Kyleakin Lofts

Well done.

First and foremost Mike, Come the YB National identification MUST be allowed, it is a SHU rule. The National is NOT above SHU rules. The National rule is outdated and illegal under the current SHU Constitution. Regarding most of the other comments, my sympathies to them all. It is a pity and most of them may be factual, but the main idea behind the rule is to show that not only does the SHU organise a stray centre for the repatriation of strays, but the rule shows that the owners are doing their best to ensure that repatriation. Any do-gooders seeing either the wing stamp or telephone ring, then knows that we care and are doing our best to make sure we get them back home.

Good photos Archie.

Good afternoon all.

Happy birthday Sad1.

Welcome to the site.

Good morning all.

Glasgow Fed is above you at Alnwick this week.

Pretty much sums it up, but changes must come and this could be the time.

Being a racer of Derek's calibre, I'm sure he was taking as given that the pigeons have to be fit and healthy as well as properly basket trained. Schooling is the very matter Derek is talking about. It is very difficult to school the pigeons and race them at the time we are so doing and as you confirm a change is definitely required. Just as we keep our pigeons fit and healthy and properly basket trained, we must continually look into that mirror and be sure that the one in the reflection is doing their part. Continual reflection is why the top fanciers are just that. They are continually checking to make sure they have it correct. BOP is our major problem. Because of them, we are breeding more YB's than ever before. Is the quality as good as it has always been? I very much doubt this. We are breeding from the lucky pigeons that manage to return and we are hoping to breed more lucky pigeons for the future. The top fanciers have the quality as well as the lucky pigeons, thus the reason that they are the top fanciers. Are they still breeding too many? If we accept that BOP is the main factor then any little tweak will have a positive effect even if only for a short time. We must continually adapt to force the BOP to continually adapt. This adaptation is a positive one in my limited view.

Good morning all.

Well done. Good to hear this.

That is a good point. If food is scarce because they have to eat smaller birds, pigeons off the menu, they will have to increase their ranges, thus chasing their YB's further away. They might cover more of the land, but the intensity of their populations would be less giving us a far better chance when racing.

Well done.

Well done.

Grey sky, dry and not oppressive here in East Ayrshire.

Good afternoon all. Been in meetings all day.

Well done.

When I started I only had a garden hut, so no room to breed until the season was through a bit, thus the reason for starting with latebreds. That combined with research mainly on here and taking the chat from the likes of Robert Reid regarding BOP and training of their youngsters, so it was a conscious decision as well as through necessity. At that time I raced North in the Valley Club, again having been advised of less losses and therefore more encouraging for the kids. My latebreds had to race Fraserburgh, 165 miles to me, unless there were feathering problems or injuries. I could start with 18 and end with 12. The following year they had to race Thurso and you will appreciate that although measured 200 miles they would have to fly around 250 to 280 miles and this was a completely different situation. I admire the lads and lassies from Orkney, Wick and Thurso since they have to race this route even with their YB's. One mistake is the end for the pigeons since once down the wrong valley they rarely ever get back out. Tough terrain up there. Usually only one or two made it from there and just starting they went to stock since my other pigeons were "paper pigeons", pedigree only, but no proof they could do it. I then attempted South and my season turned to disaster. Rush of blood deciding everything would go to Otterburn and the wrong pigeons returned. Some of those destined for the South managed to return, but we were too far down the road and they had to go North. My North pigeons had to go South since I had made the decision to race that way as well. Turned out not too bad a season. Those going South went every second week, but every other second week they went North for a short tone up race. I managed Peterborough around 280 miles having 3/3 yearlings return in the Caledonian Combine race and 1/2 OB's return the following week from the same racepoint, but in a joint lib with Lanarkshire as well as the Caledonian Combine. I possibly should have pushed the returning OB to the first Inland National, but I didn't have the confidence. All four went to stock. It has taken around three or four years before I decided to try South again. Last year I raced YB's for the first time. Those raced North didn't do well at all whereas those raced South with the West of Scotland Club done OK, admittedly not going very far, around 80 miles in their four or five races. This has confirmed to me that the BOP problem is the main deterrent for racing YB's. This year was possibly my worst season, but again through circumstance. I have taken my eye off the ball because of taking on another administrative position. My Spring prep was delayed and just finished in June. The pigeons didn't receive my normal attention nor training. Those that I have left, having raced South only with Barrhead Club, are evenly split between the raced YB's and the untrained Latebreds. They haven't raced far, only Wetherby, 180 miles. I never race well, usually last every week, but normally my returns are very good. I hope to race North and South next year, if the arrangements for my South Fed are made the way we have spoken about. I hope to fare better since a lot of the Admin should be in order by that time, if I am kept in the position. This should give me more time to prepare and hopefully improve results from this year. Apart from the eleven survivors, the rest will be latebreds, my first round being bred mid to late June, due to the aforementioned circumstances. i don't really think I would make a good barometer for anyone else's decisions in this matter, but in my very limited experience, breeding late and handling very carefully the following year, gives an opportunity for success in future years. I think all pigeon racing is a lottery though, entirely due to the BOP situation. This is our main problem and where our main attention should be focused. There are many solutions out there, but we must recognise that nature plays a part. Nature dictates that the young of any species are fledging when food is bountiful. For BOP, Peregrines in particular, pigeon is head of the menu. We have to stop filling the larder. Race our early YB's earlier while they are sitting and our late YB's later when their young have fledged and hopefully not as many survived, but even then they will have been moved out of the territory by their parents and the attacks will be by singles and pairs instead of the whole family. If we keep doing the same we will keep getting the same. Nature will adapt to our changes, but at a slower rate that what we can change it back. I think we should also starve out routes. Where possible we should all race the same programme for a number of years, then at the same time make a switch to the other coast. If we all race East the peregrine in the west will remain, but possibly not fare as well, some even migrating East in search of food, then the switch to the West should have the same effect in the East. I know it is not possible for all Feds to follow this, but after a point they could.

I have been looking at a very similar programme, but also with an early programme running in tandem. The early programme combines midweek training with YB / Any Age Races. This should cover and give the best of both worlds. Those who breed early should not have to worry about darkness since they would be racing during May / June. The October races would not need darkness simply because of the time of year. I raced YB's for the first time last year with mixed results, but noticed no difference when racing this year when compared to my normal late-bred breeding programme.

Well done.

Well done.

Well done.

Well done.

Well done.