2020 - Volume #44, Issue #2, Page #20
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Long-Legged Pouter Pigeons
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“They are great pets and will follow you around outside,” says Ron Lane, a nationally recognized breeder. “They are loving, gentle birds. The old English monks first bred them hundreds of years ago.”
Lane has been breeding them since 1965 when, as a 10th grade student, he talked a breeder out of 3 pairs. His 2018 reserve National Champion English Pouter Pigeon suggests he knows what he is doing. However, Lane says it isn’t easy.
“They are difficult to breed, and you never know if you’ll get a good one,” he says. “At the same time, you can breed one with faults, and it might later produce a perfect bird. What I bred this year is as close to perfection as I’ve done.”
One problem with the birds is their long legs. Lane notes that they will often kick their eggs out of the nest accidentally. He uses other pigeons to foster the English Pouter Pigeon eggs.
Currently he is one of only 3 large breeders in the U.S. He notes that there are more in Europe, especially in Germany and Croatia. He has imported breeding stock from these other countries, but notes it can run into thousands of dollars for a single bird.
Lane currently sells individual birds for $100, but sometimes sells them for less. His price depends on how many he has on hand and how many he wants to part with. Out of the 100 pigeons he currently has, 60 of them are English Pouters.
“Once you fool with them, they get in your blood,” says Lane. “I’ve had every breed of pigeon there is in this country, but I always come back to the Pouters. They are my favorites.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ron Lane, 1294 Dunlap Rd., Kingsport, Tenn. 37663 (ph 423 384-3852; ronlane47@gmail.com).
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