Indian fantails and American fantails what's the difference(also need info on caring for pigeons)

[313759]

I looked at pictures of the fantails and didn't notice a difference between the Indians and the Americans, what's the difference? Also I am getting my first pigeons they are NY Flights . What should I feed them, I hear hog feed works for some people?

 

[Hokum Coco]

What do I need in a loft? I have an old shed that might be suitable until we build or buy one.

My loft is just a converted baby barn. You can run a search on the internet and find plenty of ideas and dreams.
This is one I dream about that I hope to make reality soon.

 

[JackBaker]

I know this is a bit late but I hope you see it

So there are quite a few different breeds of fantails.

• Indian fantails
• American exhibition fantails
• English exhibition fantails
• German exhibition fantails
• Syrian fantails
• Thai fantails
• Seljuk Fantails
• English garden fantails

Theres probably more but this is what I am familiar with. I breed fantails and have done for many years now. I do it as more of a hobby than anything (along with all my other birds) and quite enjoy keeping my line going. I cross a lot of the breeds together to see what I get and some of my young are gorgeous, if I do say so myself.
Anyway I currently have Indians, English exhibition, English garden and German exhibition fantails. There is a difference between all of them. Obviously as everyone has already said Indians have the crown and feathered feet, and Americans have the arched back with their heads touching it. English exhibition fantails are similar to the American only smaller and I believe the American was originally bred from these. I'm unsure if the Americans can have feathered feet or if that would be and Indian cross, however I do not breed them so I couldn't say. The German exhibition fantails again are similar to the other exhibition fantails but their heads do not go as far back and they are a lot taller in the leg. The person I gained them off claimed that they should at least have 36 tail feathers. English garden fantails are the basic white fantails (can come in other colours, just most common is white) that live in people gardens and are miss-sold as doves. They have a much straighter back and are much more able at flying, they are not a show breed and more of a utility breed. Although their job is too look nice in a garden so they still are quite showy. The seljuk and Thai are both vary rare outside of their own country's and have little knowledge on them myself. The Thai I believe is very similar to the Indian in appearance but only comes in white, the Seljuk is from turkey and is quite small, slightly resembles the English garden fantail in body shape but only has two colours. Powder blue bar and black and white. Syrian fantails are growing in popularity, yet they don't really have much to their tails so I'm afraid they have never interested me, but never say never.

Hope this helped a little, my fantails now are a mixture of different breeds and I do not inbreed so I constantly buy new birds for the ones I breed. They all have names too . There is also a pigeon called the Indian fantasy, which is not technically a fantail but the Indians were used in its creation and the pigeon still has a fanned tail so you could check them out too.

 

[Hokum Coco]

d

 

[313759]

The differences are subtle in the two fantail breeds this is what I look for in a Champion American fantail (this one has clean feet some have feathered) This is what I look for in a Champion Indian fantail (this one has feathered feet some have clean) the head is not tilted back and it also has a feathered tuff on it's head. I feed a mixture of feeds corn chicken pellets small bird seeds peas and shelled peanuts. There are almost as many different diets as there are pigeon fanciers. I even throw in some rabbit pellets in the winter which they seem to enjoy. Every bird has different preferences through the year and if you feed a mixture you can gauge just what they are craving at different times of the year. Some fanciers feed straight chicken pellet and they seem to do fine by all accounts. You can some times buy a special pigeon feed at some feed suppliers (not always available in all areas).

Wow they are bother very pretty. Thanks for the info I'll keep that in mind. Do you show your pigeons? I plan on getting some splash American fantails next year...

 

[Hokum Coco]

Wow they are bother very pretty. Thanks for the info I'll keep that in mind.

Do you show your pigeons? I plan on getting some splash American fantails next year...

No I have them as pets. I also do white dove releases take a peek at the link in my signature to get a bit more insight into my hobby.

 

[313759]

Oh that's cool... so would I, I plan on keeping them as pets unless I decide to show a bird or two if they show quality. What do I need in a loft? I have an old shed that might be suitable until we build or buy one. I have to put roosts and nesting boxes, I made a feeder but I don't think it'll work so I'm probably just going to use my chick feed trough.

 

[313759]

That is amazing I can't blame you for wanting to make a loft like that

 

[313759]

I got my NY flights a few days ago and are keeping them in a holding pen until the loft is finished. They are 2-3 years old and I don't know how I'll be able to let them free fly without the threat of them leaving me. By the way are NY flights considered fancy breeds?

 

[Hokum Coco]

I got my NY flights a few days ago and are keeping them in a holding pen until the loft is finished. By the way are NY flights considered fancy breeds?

I personally do not own or ever seen this bird but I heard it described as:
Domestic Flights (often called NY Flying Flights) were bred to fly for long periods of time in kits. In NY and NJ especially, they play a game with these birds in which the object is to lure and capture as many 'stranger' birds as you can, from other flocks. The birds captured are then returned to the original owner, kept, traded, or sold. They love being with their flock, so if one strays away, it's easily attracted into another local flock. Many people in the city raise these birds on the roof, which I'm sure is quite a sight when they fly.
Flights (whether for show or flying) have a unique look to them too. They are either crested or plain-headed, and have bright red feet, beaks, and ceres. Put that along with some of their white pearl eyes, and you have a bird that REALLY sticks out!