Old German Cropper
Encyclopedia
The Old German Cropper is a breed
of fancy pigeon developed over many years of selective breeding
. Old German Croppers, along with other varieties of domesticated pigeon
s, are all descendants from the Rock Pigeon
(Columba livia).
An old breed that originated in Germany and Hungary.
Description: The Old German Cropper is the longest breed of pigeon. It has a large well-inflated globe that is oval to round in shape.
The old german stands with the front of its body raised in a semierect station and the rest of its body carried close and parallel to the ground. The wings are very long and ideally should extend beyond the tail. They should be well closed and not show a "sail like effect", that is caused by raised secondary feathers that break the smooth wing line. The legs are fairly short without showing the birds thighs that are covered by the undercarriage feathers.
Colors & Markings: The Old German comes in black, white, red, yellow, dun, cream, mealy, silver, blue in bar and check, and lark. They are self colored, but also can be found in splash or a random mixture of white and colored feathers, tiger which should have dark flights and tail with white feathers sprinkled on the rest of the body, flights marked with a solid colored body and evenly marked white flights on both wings, and mussel head which is primarily found in black which manifests itself with a sprinkling of white feathers on the head reminiscent of the coloring of the shell mussel.
General The overall look of the Old German is large powerful pigeon. Some of this is created by the extreme feather development. The bird does not have a heavy body. Feather development should be smooth and neat without being tight.
Breed
A breed is a group of domestic animals or plants with a homogeneous appearance, behavior, and other characteristics that distinguish it from other animals or plants of the same species. Despite the centrality of the idea of "breeds" to animal husbandry, there is no scientifically accepted...
of fancy pigeon developed over many years of selective breeding
Selective breeding
Selective breeding is the process of breeding plants and animals for particular genetic traits. Typically, strains that are selectively bred are domesticated, and the breeding is sometimes done by a professional breeder. Bred animals are known as breeds, while bred plants are known as varieties,...
. Old German Croppers, along with other varieties of domesticated pigeon
Domestic Pigeon
The Domestic Pigeon was derived from the Rock Pigeon. The Rock Pigeon is the world's oldest domesticated bird. Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets mention the domestication of pigeons more than 5,000 years ago, as do Egyptian hieroglyphics.Research suggests that domestication of pigeons was as early as...
s, are all descendants from the Rock Pigeon
Rock Pigeon
The Rock Dove or Rock Pigeon, is a member of the bird family Columbidae . In common usage, this bird is often simply referred to as the "pigeon"....
(Columba livia).
An old breed that originated in Germany and Hungary.
Description: The Old German Cropper is the longest breed of pigeon. It has a large well-inflated globe that is oval to round in shape.
The old german stands with the front of its body raised in a semierect station and the rest of its body carried close and parallel to the ground. The wings are very long and ideally should extend beyond the tail. They should be well closed and not show a "sail like effect", that is caused by raised secondary feathers that break the smooth wing line. The legs are fairly short without showing the birds thighs that are covered by the undercarriage feathers.
Colors & Markings: The Old German comes in black, white, red, yellow, dun, cream, mealy, silver, blue in bar and check, and lark. They are self colored, but also can be found in splash or a random mixture of white and colored feathers, tiger which should have dark flights and tail with white feathers sprinkled on the rest of the body, flights marked with a solid colored body and evenly marked white flights on both wings, and mussel head which is primarily found in black which manifests itself with a sprinkling of white feathers on the head reminiscent of the coloring of the shell mussel.
General The overall look of the Old German is large powerful pigeon. Some of this is created by the extreme feather development. The bird does not have a heavy body. Feather development should be smooth and neat without being tight.