This is ‘Major Drum’ a real future prospect for Steve Price…

 

In the late Autumn of 2015 we bred GB15S98238 ‘Major Drum’ from ‘Skyfall’ our very good son of James Bond of Jan Hooymans  when he was coupled to ‘Genie’ probably the best breeding hen we ever bred from our renowned pairing ‘Drum’ with ‘Gerrie’.

He was left to mature in an aviary for 2016 as not only was he a very late bred, he was also quite a size so he was best left to fill out. We coupled him very late in 2016 to kick start the moult and just reared one youngster from him before he was transferred to Steve Price of the Price Brothers and Son partnership in Stourport who now own him.

My late friend and mentor Albert Tarleton shared some of his ‘pearls of wisdom’ that were many and varied. For example, he would pair up a couple to try to breed a ‘Fathers son’ or ‘Fathers daughter’ or ‘Mothers Son’ or ‘Mothers daughter’.  Albert believed that no one can judge by simply handling, the sporting value of a pigeon. He did believe however that it was very desirable to breed to a type, back to his Champions. If they look like the original birds and behave around the loft like the original birds then they probably had more chance of inheriting the correct genes.

In the case of ‘Major Drum’ he is his ‘Mothers Son’ being virtually identical to his famous mother except a little bigger just like his grandfather ‘Drum’.

‘Major Drum’ has bred with Steve Price for two seasons, being paired to two different hens and has bred 12 x 1st prize winners in that time.

In his first breeding season ‘Major Drum’ was paired to Steve’s exceptional breeding Checker Pied Hen a daughter of Granger x Mary Kate, and three youngsters were bred from this pair with all three winning first prizes including one of then winning  5 x 1st.

In his second season he bred 4 youngsters with a daughter of Blue Mike (a direct son of Mona Lisa the number one hen of Mike Ganus) when paired to to ‘Rocket Class’ a daughter of Granger x Mary Kate. All four youngsters again have won first prizes. One of them has 2 x firsts.

So, seven youngsters in total bred from ‘Major Drum’ all seven have won in only two seasons paired to two different hens.

Last Saturday the Heart of England Federation raced from Purbeck when 113 members sent 1515 birds. GB17D07921 a son of ‘Major Drum’ x ‘Dtr Granger and Mary Kate’ won his fifth club first and 1st Federation. He would have won the club and Fed a few weeks earlier however didn’t due to a ETS malfunction.

In the Purbeck race Steve was also 2nd Fed with a two year old hen bred from a son of Blue Mike and Mata Hari (Outlaw x Zelda Dtr Young Couple) paired to a daughter of ‘Chico’ (Hannibal x Genie) with a daughter of Rik Hermans ‘Minerva’.

Very well done indeed.

Skyfall…sire of Major Drum…

This is Genie our very good breeding daughter of Drum and Gerrie…
She is the mother of ‘Major Drum’ and also :
*14th NPO Orleans 6.783b
*25th NPO Creil 25.056b
*72nd NPO Creil 11.056b
*132nd NPO Orleans8.687b
*1st Sens 304b
(31st Combine 4775b)
*2nd Pommeroeul 377b
(4th Combine 6369b)
*2nd Orleans 157b
(3rd Combine 1737b)
*2nd Creil 383b
(3rd Combine 6441b)
*4th Pommeroeul 219b
*5th Orleans 185b
*5th Pithiviers 250b
Mother of
*2nd St Quentin 13.618b
*15th St Quentin 6.623b
*20th Sezanne 3.030b
*30th NPO Orleans 10.473b
She is also responsible for…
For D.Barron & Son:
1st Rivenhall 7132b
2nd UNCFolkestone17762b
38th UNCAnderezel 3849b
51st UNC Lillers 18088b
For Price Brothers & Son:
1st Wincanton 292b
1st Federation 1672b
1st Kingsdown 223b
1st Federation 1473b
1st Portland 200b
3rd Federation 1368b
1st Wincanton 170b
5th Federation 1237b
8th MCCFC Messac 1271b
For Wayne Doonan :
1st Sect 1370b
1st NIPA Tullamore 8823b
1st Section 1846b
18th NIPA Roscrea 28340b
For Phil Bates and Son:
1st Welsh S.E.National Ramsgate 2236 b
For Crehan and O’Conner :
1st U.K. 7th Int.Algarve One Loft Race
For Peter van der Merwe :
1st Sens 1336 b
1st Nateuil 13,814 b
And many others…

Eye shot of Genie…