By Nigel Wycherley

I hope that all of you are enjoying a good summer despite the weather and I also hope that you all have bred some quality birds over the past few months.

From the information I have received it has been a mixed bag of results with some fanciers having a really good breeding season and some being frustrated to say the least in what their birds have produced, or not produced, in some cases.

Let us hope that the birds enjoy a good moult and they do the business so to speak at the forthcoming shows.

I look forward to meeting most of you at the shows so get prepared to put the world to rights again and don't forget to ask Roy which division Walsall and the Baggies are in this season?

Roger Goode is put under the spotlight this month and I would like to thank Roger and everyone else who sent the questionnaires back to me. There are still a few of you who need to motivate yourselves and send me them back but I am not holding my breath.

That's about it for this month - if the rumours I hear about entry fees going up are true, then it looks as though I might be remortgaging the house!

WHAT IS YOUR NAME

Roger Goode.

HOW DID YOU START IN FANTAILS?

My mother and father had always kept animals from when I was a child. This included over the years hens, ducks, geese, goats, dogs and also two young fox cubs at one point that my father reared. My first real interest in pigeons began when arriving home from primary school one day and there, sat on the lawn, looking very tired, was a racing pigeon. On my father's return home from work he decided that it was best to put it in the tool-shed overnight as it was exhausted? The door was opened the following morning and all of the following week and after a fly the bird always returned. After a few weeks my father made contact with the owner who lived in Ireland and explained our circumstances. We were told that if we wished we could keep the bird, which we did, until it disappeared one day some months later.

This was forgotten until a friend at school who lived on a farm mentioned that Garden Fantails had migrated from a dove cote in the garden and had taken up residence in the outbuildings. If I wanted I could have some as pets if I could catch them on my visit to the farm one evening after school. I remember with great excitement climbing up a ladder and opening the trap door into the hay loft. On turning on the torch there they all were, perched on ledges and on the hay, not only the garden Fantails as mentioned but a multitude of different coloured racing pigeons, all strays. I was drawn to these more than the Fantails because in the torchlight the snow white of their wattles and iridescence of green and purple around their necks looked amazing. With a potato sack in hand we began to pick an assortment of Fantails and Racers, the sack was tied up with baling twine by my friend's father into a duffle bag type affair and, after a few air holes were added, I thanked them and began my cycle ride home. On arriving home well after school time and in total darkness I was greeted by my parents with, 'Where have you been 'till this time?' Second question, 'What is in the sack?' After opening it to show them I was told that I would have to let them go in the morning as I had nowhere to keep them.

After tea the birds were transferred into a large cardboard box in the kitchen where I spent most of the evening peeping at them along with the rest of the family. My father stated that if I kept them all they would cross breed so it was best to liberate the Racers in the morning and just keep the Fantails. This I did the following morning, and that weekend my father and I adapted a poultry shed to accommodate three pairs of Fantails along with the ducks I already owned. My interest in pigeons had begun and so had my father's.

After a couple of years with the Fantails I went into racing pigeons for about three years encouraged by local flyers. This I really enjoyed but, being reliant on family and friends to train the birds, it was difficult. However on race days my excitement was beyond belief, scanning the skies, waiting for my birds return from the race points. I never won any races but they were all winners to me. The last year at secondary school I had a better understanding of the feeding methods and management of the Racers and the young birds reared that year flew far better than those of previous years. However, with final year school exams looming I decided to sell all the Racers and just retain a couple of pairs of Garden Fantails to fly out. My father and mother had a trip out one evening to a country pub where there were some rather grand pigeons fluttering round the beer garden. After enquiring, they were informed that they were Exhibition Fantails, and that the landlord would breed a pair for my father. This he did, they were ash red as I remember, however they did not last long free flying as a Sparrowhawk killed them both. We always used to reminisce about them but could not make contact with any breeders despite our efforts until once again my father saw an advertisement in a local supermarket for some white Exhibitions. We made contact with the owner, a local dog breeder, and purchased four pairs.

Then some months passed and an advert at the local corn merchant put us in touch with Geoff Cooke who had most of the colours available. Geoff had purchased all his Fans off the late Bill Rogers after he had retired from the Fancy, so they were all of quality neither of us had seen before. Geoff kindly fixed us up with a pair of blacks and although he did not show himself, he explained all the methods of breeding and management ofthe birds. Geoff also mentioned Stafford Show where we would be able to see Fans on display for the first time. An advert in Cage and Aviary bird magazine put us in contact with Eric Peeke, the world renowned bird artist who kept Fantails for pleasure. Eric also supplied my father and I with some red Fantails, also from the Bill Rogers strain.

Feeling rather pleased with our new birds we attended Stafford Show that year for the first time. We strolled up and down the pens admiring all of the different coloured Fantails. After enquiring as to who some of the exhibitors were we were sent off in the direction of two of the finest ambassadors of the Fantail hobby, the partnership of Tom and Nigel Wycherley, who made both of us feel very welcome. Tom explained the judging procedure and introduced us to some of the Fantail fanciers in attendance. Colin Ufton, in between preparing his Fans, talked to us about the breed standard and, on seeing us both looking a bit confused, explained that if we were going to show, he and son Alex would pay us a visit and look over our birds. How kind from a complete stranger. A couple of weeks later Colin and Alex visited, both spent a freezing cold afternoon in between tea and cake looking through our birds. Colin was kind in his assessment of the birds and explained that the blacks were the best followed by the whites, but the reds needed some improvement to bring them up to show standard. Colin explained that he would help us all that he could, however, due to it being the coldest afternoon he could remember, we should visit him next time. This we did after disposing of Fans that were not usable at a local livestock market. Colin sold me three whites to start us off and also showed me how to lace the birds' tails. On returning home it was straight down the loft to practise the tail lacing. This seemed difficult at first but the more I practised the easier it became.

With the new birds in 1993, I began to breed and ring our first show birds. This proved far more difficult than we both thought with lots of clear eggs and chilled youngsters. However, it was not until 1995 that I finally decided to show five Fantails - three whites, one red and one black, at Stafford. With trembling hands my father and I removed the tape from their tails and I laced them and penned them. After a quick scan of the other birds and a few greetings we headed off to the cafe to await the judging. The rest of the morning was spent viewing the poultry and trade stands until the judges, lan Jackson and Neil Lawrence, had finished. On checking the pen numbers we were both delighted to find that the red hen had been awarded first and the black young cock second. None of the whites were placed. This was the start I needed and with a lot more confidence than we had both started the day with, we returned home.

The hours put in had all seemed worth it and that was how it all started. Neil Laurence was also very kind and supplied me with odd Fantails, he had blacks that were outstanding at that time, all jet black and, on his decision to retire, he kindly sold myself and Royston Baker his black family. Royston was a stranger to me until we met at Neil's and after this we became good friends. Royston also supplied me with some quality birds the following year.

More on Roger Goode's Profile in August and September issues

An extract from the August 2004 issue of Feathered World

More in Feathered World each month