You are here>

Two of the real challenges in pigeon racing are the buying and selling of birds.

If you are the buyer, you want good quality birds but at a price you can afford. The trouble is that really good birds are rare and when someone has gone to the trouble of finding them, they usually are not for sale. If they are, they are often priced above what many people would consider “affordable” (even though that price may be below the actual cost of producing and finding that bird). Then there is the problem of finding someone who you can trust to treat you honestly and fairly.

It isn't a good situation for the seller either. Very few people realize the sacrifice and investment necessary to produce good birds and so naturally they will often under value them. Many people also do not realize how much work is required to win in racing and when the results do not come quickly enough some are quick to blame the birds when that really isn't the problem. And then there is the problem of those occasional people who don't pay or do other things which tend to make one just want to stop selling birds altogether.

The key to solving this conundrum is to match buyers and sellers who have similar goals and values and who share a common understanding of what it takes to successfully breed and race pigeons.

While I have been bothered by this problem for many years, it has largely been relegated to the background until I received an email in 2014 that got me to thinking. It was from a relatively new flier who was struggling with both the prices of birds and simply getting access to them. Part of the problem was that he was wanting them at the wrong time (he wanted breeders after the breeding season had already started and when most birds were already paired) and he was asking for the wrong things (he only wanted birds of a certain color and they had to be out of specific birds some of who were so old that they were long since infertile or dead). In pondering this situation, the thought stuck me that he didn't need birds, he needed help (and eventually some birds).

I have long held that I am not interested in breeding a bird that wins, but instead breeding a family that consistently produces winning birds. I think there is a corollary for customers - I am not all that interested in sales, but instead interested in relationships with customers who will work with me to improve both of our lofts.

Once we get past the month of April, we have a unique opportunity to develop some of these relationships. The breeding operation is in full swing. The young bird team is filled and in training and we are starting our contemporary group testing. While we have the capacity to test all that we raise, we have more than enough weanlings to achieve our testing objectives and this is a window in time where we can offer low cost birds of good breeding to people who have read the material on our web site and understand our approach to breeding and testing.

The program starts in June (beginning with the May hatches). Here is how it will work:

1. Each week, I will post a list of birds that are for sale. They will consist of newly weaned squeakers and birds currently on test. They will all start out at $125 each (plus shipping). While they are still priced at $125 I will provide a volume discount -  10 OR MORE birds for $100 each (plus shipping). Once testing begins (at about six weeks of age) the price of the birds will increase to $200 and as the testing continues the price of the top half of the test group will increase.(typically $400 to $2500 by the end of the test period). The better they test, the higher the price.
2. There will be no photos or descriptions of how they handle. The birds will be screened for problems of course, but other than that they are sold on the basis of their pedigree and test results to date. This is done for two reasons. One, I don't have the time to test them and also do individual descriptions/photos. At this price I think it is a fair trade off. Secondly (and really more importantly) the only reason to rely on descriptions and photos is when you don't have flying data available. Over the years I have had so many birds that handled well but couldn't fly well and many others that didn't grade well but beat everything they went against. Of course I would like both (birds that handle and fly well), but I have almost no interest in birds which only handle well. For those who have to have pictures and detailed descriptions, we still offer individually selected birds at our normal prices (described here).
3. Shipping prices will be $60 for one and $10 for each additional bird and is available for birds shipped to all U.S. states except Hawaii.
4. When you see a bird you want to purchase, make your payment through www.paypal.com .
• Payment should be made to “dave@shewmaker.com”. Be sure to include the total for all birds you are ordering plus the shipping charges. There is no need to cover the 3% paypal charge - that is my expense.
• Be sure to include in the comments section:
• the birds you are buying - list the Sale ID(s)
• your full shipping address
• your phone number
• your email address
5. Birds will be sold strictly on a first paid, first sold basis. If you pay for a bird and it is already sold, I will reverse the Paypal payment. I will update the sale list during the week as birds are sold to help minimize the risk of this happening.
6. Sex is not guaranteed. Most will be sexed as “To Be Determined” (designated by a T), but when I think I know what it is, I will list it (C for cock and H for hen). It is not guaranteed though (I am wrong about 20% of the time at this age).
7. Birds will be shipped the Monday or Tuesday following the sale (weather permitting). Full seven generation pedigrees will be included in the shipping box.
8. Weekly sales will continue as long as shipping is possible. Once the summer heat hits, the Post Office may stop accepting shipments, at which time we will offer buyers the option of a refund or us holding the bird(s) until cooler weather arrives.
9. The list will be updated weekly on Sunday evenings. The price listed will be valid for one week.

These are the birds currently available:

Squeekers [None currently available. Program will start for 2016 on or about June 1st 2016]

• One to three for $125 each plus shipping or
• Ten 0r more for $100 each plus shipping
   

Birds on Test ( Prices indicated on the list good through [None currently available. Program will start for 2016 on or about June 1st 2016])

The report listing the birds uses a couple of abbreviations. These are described below:

Sex: C Cock (I believe) Sex: H Hen (I believe) Sex: T To Be Determined

Range: S Handles like it is a Short Distance bird Range: M Handles ike it is a Middle Distance bird Range: D Handles like it is a Long Distance bird

The codes below are used to identify the family lines of the birds listed. The primary line is the “1st Line”. It is then subdivided into a “2nd Line” or subline. The 2nd Line is then subdivided again into a tertiary line that is designated as “3rd Line”. So a DeKlak Janssen would have codes of JAN  BRO  KLA..

1st Line 2nd Line 3rd Line Description JAN     Janssen   BRO   Janssen - 100% The Brothers     KLA Janssen - Brothers - De Klak     MRK Janssen - Brothers - De Merckx     RAK Janssen - Brothers - De Raket     019 Janssen - Brothers - De 019t     969 Janssen - Brothers - 969     CON Janssen - Brothers - Continental Class   TVH   Janssen - Tini Van Herpen     RUL Janssen - Tini Van Herpen - Bold Ruler   SME   Janssen - Smeulders   BVL   Janssen - Blue Van Lier   HAC   Janssen - Hackemer JX     Mostly Janssen   MIR   Mostly Janssen - Blue Miracle   FFT   Mostly Janssen - Fire Flight   DAN   Mostly Janssen - Dan Severns   TRI   Mostly Janssen - Tristar VRK     van Rhijn Kloeck (Jan Kloeck)   IKO   van Rhijn Kloeck - Ikon   GDF   van Rhijn Kloeck - Godfather   TRA   van Rhijn Kloeck - Jan Traets   LOR   van Rhijn Kloeck - Lichte Orleans   VRK   Jan Kloeck   FRK   van Rhijn Kloeck - The Freak DIS     Distance Family   ARD   Distance Family - Jan Aarden     VIS Distance Family - Jan Aarden - Arie Visser   DEL   Distance Family - Delbar   STI   Distance Family - Stichelbaut VAN     Van Loon   LOU   Van Loon - Louis     POP Van Loon - Louis - De Poppel     CNA Van Loon - Louis - China Doll     PLT Van Loon - Louis - Planet Brothers   RAV   Van Loon - Raven   SEN   Van Loon - De Senna   S73   Van loon - Super 73     LAV Van loon - Super 73 - LaVerne Cock     SIS Van loon - Super 73 - Super Sis     MAR Van loon - Super 73 - DeMarco     FRA Van loon - Super 73 - Super Frankie     DOL Van loon - Super 73 - Vegas Doll HOF     Hofkens   DRI   Hofkens - Dreibander of 64   HOF   Hofkens   HOL   Hofkens - Hollywood ZOO     Wal Zoontjens and Son   DUI   Zoontjens - Orleans Duif   SEV   Zoontjens - Severns Hen   PRE   Zoontjens - President GRO     Grondelaers   BLI   Grondelaers - Bliksem   CRZ   Grondelaers - Crazy Al   COR   Grondelaers - Queen of Vegas HOU     Houben SPT     Sprint   JRJ   Sprint - Julian & Roland Janssens     JJX Sprint - JRJ - Percentage JRJ (e.g. JJ7 = 70% JRJ) SHW     Shewmaker   MAG   California Magic   SBH   Santa Barbara Hen   034   Gold Standard (2034) SCC     Super Crack GAB     Gaby Vandenabeele KAN     De Kannibaal MEU     Meuleman VBR     Verbruggen SCH     Schaerlaeckens

©2000-2024 Shewmaker Genetics All rights reserved.