The
Indian Fantail as known by American fanciers is considered by most
people a new breed, but facts prove this assumption as false. The Indian Fantail
is one of the oldest breeds of pigeons known to man. Hieroglyphics in the
Egyptian Tombs definitely show drawings of pigeons with a peak crest and
grouse muffs with a fantail, even superior to the pictures in "Fulton's
Book" 1600 to 1700 A.D. (approximately). No doubt these birds are ancestors
of the present day Fantails. Most Fantail breeders
will agree that occasionally a peak crest or grouse muffed will still apear.
My belief is many of these present day Fancy Pigeons go back to these Egyptian
Fantail. The hieroglyphic
drawings of a plainhead clean leg pigeon is I'm told, intended to represent
the ancestors of our present day Homing or Racing Pigeons.Tomb Hieroglyphic
records prove that the Egyptians used pigeons as a means of communications. There are many villages
in India along the Gauges River where the Indian Fantails are held as sacred.
I have been told some of these villages have flocks of thousands.Of course
there are always others drifting in, Some scooptails and undesirables,
but most all birds carry some of the characteristics of the old stock.
No one seems to know where this birds came from. When asked the natives
where these beautiful birds came from, they shrug their shoulders and reply
"I guess they have always been here." The first Indians
to arrive in the United States, to my Knowledge,came as food in large crate
of snakes, designated for the San Diego Zoo, about 1927,fortunately they
were not all eaten. They were placed in a cage and kept for a time,then
sold or traded off since San Diego Zoo like most zoos cannot keep to many
domestic Pigeons or other birds due to space limitation. The now named
Indian Fantails changed hands several times and were scattered around. About 1939 I obtained
two pair, and kept them and their young until the war in 1941. I had to
dispose of all my pigeons in 1943. I started with birds again but couldn't
locate any of the Indians. I continued with Racing Homers and I still have
some as well as numerous other Fancy breeds. In my last year
of active participation in Racing Homers I was fortunate in winning seven
out of eleven races, including the 400, 500, 600 and 700 mile races. I
elected to retire and devote my full time to breeding and raising Fancy
Pigeons and other exotic birds. I was fascinated
by the Indian Fantail pigeon and decided to try and find some and start
breeding them again, but much to my disappointment they were not to be
found. I was persistent and in 1945 I heard of a young Man who had a few
Indian Fantails, and on looking him up he told me that a dog had gotten
into to his pen and killed all his Indians but one as well as other breeds.
He also told me that he had joined the Navy and said I could have what
he had left, one beautiful tail-marked hen. I loved her beauty and just
had to find a mate for her. While looking for a mate for her I gave her
an English Trumpeter Cock to keep her happy. I Kept three or four birds
from this mating. In time I found a cock from a friend of mine. He had
a few very old birds. I took him home and my hen who was then 13 years
old, and the cock who was 8 seemed to think that this was love at first
sight. They went to nest in a few days. The hen laid one egg only.The one
egg hatched and was a duplicate of the Old Cock, a Red,which died March
5 1968, at the age of 19. The old hen never laid again, but she was a good
foster parent for more than two years, and very beautiful until the day
she died. The young cock was mated to one of the English Trumpeter crosses.I
kept mating back and forth. One day a friend
of mine said he had the bird I wanted. He was passing a poultry market
and had found this bird. It was a very large white cock With large tail
feathers and a large body, he also had nice grouse muffs. My friend was
so right. The cock was mated to the granddaughter of the old birds. Out
of 20 birds bred from this mating only 5 were saved. After many crosses
between These birds the Ribbon-tail and others were started. The
clean legged and plain heads were culled completely,except for three cocks
and one hen, these were all ribbon-tails. I cannot come to dispose of them,
for vistors say they are the most beautiful birds they have ever seen. I have developed
other which to date are Saddles in Blue, Red, Yellow, Beige, Black,Silver,
and Lavender. Body-marks in Blue, Black, Red, Yellow, and Beige. Mottles
in Lavender, Silver, Dun, Chocolate and Copper or Bronze. Tail-marks
in Red, Black, silver, Grizzle and Blue. Solid colors in Blue, Red, Bronze,
Chocolate, Dun, Yellow, Lavender, White, Silver, Blue and black Checked,
also one near pink and Orange Beige and Maroon Splashed. Ribbon-tails in
Red, Through maroon shades with white or blue ribbons running from side
to side. The Ribbon is about one nich from the end of the tail. Back to mating.
A few years after the first birds, I found a fancier from the midwest that
had seven Indian Fantails for sale. I bought them but did not get what
I wanted. At about the same time I bought two pair of thailand Fantails,
which contributed greatly to the whites. A few years later
I made the acquaintance of Tony Brancato, who was to become my best friend.
At that time Tony lived in Connecticut. He visited Califorina and decided
to stay. He sended for his birds and set to work, plain heads and clean
legged were culled, he got down to 18 birds.Tony decided to return to college
and finish his teacher's credentials so I took over his entire stud, it
was easy since they were at my house in a small loft I had let him use. Last year after
graduation Tony decided to concentrate on the Whites, due to lack of space.
I turned over the Whites to him. Tony's Indian Fantails were a great help
in my work. He had Imported birds from India and many thousands have been
bred with only the cream of the crop allowed to exist. Please remember
there is no standard Fantail blood in any of the Indians, I had tried once
but with very bad results, and the entire crosses were killed. Indian Fantails
are very prolific and hardy and need not to have their tails clipped to
breed. My experience has been 85% or more fertility in the eggs.
In my time I have had many breeds, but many times as many as 30 or more
at a time. This covers almost
30 years of pleasure with the Indian Fantails.