Delbar – the Blood That Comes Home. The Story of a Great Long-Distance Pigeon Family
Some breeding stories begin with a victory.
The story of the Delbars begins with a loss.
In 1918, near the end of the First World War, the pigeons of Oscar Delbar and his son Maurice from Ronse, Belgium, were taken away by the Germans. For a pigeon breeder, it meant the near destruction of years of work.
After the Armistice, six hens were recovered. Five of them were daughters of the famous “Blauwe Vier”.
From those few birds began the rebuilding of a family that would later become one of the most recognisable names in the history of European long-distance pigeon racing.
A line rebuilt from six hens
Delbar was not the story of one season or one exceptional pigeon.
It was a family developed over generations.
First Oscar Delbar, then Maurice, and later Mick Delbar continued the family tradition in Ronse.
After the wartime losses, the surviving hens were paired, among others, with Depreter pigeons from Putte. Other valuable birds were introduced over time, but the direction remained the same:
to breed pigeons capable of returning from hard, long-distance races.
Distance was the real test
The Delbars became famous above all at long and extreme long distance.
These were not pigeons valued only for speed over a few hundred kilometres.
Their advantage was expected to appear when a race became truly difficult:
- in strong winds,
- in heat,
- after many hours in the air,
- on routes demanding stamina,
- when many other pigeons began to weaken.
Old descriptions portray Delbars as powerful, calm and durable birds.
Not always the most spectacular in appearance.
But built to work.
Maurice Delbar’s golden years
During the 1930s, Maurice Delbar became one of the major names in European pigeon racing.
His results showed more than the class of a single racer.
They showed the strength of an entire family.
In 1935 from Dax, with four pigeons entered, Delbar took:
- 2nd National,
- 7th National,
- 11th National,
- 13th National.
At Angoulême, three of his pigeons finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd in an interprovincial race.
In 1937 from Narbonne, six entered birds achieved:
- 1st,
- 2nd,
- 4th,
- 5th,
- 9th,
- 18th.
Most importantly, these birds were closely related.
This was not chance.
This was a family.
Little Chequer – a symbol of Delbar power
One of Maurice Delbar’s best-known pigeons was “Little Chequer”, also referred to in historical sources as “Kleine”.
Born in 1932, he became a symbol of the loft.
He is credited with an extraordinary series of results from Saint-Vincent:
- two 1st National victories,
- 2nd National,
- 3rd National,
- 4th National,
- 10th National.
Results like these take a pigeon beyond being simply a good racer.
They turn it into part of the history of an entire strain.
A true line means repeatability
In pigeon breeding, it is easy to use the word “line”.
Creating one is much harder.
A true line is not based on one famous name appearing in a pedigree.
It is based on traits repeating through successive generations.
For the Delbars, the most important traits were:
- endurance,
- strength,
- calmness,
- resilience,
- orientation,
- character for hard long-distance racing.
Only one question truly mattered:
Can this pigeon come home when the race stops being easy?
Golden Grizzles – a colour that became a memory marker
The Delbar story also includes the characteristic grizzle pigeons.
Descendants of the so-called “Golden Grizzles” influenced other lofts in Belgium and Germany after the Second World War.
Colour, of course, does not win a race.
Blue does not win. Grizzle does not win.
Health, preparation, orientation, character and selection win.
But sometimes appearance becomes the visual signature of an old family and a reminder of the history behind the pedigree.
Delbar was never locked inside one pedigree
One of the most important features of this family was its influence on other strains.
Delbar blood was used in crosses intended to add endurance and long-distance quality.
Traces of the family also appear in the history of Jan Aarden.
Piet de Weerd, who played a major role in the creation of the Aarden strain, brought Aarden pigeons of Delbar and Delbar–Deguffroy origin.
That shows how far the influence of the Belgian family reached.
The name could disappear from the front of a pedigree after several generations.
The genetic influence could remain.
Delbar today – a name is not enough
An old name in a pedigree does not guarantee success.
Not every pigeon labelled Delbar will be a champion.
Not every descendant of a great family will inherit its best traits.
A modern breeder therefore has to look beyond the name itself.
Ask:
- which specific pigeons are behind it?
- what did the family achieve?
- at what distances?
- under what conditions?
- do the offspring repeat the traits?
- does the family pass on health and resilience?
- do the results confirm the pedigree?
A pedigree is history.
But value still has to be confirmed by the basket.
What can a modern breeder learn from the Delbars?
The story of this family leaves several simple lessons:
- a few exceptional pigeons can be worth more than a large number of average ones,
- a crisis does not have to mean the end of a loft,
- the performance of a family matters more than one accidental success,
- valuable blood must be tested, not merely preserved,
- on long distance, character and resilience matter as much as speed,
- a famous name can never replace selection.
Conclusions
Delbar is the story of a family that, after an almost complete loss, rebuilt its loft and created pigeons capable of winning the toughest races of their era.
It is also a reminder that great strains did not survive because they were fashionable.
They survived because their value was repeatedly proven in the basket, generation after generation.
The most important pigeons are not always the ones that look best on paper.
Sometimes they are the ones that return when others have already stopped looking at the sky.
Watch the Full Video
If you want to discover the full story of the Delbar line, be sure to watch the complete video.