RACING OLD BIRD
NATURAL METHOD
If
there is any "secret" to great and continued success in pigeon racing, it seems
to me that this "secret" can be distilled to the following major components:
1) GOOD PIGEONS that are 2) WELL CONDITIONED, 3) CORRECTLY NURTURED and 4)
HIGHLY MOTIVATED.
A fifth component might be the
elusive element of LUCK.
It is my understanding that many
fanciers in Australia and New Zealand and perhaps other countries, often or
usually race on the celibacy system or on modifications of that system.
Certainly, when I worked in New Zealand several years ago, I found that, in most
lofts, the sexes were separated and raced that way. Obviously, with the
importation of many of the European families into a number of countries, some
fanciers are also trying the widowhood system.
Now, if you accept the foregoing
four points, it becomes evident that only the natural and widowhood systems can
meet all four criteria mentioned previously, whereas the celibacy system likely
falls down in the important area of motivation. Certainly, widowhood is one of
the very important systems for demonstrating the great value of motivation in
pigeon racing. I believe very much that a high level of motivation can overcome
some of the deficiencies of feeding and conditioning, and that superb
conditioning can overcome some of the deficiencies of poor motivation. Given
these opinions, I believe that celibate pigeons, while not necessarily well
motivated, are likely very well conditioned for the most part.
Based on the foregoing thoughts,
I felt that some exploration of the natural system with its great motivational
components might be in order for the consideration of fanciers for whom
widowhood may not be a viable choice. Also, many modern day fanciers who might
be interested in considering the natural system likely haven't had the
opportunity to own or read Major Andrew Neilson Hutton's classical work entitled
"Pigeon Racing.
Win with Olympic" which explores
the natural system in great detail. Many senior members of the sport likely have
some working knowledge of this important book. For these reasons, I thought it
might be useful to summarize for the benefit of newer fanciers interested in the
natural system, some of Hutton's very practical thoughts on racing, including
key information on the most ideal nest conditions with which to achieve top
prizes. His information on the most ideal nest positions for racing may surprise
quite a number of fanciers, given the dogma of traditional beliefs (which
certainly abound here in Canada) about how to race on the natural system.
I have to admit that this book
has been the most influential one I have read to date on the natural system, and
of course I have been tremendously impressed with the logic and simplicity of
Hutton's views, so much so that when I put his methods into practice, my results
on race day became very much improved indeed.
To determine the facts about the
best times in the breeding cycle to send birds racing -- with the greatest
chances of success -- Hutton studied races from 60 to 400 miles over a number of
years. Between 600 and 1000 pigeons from the yearling stage on were included in
this study. There was no artificial selection except that hens about to lay were
not sent racing. Racing conditions in the breeding cycle were divided this way:
1) Driving cocks, 2) Sitting on eggs, 3) Hatching 4) Feeding youngsters. There
were also occasional birds outside of these categories, eg, mating and spare.
To be accurate in his analyses,
he divided the incubation period as follows: Sitting: 1 to 6 days; 7 to 12 days;
and 13 days on. Hatching: covering the natural hatching period, and also birds
sitting 16 days or more, and under which a small youngster had been slipped
prior to basketing. Feeding youngsters: this category was divided into three
groups - those feeding 2 to 9 days; 10 to 16 days, and 17 days onward. Driving:
here Hutton admits his failure to note the number of days cocks were driving on
shipping day, or if they had big youngsters in the nest. Mating: this group
included birds that had recently abandoned their eggs and were mating again,
also fresh matings, etc..
After all the data were
collected, Hutton checked and cross checked his results and obtained the
following answers which refer to the first bird to the loft:
1) HATCHING topped the
list as it produced the first bird to the loft out of every seven sent in this
condition.
2) FEEDING A YOUNGSTER 2
to 9 days old was second, as it produced the first bird home out of nine sent in
this condition.
3) DRIVING came in third
place, producing the first bird home out of eleven sent in this condition.
4) SITTING - birds sitting
one to six days and seven to twelve days were equal, producing the first bird to
the loft out of every 18 sent in that condition.
5) SPARE BIRDS (similar to
birds on the celibacy system?) produced the first bird to the loft out of 25
sent in that condition; MATING produced the first bird home out of 30 sent in
that condition; SITTING ON EGGS OVER 13 DAYS produced the first bird home out of
72 sent in that condition; FEEDING YOUNGSTERS OVER 13 DAYS OLD - nil result.
(Note: this doesn't include cocks that are feeding big youngsters and also
starting to drive or at least, to look at their hens.)
For some fanciers, these
findings will be highly surprising and will upset their previously held views on
the best nest conditions for racing successfully. Others will be adamantly
opposed to these carefully researched facts and will shake their heads in total
disbelief. However, I know from years of personal experience that they are
valid, solid conclusions, and if given a chance, these facts can prove a
definite boon to anyone racing on the natural system -- they do work. I would
urge anyone interested in the natural system to embrace these facts and use them
to advantage on race day.
What these facts mean in effect
is that the fancier must plan ahead to set up the birds in the nest condition
that has been determined from past experience to be their favorite, in terms of
results on race day. For example, if a fancier knows that his great 600 mile hen
races to the forefront when she is sent racing on chipping eggs, here is what to
do.
If the date of shipping for the
600 is known, he must count back 19 days from that date to determine the date on
which she must lay her first egg of that cycle. If he also knows that this hen
invariably lays in eight days, he must count back a further eight days and clear
out her nest of whatever she is going at that time to allow her to begin the
next laying cycle. For other favorite nest conditions and driving, a similar
count back is done to have the bird in that particular nest condition on the day
of shipping - note, not on the day of the race.
A good pigeon will always be
there or thereabouts, according to Hutton, but on the day it shines, some urge
or anxiety is present, urging it on; it is obvious that a small youngster
produces this anxiety to a high degree. Driving gives good results but because
of the shortness of the driving period, a driving cock may be found in this
condition only once a season. The three conditions of Hatching, Feeding a
Youngster up to 9 days of age, and Driving, produce a top performance on the
average of one out of every nine birds sent in these conditions.
This amounts to exactly double
or 100% better than the next best condition, which is Sitting on Eggs from one
to twelve days (sitting produces one winner out of every 18 sent in that
condition). His results indicated that in the first six days of incubation,
cocks were better racers than hens, that from seven to 10 days, the sexes were
about equal, and that up to 12 days hens began to improve.
Hutton believed that it is the
change to a new condition that creates the anxiety and urge, and that the
conditions giving the best results are those of the shortest duration. For
example, hatching covers two days, driving three to four days, and a small
youngster needs close attention up to nine days of age when soft feeding is
finished. The sitting period lasts a lot longer, and results decline after the
twelfth day. The lack of results when birds are feeding youngsters over 10 days
old, he believes may just be the result of the strain and work involved.
In a complete cycle of a mated
pair of birds, Hutton noted two good periods and two bad periods. The first good
one starts when the cock is driving and continues for him up to five days on
eggs. From this point, the sexes are approximately equal up to sitting 10 days
when the cocks begin to deteriorate, whereas the hens do well up to the 12th
day. The second good period and the best begins with hatching and continues
until the youngsters are nine days old, after which the edge is definitely off
until the beginning of the next cycle when the cock begins to pay attention to
the hen.
Hutton summarizes his findings
by noting points to look for among potential winners, in the following order:
1) among birds with hatching eggs,
2) among birds feeding a youngster up to nine days of age,
3) among driving cocks,
4) among birds sitting on eggs up to 12 days.
He found that second prize
winners worked out much the same way, but when it came to 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th,
feeding up to nine days topped the list with one prize winner in every 24 sent
in that condition.
When he looked at races from
500-600 miles, Hutton found that, despite the definite selection that occurs for
these races, the foregoing findings undergo very little change, except that
driving cocks weren't sent to these races. On the basis of this study, Hutton
concluded the anxiety or urge that results in the extra effort on race day rises
to a peak of intensity during the conditions that last the shortest, ie,
hatching and driving. Because these periods are so short, it is often more
difficult to catch a bird in the right condition on a particular day. The answer
in part lies in setting up birds to be in a certain nesting condition on
shipping day.
Even though a bird might be in
the right nesting condition, this alone doesn't guarantee success, Hutton notes.
What is important is that all of the signs of fitness and the presence of an
anxiety must be there as well - which means the development of keen observation
by the fancier, and the correct interpretation of these observations.
A few of the
pointers he mentions to look for are:
1) a bird sitting longer than usual on the nest;
2) a bird that refuses to stay out of the loft for exercise;
3) a bird that watches and guards its nest box very closely;
4) tightening of the feathers and brightening of the eye almost to the
"unwinking" stage;
5) clean, bright, warm feet and trembling wing tips;
6) a crisp manner in the loft.
In my opinion,
this table is so important as an instructive part of natural system racing that
I would urge fanciers who are interested in this system to study it carefully
and in depth because of the vast amount of practical, workable information it
contains. It demonstrates very clearly that individual birds will score in more
than one nest condition, and that this motivational component is highly critical
to success over competitors.
In the minds of a number of
fanciers both in the past and even today, the "safest" condition in which to
send a bird racing was on 8-10 day eggs. There continues to be an open taboo
against shipping a bird that is hatching or feeding a small youngster, on the
grounds that the soft food accumulating in the crop while the bird is being
shipped will sour (tsk!) and throw the bird off form. This is truly an old
wives' tale and is really such complete nonsense as to be laughable.
In fact, the soft food in the
crop simply supplies nutrient to the bird and is digested in the same way that
it would be in the youngster to which it was supposed to be fed. One writer even
indicated that "It stands to reason that when milk is being produced by any
animal, the entire system is thrown out of balance." This is just more nonsense
perpetuated by the uninformed among us. Milk production in any animal is a
normal event and the system must be in good balance to continue this vital
process.
Just disregard the nonsense view
that the system is thrown off by milk production! Incidentally, although a
recent writer indicated that soft food appears in the crop just before hatching,
the facts are that production begins much, much earlier, and is first visible to
the naked eye at about eight days of incubation, building in amount from that
time toward hatching.
In my experience, if you want a
greater chance of success on race day, especially when the distance is long,
just prepare and send a top racing hen that is hatching or feeding a small
youngster. Why a hen? Well, if you look at the normal daily cycle in birds on
the natural system, you will note that toward evening or in the early morning, a
hen is anxious to be sitting the nest, whereas a cock is much less interested in
the nest at these times.
So there are two major chances
to score with such a hen, one in the evening of the first day of racing, and
once again the next morning (if the bird has had a tough race and isn't able to
arrive home on the day) - because of her normal anxiety to be on the nest by
evening and in the morning. This isn't to say that cocks won't score well at
these same times, but the biological urge to be home and on the nest at these
times is much greater in the hen than in the cock.
It can pay great dividends to
take advantage of this fact when you are making plans for individual birds for
key races in the season. On a number of occasions, when flying from 560 miles, I
have waited expectantly for a favorite hen to appear out of the gloom at the end
of a long day when the sun has gone down and night is descending. What a thrill
it is to see this silhouette of a pigeon appear against the fading light, or to
hear the fluttering of wings as a weary traveler drops on the loft with only the
light from nearby street lamps for illumination!
Often for me this bird has been a hen sent
hatching or feeding a small youngster - despite repeated warnings from other
(uninformed) fanciers that sending a bird to a long race in this nest condition
is courting failure. Well, in this situation, he who laughs last laughs best!
For those fanciers who want to explore a method
of racing different from the celibacy system, I can't think of better methods
than those of the natural system (other than widowhood which isn't necessarily
for everyone). I believe that it could, in the words of a former well known
Belgian fancier, "give them a crack of the whip" (as widowhood definitely does)
because of its great motivational aspects that the keen fancier can work to his
benefit on race day.
I
would also suggest that it could also make competitors on the purely celibate
system, sit up and take notice on race day. I would also make the point that, in
my own experience, the natural system provides a wonderful method for teaching
all of us, but particularly beginners in the sport, about the biology of
pigeons, including the very important components of behavior and behavioral
changes that we can use to our advantage on race day. It is a great teacher
about racing pigeons and pigeon racing, believe me.
The details do not matter here, for the system has
a number of disadvantages for the small loft, and the novice should fly his
birds on the Natural System.
A decision which often worries the new fancier at the beginning of the season is
at what time he should pair up his birds. Some old fanciers will tell him to
mate up early -some will advise him to wait until the middle of March. The
answer is simple: he should pair up eight and a half to nine weeks before the
date of the first race. Assuming that the hens will take 9 days to lay after
pairing, and allowing 20 days from the first egg until the eggs hatch, and 24
more days until the youngsters are ready to wean, the total is 53 days or 7 ½
weeks. Therefore, if the above assumptions are correct, the youngsters can be
weaned a week before the first race. Obviously all the hens will not lay on the
ninth day alter pairing, but this is the usual date for the majority.
Many fanciers make the mistake of beginning to train their Old Birds whilst the
first round of youngsters is still in the nest. The weather in early April is
often very cold in Britain and the wind is frequently in the north-east. To
train the birds under these conditions will do them no good. It will tend to
make them dislike the basket before the racing season has even started. Also, if
any Old Birds are lost, or are away for a day or two, the youngsters are left
without one, or even both parents with disastrous consequences for the coming
Young Bird season. This does happen. I have been told by several fanciers that
they have had Young Birds die in the nest because they have shivered to death
whilst their parents were away training, or had been left orphans because their
parents had been lost.
Our first duty then, is to make sure that we have healthy well-reared Young
Birds from the first round of eggs, then - when these have been weaned -
training may begin. Avoid the temptation to enter the various pre-season races
which are held each year. Leave these to the other fellow!
Fanciers who start to train early may do well in the first race or two, but then
their birds go off form for the remainder of the season. Endeavor so to arrange
things that your birds reach peak form in time middle of the racing programmed.
Some of them will achieve this condition sooner, some later, but for the bulk of
the races some of your team will be in top form.
Old Birds do not fly as freely around the home as Young Birds and they spend a
considerable portion of the hours of daylight incubating their eggs, during
which periods they are getting no exercise at all. It is therefore necessary to
get them physically fit by sending them on a number of training tosses. Besides
toning up the pectoral muscles (these being the muscles on either side of the
keel, or breast-bone, responsible for raising and lowering the wings), this
training also serves to revise their knowledge of those vital twenty or thirty
miles. As with Young Birds, your Old Birds must be thoroughly familiar with this
last part of the journey.
We have seen that, if the birds are paired eight and a half weeks before the
first race, the youngsters can be weaned about a week before. All the birds
which are to be raced during the season should then be given six tosses from
ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, thirty and forty miles on consecutive days
during this last week - all points being in the direction of the race route.
As with Young Birds, should the weather be unfavorable and therefore unsuitable
for training, it is better to keep the birds at home and wait for an
improvement.
A careful note must always be made of the dates on which the hens lay (see
chapter 8) as it is important that hens should not be sent racing or
training if they are due to lay in the next seven days, or have laid within the
previous four days. It may also be necessary to keep at home, and not send
training, a few birds to keep warm eggs which you are wishing to hatch or to
look after small youngsters. These rules apply throughout the racing season and
not just to these initial training tosses.
If the weather during the week prior to the first race is good and you manage to
give the birds the six tosses, it is best to send as many of the yearlings to
the race as possible, for these have less experience than older birds and will
benefit from flying this first short race. Also the older hens which laid their
second round of eggs early can be sent, for they will already have been sitting
ten to fourteen days on these eggs and, if they are not allowed to hatch, it is
only possible to send them to two races before they forsake (we say “desert’)
the eggs. They will lay again but will be out of training and racing for a
fortnight.
If the weather is poor, however, and you cannot give the full number of tosses,
then only enter a small team, and complete the six tosses the following week.
After the first race, it will be necessary to remove those eggs which you do not
wish to hatch, and to replace them by pot eggs or, better still, by old real
eggs which you know will not hatch. The eggs which are removed can be marked
with a cross, and used instead of dummies later on in the season. I always feel
that an old pigeon can tell the difference between pot eggs and the real thing.
Pot eggs have a completely different feel. It may be only a small point, but it
is important that the pigeon should believe whole-heartedly that the eggs are
going to hatch, if the bird is to give of its best when racing to them.
Many experts say that once racing begins, all breeding operations should cease.
In other words, all birds should be raced to pot eggs rather than real eggs and
youngsters. I believe this to be completely wrong. These second-round, and late
on in the season, third-round youngsters in the nest can be extremely useful and
a valuable aid in the successful racing of the Old Birds.
Those eggs which are required to hatch (presumably from the best pairs) should
be put under pairs where the cock is a yearling (the reason for which we shall
see later), one good egg to a pair. We cannot expect birds to rear two
youngsters and race at the same time. Each of these pairs therefore will have
one good and one pot egg. Foster parents for these eggs must he carefully chosen
from those pairs which laid on the same day, or the day before, or after, and if
both parents (or foster-parents) are sent to a training toss or race, the eggs
must be temporarily placed under another pair. They should, of course, be
carefully marked - with a felt-tipped pen - so as to ensure there is no mistake.
For the second race, the team should be selected early in the week, and all
those birds given two further tosses, preferably on the Wednesday and Thursday,
of twenty and thirty miles. If the weather appears promising for the Saturday,
the chance must be seized to get as many birds as possible into this race, with
the except of the older cocks which can be left at home. The birds will be
sitting seventeen days, or more, and the hens should be extremely keen and put
up a good performance, as the eggs are on the point of hatching.
Before the third race, the good eggs which have been allowed to remain will
hatch, and the other pairs will be sitting over the normal incubation period on
pot eggs. They will sit for three or four days after the eggs are due to hatch
and will then desert them. When a pair deserts, the pot eggs should be removed
and the nest bowls transferred to the other end of the nest-box. If the
nest-bowls were left in the same position the birds would be unwilling to lay
in the same place which had not previously yielded any results! The cock and hen
will be upset for a day or two because the eggs have failed to hatch, but will
then commence to nest again, the cock driving the hen as before.
In selecting candidates for the third race, all hens which have deserted must be
left out as they will be going to lay again in about seven days, and should not
go into the basket for at least four days after they eventually lay the second
egg of the next round (which will be the third round of eggs). This brings us to
the advantages of allowing a few eggs to hatch.
The hens looking after these small youngsters from the second round will be very
keen and can be sent to this third race. Their mates could also be sent, but it
is better to keep them at home to look after the nestlings whilst the hens are
away. Note: if the cock and his hen are sent, another pair must be found to
attend to the youngster whilst they are away, and it must be a pair with one of
the same size. But I recommend that the hens only are sent when the single
youngsters are under five or six days old.
All yearling cocks which have deserted their second round of eggs should be left
at home with their mate, and neither raced nor trained until their hens have
laid the first egg of the next pair of eggs (the third round). The two-year-old
cocks, and older, which are driving, can be sent to this third race. They will
probably not have flown in either of the first two races, and have been kept for
this race when the team is of necessity small. They must be given two training
tosses during the week prior to the race, together with the other candidates.
These older cocks while away at the race will be very anxious about the
whereabouts of their mates, and, providing they are fit, should make every
effort to reach home at the earliest possible moment. Yearling cocks, on the
other hand, are very unreliable if sent driving. They are very easily lost, and
this is why they are left at home.
Now to the fourth race. Probably none of the hens will have laid yet again, and
candidates must be chosen from the following:
2-year old cocks (and older) driving
Hens with youngsters 7 days old, or younger
Yearling cocks, and other cocks with youngsters 7 days old,
and
older
Any birds which are still sitting on their second round of
pot eggs.
Here is the second advantage of the Natural System with youngsters. The yearling
cocks can be sent to this fourth race and their hens left at home. Whereas it
has previously been stressed that yearling cocks should not be trained, or raced
when driving, this does not apply when they have a youngster in the nest. They
are then much steadier than when there is no youngster and can be raced with
safety, and often with very satisfactory results. This youngster, therefore,
enables the fancier to send the yearling cocks to the fourth and fifth race,
when they would otherwise have had to be left at home.
By the time the fifth race arrives, some of the hens will have laid their third
round of eggs. They can be given the usual tosses and sent to the race. The hens
which are rearing the single second-round youngsters will probably not have
laid, but their cocks can be sent, as described above, while they remain at
home.
The same rules apply to the selection of candidates for the remaining races. And
the training method is always: two tosses of twenty and thirty miles for those
birds which have not raced the preceding week, and one toss of thirty miles for
those which have.
By the time the sixth race has been flown, the second-round youngsters will be
weaned, or ready for weaning, but they should not be weaned just prior to
basketing one of the parents for a race, nor within twenty-four hours of its
return.
When the third round of eggs is about 14 days old, those which are not wanted
must be replaced by pot eggs (or real eggs marked with a cross) as before. One
or two eggs can he left to hatch under pairs which had pot eggs in the second
round. These pairs must be carefully selected after consideration of the races
to which you wish to send each particular bird. For example, let us suppose you
wish to send a certain hen to race on Thursday 5 June. On Looking back at your
Loft Book (of which more in
chapter 8) you find that she laid on 12
May. The eggs will, therefore, be due to hatch on 1 June. However, should the
eggs not be allowed to hatch, the pair will desert just before 5 June and you
will not be able to send your hen to the race. But should you allow one of the
eggs to hatch, then you will be able to send your hen with confidence knowing
that she is in a really favorable nesting condition as on basketing day she will
be feeding a 4-day old youngster. Sometimes it is possible to anticipate or
delay the hatching date for a pair by transferring from another pair, an egg
which was laid either a day sooner or a day later, so as to obtain the desired
nesting conditions.
Birds are usually basketed for the longer races on a Thursday, or on a
Wednesday, and occasionally even sooner. In these circumstances, preventing the
bird at home forsaking its eggs when its male is away for three or four days, is
always a problem. But if both birds of a pair are away, it is simple.
Providing both pigeons return on the same day there is generally no difficulty
in getting them back onto their eggs. But if (as is often the case) only one of
the pair is sent to the race, then the other bird must be taken off the eggs the
morning after basketing, and put in a spare basket until the mate arrives home.
This necessitates having two baskets for these birds, one for the hens, and the
other for the cocks. When the pigeon which has been sent to the race returns,
its mate can be released from the basket, and they will both carry on incubating
the eggs quite happily.
This difficulty of keeping the birds sitting shows up another attraction of the
Natural System using the small youngster. The cock, if left at home, will
usually look. after it for the whole time his mate is away, and need not be put
in a basket. But if he does appear likely to leave the youngster at night, the
youngster must be transferred under another pair which have a youngster of a
similar age. Put the cock in the basket until the morning, when he can again be
given the Young Bird. On returning from a race, a bird will always take to its
youngster, but after several days in the basket on the way to a distant race
point, and especially after a long hold-over when the birds have not been
released for a few days owing to bad weather, it is often tempted to leave a
couple of eggs.
As the Old Bird programmed proceeds, and the races grow longer each week, the
new fancier will wonder how far he should send his birds. Just as he was advised
with the Young Birds to stop a number of them at the 100-mile stage so, in his
first season of Old Bird racing, he must not send his yearlings too far. Two
hundred miles or so is sufficient, so he will not be able to compete in the
longer events. The following year he should then have a number of two year old
birds, and these can be sent up to three hundred and fifty miles, and the next
year he should be able to race right through the programmed. It is then a
four-year task to establish a loft of pigeons, and the new fancier should be
content to make haste slowly for if he loses all his Young Birds or all his
yearlings, it will take him a year longer before he can compete in the whole
series of Old Bird races.
Whilst it is the ambition of most fanciers to succeed in the long races of 400
miles and over, it should always be remembered that, in the normal club
programmed, there are probably nine out of ten races of 300 miles or less, and
the fancier who has a good pigeon which wins consistently from these shorter
distances, should not spoil it by sending it further. A pigeon - like a runner -
paces itself in a race in accordance with the distance it expects to have to fly
and, once a pigeon has been to a long race necessitating a twelve-hour fly, it
is unlikely to be as fast again in the shorter events.
The programmed for each pigeon must be carefully planned, so that the distance
of the races for which it is entered is gradually increased. After flying a race
of a certain distance, the bird should not be “brought back” to a lesser
distance, for there is always the danger that if this is done, it will
“over-fly”, that is, go past its destination, thinking it still has some miles
to go. Therefore, if a pigeon is flown in a 300-mile race one week, it should
not he sent to a race of 120 miles the following week, but should be kept for
the 400-mile race the week after that.
It cannot be over-emphasized that no pigeon should be entered in a race unless
it is physically fit and pigeons which spend a night or two away must be given
plenty of time to recover before they are raced again.
Learn to recognize the signs of good health and peak condition of your birds.
Spend as much time as you reasonably can quietly watching your birds, both
inside and outside the loft and make a mental note of those which are in perfect
condition. Notice if any bird is particularly keen on its eggs or youngsters,
and any other signs which may lead you to think that a certain bird will do
well. A hen jealous of another hen which is spare in an adjacent nest-box, and
is trying to steal her mate, is an example. The cocks when supremely fit are
continually on the go, striking off for a fly round every few minutes - in fact
they show all the signs of thoroughly enjoying life and appear to he bursting
with energy. The hens will stand with their tails shivering, every feather
tight, so that it is impossible to see where one finishes and the next begins.
The feet of the birds appear pink, clean, and warm to the touch, Their wattles
are as white as snow and their eves unblinking.
When making out his entry form for a race, which he will receive from the Club
Secretary, the fancier should write down the ring numbers of the birds in the
order in which he thinks they will arrive back. To get this right is not easy.
In fact I am always pleased to see a pigeon doing well unexpectedly, and beating
the fancied bird. The fancier who can always forecast correctly which will be
his first bird is probably a man with only one good pigeon.
In choosing which bird to put at the top, there are four things to bear in mind.
They are :
The breeding of the bird (the racing performances
of its parents and grandparents).
The bird’s previous performance.
Its general fitness.
Its nesting condition.
Earlier in this chapter I have discussed the various nesting conditions in which
pigeons can be sent to a race. Of these the best can be summarized as:
COCKS
Sitting 9 to 14 days from the
second egg.
Driving to nest (yearlings not to be sent in this
condition).
With a youngster in the nest over 7 days old (and driving,
or
sitting the next round of eggs).
This last condition is especially valuable for the longer races. The cocks eat
better in the basket, and the big youngster provides a great incentive to him to
get home late at night, rather than wait until the next morning. He knows that
his hen will be sitting the eggs, but he must get home to feed the youngster, as
he does most of the feeding after the hen has laid again.
Many fancier’s hand-feed a large young bird in the nest, in order to relieve the
cock of this task, so as not to tax his energy overmuch prior to a long race.
But I am against this, for if the cock finds that the youngster does not need
feeding he will lose interest in it, and therefore it will not provide an
incentive to encourage him to get home. Incidentally, I have found that if the
large youngster in the nest is a hen, so much the better.
HENS
Due to hatch (15 days and over).
Sitting a small youngster 4 to 7 days old.
Sitting 9-day eggs and over.
When a hen which is due to hatch is sent to a race it can be given a youngster
on its return, and can be sent again the following week whilst feeding the small
youngster. Thus she can be sent three weeks in succession instead of the normal
two while sitting the eggs.
Sometimes (especially with yearlings) it is necessary to rest certain pigeons
from racing whilst the longer events are taking place. This should cause no
worry. I believe it often does the birds good. They come back to the racing
after a few weeks completely fresh and considerably keener. Provided they are
given two training tosses of twenty-five and thirty miles on the Tuesday and
Wednesday preceding the race, there is no reason why they should not put up a
good performance.
A year or two ago two of my yearlings (a cock and a hen) had each flown four or
five races, including two from 225 miles. Then started the races from the
Continent, and in between these were short, what we call “come-back” races of
about 120 miles. I was not anxious to send the two birds to these short races,
and so they were rested for five weeks. At the end of the programmed there was a
further race from the 225 mile point, and the two yearlings were entered, after
having had two trained tosses just before. They were clocked to win first and
second Federation, with over 700 birds competing.
Having discussed the steps which must be taken to ensure that our birds are
entered for the races in peak condition so that they may have the best possible
chance of scoring well, it is important to see that we do not make a mistake at
home and so spoil those chances.
It is very distressing to time in a good pigeon, and then find a few hours later
that the timing clock has stopped. Therefore, make sure that your clock is
reliable. Have it cleaned and overhauled at least once every two years by a
reputable clock repairer who understands pigeon timers. indulge in a little time
and motion study to ascertain in which position to put your clock on race days.
Much time can be saved by a little thought on these lines. Place the thimbles
(open) near the clock, with the two halves of the thimble side by side so that
you know they will fit together easily. And endeavor to be at your loft in
plenty of time on race days, so that you can prepare for the birds' arrival at
your leisure.
A mixture of hemp, linseed, rice and groats (and if possible safflower seed)
should be used as a trapping mixture on race days. The birds soon learn to
expect and look forward to this tidbit on their return, and enter the loft
quickly.
Once a bird has trapped it should he caught with care, so as to avoid upsetting
it unduly, thereby preventing it trapping so quickly the next time. When two
birds arrive together and one of them traps first, it is always better to catch
the bird first, and time it in, rather than wait for the second bird to trap.
Most pigeons (including the good birds) sometime during their racing career make
a mistake, causing them to spend a night or two away from home. Often they
benefit from their mistakes and thus become better pigeons, having learned to
work on their own rather than follow the pack. Therefore we must be prepared to
forgive one error, but if the same bird makes a second mistake, and on a day
when the majority had no difficulty in getting home, than that is the time to
consider whether it is worth keeping.
I believe that pigeons are three years learning, and three years at their best,
and even the best bird can be lost if sent often enough and far enough. So - if
you have a good pigeon which has flown well for, a number of seasons until it is
about six years old - be prepared to retire it and keep it for breeding
purposes. Races are won - it is true - by seven and eight - year - old pigeons,
but even experienced pigeons can be lost on a bad day, and their blood gone for
ever.
We must be prepared therefore, to forgo a possible win by these old-stagers, and
build for the future by retiring them whilst they are still full of vigor, so
that we may look forward to a number of years of successful breeding from them.
It is extremely useful to have one or two good pigeons which are not being
raced, in any case. They can be paired to the best racers, and we can then avoid
the misfortune of losing the mate of one of our long distance candidates a week
or two before the big event.