The Spanish Sporting Pouter
A great reference for those who wish to raise, keep and sport the Spanish Pouters called Picas or Deportivo. This literature discusses the basics of how to get started with Picas. Information made available by Ferry Dekok. Developed by Darren Yang, Inspired by Alan Bliven and prepared for anyone fascinated by these ambitious birds.
Introduction
These performing medium sized “Fabios” of the pigeon world are
full of zeal, driven by one attribute, to seek out the hen with a
white feather hooked to her tail, mate with her and bring her home.
Picas are found in a variety of colors like many other pigeons. Picas
are solely a performance breed, though Pica fanciers do show their
birds in action for audiences to enjoy. There are many different
levels of Sueltas (competitions), for example in the cases of smaller
Sueltas, the most common one is that Pica fanciers will bring the
cocks over to a friend’s house for some friendly competition. The
name of the game will be stealing the hen from the friend’s Picas by
out performing the other cocks she is used to flying with. The
visiting Picas do not have a nest box for the hen to follow them back
to. Medium sized Sueltas take place for example after a church
ceremony; a local club will release the Picas so everyone can enjoy
watching them chase after the hen. The other Suelta is a huge event
where Pica fanciers can come to compete for a championship. A couple
of weeks before the event date, the Picas are taken to the club
location where the Suelta will take place that's taken care of by the
local Pica club members. This way, the Pica cocks know where to bring
the hen when the event starts. The bottom line is that in any size Suelta,
points are given to the cocks who steal the hen by out performing the
competition in both flying capabilities and great ground work.
History In Spain
and in many other parts of the world now, the Palomas Deportiva or
A.K.A. Picas are flown in competitions called La Suelta. This is a
competition where Pica cocks are released into an unknown area and the
hen is released into a designated area with a white feather tied to
one of her own tail feathers, or two. Pica cocks are diligently
painted for individualism and scoring purposes. The
Pica sport was developed in Spain when Francisco Franco was ruling in
the 1940’s.He was born on December 4th, 1892 and died on
November 20, 1975. This
ruler loved the thieving pouters very much, especially the Sueltas
with the old Valenciano Pouters. He ordered laws to keep the Sueltas
under special protection and some of them still exist today. For
example, during a Suelta, the cocks are protected if they are in
someone’s yard. The owner of the pigeons does not have to ask
permission for his birds to be in that yard. Legally the owner can
come into the yard and collect his birds if he wishes to do so. If the
hen lands in traffic followed by cocks, they are protected and cannot
be harmed, meaning that the street will be closed for the Suelta.
Franco loved the pica Suelta so much and wanted everyone else to
participate only in that sport and he forbid the Sueltas of other
Thief Pouters. All the other flyers of Thief Pouters had to stop
raising their breed to compete in Sueltas and breed for show purposes
only or continue with only the Picas sport. This is one of the main
reasons why the show standard exists today. La
Suelta 1.
General
Pursuit: ·
2 points added to the
scoreboard for the cock for each minute the cock is in pursuit of the
hen in a one hour Suelta ·
2 points deducted from
the cock's score for each minute he is away from the hen in a one or
two hour Suelta ·
1 point is given for each
minute the cock is in pursuit of the hen in a two hour Suelta 2.
In
the Air Pursuit: ·
5 points for each attempt
the cock tries to free the hen from the flying flock ·
10 points for the cock
that succeeds 3.
On
the Ground Pursuit: ·
5 points for each attempt
the cock tries to free the hen from the crowded flock ·
10 points for the cock
that succeeds 4.
Pairing: ·
20
points for the cock who copulates with the hen Painting
Pica Cocks according to the Color Card What
kind of paint is it? And how long does it stay on the pica? How
to get started? First
thing, first, when deciding on getting a pet, there must be a place
for it to live, so start with the loft that will be needed to
accommodate the Picas comfortably. To keep Pica cocks disciplined, the
pens for them are smaller. Keep in mind that they are not like other
breeds of pigeons that are kept in huge lofts and are free to fly
around the loft as they please. These pigeons are rarely touched and
uncultivated. Picas are
very tame pigeons and attach themselves to humans quickly. It also
works vice versa, once a person owns Picas, he will find it very hard
to get rid of them. Picas will always follow their owner and keep a
watchful eye on what he is doing at all times. There is never a boring
moment with raising Picas. They are easy to handle and take care of
and stay very healthy. There
are basically two different size pens that are needed to keep Picas.
The sizes can be adjusted accordingly to different designs and
preferences. 1.
Hens: ·
16 x 16 x 16 inches 2.
Cocks
alone and Breeding: ·
24 x 24 x 24 inches It
is a good idea to keep the cocks and the hens separated individually
at all times so they will not be in direct view of each other. The
cocks are put in larger size pens for training purposes and that will
be the place for breeding in the future. It is not necessary to keep
them in dark boxes as they do with other thieving pouters. They are
very territorial and envious of each other. So, keep them separated at
all times unless the pair was put together to breed. For
breeding I keep many pairs in a 10 x 8 loft without any problems. I
also keep Homers and other breeds of Pouters with them. Picas make
excellent parents and I use them as Fosters for other breeds. This can be made
by 2 pieces of 8’ x 4’ ply wood. This is a very simple and
cheap design that anyone can make. If the bars are not desired,
replace it with the extra plywood. Inside each pen is a 16x8
inch shelf.
Here
is an example of a pica breeding pen and a single cock pen,
24x24x24 inches This
will take 3 pieces of 8’x4’ plywood. Inside each breeding
pen there is a 12x24 inch shelf.
What
kind of feed do they eat? Any
normal pigeon feed will suffice. Feeding is to keep them alive, healthy, keep them conditioned and to train them in knowing who their
owner is. The other important part of feeding time is to make a
whistle sound, for example with a whistle. This is also a way for the
Picas
to identify their owner. Or
simply use your voice or shake a can of feed when it is feeding
time. Make sure that it is not something common, make it unique. Feeding
time should be the time the owner uses to bond with the birds,
especially the hens. Use food to make this happen. Make sure that it is something habitual so
the Picas can recognize you and associate it with feeding time.
Feeding time should be the time the owner uses to bond with the birds,
especially when
they are young.
Use food to make this happen. And as always, remember to keep
fresh water daily, grits and minerals. In
Spain they normally feed Picas who fly in big Sueltas
with 50 percent Corn and 50 percent Vetch
(a European bean).
Before a huge
Suelta
championship they will also feed the Pica cocks the same feed. This
way they be used to the feed. The breeders in Spain agree
to feed this same food to all the Pigeons in competition. This is done
because they have to send their birds all over Spain to compete in many
different Sueltas. It's a big drawback if they had to be a wide variety
of grains. After experimentation, they concluded that Corn and Vetch
contains the best ingredients for competition birds. For
overall maintenance, any pigeon feed should
work, one recommended feed is the racing pigeon feed, because it has a
lot of protein in the feed because during winter and molting
season they will have plenty of protein in their system. And like all other
pigeons, use regular vaccines and medication. Also, keep plenty of
grits and minerals for them. How
to breed a new line of picas? First,
acquire Picas at the age of three years if they are available because
they are probably experienced Suelta flyers and are disciplined. If
not, the young ones will work, but it will be a little while before
they can breed. Picas breed best during the warmer season because they
have a habit of leaving their young too early so breeding in the
warmer weather will cause the young to have a better survival rate. In
other words, if they breed during winter, chances are the off
spring will freeze. Find someone
that owns Picas, they will almost give away a pair or two for someone
to start out with if they feel you are a potential Pica
enthusiast. If not, buy some. Breed
them like any other pigeons and breed many for next the couple
of years. Here is a guideline to follow when breeding picas: start
with two different lines of picas and cross them accordingly. This
will be the stock birds to choose from. In the end there will be
plenty of Picas, which only the best will be chosen from. Give the
rest away to other pica enthusiasts, or sell them cheap as pigeons
for meat only. ·
The true Pica
enthusiast will sell only quality birds, never poor, inbreed,
unhealthy birds. The last thing they want to do is sell or show the
new Pica enthusiasts that picas are a poor quality breed. ·
For example,
let’s say, you
see someone who sells Rollers and you decide after talking to the
person that you want to buy rollers and start your own roller loft of
rollers. You paid a very cheap price for them. When
buying Picas choose them carefully and ask a lot of questions,
especially where they originally got their Picas from and if possible
to buy from a different breeder as well to ensure two different
bloodlines. From
the best that are chosen, breed them. For example, one usually
uses around 4 pairs to breed or more if the room is available. Picas should
not have any problems being good parents. If they are young, they will
get better as they grow older. The bond between mated Picas can be
broken, but there should be no problem after a week, and he will be back
chasing hens. Just keep in mind that if a red colored hen is used, the
bond can not be broken easily, for some reason the cock will become
attached to the red color on the hen. If the bond is broken, the cock
will only want to chase red hens. This will be frustrating, because
the cock will not chase the hens used in the Sueltas, for example in
Spain, blue and dark colored hens, and in Holland blue bar hens. Separate
the young (squeakers) from their parents as soon as they start
to eat on their own. Segregate them into a “youth” pigeon loft.
This is where the observation will take place as they mature. When a Pica matures by cooing and fanning its tail, take the pica out
and separate it from the others. Picas are very aggressive and
territorial; they will literally destroy each other in a small
loft. Some pica cocks
start to fight as young as 3 to 6 months old, or even when they start
to pair up. This is when you must separate them from the group and let
them breed. Keep them in the youth loft for as long as possible. As
soon as the hen is spotted, tie the white feathers to her tail
feather. For a young Pica cock, you must start training as soon as
possible. For the young hen, it is a little different. The
diagram shows the following for both cases 1.
Young
cock: ·
Move him into his own pen ·
Add a blue bar hen or a
blue checked hen with the white tail feathers in with him to start his
training, let them breed if possible 2.
Young
hen: ·
Move her to a smaller pen
and tie the white feathers to her tail feather if she is a blue bar or
dark colored hen ·
If she is a different
color, set her aside and do not tie the white feathers to her tail
feather, you will use her for breeding or give her away to someone who
might need her. That is if you have plenty of hens. Remember to do not
let her make contact with the cocks or see the Pica cocks 3.
Both
sexes: ·
They will mate, let them
have their first set of young. When they mate again and start
the next batch of eggs, remove the eggs after 10 days, separate the
hen from the cock and leave the cock alone in that same pen for 2
weeks in a 16x16x16. This
will be the foundation or the starting point for the training of
picas. Training
in the early stages There are
many different ways to train Pica cocks; there is not one that is
better than the other. But never let them fly or train with any other
breeds of pigeons. First off, there are none better to train with
except other Picas. Most importantly, if one decided to train the
Picas
with for example homers, then during a Suelta or even training, what
if a homer flies by? The pica will follow that homer to her loft or
home. So never let them near or make contact with any other breed of
pigeons if you plan to fly them in Sueltas. This also applies to the
hen, never use a different breed other than a pica for training and Sueltas
for the same reasons as stated above. Here is
an example: a good amount to keep and train is about 6 cocks
and 3 blue bar hens. The more birds the less interaction there will be
with them. Once you get to get to that amount, the first step is to train
the cocks to chase after the hen. In order to do this, separate the
cock from the hen for 2 weeks. When they are still young they will
rely on the owner for food and nourishment; that will be
used to the owner’s advantage. When it is feeding time, let them out hungry. Using the
feed and the special call of the whistle,
it will tell him to go back inside their pen for food. Repeat this daily
until it is a ritual. Keep in mind that when the cocks grow
older, it will be easier to lure them back into their pens by using a
hen for bait and they will have food readily available when they are
in their individual pens. The
next step is if all the birds are around the same age. For example, if
there are Picas around the age of 3 to 6 months, leave them in the
young pigeon loft and take out the different color hens as soon as
possible. Tie the white feathers to the blue bar and blue checked hens
and let the cocks start training this way. When the cocks
are mature by cooing and displaying, take the hens out one by one
until there are none left. This is to motivate the cocks to chase after
the hen. When training the young cocks in flight, let them fly with
the hens and after some time use fewer hens, until there is only one
that flies with them. Then after completing that step, put the cocks
into their own pens. They
are many methods, and based on the cocks there is different approaches
one must make to accommodate each cock. Some people start with
this one and then go to the step before prior. Don’t be scared to
try these methods, they are very easy to learn and with experience one
can develop their own methods. Training
the hens is different from the cocks. Establish a
special bond with the hen and by using the special whistle call and
food. The overall accomplishment is to make the hen believe that she
is your partner or mate. She will listen when the whistle call is made
and return when she is called. In the Suelta, if she has had enough of
the game, she will return to the owner. She is rewarded with food and
then locked up and another hen will be used in her place. Note:
It is very important to take great care of the hens, for they are
the masters of the Suelta. If they lose trust in the owner, they
will sometimes fly away from the cocks in fear, deserting everybody. So, she
must trust you at all times and never lose that trust. The
hens are also locked up separately at all times so they do not mate
with each other and continue to lay eggs even though there is no way
for the eggs to be fertile. When the hen has fully matured to adulthood and sexually active she will have food readily available
at all times. The time a hen is ready for a Suelta is when she is
sexually active. By keeping her separate at all times, she will only
have one thing on her mind, to mate with a proving cock. Training
for the suelta Training
for the Suelta is done simultaneously for both sexes. 1.
Release the
cocks and time them for 5 minutes 2.
Release the
hen after the 5 minute mark 3.
The cocks
will find the hen and pursue her 4.
Call the hen
back or when she has had enough she will return Note:
The Suelta training could last minutes, hours or days. If
the owner
can not be heard by the hen, she could stay out for days. The cocks
will still pursue her even into the hours of the night. Depending
on the weather and time of year, Suelta training is as follows: 1.
Spring to
Summer ·
Twice a day 2.
Winter to
Fall ·
Once or
twice a week Or as many as the
owner prefers to have. No one will hardly notice the difference when
the cocks have been locked up for months and then released into a Suelta. The
cocks are always ready to chase after a hen. Recommendation for a Suelta
training: Start with two cocks
and see how they work then add a new cock every other day. Let them
grow in pride and in self esteem and that gives them the opportunity
to build their character. Continue with this until you have completed
the whole group. If it does not work out the way it should, go back to
two cocks and start over. Or even one cock and one hen if it is the
case. Sometimes there has to be a winner in order for the cocks to
grow. At this point, it will be trial and error. On another note,
remember to change the hens. Call the hen in and change her for a
different one, so the cocks will not be used to one hen only. Also, the cocks must
be much tamed to the human touch. The only way to do that is to touch
them/pet them every day. Play fight with them, throw them away and let
them come back and repeat it again, hold a hen as bait and let them
fly and sit on your head, hand and arms. The cocks will like that
and together you all will build a special bond between everybody. If there is a
noticeable amount of cocks flying well and staying close to the hen,
and trying to lead the hen away from the group then that means they
are being trained well. Build up their condition for about one to two
hours each time there is a Suelta training. Picas can go for days, but
in real Sueltas it mostly last approximately one to two hours. So
after training for one to two hours, stop the training and call
the birds in to rest. Small Suelta After noticing good
development of the Picas in training, then it is time to take them
to a friend’s house for some friendly competition. Choose a nice
sunny day to bring them over to a friend’s house. Make sure the
cocks have not flown that day to prepare them for the small Suelta.
Make certain they are conditioned to fly for a couple of hours and want one
thing, the Suelta hen. Your friend should have prepared some hens and
they should be in condition to fly and are sexually active and deprived. Next, put the cocks
into wire cages that surround the Suelta hen which is also in a wire
cage in the middle so the cocks can see her. Observe the anxious cocks
build up their drive for the hen. If there is any doubt in a cock,
this is now the time to say so and remove him from the game. The
others should now be ready, so release the cocks and have confidence
in them. Hold the hen and tease them, by pushing them away and play
with them. When the cocks start getting bored and start to fly away in
search of another hen, then release the hen and enjoy the Suelta
before the cocks are gone. Your friend should have some cocks as well
and all of his cocks are released at the same time yours are. The cocks will follow
her to the moon if she takes them there. After some time she will come
down and your friend will be able to call her back to him and the
cocks can be gathered or if the hen goes into her loft, the cocks will
follow her inside and you can gather your cocks that way. You can do
this over a period of time and if you and some friends decide to organize
a small championship in someone’s backyard, feel free to do so. Where
are the best picas found? No one really would
sell their best Picas and especially give them away. They will let
birds go because no room is available and from there a new bloodline
can be started, so planning to breed a new bloodline is the best way
to go. Follow the breeding instructions in the breeding section. There
are numerous ways to breed good birds, for example start by an out
crossing project to other Picas and then cross back into the main line
(the birds you started with). If you notice the out crossed picas are
better than those of the main line, then go with the crossed birds. Or
the option still remains to start two different bloodlines in which
case, you will cross them back and forth when needed. Keep in mind
that when crossing into the colomba livia the bloodline will fall
generations back. This is all depending on the off spring; it will
depend on their performance and abilities. All in all, to answer the
question, the best picas are found in the Sueltas of course. Show Standard for Guttarossa Palomas Deportivo Pica Beak and Nails:
Eye Neck
Tailbone
Breastbone
Back
Wings:
The tips of the wings should be resting
on the tail feathers.
Tail and legs
Weight
Exceptions
The tailbone may be at the basic not
being wider the 5.25 mm. The end may not being wider then 3 mm.
Score
10 points for head, eye and expression
30 points for muscle and balance
15 points for bone (system), breast and tailbones
15 points for back, tail and end of the tail
30 points for wing and quality of the plums
Total of 100 points
How to tie the white feathers on to the tail feather of the hen
There are many ways to do this, here are
two:
1:
Using a vent tube from a bicycle
2:
Using white duck feathers, cut off the tip of the duck
feathers (the part that goes into the duck)
Works Cited
Kok, F. D. (2007, November 15). Pica
Fancier. (D. Yang, Interviewer)