Modena

The Modena was originally bred over 500 years ago in the city of Modena in Italy. The original Modena did not resemble the present day pigeons we see in lofts today, they had long legs and tail, their wings were also long and strong for flying. The first Modenas came to England from Germany (about 1878), although they did not become popular until about 1910 when the Modena Club was formed and a year later the breed standard was set. Their popularity expanded at a fast rate with many breeders taking up the challenge of breeding the perfect standard.

The colours together with the many different patterns seem almost endless, although there are only three basic colours (blue, brown and red). The diluted forms and variety of patterns make it seem like there are hundreds of different colours.

BLUE FAMILY BROWN FAMILY ASH RED FAMILY

  Blue Brown Mealy

  Bronze Silver-Dun Red Chequer

  Black Russet Cream

  Silver Silver-Cream Yellow Chequer

  Sulphur Ochre

  Dun Khaki

  PATTERNS IN BOTH GAZZI AND SCHIETTI :- Magnani

  Barred

  Barless

  Self

  Tri

  Grizzle

  Spangle

  Opal

  Mottled

  Argent

  Laced

Modenas make good parents and can quite easily raise 5/6 rounds of chicks in a year if allowed but this is not advisable as it can be too much of a strain on the parents. They are also quite messy in the nest so it is advisable to clean the nestbox after each round and sometimes during the round, a nestbox shield is a good idea for the corner behind the nestbowl. The chicks should be ready for ringing between 7-10 days but keep an eye out for rings coming off if the chick is small. The young should be ready to leave the nest when they are about three weeks old and should be moved to a young bird flight about a week after this if they are feeding themselves. This will stop the young birds pestering their parents which should now be sitting tight on the next round of eggs.

Modenas drink several times a day, they also drink water before they feed their young, if no water is available the parents will not feed their young. Clean, fresh water must be given everyday, normal tap water treated with Avisan is fine. Leading up to and during breeding Calci-vit can be added to the water. Good quality food at the rate of 1oz per bird should be given twice daily, preferably at the same times each day.

There are three different seasons for the Modena (resting, breeding, moulting), prepared mixes can be purchased for each, in addition grit ad minerals must be available daily.