Hubbell Pigeons- A Line of Kings that Isn't Dead

[huskiesdelabas1]

some nice looking birds there sport. what do you sale yours for when you do have some for sale. i have that one pair i got from johnny and i plan on getting another pair or two at some point but i only want to have a small number. id love to have 1/2 the number it looks like you have but i just aint got the room. so i can only keep 3 or 4 pair most. i just got them to have them. i have always loved pigeons. love to hear that cooing. between huskies chickens and quail and rabbits i just wouldnt have the time or room for anything more. hubbells are just some big pretty birds.

 

[sport14692]

i see this post is getting old but wanted to tell you there is some in mamou louisiana as well.
a mr johnny has some. they are huge. bigger then a white king. just awesome.

That is correct, I have a ton of them from him

 

[sport14692]

Will be stepping up my breeder quantities so i should have plenty of Hubbells to sell in the next couple on months. I do ship. Located in Carencro, Louisiana

 

[laughingdog]

What would you or other guy charge for one to few proven pairs, just unsexable etc squeakers? What are weights on your not to good birds, and their feed efficiency (pm please).

 

[sport14692]

Mr Johnny Berzas in Mamou has his entire Hubbell loft up for sale. Selling them for $5 each if you buy all at once. He estimated to have between 150-200 of them. I wish I had the room for them

 

[laughingdog]

I'd love to try one to few pairs at first, then would get more or all if seen n felt great as said, or at least better than homers.

 

[Abevg]

 

[DenverCityCat]

Hah, I have a few that look something like this- I got a few from an Iranian guy here in Denver, he just called them Kings- I moved them into my heated garage in Denver mine breed like crazy- Not sure if their the same but they kinda look the same for a Noob like myself-

 

[GNCOTTON]

i see this post is getting old but wanted to tell you there is some in mamou louisiana as well.
a mr johnny has some. they are huge. bigger then a white king. just awesome.

YOU HAVE HIS ADDRESS OR PHONE NUMBER?

 

[Zenmonkey]

This is a pretty old thread, and this is the first update in 5 years.

Take note that the sources of Hubbel are no longer available. Mr Johnny Berzas in Mamou, Louisiana reportedly sold his flock in 2018. I see an obituary notice online for a Johnny Berzas in that location from not long after. RIP good sir.

Additionally literally everyone I noticed who posted to this thread claiming that they've got Hubbell pigeons hasn't posted in years.

I suspect Big Chicken is behind all of this. They (capital 'T') are clearly trying to supress good quality squabbing birds!

For the record, I don't have any. Please don't hurt me, Big Chicken!

On a more serious note, I really don't have any squabbing birds right now. And I suspect the issue with finding them is that squab just isn't a common dish any longer.

I see that Strombergs offers Hubble at $180/ pair, plus I'm certain, the heftiest shipping charge you'll find for pigeons any where. However I bet if have got money in your pocket, they'll have pigeons at your door fairly quickly.

Mumtaztic website lists exactly one breeder offering Hubbells. Note that they spell it differently from Strombergs. Google seems to indicate that Hubble is the more common spelling. Mumtaztic is somewhat notorious for never removing listings, so if you go that route, let us know if you were successful?

Racinghomer.com / pigeonfarms (seems to be the same outfit?) is offering *something* labeled Hubbles. $150/ bird, minimum 8 birds, $175 for shipping. I'm not going to say that they're a scam. But they seem to operate multiple sites all more or less selling the same pigeons. Their prices aren't great, their minimum order is unusual, and for the price, I'd go with Strombergs $90 birds over this, all day every day.

I found one Facebook ad less than 2 years old, and a couple more recent but *looking* for Hubble, not offering them.

The most recent mention of Hubble that I found on this site was made by someone who has been active within the last, roughly, year. You might have success by asking in the "other poultry" buy sell trade category, or your state thread.

None of my searches should be considered exhaustive. Best wishes on finding lots of stuff I missed.

Also, personally, I'm not sure how much value is in chasing that particular name. My understanding is that there was a physician named Dr GM Hubbell who bred kings, possibly mixing in some other breeds, and offered his birds as Hubbells or Hubbell kings somewhere in the 1920s.

That was a century ago. As far as I can tell, he came up with a great split between size and fecundity, but a century later, are they really going to be that much better than a good utility king? The king has had a century of breeding into it since then.

I see a handful of references to the Hubbell having a "double breasted" gene. Kind of like the modern broad breasted turkeys. However as far as I can tell, that never proved out. Multiple attempts to demonstrate the gene failed. Instead there's a collection of genes that can make a pigeon meatier, but not a single gene triggering a huge change. For the amount of effort, time, and money involved, I suspect that you could purchase a half dozen more readily available utility breeds, mix them together, and start selecting for whatever you think is the perfect squabbing bird.

Just my two cents. I admit to a bit of cynicism. If you really want Hubbles, I've listed above my best bets to find them.

In order:
Ask in these forums. Maybe someone is lurking and has a loft full of them. Just be wary of scammers. Some who signs up and 5 minutes later offers you birds hasn't exactly been vetted.

Try that breeder on Mumtaztic. Maybe he's still offering birds.

Keep tabs on Facebook for a while. Be prepared to wait. At no point in time let down your guard regarding scammers.

Strombergs.

I think I'd stop there.

But honestly, if it were me? And it's not. It's you. You do you. But if it were me, I think I'd pick out my favorite meat bird from what's readily available, find the best examples I could, preferably from someone who could also point me in the right direction for raising them, offer advice, etc.

And then if they weren't quite what I wanted, pick another breed that seemed to have what I wanted, and start mixing them in. Which is probably about what Dr Hubbell did a century ago.

I don't currently have any pigeons. But I miss them. And I always wondered what they taste like. Maybe I will pick up some kings or such.

But if I start posting pictures of delicious looking birds, and then suddenly disappear.... Big Chicken took me out.