Parlor Roller

The Parlor Roller is a small pigeon bred for one trick only: rolling backward across the ground in a quick run of somersaults. It cannot fly. A roll starts from a standstill, and the bird flips head over tail across the floor of a loft, a shed, or a level patch of yard. What counts in this breed is how far it rolls, not how high it gets.

The breed was developed in the United States, bred up from older rolling and tumbling pigeon lines. It sits within the performing pigeons, a group kept for an inherited party trick rather than fine feathers or fast wings. The build is small and tidy, with short legs that keep the bird steady mid-roll.

Fanciers who keep Parlor Rollers describe them as busy, nosy little birds, always looking for something to investigate. That same restlessness is part of what drives the rolling. They settle into loft life well and take handling in their stride, but they need a clean, obstacle-free floor to do their rolling on, or they will come to harm.

Who it suits

The Parlor Roller suits keepers after a performing bird rather than a flier or a racer. Because it never gets airborne, it stays exactly where you put it, so there is none of the loss risk that comes with birds you fly free. It suits hobbyists with a secure loft and a safe rolling surface, and anyone curious about the genetics behind the rolling trait itself.

Pigeons that tumble in flight have been kept for hundreds of years, and rolling pigeons that spin backward mid-air were well established long before the Parlor Roller came along. The Parlor Roller descends from this wider family of performing birds.

American breeders pushed the rolling reflex to its extreme. Rather than roll in the air, the birds they selected tumbled on the ground and, generation by generation, lost the ability to fly at all. The trait grew stronger with each pairing until the breed could only perform on level ground.

The name comes from the old practice of showing the birds off indoors on a smooth parlour floor, where a roll could be timed and measured without any guesswork. Competition still turns on roll distance: birds are set going from a fixed point, and the length of the unbroken roll is recorded.

The Parlor Roller has stayed a specialist bird for pigeon fanciers rather than becoming a farmyard or working breed. It is kept going today by performing-pigeon enthusiasts who breed on for a clean, long roll.

The Parlor Roller has a small, rounded body, a smooth head and a short neck. The legs are short and the bird sits low, which keeps it steady while it tumbles. Taken together, it looks like a neat, well-balanced pigeon built for repeated ground rolls rather than for the show bench.

Because judging goes on performance, there is no single feather pattern fixed for the breed. Birds turn up in a wide range of colours and markings.

Coat and colours

The feathering lies smooth and close to the body. No one colour marks out the breed. Self colours, checks, bars and pied birds all turn up, since breeders put the rolling trait ahead of any fixed colour standard. Eye colour varies too and tends to follow the plumage.

The Parlor Roller is an alert, busy pigeon. The same drive behind its energetic ground rolls comes through in everyday behaviour: the birds are curious about whatever is going on around them and quick to move. Keepers tend to describe them as playful and full of go.

Around people, Parlor Rollers are generally easy enough to handle once they know their keeper, and they are not aggressive. With loft mates they are sociable and do well kept in a group, much like other domestic pigeons. They have no real instinct to guard against or chase other animals, but being small birds, they are defenceless, so keep them well away from cats and dogs.

The breed is not noisy beyond the soft cooing common to pigeons generally. Most of its character comes across in movement rather than sound.

Grooming

• Check feet and legs often, since the short legs take a battering from repeated contact with the ground during rolls
• Give a shallow bath two or three times a week to keep the plumage clean
• Check feathers for parasites and treat as needed
• Trim overgrown nails if they are not wearing down on their own

Exercise

• Give the bird daily time on a clean, flat, hazard-free surface for rolling
• Keep the rolling area clear of sharp edges, gaps and obstacles
• Steer clear of hard, abrasive floors, which can injure the bird over long rolls
• Keep rolling sessions from running on too long, to stop the bird tiring or straining itself

Environment

House Parlor Rollers in a secure, dry, well-ventilated loft. As they cannot fly, they have no way to escape a predator or rising water, so the enclosure needs to be fully predator-proof at ground level. Keep perches low, and add ramps wherever birds need to move between levels. Keep the bedding dry and clean the floor often.

The Parlor Roller eats the same base diet as other domestic pigeons: a mix of grains and seeds such as maize, wheat, peas, sorghum and millet. Provide insoluble grit to help digestion, along with a separate calcium source, especially for hens that are breeding. Fresh, clean water needs to be on hand at all times.

Active rolling birds burn energy, so feed enough to keep good body condition without letting birds run to fat. Adjust portions for activity level and the weather.

Treats and supplements

Small amounts of greens and safe seeds can be given as treats. Keep grit and a calcium source, such as crushed oyster shell or a mineral block, available at all times. A pigeon vitamin and electrolyte supplement in the water can help birds through breeding or the moult, used as directed.

The Parlor Roller is a hardy bird when kept clean and dry. With good care it commonly lives 10 to 15 years. Most health trouble is the same as in domestic pigeons generally, and is largely avoidable through hygiene, parasite control and quarantining new birds before they join the loft.

Because the bird rolls repeatedly along the ground, keep a closer eye on the feet, legs and eyes, which take more knocks than they would in a flying breed.

Preventive care

• Keep the loft clean, dry and well ventilated
• Quarantine new or returning birds before mixing them in with the rest
• Run routine parasite checks and treatments
• Provide clean water and fresh feed every day
• Book in periodic checks with a vet experienced with pigeons or other birds

The Parlor Roller's defining trick, the backward ground roll, is an inherited reflex rather than a learned skill. Generations of selective breeding produce it; no keeper can teach a bird to roll. What handling does instead is build a calm, manageable bird that performs reliably once released.

Training, then, comes down to conditioning and safety: getting the bird used to being handled, to its release point, and to the surface it rolls on. Quiet, steady routines suit a small, busy bird like this one best.

Basics

1. Handle young birds gently and often so they get used to being picked up
2. Bring them onto the rolling surface at a calm, unhurried pace
3. Use the same release point each time so the bird settles into a routine
4. Keep sessions short to stop the bird tiring or straining itself
5. Finish on a good note and put the bird back in a familiar loft

The Parlor Roller lives in a loft much like any other domestic pigeon, but its housing has one extra demand: because it cannot fly, the enclosure has to protect it at ground level. The bird cannot get up to a high perch to dodge a predator or rising water, so the loft needs to be secure from below and around the sides as well as overhead.

Provide a dry, well-ventilated space with low perches, nest boxes for pairs, and easy movement between levels. Add a clean, flat area, whether indoors or in a sheltered run, where the birds can roll without risk.

Setup checklist

• Predator-proof mesh and a secure door
• Low perches and ramps suited to a bird that cannot fly
• A clean, smooth, flat rolling area clear of obstacles
• Nest boxes for breeding pairs
• Fresh water and feed stations
• Grit and a calcium source available at all times

Like other domestic pigeons, Parlor Rollers usually lay two eggs to a clutch, and both parents share the incubating. Eggs hatch in roughly 17 to 19 days. Newly hatched squabs are fed crop milk from both parents before moving on to softened grain.

Most breeders leave the parent birds to incubate and rear the young, since pigeons make attentive parents. Artificial incubation is possible if it is needed, but it calls for careful control of temperature, humidity and turning, along with hand-feeding the squabs.

Hatching steps

1. Let the parents incubate where possible; step in only if a pair fails
2. For artificial incubation, hold a steady temperature and humidity
3. Turn the eggs several times a day until a few days before hatching
4. Stop turning and raise the humidity as hatching gets close
5. Leave hatchlings undisturbed to dry off and gather strength
6. Make sure squabs get crop milk from the parents or a suitable hand-feeding formula