Has The Time Come To Stop

[lanarkshire lad]

Why only some sending them if plenty left

That’s a good question but I can only speak for myself for me a few races out to 100 miles and Iam happy with that I’ve been doing it for years and these Ybs providing they are good enough will hold there own with anything the following year.

[Andrew suckle]

That’s a good question but I can only speak for myself for me a few races out to 100 miles and Iam happy with that I’ve been doing it for years and these Ybs providing they are good enough will hold there own with anything the following year.

Canny complain with that then mate

[ALF]

We sent 14 to Sedgefield tonight p*ss poor entry from the club going on that 5 or 600 doos at the race and yes we will be back next week

 

27/30 last week but hopeless....

[easygaun]

1 member fae our club, 33 doos.

Guess he will win as long as he times in!

[alec guinness]

Very decent returns alan and obviously a healthy team that are keen to keep working for home.

[kapri 07]

John, I am a relative new start, starting around 11 years ago, but at that time I watched this and other sites. I made a decision then that I would not race Young Birds. The thoughts at that time were that peregrines were killing for fun, to teach their YB's how to hunt. We were racing our Young Birds at the height of raptor activity. It seemed stupid to me to race my Young Birds, thus my decision.

 

I have heard it stated that distance racing is a game of patience, but it seems we have none. Un-raced Young Birds need a bit of patience. They can be trained during October and November. Admittedly, shorter days, failing light and colder weather would mean shorter distances, but we are training to improve and hone their mental fitness, physical fitness can be gained around the loft.

 

I don't think it would have a major effect on the raptor population, but it may have some effect.

 

Highlighted text says it in a nutshell.

 

I don't think the Unions will ban it, it is not part of their remit. I don't even know whether Federations would put it to a vote, unless it came as a proposal to them.

 

It is time for us to do it off our own back. Perhaps some trialists could be raced just to see if they merited a place in our lofts.

snap andy for those reasons I stopped young birds

[Pinefield Doo Man]

Yes an been proven thats ther main source off food yes they will eat most birds but pigeons are more easier meals than seagulls an thats all i seen today travelled all the way from mallaig today didnt see an other bird .

 

They are everywhere they eat whatever is in the area, pigeon is not the main source of food it’s just that it’s handed to them on a plate

[Bobby4]

Very good

[ross david]

The truth is all the posts over the last few days all true,with everyones thoughts

Yet all the birds sent again tonight to get slaughtered,we are our own worst enemies

In my opinion

[tiger]

The truth is all the posts over the last few days all true,with everyones thoughts

Yet all the birds sent again tonight to get slaughtered,we are our own worst enemies

In my opinion

Its down to every individual to choose to race or not to race they are there race controllers

[JohnQuinn]

Guess he will win as long as he times in!

 

if we all sent he would most likely win anyway, scudded us all year OB's and Ybs.

[jimbo54]

Don’t know the answer but in my opinion a ban on young bird racing would not have the slightest effect on the peregrine population. In 2 weeks time racing will be finished for the year and for the next 6 months no pigeons racing to feed the peregrine, will they starve ?, don’t think so. The best we can hope for is a severe winter and a cold and wet peregrine breeding season to limit number of young successfully reared. In years to come the problem will only get worse unless I.e. maybe the birds of prey lose their protected status which I doubt will happen, as it stands i honestly can’t see anything the pigeon fancy tries making a significant dent in the problem .

[alec guinness]

Have been working at this problem since 1979 along with my wee dad and will continue with my double wide pal as for me talk is cheap and we will again unfortunately be worse off next year,I will continue with my tried and trusted old pal. R

[JohnQuinn]

History will be made this week in Lanarkshire Fed. Such are the losses there will only be 2 marking stations because the projected entry is going to be so few that to maintain the integrity of the race the only way to to meet the required numbers of fanciers present to process the birds into the race the decision has been taken to mark at just 2 clubs.

This is to be our Yb open race too and my guess is there will be less than 50 members sending to it, perhaps as few as 30, each with a limited number of birds because they're all lost and what fanciers have left for next yeas Ob program will see another record set for the lowest number of entries for the entire Ob season.

The entry for the YBN this week from Sec's E and F (maybe more sec's) will witnout doubt reflect on this too.

Say what you like but the saturation of raptors in the UK as a whole makes Yb racing about as near cruelty to them as is possible and yet the claim is we all Love our birds and our hobby. Well if we have no birds left to race then our hobby is out the window.

Something realistic and drastic has to happen now and if the unions won't enforce change then it has to be done at local level by the fedrations. If No yb racing is unacceptable to too many fanciers then the number of races has to be halved at least. Enogh to educate them and few enough so fanciers have decent teams going into sason 2022.

I'm not interested in all the talk of taking direct action not our own hands because that in NOT a realistic option, if it were it would have happened long ago. I've done the pea shooter at the moon, a very apt description of a few guys training latebrefs to address it, but its a hopeless exercise with miniscule effect.

If you're fingers are crossed that we can carry on like normal and things aren't as bad next year then uncross them because its gonna be worse as has been the pattern especially over the past 10yrs.

Think back to 6 weeks ago and visualise your yb team and feel the optimism you had at that time for them and their future racing career and see what you're left with, is it really how you imagined it would look back then ?? Think of the time and money spent breeding and preparing them for racing and ask yourself has it all been worth it ??

The time for change has arrived whether you/we like it or not.

[Paul Mac 31]

Ripon 2019 - 63 sent 798 birds

Ripon 2018 - 79 sent 924 birds

Charnock Richards 2017 72 sent 813 birds

 

 

Taking into account other factors this year, Covid, from the off a number of fanciers didn’t breed as many Ybs as normal, Many didn’t race at all.

Also you could add that from looking at the sends this year, the West section has completely lost all faith in the FED race team to deliver quality races, where they are normally the biggest sends, now the smallest. Delays ,,, most weeks also ,, some guys are sickened by the fact that they don’t know what’s happening every week and have simply stopped.

 

So looking at the numbers , if send Of 500 it would work out about right

 

I can name 4 off the top off my head, prominent fanciers that have stopped their best and are racing the rest out , or stopped their Ybs after 4 races and have full old bird teams.. yes YB racing has been poor and Erratic at times ,,,, but the it’s same fanciers in every club, in every sect that are getting better racing and returns.

 

I can’t ever remember in the last decade the YB National ever been greatly supported from Lanarkshire

 

So yip its been a hell of a year, but the numbers don’t tell the full story

[budgie]

Many Decisions made are made with no communication and people with their own agendas

 

How do you get past the gatekeeper when time and time again,you don't know the person who is really making the decisions?

 

Major Problem in Pigeon Racing along with the above is keeping Them healthy and 95 % of bad pigeons we keep .Anywie the season is almost over and good luck this weekend.

 

 

 

[JohnQuinn]

Earlier this year I was training my pigeons from a car park at Elsrickle. A lady in a car enquired about the pigeons and said that her friend used to have a peregrine falcon with a tracker on it. The person had let it go in the very same car park for a flight and after five minutes it was dead, killed by the local peregrine falcon.

 

I’ve seen that on YouTube, hen sitting ybs and spots another one approaching the area. Didn’t look at the residents nest it was just passing through. The hen on the nest took off and disappeared. Within about 30 seconds or so it hit the other one from above almost decapitating it. Then simply returned to the nest sitting the Ybs again. Hard to describe the way it returned to the nest but it neither looked up nor down as it settled back onto its Ybs.

[walterboswell59]

we will be getting fed tickets just for sending them shortly

[JohnQuinn]

we will be getting fed tickets just for sending them shortly

 

Your wee story about the Blue Pied hen clearly shows Young Bird Racing isn’t necessary for birds to go on and be successful old birds Watty. Are birds like her few and far between?? Maybe !!! but winners are also few and far between from young birds who have raced as ybs.

[walterboswell59]

Your wee story about the Blue Pied hen clearly shows Young Bird Racing isn’t necessary for birds to go on and be successful old birds Watty. Are birds like her few and far between?? Maybe !!! but winners are also few and far between from young birds who have raced as ybs.

 

 

i agree 100 percent john jamie boy 1st section 5th open clermont and SNFC silver award winner was also just trained as a youngbird he was also a latebred if there good there good m8

[dal2]

i agree 100 percent john jamie boy 1st section 5th open clermont and SNFC silver award winner was also just trained as a youngbird he was also a latebred if there good there good m8

Nobody can breed 60 champs Wattie....good birds are born....60 trained latebreds will give you just as much heartache as 60 babies

[Ramshackle]

Not everyone is trying to win 500 mile races whether you choose to believe it or not. You will not find anywhere near the same amount of champion sprint pigeons up to 250 300 miles that were unraced as you will 500 plus

 

You have people on this thread who advocate no basket training for young birds before a race trying to tell the fancy we dont need yb racing

 

Yes Walter you have great success racing unraced latebreds but I can guarantee those same latebreds are trained harder than some people race their young birds

[JohnQuinn]

Not everyone is trying to win 500 mile races whether you choose to believe it or not. You will not find anywhere near the same amount of champion sprint pigeons up to 250 300 miles that were unraced as you will 500 plus

 

You have people on this thread who advocate no basket training for young birds before a race trying to tell the fancy we dont need yb racing

 

Yes Walter you have great success racing unraced latebreds but I can guarantee those same latebreds are trained harder than some people race their young birds

 

You make a very valid point by highlighting the work out in by some fanciers training their Ybs to an extent greater than the birds raced receive. But there won’t be 100’s of birds getting slaughtered because of mass liberations week in week out.

We are all Individually responsible for preparing our birds for racing, some choose to train them hard, some choose to do enough to learn the Ybs what will be expected of them when ravmcing as yearlings. Some others choose to leave them sit and get a good moult under them without training. In other words it’s each to their own but however you cut it, losses of 100’s or even 1,000’s of Doos at a time can and should be avoided where possible. Not racing Ybs in mass liberations can avoid these types of losses so why don’t we try it for a couple of years ??? For all the good it may do it won’t do any harm. Jmo

[walterboswell59]

Nobody can breed 60 champs Wattie....good birds are born....60 trained latebreds will give you just as much heartache as 60 babies

yer right steven but ill have much more left m8 after all racing them is just another five tosses because clashing down the eastside of the country and getting attacked every few miles learns them nothing but everyone to there own pal