I enjoy livestock shows of all descriptions, a result of having been involved in the fur and feather circuit back in Ipswich when I was young. I showed golden agouti and self-black cavies (guinea-pigs), my sister Dutch cavies, and my brother black and tan and Havana rabbits. Dad was the driving force behind this. He’d bred and showed Dachsunds back in the day and was into the showing scene.

Today there was a pigeon show – a first for Boussac as far as I’m aware – at the Agricultural Hall. After doing a few bits of shopping in town, Chris and I headed there for a look.

There were more than 900 pigeons on display

There were more than 900 pigeons on display

To be specific, it was a mondain pigeon show. Mondains are just one breed. As you’ll see from the photos, they’re chunky, low-slung pigeons. The females weigh around a kilo and the males slightly more, around 1100g. That’s a lot of pigeon! Females are 40cm from beak to tail and males 43 cm. The breed has been around since the beginning of the twentieth century, but only officially recognised and established since 1931.

pigeonshow black mondain

There’s lot more information at this website: http://clubdesamisdumondain.jimdo.com/la-race/

They came in various colours – black, white, shades of brown and patterns. Some had beautiful iridescent feathers. There already seemed to be a brisk trade in mondains going on, as plenty had ‘vendu’ (sold) signs on their cages, and others ‘à vendre’ (for sale). One had gone for €60 so these are quite valuable birds.

pigeonshow white mondain

So, an enjoyable little outing, the interesting and unusual sort that I love!