RACE TEAM

[grizzal]

How long do you give your birds to prove themselves racing .Iknow this will depend on

what races you aim at,but it will be interesting just to see the time differance ?

 

[a] sprint  and middle?

distance?

cheers :-/

 

[Guest]

An hour for a 60 mile race

3 hours for 150 miles

12 hours for 450 miles  ;D ;D ;D ;D

 

[The Navigator]

An hour for a 60 mile race

3 hours for 150 miles

12 hours for 450 miles  ;D ;D ;D ;D

 

Lol.

 

Some mature quicker then others.

 

 

[Guest]

Just me sense of humour

[peterpau]

Young birds to do 250 + miles

Yearlings             350 + miles

Two year olds      500 + miles

Three year olds    600/770 miles

I have one four year old  ;D

[OLDYELLOW]

have to agree with above

[Guest asha]

hi Peterpau,do you have a theory why you send your babies250miles+,is it even though you aim for long distance,you just like to see youngsters race,even though it could hurt them,mixing with wrong type of birds i the club crates?

    Intrestingly you test yearlings at 350+miles,could you give us your reasoning for you well thouht out programme,it would be so much bettr than a poll which tells us nothing,besides we are all willing to listen to a distance lads thoughts :)

 

  

[jimmy_bulger]

you treat long distance birds a bit different to sprint & middle distance birds

[OLDYELLOW]

my ybs usualy fly the programme to the coast all my good birds have all flown the programme as ybs usualy 230 mile , only went as far as 215 this year tho , i send my yearlings up to 420 miles obviously the ones i believe are capable of this , at 2 year old i believe its the best age for a pigeon and i send these up to 512 mile , 3 years old upward tend to slow down a bit and the 500 to 700 mile races would suit them better if they were capable  

[jimmy white]

How long do you give your birds to prove themselves racing .Iknow this will depend on

what races you aim at,but it will be interesting just to see the time differance ?

 

[a] sprint  and middle?

distance?

cheers :-/

 

i would say if a yearling couldnt score from sprint to middle ,, dont think it would proove any good [but sometimes anything goes with pigeons ]

 

for the distance i,e 500 miles plus,  they usually show their worth after 2 year old ,, but could be far older ,, allthough ive scored with 6 year old at 550 mile being its first win ,

 

i think basicly as a yearling , you can get an idea of their worth as racing  pigeon by watching which type of race the come well in ,, but if they  havent  shown any signs by 4 year old ,[for distance], not a lot of chance [but again by the above pigeon , theres allwas exception to the rule  ]

  so my answer would be,  it would be up to the manager of the pigeon to have an idea,  ,if theve something in them or not :-/

[Guest asha]

Jimmy,you don`t necessarily need to treat distance birds any different to so called sprinters,or middle distance stuff,it`s just how much your prepared to mistreat them,before they get the chance to reach the distance,some birds love the work,others birds tell you different.

[jimmy_bulger]

i think most long distance flyers will dissagree with you there asha  

[Guest asha]

And so they should jimmy

[jimmy_bulger]

i think if you know your familys capabilitys at a given stage in theire development , then there is no chance of misstreating them  

[Roland]

Getting to know the family, and their strengths and weaknesses obviously takes time... yes a proven time limit could be put into effect. Yet very often a not so good bird(s) breed the goods.

I believe, and this is just me, that you must set a system up that suits you, and not change willy nilly for the birds, and definately not because Joe Blog says so, or does differently.

It will be aimed at the kind of races / distances you prefer, and hence more likely to enjoy.

Again your work pattern and help, if any, should be taken also into account. No good starting off with the wife, or friend doing a bit... this often changes, or becomes impractical.

Managerment is the main difference to sprint / middle / distance races regardless what one is left to believe.

If a bird can fly well on a hard distance day, it can also wi at the sprints, but most likely under a different system.

Yet most couldn't beat a paper bag on a windy day.

So set the stool out for what you wish to achieve and then...

[wilkins]

distance birds can start to score at 4 years old, sprint up to 2 year olds

[Roland]

Have a bird born September, and won the Scottish averages next season on her own, including winning Thurso just short of the 500 miles. This she did twice more in two different clubs. Was only bird on day 2006 from Thurso, and daughters took 2 -3 in another club, only three on day.

I lost the mother this year from a smash. Mores the pity... but have hens off her and two cock birds...

[Guest slugmonkey]

I fly ALL my yearlings to the 600 I belive yearlings are WAY under rated if my birds havent scored a diploma at the end of the yearling season then I cull them 2 seasons is enough for a bird to show himslf in my loft although the way I train and race I don't seem to have to cull a lot although this year it may be diffrent as I hardly lost any off the team and most were multiple diploma winners I think I am going to have to set the bar higher

[Guest slugmonkey]

P.S. I belive Roland is correct I had a yearling that won 2 x 500 and also was on the drop with the NATIONAL speed record bird on the race she broke the record her speed was 2507 his was 2497 he did some victory laps and she trapped the diffrence is she cant go 500 and win she will be lucky to get back from there

[peterpau]

I fly ALL my yearlings to the 600 I belive yearlings are WAY under rated if my birds havent scored a diploma at the end of the yearling season then I cull them 2 seasons is enough for a bird to show himslf in my loft although the way I train and race I don't seem to have to cull a lot although this year it may be diffrent as I hardly lost any off the team and most were multiple diploma winners I think I am going to have to set the bar higher

What I've said has served me well but each year I raise the bar and me four year old won as a babby. I will not for one minute disagree with the above coment though.

 

 

[Wiley]

i consentrate on sprint, the birds get young bird racing and yearlings if not done anything then they dont progress in my race team, the aim is they have to score every season in the top 10 of the federation to stay here,

[Tony C]

So called sprint/middle distance pigeons should make their mark in your team by the yearling stage, I don’t go along with the ‘give em’ till they're two years old ’

[Roland]

the younger they are the more all important ingrediant is there ... provided in Condition etc. of course - and thet is their sheer love and zest to fly. Yes they  fly just for the sheer fun of it. After that becomes the 'Managerment aspects of keeping them content and processing their' love of home. Then healthy & Conditioned they are as good as they will ever be... if not performing to the standard you wish, then regarless of who's, or how much, the answer is simple.

maybe great breeders, maybe not, but before the moult each year - unless fobbing them off of course - the all important decisions need to be taken.

[Guest spin cycle]

I think fanciers have to be realistic, especially when starting out. No good saying a bird has to score as a YB or yearling when the fancier is lucky to take a couple of cards a year otherwise you would'nt have many birds after a couple of years.

 

You need birds that improve your results, if a bird does this for you then it earns a perch, if as a 2 year old or older it does'nt then bye bye.

 

IMO most birds don't achieve full potential until 2 year old, and are usually the most consistant. I've had birds top fed as YBs or yearlings then do nothing else upto 4/5 yeas old, but have kept hold of them because of that one performance, when really should of binned them after 2 yeasr old.

 

i agree...new starters should give their birds at least until the end of the second full season because 1/ they are building age structure in their teams and 2/as the fancier is still learning it may be their fault not the birds

[Guest]

Well this has gone back to distance racing and the thorny issue of yearlings, I believe a good yearling that is capable of flying 550/600 mile will do it. The problem is not many people have birds today that can fly 600 whether they are yearlings or 6 yo. Age will not make them any more capable in terms of genetics. I do however accept that there are birds that do mature later. This year I sent two yearlings to Tarbes one on the day in the 1st 100 NFC, the other the following morning. The one that was 78th from Tarbes vel 1300+, was also 2nd section 225 miles across the channel only 2 in the section on the day vel 900+ and 2nd Tours 304 miles 900+, the other yearling that came from Tarbes was also 4th Tours, the pigeons were not related. These pigeons did it on hard and normal days.

I hope to send a yearling to Tarbes again in 2009, however I didn't breed out of my distance stock in 2008 so am not yet sure if I'll get there I've only identified two out of this year's YB that will fly the distance and if the hawks get them first then that'll be it!!