John Keepin

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THE FEDERATION TIP TOP FANCIER

This month we are featuring John Keepin as the Federation Tip Top Fancier. In my books John is not only a Tip Top Fancier within the Federation but my personal top fancier and friend looking after my birds during my recent illness at the crucial time in the breeding season when they needed total commitment. If I am fortunate enough to beat you at the shows blame John not me!!

Let me tell you a little about John. He was born and lived in Bristol all his life. In fact he was born and lives in the same house he occupies now some 64 years ago. He came from a pigeon keeping family his Dad, Uncles and two Nephews kept racing pigeons which without giving to much away because its contained in the question/answer section is where John learnt what he knows about pigeons today. He is very proud of his successes not only with his Tipplers for which he still holds the Bristol Record with a kit of young Tipplers bred by himself with 16 hours and 47 mins but also when in partnership with his Dad with the racing pigeons, they had the only bird to come back in race time on five occasions.

He has a younger brother (Bob) and although his brother was interested in the birds when he was a teenager on leaving home to join the services he has never shown the same interest in the birds. His brother has two children - Allison whose married and has twin daughters that will be two this coming February called Emily and Catlyn. Ian his brothers son has no interest in pigeons being football mad.

John is looking forward to his official retirement next year having been made redundant four years ago from his job as a counterstore warehouseman / driver for British Gas. The timing of John’s redundancy could not have been better as far as John is concerned it gave him chance to nurse his ailing Mum that unfortunately passed away last November. This has left a big hole in John’s life, that he is now filling around his pigeons and his best friend now, a little Jack Russell named Jack. Due to his commitments at home this left very little time for John to attend the shows having to pick and choice which he attended.

I hope this has given you an insight into John. I will now poise the usual questions and I know I am going to get a few frank answers. I am ready if you are.

A. A pair of Tipplers. My father raced pigeons and made a wooden box which he hung on the wall. I joined a juvenile flying Tippler club here in Bristol and kept them showing and flying them right up until I left school.

A. My father was not keeping the best of health so I went into partnership with him keeping racing pigeons and flying the north road and done our fair share of winning from the short distances right up to the 600 mile races. This I did right up till my dad passed away in 1990. 10 years ago. I then decided to go back to my first love and that was flying and showing the Tipplers. This was short lived, not because of lack of interest but I just seemed to be keeping them for hawk fodder, it became impossible to keep a kit of pigeons in the sky around Bristol. I then turned to keeping West’s which I got from Harry Heal and one or two others, I done reasonably well in my first year if I remember correctly I took three firsts at Bristol show. The Tippler whether it be Exhibition of Flying being my favoured breed. I purchased some prints from Keith Robson this prompted me to decide to get rid of the West’s and keep only the Tipplers. I was fortunate enough when Mel Brooker passed away to be able to purchase his stock pigeons, so along with these and the birds I had of Keith Robson, together with Tipplers from Harry Heal and John Jones formed the stud I have today

A. I have stayed with the Tipplers and today I have about 40 birds in Dun, Black, Creams and Silvers and the odd print or two but generally you could say I keep the self’s and barred Tipplers.

A. I enjoyed the days I had racing the birds and very proud of our success but I mainly did it as much for Dad’s enjoyment as mine and they really do require a lot of effort to maintain a good stud of racers. I would really like to keep flying Tipplers again but as I have mentioned before the hawk has finished this side of pigeon keeping in Bristol. If I were to consider another breed then I suppose it would be the West of England tumbler, although providing we can re establish the interest in the Exhibition Tippler then I will be keeping Tipplers for the foreseeable future.

A. I think I have read that you like a bird to be balanced well I am very much the same. I know immediately I get a bird in my hand. I do not like them to be too long. I like them short in the leg and with a thick neck, I do like a silky feel to the feather with a good head and eye.

A. My main loft is 14ft x 6ft which is on stilts giving me 5ft underneath which I use for my stock pigeons. I also have a smaller loft which is 6ft x 4ft.

A. Since Mum passed away last year I hope to be able to get around more shows and enjoy the banter and atmosphere around the pens. I obviously want to keep breeding good quality Tipplers and I hope to see them start to get more popular. For some reason the popularity of the Tippler has declined in the last few years, I am hoping that with the popularity of The Federation increasing this will also mean that more Tippler keepers will be found.

A. I still only a novice myself , I have only been keeping the flying breeds for ten years but if you were to push me for an answer I would advise anyone just starting to buy wisely as I have mentioned before I was luckily enough to get Mel Brooker stud birds which obviously gave me a very good start. Speak to the genuine fancier which I know will pass on all the information you need.

A. You’ve ask me a question and I can only give you an honest answer, I do feel that in this showing game there is a lot of back biting and a lot of people that don’t help others. I got a lot more help when I was flying Tipplers and racing birds. I am of course not referring to everyone but this is a general feeling that I get.. I also feel very strongly about the ring size allocated for the Exhibition Tippler. The ‘B’ ring is far too small for some pigeons and if we are all suppose to be bird lovers then we would not want to see them suffering just to prove points. I would really love to see The Federation and NPA come together on this issue and agree to a future strategy maybe there could be a ‘B+’ If something is not done soon then I do feel I must take this matter further because I refuse to sit down and watch the birds suffer with rings cutting into their legs. People that keep the Tipplers will understand what I am saying so please both the NPA and Federation listen to the keepers of Tipplers and do something about it.

A. I would like to thank Keith Robson for his help in the early days of me coming back into the Tipplers and his friendship ever since although we have still not met each other, something that will be put right this year. Also to Harry Heal who was the help in getting me started with Mels birds and for the friendship of Colin Hawkins and yourself. I think you are doing a lot for the fancy and I really enjoy your articles keep it up. Finally I must mention John Jones after a shaky start and some straight talking John turned up trumps.

Thanks John for your expected frankness, I do know how real one or two of these points are to you. John will be embarrassed by me mentioning this but I do feel I must put into print the generosity of the man. This year he has sponsored the Federation by supplying all the rosettes together with prize money and John was one of the first to put his hand in his pocket when we made the appeal on behalf Vic Salnicki this is on top of supplying a cup last year which is being awarded for Best Dun West at this years Federation show. This is done not for personal recognition as he has been doing it for a few years now for Bristol and also Newcastle but for his genuine love of pigeons. A BIG THANK YOU JOHN.