Dutch Cropper

Lore & Background

C.A.M. Spruijt, in his 1929 book De Kropperrassen, noted that the origin of the Dutch Cropper is not very clear. He referenced Ulysses Aldrovandi (1522–1605), who wrote in 1600 about 'the great Croppers with muffs at the Batavians' (Holland and Belgium). In English literature, the English Pouters are said to have come from Holland and Germany. Neumeister described croppers in his first book of 1837, which was republished in 1876, adapted by Prütz, and featured colour illustrations including German muffed cropper breeds he called 'Hollandische Kropf Tauben'.

Van Gink wrote of his experiences with the Dutch Cropper. After initially keeping other cropper breeds, he decided to start with the Dutch Cropper because of its very confident nature. He noted that the confident nature and tameness seemed attached to the blue colour. As a boy, he had a good bond with the blue-coloured Dutch Cropper; he would call them and put out his hand, and the birds would fly to him with loud wing clapping and land on his hand. This childhood experience always remained with him. In high school, van Gink studied in Amsterdam and had a room near the Jordan district, where pigeon lofts were common. His friends loved pigeons but had to smuggle their purchases into their homes because their parents disliked the dirty mess.

Reader's Guide

The Dutch Cropper is significant as one of the ancestral large cropper or pouter breeds, with a documented history reaching back at least 400 years in Europe. Its relationships with the Ghent Cropper, Pomeranian Pouter, English Pouter, French Pouter, and Saxon Pouter show strong resemblance in main breed characteristics. This relationship enabled the use of related breeds when one became in danger of extinction. Immediately after the Second World War, the Dutch and Ghent Croppers were used to bring each other back to their standard, with Pomeranian and English Pouters also employed. This cross-breeding could produce surprises: from a good stock of Dutch Cropper, a perfect Pomeranian Pouter might hatch, as happened to breeder Jac. Beljaars. The breed's legacy lies in its role in preserving and restoring other cropper varieties, as well as its distinctive confident and tame temperament, especially in the blue colour.

Did You Know?

• The Dutch Cropper's origin is not very clear, according to C.A.M. Spruijt's 1929 book.
• Breeder Jac. Beljaars once hatched a perfect Pomeranian Pouter from a good stock of Dutch Cropper.