A visit to Derek & Linda Hay Winners of West Section Averages SNFC 2007 By Joe Murphy I included Derek Hay photos and trophies won by the partnership in one of my columns and was so impressed that I throught they truly deserved a loft report. My friend Dave Davidson and I travelled through to Kirkintilloch to meet up with Derek and Linda and, after a cup of coffee, we stepped out into the back garden. At first I thought it was a small loft set up, however it is not until you go into the lofts that you realise they take up the whole of the garden. This was a very interesting loft report as there are so many things to highlight that as a journalist I think you the reader will find very interesting (I hope so anyway). The other great bonus is that Derek in many ways is like me being a straight talking type of fancier who will always tell it the way it is. There is no need to convey anything other than the truth and that is what you will read in this report. So let us start at the very beginning... Derek started keeping racing pigeons in 1973, aged 7, with his grandfather Wull McCrae. They flew as McCrae & Hay and raced in the Kirkintilloch & District RPC which boasted 63 members at that time. Wull was a well respected pigeon man within the area and his endeavour to do well at S.N.F.C races was unsurpassed as he managed to clock a bird in race time 40 years in a row from the Gold Cup Rennes race, which was a distance of 550 miles. Wull was definitely the biggest influence in Derek's goals within pigeon racing; unfortunately he passed away in 1991 aged 81, however Derek thinks he died happy as he was found at the loft sitting with his dog and his beloved pigeons. Although Derek flies himself, he has always kept his wife Linda's name on the partnership as Derek says she has to put up with all the trials and tribulations a pigeon season brings and she fully supports him when needed. Lofts Derek and Linda moved to their present address in September 2001 and immediately on viewing the house he was out in the back garden pacing out for where the lofts were going. They have 3 lofts; the old bird loft is 30 foot by 8 foot with a 2 foot corridor running the full length of it. All the lofts have a sloping roof with onduline sheets on top. Derek feels they do not need a tiled roof on the lofts as the airflow is managed well in the bounds of them all. They have standard widowhood boxes along with some up and over fronts used in certain sections. There are three 8 foot sections and one 6 foot section for hens, which has v perches and a fence in front of them to stop them mating up I have included a photo of this to show readers. Now at this point I must say people may think this is cruel to the birds but, believe me, the condition on these hens was out of this world. I told Derek that many years ago (early 1970s) when I first started keeping pigeons I visited a Mrs Adamson of Auchtermuchty and her husband had poor health and what he used to do was have the youngsters in box perches. He then let down a partition from the roof, which he slowly lowered down and the youngsters where trapped in their box perches. He then opened up a door in front of each box perch and took the bird out and placed it in a basket for the race. No chasing about trying to catch pigeons. This was fantastic and I remembered this and here we are in 2008 and Derek is using the same type of system. The thing about these hens of Derek's is that while on the perches they do not see other birds so therefore are at rest and do not pair up. They are obviously let out for a fly and are fed and watered in the section before the go to rest again on the v perches. The young bird loft is 10 foot by 8 foot kitted out with home made pipo boxes and box perches. Both the old birds and young birds have access to the same aviary, so they can get a bath without going outside. The stock loft is 7 foot by 6 foot again with a small aviary. The nest boxes are 2 foot by 2 foot with a shelf in each nest box so they can build their second nest away from the babies in the other nest. The air enters through louvres on the doors and escapes via the eaves at the back of the lofts. The ventilation seems just right to me with no draughts and as I have said in previous articles ventilation is the most important item in every loft. Heaters aren�t used in the lofts but Derek can see the benefits in using them especially with the climate we have up here in this part of the country. The lofts are cleaned by scraper, twice a week in the winter and twice a day in the racing season. Throughout the season the lofts are washed out with Jeyes fluid and then torched to dry them off and to kill any bacteria or mite, Derek torches the loft 2 or 3 times during the racing season. The partners last loft location was in the middle of a field and they did not get bothered with many hawks but now that they stay in a housing scheme, they are terrorised with them on a daily basis. These raptors nip in between the buildings, ambushing and scaring the life out of the pigeons. The sparrow-hawk population here in Scotland is becoming totally out of control and there are so many that they could honestly now be classed as a back garden bird. Breeding and Race Preparation/ Planning I asked Derek how he selected his stock pigeons and what he looked for in a bird or birds and could he give me some details on the history of how he achieved this. He replied: Ideally I would like my stock birds to pick themselves. What I mean by that is, if their offspring are doing the business at the distance events, this would force me to put them to stock. Sometimes at the end of the season I will put together a pair of my best racers and keep their offspring for stock purposes. I like my stock to have balance, character, intelligence and most importantly a good constitution. If I were starting all over again I would go to several top distance fliers and purchase inbred late breds from them. I would put these different inbred families together and let the pot boil. I have studied breeding and genetics etc for years and I have found that by doing this you are expanding your chances of breeding a crack pigeon. I expanded this by enquiring if Derek's new introductions need time to acclimatise to the loft and if so how long did it take them? Derek stated, No, I think the birds have either got it or they havent. Sometimes the first nest from new introductions is not the best. Did he look at a particular family, one who wins at National level or did he go for the name of a certain fancier? His reply was, If looking to purchase new pigeons, I would study the National results (Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish) looking for someone who is consistently on the results, particularly when flying into a disadvantaged geographical area, preferably a small team man with an inbred or line bred family of pigeons. Derek and Linda's family of pigeons have been blended and cultivated for many years. They have swapped birds with Jim Hannah recently and they seem to be crossing well with their own birds. They have not scored across the water yet but Derek is confident they will do so in time. The reason Jims birds were introduced was because for Derek he is the man to beat at the SNFC Gold Cup race, especially in the west section, and his record over the years has been phenomenal. The partnership has also been trying some birds from Malcolm Taylor (Taylor Bros) from Newbiggin by the Sea. Derek says, It is early days for these birds but I am sure they will produce the goods. I asked Derek if he had a preference for a cock or hen when it comes to breeding and his reply was, Most folk would say the cock but I think both are equally important and in my own family hens are very dominant within the structure of my loft. Continuing on this theme I posed the question does the size of the hen make a difference to him, for example does he like big hens for breeding. Derek said, The size of the hen doesnt matter to me but I have noticed a lot of my good birds came from big eggs. Even small birds can lay big eggs; obviously there will be contradictions to this Joe but it is definitely something I have noticed within my own family. Derek likes to line breed and sometimes inbreed for stock purposes. The process of pairing winners to winners is definitely a favourite of his, especially when he is fortunate to have a loan of a top winning pigeon to mate to his own winning birds. These pairings are also a first cross and therefore have the hyrbid factor which makes good racers as well as stock pigeons. Derek is keen on his breeders having perfect balance and intelligence; he has a preference for small to medium size with a strong well proportioned frame and silky feathering. He usually mates the pairs up that compliment each other, for example their build, their eyes and their feathering. He tries to imagine what their young will look like. Needless to say all the partnership's pigeons handle very similarly with small to medium apple bodies and they were like peas in a pod. I was very impressed with the their pigeons and it gave me a great deal of satisfaction handling a family of quality pigeons. Fanciers find their best breeding pair either by luck or in some cased by good judgement and I invited Derek to tell us how he came about his. Our best breeding pairs are mated because I think they complement each other. Apart from that, their pedigrees were also compatible with one of them being direct from a 1st west section winner and the other being a direct section winner.' Management I asked what materials Derek uses for nesting and he told me an interesting comment: In the winter my bowls are covered with newspaper for warmth along with nest felts and tobacco stalks. So I enquired when he paired up his stock and race team? I usually mate my yearlings up a few days before the rest of my team because they are usually a bit slower at going down on eggs. They are mated the second week in January and my old birds and stock pairs a few days later and I float the stock eggs under the yearlings. Derek houses about 15 pairs of stock birds and I likes to get 2 or 3 off them for himself with some of the offspring going to charity sales etc. Derek stated: I breed off my main Scottish National candidates as well as taking one off some well bred yearlings as I have bred a lot of top pigeons from my yearlings. I have found Joe that they hold all the vigour and vitality you want passed on to the young birds. 2008 youngsters. General Management I asked Derek to tell me about his preparation for the year for example from pairing up to the first race. All birds are paired up in January and as I reported above, he floats eggs from the stock pairs under the yearlings. When the young birds are 16 days he takes the hen away and leaves the babies with the cock. A form of roundabout starts now and both the cocks and hens feed the young birds, cocks in the morning and hens at night. Drek said: 'When weaning I vaccinate all my birds, old and young against paramyxovirus. This is now time to get the birds into a training routine. The cocks go out in the morning for an hour then in and fed then the young birds are let out for exercise. The hens are only fed lightly in the morning as I need to be able to control them in the afternoon as they would fly all day if over fed when I let them out; after the hens come in the cocks get out again. No forced flying at this time of year, just free to do as they please. They fly well anyway, especially the hens and that is why they only get out once a day. During this time I like to clean my birds up, by this I mean treat them all for the usual stuff - canker etc - and get them internally right for the racing starting. 'One week before the first race I re-pair my birds up and let them sit eggs for 7 days. During this time I train both cocks and hens to 25 miles during this fortnight of driving and sitting. After the 2nd race I then separate them again and put them on to roundabout. As stated, all my birds are mated in January therefore I dont need to darken my young birds as they will go through the body moult naturally. I have a naturally dark young bird loft anyway so they seem to react to these conditions, without putting undue stress on them. I have kind of tweaked my young bird system over several years and I feel if you can get a balance with the darkening of the young birds then it will pay dividends. I have won the young bird averages for many years and have scored in 7 of the last 8 SNFC young bird Nationals so my system seems to work for me Joe. The last couple of years I have bred about 70 young birds for myself. Before this I only bred about 40 but I thought I needed to increase my numbers, which has paid dividends. At the present time I have 30 pairs of old birds for racing andI have to say this is about 10 to 12 pairs more than I usually raced but I felt I needed more depth in my team to compete in the Scottish Midland Federation programme as well as the SNFC races which takes its toll on the team. I think it is very important to give your pigeons enough room. I dont think mine have enough space and I feel I will have to address this very soon. My garden space is limited so I will have to cut back on the breeding over the next few years. Normally I breed from my top national winners at the end of the season, however this will have to stop because of the lack of space.' Stock bird section. I put the question to Derek on what he thought of late bred youngsters. He said he had obtained quite a lot of success with late breds, especially if they are only lightly raced as yearlings, and said just watch them go as 2 year olds. With these late breds in mind and the race team, I asked Derek about his training methods. 'The old birds usually just have a training toss from 25 miles but I have given them the odd 60 miles if I think they need it. The young birds are well trained up to 30 miles before racing commences then they get 12 miles tosses throughout the season. They are raced maybe every second week as Im a believer that you must keep reserves in the tank for the distance races. As all my birds are distance birds, Im pleasantly surprised when they win at the beginning of the year. I like to compete in every race I enter pigeons in and try to win each event, however the secret Joe is trying to get them peaking at different times. For normal my yearlings and late breds will maintain me through the federation race programme and the older birds have to perform at Scottish National races. All birds are different and perform in different nest conditions. Look at how many times you have highlighted in your excellent articles on the SNFC winners about how much observation is the key to fanciers success Joe. Im no different than anyone else. I want my old birds to be peaking in the months of June and July, however this does not mean that they will not win a race before this. Im a firm believer in that motivation of the birds is what wins these early races up to 250 miles and of course they also require to be fit and in good health to win ALL races.' I asked if Derek allowed his pigeons to take a bath during the racing season and if so when is the last time he would give them one prior to a Scottish National race. He said: Joe, the bath is one of the most important tools in bringing pigeons into great condition. All athletes use bathing to recover from heavy exercise; my birds always receive a bath a couple of days before basketting for the big races.' Continuing in this approach, I enquired if there was a way in which his pigeons let him know when they were in form. Derek said: The cocks can't keep still and are always on there toes; another thing is there is plenty of noise in the loft with a lot of boisterous fighting. My hens have a habit of dropping their wings and then flick them up. Another thing is there are plenty of down feathers in the morning in and around the perches or nest boxes. The birds will also exercise well and fly very high in the sky and when in tip top condition there should not be a speck of dirt on the pigeons. When the birds have had a very hard race I sometimes hand bathe them in tepid water with Radox in it. I will gently massage their muscles, especially their pectorals and then put them in their nest boxes to rest. Sometimes a darkened loft helps them relax and sleep.' I asked would he do the same treatment after a middle distance race. Derek did not know if this treatment is required then but stressed he would do so if he felt that it would help in the recovery of his birds. For example it depends on the type of race and the time the bird has been on the wing. A pigeon that has had to battle into a strong head wind for 9 hours is going to be more tired than one flying for 10 hours in a tail wind. I asked how many races his channel birds have prior to the event and when does he stop before the race? I like them to have 3 or 4 races out to 260-300 miles. Ideally I like it if the birds have their last race 3 or 4 weeks before the main event, this way you can get them down on eggs and achieve some good training into them before basketting for the classic race. I normally stop training the week end prior to the main event giving them at least a week's rest before the race. What happens when you lose the mate of one of your candidates, do you stop the bird for the year I asked? Derek said, If you have space, you can mate all your stock birds and late breds to your National candidates so they have their mate on return from every race. I do believe pigeons get really disappointed if their mate or their young birds is not there when they return from a race. I am sure they remember this disappointment and the next time you race them they may not put in that 110 % effort that you are looking for.' Regarding racing yearlings, most go to the 375 miles with the odd exceptionally conditioned ones maybe to 520 miles. I asked Derek if he attached any importance to the pigeons wing i.e. back wing, end 4 flights, and if so did helook at the wing to see if the bird has cast a flight before a race. Derek replied: I always look at the wing as it can sometimes give you an indication to the bird's health and fitness, for example if a bird has thrown 2 flights at once this is a great sign of health and I would not hesitate sending such a bird to a 500-600 mile race plus I would have a few bob on it as well Joe. However I do like my birds going to the National on their 1st or 2nd new flight but I have had them score on their 3rd and 4th. I prefer a long back wing with the last 3 or 4 flights the same length and with space between them; I have also found that a good distance bird will possess a lot of feather covering over its back protecting the kidneys.' Young Birds One of the main topics Im often asked as a scribe his how to combat young bird sickness and I wondered if Derek had an opinion on this problem. He stated, 'EVERYBODY has had young bird sickness to some degree; there are so many different varieties of it, a lot of them you wouldnt recognise, whether it is the fatal strain or just the mild strain. One observation I have noticed when something is starting to go wrong is when your young birds dont respond when you start calling them in after their daily exercise because youngsters should always be ready for their meal after their exercise if not something is wrong. I have heard people say that they have never had it and I have been at their loft and spotted it immediately. Again Joe, a lot of fanciers are not observant enough at there lofts. I have found that Adenosan is the best product for young bird sickness.' Keeping on the same theme I asked Derek if he gave the youngsters any special treatments when they return from the racing as prevention against cross infection picked up in the transporter. He used to give them an antibiotic on return from the first couple of young bird races but now feels he does not need to. He uses Honey in the water on return from a race and may add cider vinegar later in the day. Do you race your youngsters out every week I enquired and Derek said, No, some maybe get all the races but most go every 2nd week out to 170 miles with some selected for the young bird National a distance of 261 miles.' As stated Derek does not use the darkness system for the youngsters ,however he has used this system in the past and thinks it is great, but if you can get your birds through the body moult and not throwing too many primaries then you dont need to use the darkness system. Fanciers can achieve this if they breed early enough as stated previously and as Dereks young bird loft is naturally dark some of his young birds hold their primaries allowing him to send them to the later races. Another area of interest was Dereks feeding methods for the young birds; did he break them down; keep them hungry for control purposes or did he give them a trapping mixture? Dereks reply was, I dont break them down or keep them hungry. These are babies and they need all the nourishment they can get. I think the main objective with young birds is to get them well schooled and experienced. First and foremost, you want them home and you will not get them home from a difficult race if you keep them hungry. These babies are the future of our loft and everyone is a potential national winner so are treated as such.' Young bird section. Moult / Winter management I asked Derek what criteria he set down for the pigeons the partnership wintered. His reply was: A good moult is very important to succeed in the following years races. I have stopped the odd pigeon for a whole year if I felt it has not had a perfect moult. As you will know from verifying SNFC winners Joe, you will very seldom get a bird winning one of these top distance races that has not had a perfect moult.' I invited Derek to tell us if he had any special treatments he gave to his birds once the season finishes and as quick as a flash he replied - REST, feed your birds the best of corn and give them plenty of baths and these factors will contribute to your birds having a first class moult.' Feeding /Supplements I enquired if Derek measured out the amount he gave each pigeon, or are they fed as a team. He replied: Hopper fed as much as they can possibly eat. I ask my birds to fly their hearts out from a 500 to 600 mile race and I want them to have the reserves when needed.' Derek highlighted that he felt both grit and minerals are essential to every pigeons needs and he makes sure these items are made available to the pigeons all the year round. I asked Derek to tell me about his feeding system and what type of grain he uses, from winter to pairing up, to rearing the youngsters and changing it for racing then back again to the moult. Dereks reply was: During the moult the birds receive 2 good moulting mixtures mixed with all the feeding left over from the racing season, as well as some small seeds. Fresh water most days with garlic granules added a couple of times a week. After the completion of the moult they are put on to depurative for a few weeks, again garlic being used to get them internally right before they get mated up. When the birds are 10 days on eggs I feed Bucktons breeding mixture. Maple peas are added to this when the young birds are 7 days old supplemented with egg mix, G10 pellets and Hormoform. The young birds are weaned on to maple peas and Bucktons young bird mixture. When they are through the body moult they are fed Bucktons young bird mixture only. The old birds at the present time are back on depurative and this is to get the internal fat off them in preparation for racing. When racing I use Buckton's widowhood mixture and this is strengthened with more maize at the 200 mile stage. As the Scottish National races approach I start feeding peanuts and fatty seeds with plenty of fresh grit always available. As I said, I hopper feed as I feel this encourages the birds to eat more and they are competitive while down at the hopper.' I asked if he gave vitamins in the water or on the food, or did he give other supplements. He puts in the water drinkers; Saturday - honey & cider vinegar, Sunday canker treatment or iodine product, Monday - garlic, Tuesday-vitamins, Wednesday - cider vinegar, Thursday - fresh water and Friday fresh water. I asked if he could give his pigeons ONE supplement what would it be and Dereks answer was Grit. Hens cannot see other pigeons. Treatments Derek said: 'The birds are vaccinated for paramyxovirus and treated for canker. I like to use several different products Ronidazole, Spartrix and Chevi-col. I havent wormed my birds for years although the like of Ivermectin has been used to de-louse the birds and this also kills internal parasites. To tell you the truth Joe I have spent thousands of pounds on products over the years and the birds have flown very well. Last year I spent nothing and they flew just as well if not better. (Which is another expensive lesson learned). I only use antibiotics if advised by a vet and the big thing nowadays is salmonella, with fanciers blanket treating or vaccinating their birds against this disease. I have witnessed this and I wasnt impressed with the after effects it leaves on some birds. Salmonella, is not a new disease but all the products to treat it are and Im afraid this is just another fad and fanciers are just throwing money away when they dont need to. Look at the situation we are in now with the paramyxovirus and pox vaccinations; I have to ask are they really essential? I feel that young birds should be vaccinated but I dont see why it is continued into adulthood. As far as I am concerned it is another money earner for the pharmaceutical companies. Joe, we are getting further away from creating natural immunity within our birds and I dont think we are improving the standard of our livestock. Year after year we read or hear about young bird losses and this has been going on for 40 or 50 years, yet we seem to accept this and nothing is done to prevent these losses.' Now for some of the best... Peggy As a youngster she won 2nd open Morpeth 110 miles; 1st open Ripon 164 miles; 4th open Ripon (beaten by 3 loft mates) As a yearling she had 3 races from Kelso, Maidstone and Lille. One of Derek's best ever performances was when Waterside Peggy as a 2 year old was timed at 7.45 pm (after sitting out 5 minutes) from the SNFC Gold Cup race from Liege in Belgium after 13 hours on the wing flying 541 miles. When she landed the hairs on the back of Dereks neck stood up and he was like a raving lunatic trying to get her into the loft. He said to me: The air was blue Joe, but when she eventually trapped and my blood pressure settled, the realisation of maybe winning the section from the main event was sinking in. She was the first pigeon to be clocked in the section, flying 13 miles further than the 2nd bird timed and she won 1st club 1st federation 1st section E 1st West of Scotland Region; she was also the first hen timed in the race winning 5th Open. She received the Annie Ross Bowes trophy as well as 2 x S.H.U Awards for her outstanding performance in this race. I would have to say that winning the West Region from the Gold Cup race is every fancier's dream in the west of Scotland. Peggy achieved this flying in a west by south west wind with the Hay loft being one of the furthest located in the section being in a north west position. Another interesting fact for the readers of this story is that Peggy must have flown well over 220 miles of water in her effort to get home and when you also consider that she battled against the North Sea winds she was without doubt the top hen in the field that day. Peggy has become the partners number one stock hen being dam of 8 individual 1st prize winners for Derek & Linda from 69 miles to 548 miles, including The Jinx 2nd section 39th open SNFC Alencon 548 miles, Pied Peggy 1st club 2nd open Scottish Midland Federation Chichester. Waterside Peggy Lady Linda 3rd section F Sartilly, 2nd section F Sartilly, 3rd section F Beauvais, 2nd section 7th open Sartilly also several prize cards in club and federation racing. Responsible for countless winners. Lady Linda Claire 1st club 1st federation 1st section F Sartilly by 4 hours (sole entry). 1st club 1st federation 3rd section F Rennes. She also has several prizes in club and federation. Claire is a daughter of Lady Linda. Claire Sonnybors 10th open West Coast Combine Cheltenham 291 miles in a north wind. 15th open West Coast Combine Salisbury north wind. 1st club 1st federation 1st yearling 1st West Coast Combine Sartilly 509 miles 15 � hours on the wing (only 4 birds in Combine on the day). All the above achieved as a yearling he flew over 2000 miles during this year as a matter of interest he was unraced as a young bird. Sonnybors is a double grandson of Lady Linda. Waterside Sonnybors. Cloud Nine 3rd club Charnock Richards, 1st club 1st federation 1st section F 1st west Region Young Bird SNFC Leicester with a velocity of 1419 Cloud Nine beat all birds in SNFC sections D, E & F birds in a south west wind and she won the section by almost 300 yards; she is a grand daughter of Waterside Peggy. Cloudline Waterside Blackie 1st young bird ring scheme; 1st club 1st federation Newcastle; 1st club 1st federation 1st section F (won section by an Hour) SNFC Frome; 2nd open Chryston open race; 7th open Chryston open race; 15th west Coast Combine Salisbury; 3rd, 6th 7th & 9th open federation Lille; 151st open SNFC Messac 569 miles. Darkie is responsible for dozens of winners. He is a class act scoring from 69 miles to 569 miles. He flew the channel 7 times including the 2 disasters in 1997 and 2000. Waterside Blackie. Beauty Winner of 18th section 219th open Falaise 520 miles; 2nd section 12th open Tours 628 miles. She only had one race from 77 miles before being entered into this 628 mile race and achieved this wonderful performance. She is a super pigeon and has a very good peal eyesign and it is a pity we did not have a picture of her eye to show you. She is a grand daughter of Lady Linda. Beauty. Pied Peggy Full sister to the Jinx being from the McEwen red cock and Waterside Peggy. Pied Peggy won 2nd open Scottish Midland Federation open race from Chichester 380 miles (this race turned out to be a disaster), 16th section 88th open Alencon 2007. As a matter of interest Pied Peggy is the dam of 2 x SNFC diploma winners in 2007 and is grand dam of a yearling who won 24th section from Maidstone in 2007. So she is continuing in the breeding lines of her mother and father. Pied Peggy. The McEwan Cock. Double Section Cock Has been kept for stock as he is bred in the purple. Sire was Emergency winner of 1st west section (only bird on the day) 11th open Rennes for J OHara & son. Dam was Waterside Peggy 1st west region 5th open SNFC Liege 541 miles for Derek & Linda Hay (she was the first hen in the result) The Double Section cock's mate this year is Blue pied hen, a grand daughter of Papa Peter from the loft of J McGhie & Son & Grandson from Newmains. This pied hen is another outstanding pigeons with a top breeding eye. It is little wonder that Derek and Linda Hay are not far from the top in the open races as the quality in the stock loft is superb. The Double Section Cock with his mate. The Double Section Cock. Jock Allan Hen One from the Master. She has left her mark not only in Derek & Lindas loft but in many of their friends lofts as well; she is an outstanding stock hen. Jock Allan Stock Hen General Observations I asked Derek which champion pigeons over the years had left an impression on him and perhaps influenced his direction within the sport. Derek said: 'Mr & Mrs Smith of Elphinstone champion pied hen Fortune Lady who won a Double Gold Award winning 10 times in SNFC was an unbelievable performer. At the present time we have another champion in Willie Kinnear & son Barry champion Auld Reekie, a winner of 1st & 2nd open SNFC. Outstanding pigeons Joe, however I could mention a hundred pigeons that have influenced the type of races I want to compete in. When you read and speak of pigeons of this quality it inspires you to try and reach the same standards, though this is easier said than done as everyone knows racing from 500 miles is a very hard thing to achieve, especially on a regular basis.' When I visit a loft for reports like on Derek and Lindas other fanciers are like me and make observations on each pigeon in particular the eye. I asked Derek if he considered that the eye has any importance in a. breeding b. Distance Racing c. pigeons health? Or does he steer clear of the subject and if so why? His reply was: It is a known fact that when anybody handles a pigeon the first thing they do is look at the eye, whether it is just to see the character and expression of the pigeon or maybe it's just to infer they know something about eye sign. I am not a believer in eye sign at all. Too many eye sign experts are very poor breeders and racers of pigeons for there to be any truth in it. I will say that almost every good distance pigeon has a nice eye but I think this is just a mirror of the health and constitution of the bird.' Does Derek consider any percentage difference (if any) between the fancier's management and the pigeon in winning races. He answered: With sprint races it is more the fancier (management) than the pigeon because it is for the most part motivation that wins these early races so I would say 80% fancier, 20% the pigeon. In races between 200 and 350 miles the percentage drops to about 50% 50%. I would say the further your races progress, the less proportion for the fancier and the more the quality of pigeon comes into play.' We have all made mistakes with our management in the past and I enquired if Derek had learnt from any he may have made. 'Joe, I have made every mistake in the book - overcrowding, overfeeding, over training, under training, over medicating, not medicating when needed, where do I stop? I hope, luckily that I have learnt by my mistakes. My mate used to say "every day is a school day".' I wondered who or what motivates Derek to remain successful and he responded honestly by saying: I hate to say this Joe but the people that dont shake your hand or congratulate you when you have put up a decent performance. I dont stoop to their level because if they ever win a race I am the very first to congratulate them. Its these people that motivate me to remain successful as jealousy is the worst part of this sport and success is definitely begrudged by a lot of people. Moving in another direction I posed a question for Derek to consider, this being how the sport is in Britain compared to the Continentals and did he have any ideas that he thought would benefit the sport up here in Scotland. Derek responded by saying.I think we in Britain are between 5 and 10 years behind the continentals in most aspects of the sport. The Germans seem to be ahead of the game at the moment. I feel it would be better in Scotland if all the small federations amalgamated together as we cannot afford to be travelling down the road with small convoys of pigeons. Moving on I asked Derek what aspect of the sport interests him the most and he said:I have always been competitive at any sport I have been involved in and this is the part of the sport I love best. Sometimes when I beat my mate, he used to say to me "I will leave no stone unturned to beat you next week. I appreciated his honesty and competitiveness. I also enjoy the breeding season and we all know that breeding is Gold while racing is Silver.' I enquired if there was anything he did not like about the sport, something he felt needed changing for the good of the sport in general and his reply was: As mentioned earlier, I do not like the schoolboy jealousy in the sport and I also think that people should stand up at AGMs and let their feelings known instead of saying nothing and then complaining the rest of the year. This causes disharmony within the sport. I can say this as a present secretary and past federation official as well as an ex SNFC committee member. I think to improve the sport, all the small clubs and feds have to amalgamate and work together and we have to be encouraging younger people into the sport by going to schools etc and helping them as much as we can without younger blood joining us then our sport has no future. To benefit the sport in Scotland we all have to work together to sort the problem of the savage hawk attacks we receive day in day out. I do not know how we can do this but I know some sort of action has to be done and soon or more and more people will leave as they cannot even let their pigeons out for daily exercise.' Theories Does he have any theories on wings, throat, cere of eye, vents, feather quality or anything at all. He said:I think you will find a contradiction to all theories, but I suppose it adds to the fun of the pigeon sport. What I want in a pigeon isnt visible and they are brains and a big heart. Had he ever had super form in his time of keeping pigeons? I dont know. The best way to describe super form is all I can say is birds look like oil paintings, every feather on their body looks as if it has been highlighted and there is a buzzing and noisy feeling in the loft. A feeling of well being in my opinion. When you have super form in the loft you could send the pigeons anywhere and they would make light work of it. In 2006 I had a chequer hen Beauty (see photo) and she received only one race of 77 miles and her second race of the year was Tours 628 miles. She landed at just after 07.00 am on the second day to win 2nd section 12th Open. The week before I was 2nd west section from the SNFC Gold Cup race from Alencon so the loft had super form that year Joe and I was the happiest man in Scotland.' The best of the best Asking Derek if he had to choose any pigeon from his past birds which one would he choose and what characteristics they had that you look for in a pigeon, he stated with pride: I had a pigeon we called Lady Linda SU90G 13 she hatched on the 13th March in Box 13 and she scored in the National a few times with her best position 7th open SNFC Sartilly 1992 when you won it Joe with Mystical Rose. The date was the Friday 13th June 1992. Her daughter Claire (see photo) SU93G 7033 (13) won the SNFC region by 4 and a half hours from Sartilly 509 miles. Claires grand daughter is Beauty SU01G3037 (13 ) won 2nd section 12th Open SNFC Tours 628 miles and to top all this, my three sons are born on the 13th with 2 of them on Friday 13th. Is this spooky or what? Apart from all that, Lady Linda was a class act Joe, she had everything you would want in a pigeon - great balance, silky feathering, intelligence, but most of all a fantastic constitution. I never saw a louse on her or any stress while rearing young birds, she never had a feather out of place and was always a picture when returning from a race and most importantly Joe she NEVER had a days illness in her life She was what I would call a Dream Pigeon that was also a fantastic breeder as well. She is responsible for our family of pigeons at the moment, being the grand mother of Waterside Peggy our no1 stock hen. She bred countless winners and my best ever yearling was a double grand son of Lady Linda. He won 1st open Scottish West Coast Combine Sartilly being 15 hours on the wing with only 4 birds on the day in his first year racing. Lady Linda would have flown through a brick wall to hatching eggs and at any distance. She was total perfection.' Did Derek think pigeon racing has changed since he first started as a 7 year old boy, for instance we now fly a different route so is the velocity different than before, also how do returns compare to when you first started to race. His reply was: Pigeon racing has certainly changed and maybe not for the better. It has become more commercialised with hundreds of different products being sold every year. When I first raced we had to make our own feeding up and we had to decide what the best balanced diet for our pigeons was; we introduced peas and beans (protein) as the longer races approached but now it is maize with the emphasis in carbohydrate loading for the distance. Medication was mainly the spade and most illnesses were seen as a sign of weakness. In the 70s and 80s the pigeons didnt have the hazards they have now, with hawks, low flying aircrafts, mobile phones, telephone masts etc. At that time we only bred about 18 young birds and sometimes had to cull some at the end of the season. A mob flier then is equivalent to a small team fancier now I do believe that we as pigeon fanciers have more knowledge about the health and conditioning of our pigeons now than our peers. Birds nowadays return from these marathon events in better condition than they used to. On the other hand we experience some horrendous returns especially with young bird racing this can be down to various factors like clashing, hawks; young bird sickness as well as the K Index being high. We fly down the west route with the Scottish Midland federation and although the first pigeons velocities are as expected, the losses with young birds have been horrific especially the first 100 miles where the peregrine population is at its worst. We also need to look into how we can improve pigeon racing and one way is to fund scientific research in all aspects of the sport. For example young bird losses, magnetic fields, homing instinct and how different weather conditions affect weekly racing. We need to obtain this scientific data from this research then we can make moves to improve pigeon racing. Joe I just love my pigeons and I enjoy setting myself new goals in the sport. I am very fortunate that I have an understanding wife who puts up with the emotional rollercoaster a season brings. If he could pass on any one bit of advice to readers of this report what would it be. Derek strongly advised: Do not get caught up in the politics of pigeons, just enjoy your sport without taking it too seriously. Do not be frightened to ask for advice from experienced fanciers as an old doo man once said to him, "You are not foolish if you ask a lot of questions, however you are foolish if you dont".' 2007 Achievements Derek With 2007 Trophies Like many other fanciers I do not like reading a long list of positions won in loft reports, as I believe that many readers are not interested in them and would like to read what the person has to say. I have highlighted the main pigeons' achievements above along with a photo where possible however the 2007 season was a wonderful year for the partnership of Derek and Linda Hay. They set more new records in their club and federation, for example at club level this partnership won 22 of the 26 trophies available, winning all averages young bird and old birds, all points cups young bird and old birds and old bird and best young bird as well as 1st yearling Maidstone. In the club they won 12 x 1st prizes, 8 x 2nd prizes, 3 x 3rd prizes, 9 x 4th etc, etctotalling a new record of 169 points, beating their own records of previous years. They have only been beaten oncein races over 250 miles in the last 2 years which is truly remarkable as there are some top class fanciers in Kirkintilloch club. At federation level they again excelled being top prize winners in the Scottish Midland federation winning the coveted "John Donald Trophy" (best average of all old bird and young bird races) The S Brown trophy (best yearling averages in old bird open races) The Printwell Trophy ( for best yearlingaverage in old bird open races plus young bird open race) The J Nash trophy (best average 4 open races plus Scottish Central Combine channel race) The A Young trophy (for 1st bird in S.N.F.C Newbury) The P Anderson trophy (best 2 bird average in the S.N.F.C Eastbourne race). Derek and Linda have competed in the Midland federation for 4 years now, winning the yearling average trophies3 out of the 4 years and they were runner-up for the John Donald trophy in the other 2 years. This remarkable fact; was achieved when you consider that they are one of the furthest flying North West members in the federation. In the S.N.F.C they have won 35 diplomas since the millennium winning from section E and F 16 top 6 finishes. In 2007 they were the First Scottish Midland fanciers in the history of the federation to win the Section E averages as well as the West Region averages. The partnership won 10 diplomas in 2007, with the first pigeon in each race winning: Newbury 5th section E, 5th West Region, 75th Open with a daughter of Waterside Peggy 1st section, 5th Open Gold cup Liege. Maidstone 24th section E 24th West Region with a yearling grand daughter of Waterside Peggy. From Alencon they won 16th section E 88th Open again another daughter of Waterside Peggy. Eastbourne 11th section E 11th West Region with a yearling hen off the McGhie hen crossed with the Taylor cock, and from the Y.B National from Leicester they won 7th section E 7th West Region with a chequer cock from their Jock Allan hen. So you will see that the Hay partnership won a prize in every SNFC race in 2007 which very few fanciers ever do and I mean from the whole of Scotland not just the west section. One other interesting fact is that Derek & Linda have won diplomas in the last 15 races out of the 17 SNFC races they have competed in so you will see they are top quality fanciers with a team of super pigeons. Conclusion I hope you have enjoyed this report on Derek and Linda Hay. The one thing that struck me was this was a true family of top distance pigeons expertly managed by a top quality fancier. Every pigeon I handled was like the one before and they were very impressive. At first I was taken aback at the way the racing hens were penned up however after I handled each of these birds the condition on them was out of this world and each had wonderful body. Derek has obviously mastered this and anyone who flies roundabout should take this tip from this article and if they improve on their management and results then both Derek and I will be happy. I wish Derek and Linda every success in the future with their lovely team of pigeons and I will be watching out for their name on the SNFC results in future. Derek and Linda have an autistic son who is in a special school in Ayrshire; they are thinking of holding a sale of late breds in support of this school and asked if I would help them in the organisation of this sale, which I will be glad to do. Derek has promised 2 pairs from the very best in his loft as a start to the sale list and I can recommend that anyone who purchases these birds will not go wrong. My thanks to Linda for her hospitality and to Derek for taking the time to show me his great team of birds and for supplying some of the photographs for this article. Written and copyright by Joe Murphy
