A Journey to Breeding Better Rollers: Kevin's Path to Building his own line using the Ruby Roller Family
When it comes to roller pigeons, every serious fancier like Kevin Stickley eventually faces the same hard truth: not all birds are created equal. Some look the part but don’t perform. Others perform but lack stability. And some simply waste your time. The road to insight and success is rarely straight. Kevin’s story is a perfect example of what it takes to filter through the noise, commit to a vision, and finally find the line and process that delivers.
A Familiar Beginning: Missteps and Lessons
"I bred birds type to type," Kevin says, "thinking similar looks might produce results. But the outcome was mediocre. I eventually culled or gave away most of them."
Kevin’s early experience with Birmingham Rollers mirrors what many fanciers face. He began with Mason and Hennessey birds—open-loft bred with no records or pedigree tracking. The result? Unpredictable behavior. Birds that kitted one day, scattered the next. Some rolled, many didn’t, and too many became roll-downs.
He discovered that looks alone couldn’t produce consistent performance. It was a hard-earned lesson that steered him away from surface-level breeding methods and toward something deeper: selective breeding based on results, not names and appearance.
Enter Turner, Higgins, and the Ruby Rollers
"The Ruby's have been very consistent in stability, I've only had 1 rolldown and it was during a hard molt when that happened, whereas I've had several Higgins youngsters rolldown early in they're training."
Things began to shift when Kevin added Turner birds to his loft. He noticed improvements in depth and consistency. The Higgins "100" line brought speed and a higher percentage of rollers per hatch.
The birds rolled more often, and with greater energy. But it wasn’t until he introduced Ruby Rollers that he started to see what he really wanted: temperament, style, and body type that performed predictably and with control.
Kevin puts it this way:
"The Ruby Rollers bring the style, speed and most importantly to me, body type and temperament to the table."
Over time, the Ruby Rollers stood out not just for their performance in the air, but for their consistency in the loft. As Kevin explains, he’s looking for birds he can count on across generations—not just flukes or one-season wonders.
Traits That Matter
"I don't breed for 50 foot, deep birds, but rather birds in the 25 to 35 foot range that kit great together, and birds that like to roll with stability. 'Tight & Right' is how I describe it."
Through trial and refinement, Kevin identified a clear set of traits he values in his rollers:
Rolling Ability: Depth between 25 to 35 feet, with speed and frequency. A clean, controlled roll that is neither too shallow nor too deep.
Kit Performance: Birds that fly up front, show leadership in the air, and stay tightly grouped.
Temperament: Calm and manageable birds, especially in the hand. Easy to work with from a young age.
Body Type: Small to medium-small, muscular, refined. Deep orange eyes with centered pupils are a bonus.
Stability: Rollers that don’t fight the roll. Birds that roll with natural rhythm and balance.
He’s also learned what not to do:
"Every time I've bred a deep roller to a shallow roller, half or more would roll down or not roll at all so I try to avoid that kind of pairing."
The Turning Point: Building His Own Family
"My long term vision is to build a stock loft that has birds with high percentages of youngsters.. 80 to 100 % is what I'm looking to get out of birds I've bred through the years. A family I created that I can call my own family."
Like any serious fancier, Kevin reached the point where chasing bloodlines and experimenting gave way to a more focused mission: building his own consistent family.
With the Ruby Rollers as his foundation, Kevin now breeds for performance, stability, and visual appeal—the kind of bird that could win in the air and the show pen.
A Word for Other Fanciers
"Start with quality stock, bred them accordingly, 'Breed, Fly, Select, and Repeat' in the words of Keith London. You do that and you'll be OK."
This echoes a common theme for anyone serious about rollers: commitment over collection. Quality over quantity. And most importantly, clarity over confusion.
He reflects on what he wishes he knew starting out:
"I started with birds from the Mason and Hennessey families that were open loft bred with no record keeping of any kind. Most birds rolled down or didn't roll at all. Birds would kit on certain days and be all over the sky the next day... In the end I gave all those away after getting some Turner birds."
His journey is a lesson in how patience and purpose beat famous names, hype and hope.
Why the Ruby Rollers? Results That Matter
“These aren’t just features—they’re expected outcomes of a performance-bred family.”
Consistent stability with virtually no roll-downs
Stylish, controlled rolls that show up reliably in the kit
Refined body structure and calm temperament
Birds that perform naturally—without fighting the roll
As Kevin put it:
"The Ruby's have been very consistent in stability. I've only had 1 rolldown and it was during a hard molt when that happened."
From a breeder’s perspective, that kind of predictability isn’t just welcome—it’s rare. And in Kevin’s loft, the Ruby Rollers have delivered the kind of consistent, season-over-season results that make all the difference.
Conclusion: From Frustration to Foundation
Kevin’s journey is about more than birds. It’s about the process. He moved through frustration, trial and error, and selective culling until he arrived at a place of clarity. Now, he’s not just raising pigeons—he’s building a family.
The Ruby Roller line didn’t just meet his standards; it helped define them. And for others on the path to performance, Kevin’s story offers both a caution and a guide: invest the time, be willing to adjust, and don’t stop until you know what you want—and find the family that can give it to you.
It’s a lesson in discipline, vision, and belief in the long game. And it’s proof that with the right foundation, every fancier has the chance to create something lasting—not just for today, but for the generations of birds to come.
