How to read the eyes of homing pigeons

In addition to coming from excellent bloodlines, an excellent homing pigeon must also have good appearance and complete and healthy organs. Just like humans, who regard their eyes as the "windows to the soul", the eyes of homing pigeons are even more important among many organs. Although eyes are not the only determinant of the quality of homing pigeons, no one, whether pigeon breeders or general enthusiasts, does not look at, talk about, and study pigeon eyes. Here I summarize the understanding of pigeon eyes through study and my own raising process as follows. (My own learning experience) 1. Pigeon eye structure From a structural point of view, just like humans protect their own eyes, there are also protective layers around the pigeon eye, mainly three layers: eyelids, cornea and blinking membrane. Eyelids: Appearing in white, flesh-red or gray, etc., they are the outermost protective layer of pigeon eyes. Cornea: A transparent body with a moist and shiny surface. It is a semicircular thin and tough protective layer on one side of the pigeon eye. Blink mask: It is a milky white film between the cornea and eyelids. It is used to protect the cornea and block light and wind when resting. The protective layer of a pigeon's eye is removed. If the sphere is cut crosswise and the pupil is the center, looking from the inside to the outside, it is the pupil, inner line button, outer line button, eye mark, blood shadow, bottom sand, top sand, and top sand. The outside of it is also called external sealing sand. In actual combat, I think we should also study the distance line and speed line in the pigeon's eye. People call the arc that surrounds the inside and outside of the outer buckle and has the pupil as the center of the circle called the distance line. It reflects the flying distance of the homing pigeon from another side. There are lines in the outer line button (eye mark) that radiate outward from the pupil or the rays of the surface sand and bottom sand shoot towards the pupil are called speed lines, especially the part near the mouth is the most obvious. Similarly, it reflects the desire and speed of homing pigeons to return home from another aspect. 2. Identification and application of pigeon eyes Judging from the color of the base plate, pigeon eyes can be divided into yellow eyes (some are called golden eyes), trachoma and corns (also called blood eyes). No matter what kind of eyes there are, there are excellent and mediocre ones. The actual identification and use must also depend on the pedigree and genetics of the pigeons in your own loft. Under normal circumstances, we mainly identify pigeon eyes from the inner line buckle, eye mark (outer line) Buckle) and eye sand to start with. 1) The intraoral thread buckle is the first ring that surrounds the pupil. It is one of the muscles responsible for the contraction and expansion of the pupil. It is closely connected with the eye, so its color has a great relationship with the pigment of the eye. Compare The pigment is darker than that of the eye. Under normal circumstances, the inner cable buckle is not easy to see, but it can be observed with a ten-fold microscope under sunlight. The inner wire buckle plays a certain role in the identification of racing pigeons. It has various shapes, and generally the rough edge is better (jagged or corrugated). Through observation and analysis of excellent returning pigeons (including parent pigeons), it is found that pigeons that return home quickly have irregular internal thread buttons. Their parent pigeons also have very good internal thread buttons, so experts The inner line buckle is also called a breeding circle or a directional circle. When using inner-line buckle matching to breed, we must also pay attention to her heredity. If the good aspects cannot be passed down, we still have to change the matching strategy. 2) Eye sign Eye sign is also called Alsha or eye navel. It is a colored circle located on the inner edge of the outer sand layer of the inner line buckle. It is a very important circle for homing pigeons. Many experts have a lot of knowledge about the eye sign. A deep complex, the eye theory also influenced many pigeon enthusiasts. Some pioneers of pigeon raising called it the adaptation circle. Eye signs can be divided into many types according to shape and pigment, generally divided into full circle eye signs, standing eye signs, lying eye signs, serrated eye signs, inner serrated eye signs, outer serrated eye signs, yellow eye signs, and green eye signs. There are ten categories: eye ambition, half-circle eye ambition and eyeless ambition. Judging from the excellent pigeons and their relatives, I think the full circle eye mark is the most suitable eye mark for breeding. Of course, the darker the pigment, the better. The jagged eye mark, yellow eye mark and green eye mark are all full circle eye marks at the same time. The seed value is better, and the violet eye color is the best. Homing pigeons without eyes are the worst and cannot be used for breeding. The patience and speed of the homing pigeon can also be seen from the structure of the eyes. 3) Eye sand Eye sand is composed of capillaries in the eyes of homing pigeons. Whether chicken yellow eyes, peach blossom eyes or corns (or peach eyes), it can be divided into coarse sand, fine sand and lumpy sand. Among the three types of sand molds, uniformly thick sand is the best, that is, it forms a basin shape (commonly known as basin mold sand), thick on the outside and thin on the inside. Specifically, all kinds of worms are released at short, medium, long and ultra-long distances. The homing situation is closely related to the local geographical environment, release weather, season and time. When using breeding pigeon pairings, it is necessary to consider the actual situation in each shed, taking into account not only personal preferences, but also the bloodline and genetics of the pigeon breed.