Tony C

Welcome PIGEONJIMI

Roland you say you pair up the first or second week in April, your y/birds will only be 10-12 weeks old when you start to train if you wish to get them ready for the first race. Are you and Wiley not agreeing that this is the best age to start training even though you see the reasons why a little different.

Just out of interest I'd like to know if pigeons these days clear the race point quicker than they use to do.

Re clashing, I think its the case they get their head down and go and go and go....... in the wrong direction, not pulling out and heading for home. They seem to have lost their orientation skills in our search for speed. Hence different type of pigeon nowadays.

Jimmy the two on the poll I voted for were the type of pigeon we now race and clashing. This to me covers both the pigeon and eventualities which may happen outside of our control, but which one is it and what’s the cause? Lets take the pigeon. I cant believe its all down to illness as the most likely cause as the poll suggests. Why is it you come across a raceday once or twice a year where everything seems perfect and a good race is expected, not only you encounter heavy losses but the whole convoy takes a bashing. Everyone’s pigeons don’t fall ill on the same weekend so to me you can eliminate illness. My belief is that the convoy of pigeons hit the wrong line from the lib and head of in the wrong direction, get their heads down and before they know it hit the coast somewhere, maybe they don’t stop at the coast perhaps they carry on and end up in a watery grave. Is this why we don’t see them again? Getting back to my first choice, the type of pigeon we now race. Scenario. You have two family’s of pigeons, you have a team of 32 y/birds 16 from each of the family’s. One of the family’s you hardly ever lose a y/bird from, they are a steady family but always 5 mins behind. The other family 9 times out of 10 beat the steady family but the losses throughout the year hit about 50%. You end up the year with 24 y/birds 16 from the steady family and 8 from the family that’s doing the damage. What happens? You invest in the family that’s knocking spots of the steady family and end up breeding more to cover for the losses you know your going to encounter so now you have to breed 48 y/birds to end the year with 24 taking 50% losses into consideration. To conclude I think its the whole way we look at racing these days. I wont say its win at all costs but whereas in the past fanciers ambitions were to win combines/nationals now its try and win every race from the first to the last. When you look at race programs 80% are sprint races, fanciers now keep pigeons that are competitive in these. In other words they’d just as much win a 70mile race as a 500 mile race, a win is a win! consequently losses are greater.

Welcome Frazer.

A welcome from the smog.... cough cough

Just picking up on another point, I think the closed in lofts that many race to now are as much to blame as antibiotic abuse.

Andy I agree with you regarding respiratory, pigeons with a touch of canker, cocci or worms will get home albeit late, send one with respiratory and you'll not see it again

Please vote for two of the most probable cause/s as to the problem.

http://www.chevita.com/en/pigeons/treatment-plan/respiratorytract-infectiouscatarrh.php

From what I hear we in the UK are too far up in the northern hemisphere to fly this system.

Yes. These days I believe if you strive to become the highest prize winner in your club you’ll not do it on the strength on old bird results alone. Pre the darkness system y/bird results pretty much went around. It became the case that those racing a team of darkness y/birds could become the highest prize winner on their results alone. Now lets get on the system of racing darkness y/birds, is that to blame for losses? Those that race a team of darkness pigeons are now armed with a team unlike natural y/birds. These darkness pigeons are sexually mature come racing and many exploit this but to what end. Much is said about sending yearling cocks driving or old hens being sent eggy, even some will hold back on yearling w/hood cocks if a tail wind is forecast, how many follow these basic things with a darkness team? Not many I bet. You hear fanciers saying darkness youngsters have a child’s brain in an adult body so to speak, the same could be said about yearlings but the poor y/birds are expected to do it. I don’t think its the case of can these darkness pigeons handle racing I think it more the case of can the fancier handle a team of darkness y/birds!

As portrayed in the film Pulp Fiction....a Royal with cheese

Seems to be hitting those at the top the hardest.

Fly your old birds on widowhood. Feed (depurative) AM on a tray, PM (w/hood mix) in their boxes. You can have their feed measured out and on the tray before you go to work, if there's no one there to put the tray in the loft in the morning put it in yourself before you go to work. I would exercise them 2-30 till 3-30 early in the season as they'll get the benifit from the warmest part of the day.

241. The antennae of the ETS must be fitted within the confines of the loft or trapping systems, not underneath external landing boards. Club officials may make random checks at any time. Contravention of this rule will result in disciplinary action under rule 70A. 'within the confines of the loft or trapping systems' does this mean once timed the pigeon cant exit the loft ot trap :-/

Where are you going to place the pad Mark. I ask because the way I understand it the pad cant be positioned directly under the landing board. Just curious as to whats permitted and whats not. Tony

Night cyclops

I think Wally must have passed away over 10 years ago now.

All you can do is give them your 100% attention. At this time you cant afford to have any setbacks whatsoever so keeping them clean and healthy is the number one priority. Mine are only let out once a week for a bath, plenty of rest and good grub.

Is it a problem in our sport? I really don’t know but wouldn’t be reassuring for us all if the RPRA were seen to be doing something. Perhaps randomly taking samples from crates/baskets after liberations to see if there’s a problem in the first place.

Billy T, now there's a blast from the past Lets race.

You’ve only got to read the BHW to know that everything’s rosy within the sport. Well that what they’d like us to believe anyway.

Do the RPRA really want drug tests to take place?