Damascene
Hello, my name is Cadin Jaessing. I've been keeping pigeons for about 10 years now. Over the years I have kept a multitude of breeds. Those breeds have included Pigmy pouters, Lahore, Rehani Dewlaps, Starlings, and many others. As I got older, I decided to keep my breeds to a minimum and only focus on a select few that interested me. By doing so, I was able to focus more on picking out the traits that I wanted to see more prominently in my birds, in turn making them more appealing in the show cage.
Damascenes are one breed I have loved working with over the years. There are a few kinds of Dams that I would like to inform people about so that there isn’t any confusion. The breed I keep are called American Show Dams. They are the current breed that is shown in the NPA standard. They are about the size of a homer; they are great flyers but are primarily for show.
Another breed of Dam is called the Flying Type Damascene. These are smaller than the American Show Dams and are primarily used for flying as they tend to not meet the American standard. They have flatter heads and smaller bodies, whereas the Americans have rounder heads and a more muscular look to them.
A bird that has been more recently brought into the States are Booz. The Booz was the earliest ancestor of the American Damascene. These birds have boxy heads and larger dark eye ceres. Great flying birds and stunning to look at.
The final breed I would like to touch on is the European Type Dam. They are a large but balanced breed. I would say they are a little bigger than a homing pigeon. A more robust bird with a rounded head.
When breeding Damascenes, it is important to know the different sub-breeds so that you aren't crossing them together. You wouldn’t cross a Giant Homer with a Racer. So don’t cross a European Dam with a Booz!
