WHITE BIRD DILEMMA
True or myth? W....hite birds are incapable of winning races and competing with coloured birds. The answer, in my opinion, is YES indeed they are capable of competing and winning at the highest level.
The reasoning behind my answer is based in facts, not just opinion or bias. Thirty-five years ago Pure White Racing Pigeons emerged from Europe (Belgium and the UK), the strains were Janssens and Busschaerts. These soon made their way to Australia, unfortunately over time the fanciers that acquired the Janssens mixed them to other strains, such as Logans and Parkinsons. These are not inferior strains, both do well here in Australian racing, but it caused the original Janssen features to become less prominent in the birds, particularly the strong wings that were typical to the original white birds of the strain.  So, today these birds are very different in ability and appearance than what they were originally bred for.
The same thing later happened to other strains of white birds that arrived here, such as Verheyes and Delbars. The special qualities developed in their strain were lost due to cross breeding with virtually any other pigeon that happened to be white.  Unfortunately most of these birds have ended up in the wedding release business because their ability to fly consistently over long distances has been reduced dramatically. This is evident when most fanciers with white birds in their loft find the longest distance for their birds is 250 miles.









White Busschaerts as Competitive Racing Birds......
Although this strain was also subject to much crossbreeding since its arrival here, the degree to which this happened seems to have been less. It is still possible to find lofts that have kept them relatively pure as a strain, and these are where the best racing results for white birds can be attributed to. We were fortunate enough to acquire birds like this about 11 years ago.
During that time we have carried out selective breeding within the White Busschaert strain, finding them from overseas and interstate lofts with similar quality birds, such as those of James Ducet from Leeds in the UK. The environment that our birds are kept in has also contributed to the development of their physical characteristics and ability over the years. The loft is situated in a rural bushland area, where from their first flights the birds acclimatise to conditions of rough terrain and eager predators. Only the strong survive, and over time we have seen less young bird losses each year, as the qualities necessary for survival have been learned by the parents and are inborn stronger into each new generation.
About 4 years ago a fancier from Botswana, in southern Africa, named David Germaine acquired some of our birds. He contacted us to give an update about their progress, and told us that over that time he only had three incidences with losing the birds due to hawks. He had expected much heavier losses due to the tough environment and high numbers of predatory birds, and was going to tell his club that the dismissal of white birds as HAWK BAIT was without basis.   Research also proves this, as it has been scientifically proven that hawks and other birds of prey cannot distinguish between the colours of their target. They are specifically focussed on speed and movement when hunting, and are less likely to attack a bird that is flying fast with strong wing movement and good body positioning, regardless of its colour. The only reason a white bird would be more likely to be a victim would be due to poor breeding with other strains and sometimes other breeds of pigeons, which would make any other colour bird more vulnerable also.
We believe that White Busschaerts as a strain provide the basis for creating competitive racing pigeons. The experience of our birds and their ability to adapt and improve shows that the potential of the strain is endless.

God bless you for taking the time to read this. Please remember we are not a big stud, but very competitive. This information is for education not advertising.
"Mmmm....blue bar, my favourite"