Nikolaev pigeons are birds that are appreciated all over the world

Nikolaev's pigeons were first mentioned in the works of the professor of agriculture M.G. Livanov in the year 1799. There is no exact information about how this breed originated. It is assumed that sailors sailing to the shores of the Black Sea brought foreign pigeons that crossed with local birds. The coastal climate has had a huge impact on the formation of the breed. In 1910 pigeons of the Nikolayevskaya breed were registered.

Description of the breed

Nikolaevsky pigeons have an elongated and small body with a low landing. The total length of the bird is from 38 to 40 centimeters. The color of the feathers is yellow, blue, red, white, black and ashy. Usually it is bright and uniform. Metal tint has a coloration of the chest and neck. White-tailed pigeons stand out, one or two extreme feathers of their tail are sometimes colored. Birds that have sides and a cockade on the forehead of the same color were called color-cube.

The head of the bird is smooth, dry, round-elongated. The eyes are small, dark brown, if the plumage is white, or golden-straw in color. Eyelids are thin, and in color resemble melted milk. Beak is usually thin, long, light, proportionate. There is a small wax which fits tightly to the beak, its color is white. These pigeons with a thick, short, convex and strong neck. The musculature of birds is well developed, the chest is strong, convex, raised by 40-45 degrees.

Back slightly elongated, wide, straight. The wings are quite long, they do not fit tightly to the body, their ends are in the closed condition on the tail. There are blue or ash-colored scutes. Black or light brown belts. Pigeons have red-brown short extremities without feathers and light claws. On the tail from 12 to 16 feathers, he himself is long and wide.

Characteristic features of Nicholas Pigeons

• The body is streamlined.
• Dense plumage plumage, which fits snugly to the body.
• Feather tail and wings are elastic and broad, forming a large supporting surface.
• Movable tail and wings.
• Endurance in flight is given by a strong backbone, developed musculature.

Nikolaevsky pigeons have excellent flying qualities. They can soar without circles, in a relatively short time to rise and remain in flight for a long time. If you properly care for birds and conduct regular training, then they are able to fly up to nine hours in a row.

Pigeons seem to soar on the ascending streams of air. It happens that during the flight they are helped by a uniformly blowing head wind. They prefer birds to fly one by one and do not depend on each other. Quite often the flight of the depths of this breed is compared with the flight of a lark or butterfly. However, at present, some of these fauna species have lost their flight capabilities. Specialists identified two main types of pigeons of the Nicholas breed: serpentine and faceted.

Nicholas Pigeons

These birds usually fly up and down vertically, the wings are held in front of themselves over the head all the time from ascent to landing. The body assumes a vertical position and faces towards the flow of air. Doves need a wind of 7 to 10 meters per second for the flight.

Serpent Nicholas Pigeons

Have a horizontal flight. Differ smooth movement in the air. In this case, small inclines are observed to the left or to the right. Keep the body parallel to the flow of air or earth, the wings are overhead and curved in the form of a sickle. Therefore described birds and got such name.

It can be said that the Nikolayev doves of 2014 are mostly serpent. At present, it is quite rare to meet the face representatives of the breed.

Features of breeding

The pigeons of the Nikolayev breed are appreciated not only by professional breeders, but also by amateurs. Birds have a lively temperament, are able to adapt easily to different climates, they are unpretentious about the conditions of the contents and feed. Nikolaev's pigeons breed well, quite fertile.

Birds of this breed have become widespread and popular not only in our country, but also abroad. But it should be noted that they can show their best flying qualities only in conditions close to the conditions of their native land. It also requires systematic training, compliance with the regime of feeding and maintenance. It can be done from the age of 1.5 months, when young birds are just starting to go out on the roof. They need to be taught to fly with a reliable leader. The latter becomes for them a kind of instructor. After four or five such flights it is recommended to teach young animals to fly independently.

The best time for classes is earlier in the morning, although night flights are also practiced. During them, birds rise when the sun goes down, and they drop only in the morning. But such flights are dangerous, since Nicholas Pigeons have a weak ability to orient themselves. They can easily get lost and return only after a few days.