the head, some people like the "longevity head", that is, the top of the head is curved, while others like the "flat head", and the forehead is connected with the nose tumor. Pigeon lovers like the "gram" as steep as a hillside. Some famous pigeons abroad are connected in a straight line, which is called "pencil head". A clever racing pigeon with a big forehead. The pigeon's forehead is too small, and it is probably a stupid blank. The flight competition of homing pigeons is mainly based on physical exercise, and mental activities are not noticed. However, pigeons in long-distance and ultra-long-distance competitions have to withstand the severe test of natural enemies, land destruction and artificial capture. Head shape is also one of the most obvious signs to distinguish between male and female. Any carrier pigeon with male and female appearance can rarely be used as a breeding pigeon. Carrier pigeons have a strong, plump, open head and a neck of moderate length and excellent shape, which is a sign of strong genetic ability. Good racing pigeons have bigger eyeballs, and the whole eyeball can swing freely. ?
The position of eyeball growth is biased to the back upper corner of the head, and the center line of the corner of the mouth almost points to the eyeball. A good pigeon's eyes should have a confident, fearless and not too wild performance. Pigeon eyes must be bright and clean, and the eyelids (commonly known as eyelids) tightly wrap the eyeballs (commonly known as mouse eyes); Pupils should be sensitive to changes in light intensity; Dove eyes should be very sensitive to the dynamic feelings of the outside world. An excellent homing pigeon can detect abnormal dynamics and sounds in the sky or the ground in time. On the other hand, people who are slow to respond are not ideal.
Pupils determine the quality of pigeon eyes. The darker the color, the better, and it is smaller. Pupils often contract and expand in the sun. A good homing pigeon has a round pupil, and it is not a good pigeon if the pupil is not round. This phenomenon is mainly congenital, but some homing pigeons look for ground targets or forage on the ground in flight, and the line of sight is about 7: 00 to 7: 30, which is called the main visual direction. The narrowing or enlargement of the pupil is adjusted according to the requirements of vision. The adjustment direction of excellent homing pigeons should be the main visual direction, so that the activity of the front lower corner is greater than that of the rear upper corner. Over time, the outer ring swings to the front lower corner in an irregular ellipse. There are many cases where the pupils of racing pigeons returning from long-distance running are oval or swing downward, so some pigeon lovers think that the pupils are not round, but when selecting young pigeons, it is best to choose round pupils.
Iris (commonly known as eye sand) should be bright in color, clear and three-dimensional, peach blossom sand should be thicker and chicken yellow sand should be thinner. The marginal sand layer needs a high concentration, and this part of the iris is a mixture of filiform and massive accumulation. The gradient layer requires the iris to be a silk mesh, crawling on the lens (commonly known as the bottom plate), or being slaughtered and deposited on the lens, or being radially distributed on the lens. Iris arrangement is not required to be neat, but it must be distinct. The pigment of iris does not play a decisive role, but from the perspective of color and illumination, chicken yellow eyes have good visual penetration when flying in the sun or in the sky with dust particles. Peach blossom sand lens is white, although white light is scattered, flying in cloudy or dim sky can show its advantages. Wings are the propeller of racing pigeons. A pair of wings with corresponding length, smooth and wide, is extremely important for preserving the physical strength of racing pigeons in flight. Thick and short wings can produce speed, but it is very unfavorable for long-distance racing. Only those well-structured, strong and highly elastic feather stems can manipulate wing feathers effortlessly in flight.
The wings of racing pigeons should be proportional to the size of pigeons. The distance between the end of the main wing and the end of the tail feather must be less than 2. 5cm。 When the wing feathers are deployed, the main wing feathers and aileron feathers must be connected together without any gap. The feathers of the wings must be covered smoothly and evenly to form a seamless surface, and the stems are firm and elastic. The whole wing must be strong, with considerable muscle thickness, but not too thick. 10 main wing feathers must be complete and clean, without wrinkles, corrosion holes or other imperfect marks. 10 aileron feathers must be open, firm and of standard length. The whole wing seems to be covered with velvet feathers, and the surface is smooth, like velvet. When the wings are in your hands, they must be soft and firm, and when you close your feathers, you can't have sudden movements or weakness.
The length of the last four main wing feathers should be shoulder-length, scattered about 5 cm at the tip, leaving a gap, which is convenient for the diverted airflow to be quickly discharged along the back and lower body. The tip of a feather has a larger gap than that of a circle, and has good exhaust performance, especially when flying in areas with high air density or in light rain. When the wings flap, the air pressure at the tip of the feather is less than that at the circle. The last three main wing feathers (8th, 9th, 10, commonly known as "General's Stripe") should be of the same length, with similar salinity, or the 9th feather should be slightly longer, so as to make the load on the tips of the three main wing feathers even.
The homing pigeon's tail should be plump, otherwise it will lose its center of gravity and cannot keep its balance in flight. The tail feather is like a rudder on a ship, which is used to steer. The tail feather should not be too long, too short or too wide, and the ideal tail feather should be 2 ~ 2, 5 cm longer than the big feather axis. The stem of the tail feather must be strong to take off suddenly. Too long or too short tail feathers, or too thin feather stems, will increase the resistance of homing pigeons in flight, and accidents will easily occur during take-off and landing, and even the sternum will be injured. The 12 tail feather of an excellent racing pigeon is like a folding fan. When unfolded, it is half-moon-shaped, and when folded, it becomes a fan handle, commonly known as "tail". Carrier pigeons are placed on the ground, with their tails slightly drooping, flying in the sky and their tails slightly upturned. A racing pigeon with an excellent tail can descend in a graceful posture when it returns to the pigeon house, such as the wings are motionless and the tail feathers are unfolded, which fully embodies the principle that the tail supports balance in feather identification.
Feathers need good cashmere, which stores a lot of air and reduces the proportion of the body. The feathers on the surface of pigeons are axial feathers, which are required to be smooth, which can reduce the resistance caused by friction with air. Feathers should be bright in color and branches should be as thin as silk. They should be closely arranged into flat, thin and elastic feathers, and the pieces should overlap, like fish scales, close to the whole body, so as to better distinguish the edges of each piece. Feathers are pointed, fluffy, rough, etc. , does not meet the requirements. Feather is a bad conductor, which has a good warm-keeping effect. The silky feathers tightly wrap the pigeon's body, providing a warm protective layer for racing pigeons, which is especially important in cold winter.
The importance of feathers has never been ignored. Some homing pigeon lovers think that feathers are dusty, which can prevent rain and let racing pigeons run in rainy areas. This is lack of scientific basis. There is a lot of white dust on the feathers, which shows that the homing pigeon is in good health. The water resistance of homing pigeons mainly depends on the oil quality of feathers. Goose and duck in poultry have good water resistance, but there is no dust on their feathers. Instead, it relies on the secretion of tail fat sac (tail fat gland), pecking out the secreted oil with the mouth and smearing it on feathers, thus playing the role of waterproof and protecting feathers. At present, foreign countries have produced water-resistant grease for racing pigeons, which is developed according to this principle. Feather color has no effect on homing and speed of racing pigeons, but some people give up and just prefer it. At present, most champion pigeons are raindrops, because raindrops fly more and there are more chances to win prizes.