Descriptions of Breeds

SOUTH-AFRICAN BREEDS: 

PART 1

South African Botternek Tumbler
Compiled by Chris de Bruin  

The SA Botternek Tumbler (Tortoiseshell) was developed by the deceased Boet (Jan) van der Walt of Pretoria Gardens . During 1954 Boet got hold of Birmingham rollers with the unique colour of Almond / Tortoiseshell as well as feather footed tumblers, blue in colour with a white head (hens). After 45 years of selective breeding and cross breeding, with feather footed tumblers with white heads, colour and stand, the results was that in 1990 the birds was ready to be register as a independent breed. Boet van der Walt, Hans de Bruin, John Saunders and Charles Pottas put lots of effort into this breed to make it what it is today. But the Van der Walt’s, of Pretoria and Krugersdorp played the biggest part in the development of this breed.

During May 1990, Jan van der Walt made a presentation to have a standard and the breed recognised. Various Botternek Tumblers were exhibited at five regional shows in 1990 and six pairs were entered at the South African Championship Show in Paarl 1990. The SA Botternek Tumbler was finally accepted at the 1992 South African Championship Show in Johannesburg as a recognised breed of fancy pigeon of South Africa . During the 1993 South African Championship Show, a speciality club for the SA Botternek Tumbler was established, with Willie van Zyl as President, Louis van der Walt as Vice-President  and Benard van Zyl as Secretary.

The main feature of this breed is it’s old gold to brown colour with white blue and black spots in the neck. The body is white with brown, blue and black spots or mottled marks. A light brown bar on the wings appears mainly on the hens, with a minimum of 5 white primary feathers from the point of the wing. Cocks normally show more spots than hens as the birds get older, some cocks get darker, sometimes almost black. Blue barred birds with white heads and almost totally white birds do come forth and are very important in the breeding program. The blue barred birds (mostly hens), strengthens the colour in the neck and the white birds (mostly cocks) have better feet feathers.

Considering the colour factor which is the main characteristics of the breed, white and blue birds may be shown under any other colour, but cannot be considered as Best of the breed. A few years ago Willie van Zyl showed a white male on the Northern-Transvaal Regional Show and the bird was according to me the best SA Botternek on show, but because of the restriction in the standard I could not made it the Best in the Breed.

The bird’s size is that of a normal roller except that the chest is prominent, another characteristic of the breed is that it has 14 tail feathers instead of the normal 12. They are carried loosely to have a flat appearance so that the wings are carried under the tail. These characteristics are brought through by the breeder / developer which were carried down from the original Oriental rollers from England .

The birds are very lively by nature but very calm when breeding. They make the best parents because they raise their own young easily and make excellent foster parents. The feet feathers can reach a length of up to 10 cm but should be cut during breeding season. When the young leave the nest it is advisable to cut the feet feathers to allow the young to walk easier.

This breed is not so scarce anymore as it was a few years ago, as they are now seen on many shows. Charles and Jenny Botts took a few with them when they immigrated to Ireland , so now this breed is also in Ireland . It is maybe the only South African bred breed that is now available internationally.

In order to give recognition to the deceased Boet van der Walt, the Northern-Transvaal members decided on a meeting on the 7^th November 1997 to use the SA Botternek Tumbler as their official emblem.

During the South African Championship Show of 2006 at Stella, Willie van Zyl exhibited the 4^th Reserve Bird on show with a SA Botternek Tumbler, ring number 1728/05. This was the first time that a South African bred breed received a Top Seven award on a Championship Show. This particular bird had 18 tails feathers instead of the normal 14. I think that Willie is the best person who could have received this award considering that at times he was the only person breeding and keeping this breed. He has been the leader to make sure that more breeders have these wonderful birds to breed and they are now distributed all over South Africa . From the time that he has been showing these birds he has taken the Best SA Botternek Tumbler on all the South African Championships Shows, definitely something to be proud of.

Compiled by Chris de Bruin 5 May 2008

SOUTH AFRICAN BOTTERNEK TUMBLER STANDARD  
Bearing and Size:
Medium size, short, compact and well balanced with proud erect bearing. Cocks stand approximately 200 mm high and hens approximately 180 mm.
Head:
The head is medium sized with the forehead rounding out from where it originates behind the wattle. It must appear relatively broad and be clearly rounded between the eyes, not flat or angular. The space between the eyes must be wide and full. The head joins the neck forming a neat unit without irregular curves.
Beak:
The beak is short, straight and of medium length, but long enough to feed their young. It must be flesh coloured.
Eyes:
Eyes may be light pearl or bull-eyed. Both eyes must be the same colour. Different coloured eyes are a disqualification.
Neck:
The neck is short to medium in length and rather thick at the broad shoulders. The neck is carried proudly upright.
Chest:
The chest is full, wide, round and prominent.
Wings:
The wings must be carried below the tail at all times. They are carried slightly forward and held tightly against the body, forming an essential part of the body. 
Legs and Feet:
Legs are of medium length, shorter rather than longer. The toes are covered with feathers between 50 to 100 mm in length.
Tail:
The tail feathers are loose from one another, giving the tail a broad appearance. There must be a minimum of fourteen (14) tail feathers, which lies flat on each other forming an even unit.
Colour and Markings:
Head:
The head is white above, a line approximately 8 mm below the eye, forming a straight line around the head. There are no coloured feathers on the head.
Neck:
The colour in the neck, the main characteristic of the breed is old gold, bronze and brown, with white, blue and black speckles. The colour must be rich and remind us of the almond colours of some Tumblers. A white bib below the throat is not desirable and must be penalized accordingly.
Body, Wings and Tail:
The colour is mainly white with black, brown or blue markings or shades thereof. The wings may also have light brown bars. Bars occur more frequently in the hens.  A minimum of five (5) flights in a row from the end of the wing are white. Cocks normally present more coloured marks than hens and darken with age.
Any Other Colour (Mismark):
White, blue barred and other colours. As the main characteristic of the breed, it’s colour does not appear on mismark birds, these birds cannot be considered when selecting the best bird in the breed. They may, however, still be shown in their appropriate classes.