#they are completely fine all pigeons can inflate their crop and do it to show off

[harpalion]

voorburg shield cropper. you appreciate him.

[helpicant-stop]

hehehe yes fancy pigeons are very funny indeed! unfortunately there are many unhealthy breeds, such as ones with tiny beaks that impair their ability to feed both themselves and their young, preen their feathers and even breathe (see oriental frill). the pugs of the pigeon world if you will. on the flipside is the morsalat, which genuinely is kind of scary to look at: its beak is so large and downturned it can neither eat nor preen.

then there are the croppers/pouters (the big boobied ones if you will): despite their silly appearance, most of them are actually completely healthy! they look like this because their crop is bred to inflate and puff out to look very impressive, but when deflated they look and function more or less like normal birds. the unfortunate exceptions are with big bodied cropper pigeons, where the crop deflates and sags down rather than going back to normal. this makes food stay in the crop rather than passing to digestion, causing sour crop/crop rot/crop stasis/etc--all words for more or less the same umbrella of diseases and infections. sour crop usually happens to juvenile croppers, but it can happen to some adults as well.

then there are the ones that look like they're twisting backwards, such as the american fantail. yeah they look like that normally. their spine is literally a backwards wavy line. they can't see where they're going and they have problems balancing/walking. and it's only the american fantail with this issue all the other fantails are fine!! they literally did not have to do this!!

then there are the racing pigeons. the breed may not have issues inherent to it but the sport of racing itself is unethical (if you research this be sure to remove peta from the search results by typing "-peta" because GOD there are a lot of articles citing it), and eventually even if a pogeon DOES make it out of a race alive it'll only be so many years until the strain of racing gets it injured, missing or unhealthy.

as for the ones with feathery fluffy little feet (muffs): many pigeons have muffs to varying degrees; some barely noticeable, some very extravagant, but they're usually only considered unethical once they're large enough to hinder the pigeon's ability to fly and land safely, can be heavy/painful for the pigeon and i've heard they can impact a pigeon's mating ability but i'm not 100% on that so take it with a grain of salt.

what about the one whose whole head is covered in feathers? it's a show-standard jacobin in the side profile. from the front they just look like they're wearing a fluffy coat, and while sometimes the big puffy feathers can obscure their vision they can be trimmed down, and the bird's fine if not a bit funny-looking! not all jacobins have vision issues either, usually just the ones put on shows. a less extreme and more consistently ethical version is the capcuchine, which i think you can see in the second set of pictures!

lastly: they ourple 🟪

there are three types of pigeon breeds: "just your average french fry thief," "a little weird but nothing to write home about," and "what the fuck"

[theramseyloft]

The Voorburg Shield Cropper

This is the Voorburg Shield Cropper, developed by illustrator and Geneticist,  C. S. van Gink in the town of Voorburg.

The breed was officially recognized in June 1938.

Below is the standard:

CARRIAGE & ACTION (20 pts.): Unconstrained, smooth and frolicsome, with a lively bump of curiosity, it stands and moves in an upright position with the eyes directly over the center of the feet. 

When courting, the cock spreads its tail in a fan-like manner and moves in a hopping motion; the hen, when flirting, may behave similarly. In flight, both sexes clap their wings above their backs. 

The Voorburg Shield Cropper is a very friendly, animated pigeon that is quite responsive to human voices and attention. In show condition, it should give a constant, active performance.

GLOBE (20 pts.): Medium size, nicely rounded at the top and rising smoothly from the waist and shoulders with a noticeable back globe. 

The globe should not be over-inflated so that the bird’s head is forced backwards, but should be comfortable and easily handled as the bird moves. 

It should be smooth and evenly balanced with a definite sheen on the white feathering.

BODY(20 pts.): Slender but firm with a long, slightly narrow breast, a flat or nearly flat keel, and wing butts carriedhigh enough to form a slightly hollow back. 

The general impression is slim, neat, and straight from both side and back views.

HEAD, NECK, BEAK, & EYES (10 pts.): The head is dove-like with a somewhat high forehead and is carried in the back-center of the globe with straight-ahead vision over the globe. 

The neck must be long enough to handle the globe gracefully. 

The beak is medium in length and flesh-colored. The wattle are small, fine-textured, and powdery white. The eyes are bull with narrow, gray-white ceres.

LEGS, TAIL, & WINGS (10 pts.): The legs are medium-long, straight from both front and side views, placed fairly close together without touching. They are clean of feathers with bright red shanks and feet. 

The tail is tightly folded when not in courting action and clears the ground when the bird stands upright. 

The wings are medium length, narrow, and carried high enough to show the waist and upper thighs. The flight tips rest on top of the tail just short of the tail end, while the shoulders are carried high and pressed firmly against the body.

COLOR, MARKINGS, & FEATHER (20 pts.): The plumage is hard, dense, and tight-fitting with little or no down in the thigh and vent area. 

The Voorburg Shield Cropper, as the name implies, is entirely white except for the wing shields, which must be completely colored, including the wing bows and thumbs, with no less than 7 nor more than 10white flights on each side, with the flights symmetrical, i.e., 10 x 10, not 10 x 7. 

Any known pigeon color is allowable with or without bars or checkers. The color must be clear, deep, rich, and even throughout the wing shield.

FAULTS:

Lack of globe, or unevenness or lumpiness of globe.

Too big or heavy in body or conversely too slight or small in body.

Short, crooked or crouching legs.

Horizontal or less than upright posture.

Lack of animation or performance.

Colored feathers outside the wing shield or conversely.

White feathers in the wing shield (unless the bird is clearly splashed, in which case the white feathers must be evenly distributed throughout the shield).

Red or pink eye ceres.

Eyes other than bull.

Over-inflation of globe forcing the beak upward.

Extensive foot feathering (slippers or muffs).

A lot of care went into that description to make sure that the Voorburg Shield Cropper would be a physically sound pigeon.

Look at the way its movement is described.

“Unconstrained, smooth and frolicsome, with a lively bump of curiosity...”

The temperament of the breed is an integral, and very prominant point in the Standard. 

“The Voorburg Shield Cropper is a very friendly, animated pigeon that is quite responsive to human voices and attention. In show condition, it should give a constant, active performance.”

“ Lack of animation or performance.” is a listed fault.

Here are some Voorbies at a show, gleefully showing off for the camera.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58c4C0jx3_w

And here is a group at a European show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXkD9z4coVs

Most importantly, the bird is to be built to COMFORTABLY support its showcase feature, the inflated Globe.

“The globe should not be over-inflated so that the bird’s head is forced backwards, but should be comfortable and easily handled as the bird moves.”

“The neck must be long enough to handle the globe gracefully.”

“Over-inflation of globe forcing the beak upward.” is a fault.

In case you wondered, here are some young voorbies absolutely refusing to show. XD This is what they look like with their Globe uninflated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=actma9b0b9A

Here are some excerpts of this article focused on temperament and breeding:

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Stuff/FeatherFancier/FeathFancVoorCrop.html

“Character: Croppers have a complete character of their own. They are lively and extremely faithful to their owners. These characteristics are entirely akin to the Shield Cropper They are very affectionate and tame and when one enters the loft, one is greeted by the birds with outspread wings. The males, as well as the females show this characteristic; sometimes the male while flying to the perch, would even hop at the same time. This feature undoubtedly goes back to the Norwich Cropper. However, not all males will demonstrate this extraordinary feature and it is certain that their tameness is one of the results of cross-breeding between Norwich, Brunner and English Pygmy Pouters. These breeds have played a leading role in the formation of character, and to be honest, no matter how beautiful the color or structure of the pigeon, it will never possess the tameness of a Cropper.”

More of the fancier gushing over the sweet temper that this breed is so famed for. Obviously, temperament was of the utmost importance to developing this breed.

(Trigger warning for VERY brief allusion to culling in the paragraph below)

“ Breeding: Apart from their cheerfulness, vitality and tameness as positive qualities, one further important characteristic is the fact that one does not require feeders in the breeding of Voorburgs. They are prolific breeders and they take care of their young in every way. Often, some hens start laying eggs again, sometimes even when the young are not quite 14 days old. The young, however, are self supporting and do without their parents very well. After 4 weeks, they can be moved to the young birds' cages and they can take care of themselves without trouble. Care should be taken that some older pigeons do not tease them; this only happens during the first day and for a short period of time. It is recommended to put a container with small amount of food, like turtle dove food and clean water in the breeding cage after the young are about 3 weeks old in order to train them to feed themselves. After 3 weeks, they are beautiful and well-developed and one can tell what quality of birds they will become. For the majority of color varieties, the first selection can take place when the chicks are a week old. In some colored varieties, as in the case of Silvers, it takes a little longer because only after the little ribbons become visible can the approximate color structure become apparent. In birds with a plain or dark shield, this is apparent after a week. It is therefore advisable not to dispose of this type of bird too early, because they may turn out to be first class breeding birds. Type, built, crop and vitality are major factors to be considered in breeding the Voorburg; it is important to breed only hardy birds.” 

Though the author is clearly warning not to kill squeakers too early, killing birds is not the only way to cull them.

By its technical definition, to Cull an animal is simply to remove it from the gene pool. Dogs or cats who have been spayed or neutered have been culled, and are very much alive and well.

Pigeons can’t be safely spayed or neutered, but they can be classed as stock or pet, with Stock birds able to be placed with approved breeders and Pet birds being sent to a non breeding home with hatch control instructions.

The selection for physically sound breeding stock is important here, as good parents raise good parents. Physically sound breeders have to be able to carry, deliver, and incubate the eggs, keep the chicks warm, and diligently, eagerly feed them.

It would be easy for this slender breed to be taken to enough of an extreme as to be too thin to successfully brood, so the standard and the article above warn against that.

Look at the shape of the bird above, and focus on its body. 

Aside from its globe and long, slender legs, this is a pigeon shaped body. I’s muscular and firm, despite its slenderness.

The Globe is not stuck like that. It’s just blown up in display for God and Everybody. ^v^

An unusual, healthy, and most of all FAMOUSLY FRIENDLY breed, the Voorburg Shield Cropper is an overall excellent choice for beginners that like a unique look.