 The Gabriel is a developing breed created by a 40 year effort by Mr. Chet Johnson. I have been fortunate to talk with Mr. Johnson by phone several times to discuss his long effort with the new breed. Although he no longer has Gabriels, he is still very interested in the continued work that needs to be done to stabilize and standardize the breed. In his article “Gabriel the Rarest of the Rare” that appeared in the December 2002 issue of Pigeon Debut, Mr. Johnson describes his effort to develop the increase the size of a pigeon with the gimbel coloration and pattern of the Archangel. His goal was a bird weighing 28 to 32 ounces that were selectively bred for plumpness, docility, production and color. Starting with an Archangel cock mated to a white King hen, then using a pair of black Kings and a dark check King hen. He added a black Hubble to the mix. By adding dilute he was able to develop the gold black wing Gabriel. Some of the challenges he encountered included eliminating the dove shaped head of the Archangel but maintaining the Archangel iridescent.
 There is an effort underway to connect Gabriel breeders and to further develop the breed toward the standard that has been proposed by Mr. Johnson. We would like to get the Gabriel recognized by the NPA and for it to become a viable American breed. If you have Gabriels and would like to be included on our list of breeders, please send us your contact information. If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the Breeders list, the Gabriel Standard and the copy of the “Ideal” Gabriel drawing, please drop us a line.
 The Gabriel Standard
Size: Cocks 30-32 oz. Hens 28-30 oz.
Height: 12 inches
Width: 6 inches outer side of wing butts
Length: 12 inches
Head: Large, wide and long, carried high
Beak: Medium length, wide, strong, light colored preferred
Eyes: Prominent, round. bright, orange red in color, false pearl in browns
Eye Cere: Not more than 1/16 inch wide; light color accepted, flesh colored
Neck: Large, full, bull neck desired
Breast: Prominent, full, extending in front of and below wings. Breast muscle shall extend below the keel
Back: Broad at the shoulders
Keel: Deep, straight, long, extending close to vent bones
Wings: Wing butts shall be covered, but not prominent, held snugly to the body. Flights shall extend 3/4 inch from tail end
Tail: Tail shall not be more than two feathers wide
Legs: Straight, strong, set wide apart with flesh colored shanks
Toes: Free from feather stubs
The Gabriel is an irredecent, two color breed. Solid colors are not to be shown. Head, neck, breast, under tail wedge and thighs shall be bronze to dark copper in the bronze variety with a shining irridescence copper to pink sheen. In the gold variety gold shall be in be in the areas described for bronze.
In the Bronze Black Wing and the Gold Black Wing the wing shield, back, rump, tail and flights shall be dark black with as much irridescence, beetle green sheen as possible - the more the better. Flights black when closed.
The Bronze Brown Wing and Gold Brown Wing is judged similarly to the Black Wing variety, with a deep dark brown in the black areas. However the irridescent sheen may be lighter.
Faults: Off color such as blue, purple, violet sheen in black/brown areas is a major fault. Blue or grey in the back or rump is also undesirable. Any green sheen on the bronze or gold area is also a major, undesirable fault. There should be no smut in the head or under the tail wedge.
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| 2006 mated pair |
2006 Gabriel squab | Type Content Here
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