Swing Pouter (Stavak Pouter Steller Pouter)
The Swing Pouter, also encountered as the Stavak Pouter or Steller Pouter, is a central European cropper pigeon descended from Columba livia. Its appeal is the lively display: a slim upright bird inflates the crop and carries itself with a rocking or swinging action that gives the breed its English name. Details of size, color, and stance vary between national standards, but the essentials are an elastic globe, spirited temperament, and clean structural balance.
Keeping Swing Pouters is different from keeping plain utility pigeons because the show feature is also a functional part of the bird's body. Breeders look for birds that inflate readily yet breathe, feed, mate, and rear young without difficulty. Loft design should allow safe movement for long-legged, upright birds, with perches that do not force them to crowd or fall. A steady grain diet, grit, and calm handling help maintain condition; overfat pouters often lose both elegance and breeding reliability.
Colors: Almond, Ash Red, Bar, Barless, Black, Blue, Brown, Checker, Dilute, Dun, Grizzle, Indigo, Mottle, Opal, Pied, Recessive Red, Red, Silver, Splash, Spread, White, Yellow
