stock pigeons ?

[Guest Silverwings]

large stock teams necessary or not ?i feel that to maintain a consistent racing loft a good stock team is always at the core of it ? some fanciers dont retain stock birds and still have excelent results would like to see some opinions on this and reasons for or against .......ray

[Guest]

;Dhave put a few breeding pairs (will be eight 8 pairs) in 2008 ,would prefer less to be honest . most are gift birds ,on loan ,or 1 cock (4 year old) going in this year ,was my best old bird racer ,and bred good ybs this year . with hawk problems etc would be heart broken if i lost him, so kept safe ,hopefully he will continue to breed good uns  ;D             andy

[Wiley]

i'd like a small stock team but of absolutely the best quality

[THE PRIEST]

I have 10 pairs at the moment the most i have ever had.

Mainly because i have 2 pairs on loan and just purchased another 4 pairs this year all my young bird team will be bred from stock this year. The other stock i have have all bred multiple club winners so i cannot part with them.

                    michael.

[schouwman71]

Still need to get down to eight pairs,the ones i have still are 100% top quality but still sadly need to part with 2 pairs in the near future,before i pair up,but how do you sort pigeons out when you have good stock birds,thats why many get over crowded has it is hard for small team fanciers like myself to keep them.I sold some on here a few weeks ago and i definatly would not have let them go if i had the room to keep them. But back to the original question ,yes i do think you need a stock team has this is the loft were all your experiments are carried out.

 

Les

[leighton1984]

we will only be breeding of some of the races this year as a good freand breeds around out of his stock birds for us  ;D

 

[Roland]

 

 

Having another few pair of stock - birds this season, 4 pairs ... had 6 pair last season, first time ever - they are gone now. But had to introduce a new family as hadn't introduce anything for years, was getting to cousin mating etc. and you know then that the time is needed for some changes. Bought 30 y/b's the year before, finished up with 9 after a massive fly away, one stayed, fetch 4 back from quite a ways away and had  4 returned themselves way down the line. I also had 6 given me too (36).  I didn’t breed from any of mine that season (I raced them to feed only and out only on race day. Have 5 races with them due to work commitment) ... I finished up with one of them six. So have 10 2 year olds!

Do I need a stock loft! No, after this season I will just keep the four pair because a late round - or a back up sauce may well be handy.

But 30 birds’ tops to fly both ways are ample. So if 30 y/b's are bred that can quickly mean that - after Mr. Basket has done his best, on a good season, one is soon over stocked!

[jimmy white]

i have voted for a few pairs,,,but really this can depend on the money you have , the space you have, the time you have and the energy you have if i were younger and had all these qualities , i would cetainly have voted for more stock birds      but they would have to be the best of breeding throwing winning pigeons

[Guest]

I have bought my first stock pigeons,built a six by six stock loft,and purchased stock from dale newcombes sale.The pigeons i bought are from what i would consider top class ,son and daughter of two gold award winners crossed with first open rennes.Will add some of my own which i believe have quality,and hope to reap the benefits.

[Guest]

Going back a bit: when I started up with mostly gift pigeons.

 

One pair was from Jim Cameron Uddingston, off his SNFC winners the previous year. I recalled the conversation earlier this year when I looked at the results? of X years breeding from certain birds, now outed:-  

 

When I said [then] I would not race his gift birds (I meant as young birds, so that I could breed off them next year) he said he hated [his] birds going straight into the stock loft, he said the birds should be raced out, and only if they come up-to-mark, then breed from them.

 

So, will gradually [quickly] remove existing stock pigeons not hitting mark, and anything brought in from 2007 onwards [6 birds] will be raced out, before they ever see a stock pen. There's birds from 3 x SNFC gold  award winners and a Pau winner included in that.

 

 

 

 

[pigeonscout]

I think of stock birds as birds that breed winners not birds that might breed winners and if you have 2 stock pair that breed winners each year you are a lucky man.

I know guys that have 20 to 30 stock pairs and never win a race. theses same birds are 4 to 10 years old. Why are the birds in the stock loft if they do not breed winners? They tell me it is a son of this, a full brother to that, Who gives a xxxx if it is not racing or breeding winners it should be in the bin not the stock loft.

[Guest]

You must take a gamble,if it does not pay off,try again.But one thing that is for sure,selet the finnest breeding and you may be in luck.

[jimmy white]

I think of stock birds as birds that breed winners not birds that might breed winners and if you have 2 pair that breed winners each year you are a lucky man.

 

i agree with you pigeon scout ,, but the money part i was on about , is that if you have two pairs of proven breeding stock , someone else would have the same, and again somebody , these birds are very rare and would cost a fortune ,,,,,,,,,but money would buy them , these are in fact more valuable than the actual racing pigeon

[pigeonscout]

If you have lots of money and you go out and buy 10 pairs of proven stock from different fanciers.

Take them home and breed from them you will find that 2 or 3 pairs are breeding birds to beat the other 7 or 8 pairs offspring. So you will have stoped 7 or 8 pairs from breeding winners as the winners are now coming from just 2 or 3 pair.

So no matter how good the 7 or 8 pairs were at breeding in other lofts they would not be breeding you your top birds.

 

[Guest]

I agree Pigeonscout. If one line or two lines in your family of birds is doing all the performing, then breed only from those lines. Mr Basket will rid you of the others.

 

Another 'blast from the past' was the advice Prof Alfons Anker gave in his book 'the Art of Breeding', translated into english by Steven Van Bremen:-

 

"Let's say we start with 20 – 25 racers. When the season is over, first identify the good performers (maybe 2 or 3). Then identify their parents and concentrate your breeding on them. This gives us 4-5 good flyers for following years against only 2-3 in the first season. Proceeding this way for 2-3 years, we gradually develop and build up a useful racing loft, and with a bit of luck end up possessing special racers, or a breeding pigeon whose youngsters are especially useful.

 

We have a pair breeding excellent 'F1' racers. We must select mates to pair to these F1 racers, capable of breeding 'F2' racers which will maintain our race results. For example, of six brothers and sisters of these 'F1 racers', at least three must be paired with strangers every year - we must test mate. The 'F2' youngsters from these test pairings must be raced so that the value of the strange pigeons introduced can be established. If these F2 pigeons also excel, we have accomplished a lot. We can mate F2 racers back to our best F1 racers and the F3 youngsters from this will be very useful racers and breeders. "

 

(F1, F2 and F3 are my terms, they simply mean, 1st, 2nd and 3rd generations of a developing family.)

[pigeonscout]

I know birds have to be tested but if they are no longer breeding you birds that win why keep them.

Take a look at your results over the last 2 years, any stock bird that has not bred a winner in the last 2 years bin it. If your left with 5 pairs that have bred winners in last 2 years email me your phone number.

[pigeonscout]

bruno that is the best thing I have read on here.

[snowy]

stock pigeons as in breeding only,  i feel that these should be kept if they breed good pigeons or to keep a pure strain going so you can keep the line breeding going, or to cross the one strain into another.

[Guest Silverwings]

bruno that is the best thing I have read on here.

 

agree with scout on your post bruno ,all good stuff.....ray

[Roland]

I agree Pigeonscout. If one line or two lines in your family of birds is doing all the performing, then breed only from those lines. Mr Basket will rid you of the others.

 

Another 'blast from the past' was the advice Prof Alfons Anker gave in his book 'the Art of Breeding', translated into english by Steven Van Bremen:-

 

"Let's say we start with 20 – 25 racers. When the season is over, first identify the good performers (maybe 2 or 3). Then identify their parents and concentrate your breeding on them. This gives us 4-5 good flyers for following years against only 2-3 in the first season. Proceeding this way for 2-3 years, we gradually develop and build up a useful racing loft, and with a bit of luck end up possessing special racers, or a breeding pigeon whose youngsters are especially useful.

 

We have a pair breeding excellent 'F1' racers. We must select mates to pair to these F1 racers, capable of breeding 'F2' racers which will maintain our race results. For example, of six brothers and sisters of these 'F1 racers', at least three must be paired with strangers every year - we must test mate. The 'F2' youngsters from these test pairings must be raced so that the value of the strange pigeons introduced can be established. If these F2 pigeons also excel, we have accomplished a lot. We can mate F2 racers back to our best F1 racers and the F3 youngsters from this will be very useful racers and breeders. "

 

(F1, F2 and F3 are my terms, they simply mean, 1st, 2nd and 3rd generations of a developing family.)

 

Agreed Bruno ... then the real hard part is 'Introducing new Blood'.

So by the same token one should if able and means allow have another Family of two - or more - doing the same thing. Then with your observations over the previous time, select again and start all over again. This is what i believe keeps the 'Man' at the top, as opposed to 'Getting there' and uickly becoming an also ran. It must be, as far as I am concerned, the new introductions - so much needed that is all important. This then reverts back to being not only a decent racer, but - more importantly as far as I am concerned, a good 'Stockman'!

[jimmy white]

If you have lots of money and you go out and buy 10 pairs of proven stock from different fanciers.

Take them home and breed from them you will find that 2 or 3 pairs are breeding birds to beat the other 7 or 8 pairs offspring. So you will have stoped 7 or 8 pairs from breeding winners as the winners are now coming from just 2 or 3 pair.

So no matter how good the 7 or 8 pairs were at breeding in other lofts they would not be breeding you your top birds.

 

with due respect ,,,,,how do you know ;   :)

[timbarra]

breeding is gold, racing is silver............. says it all really !

[Guest casbri]

i only have 8 prir as i think this is adequat

[Guest slugmonkey]

I got too damm many pigeons ( 400 + ) but how do you get rid of nice birds I just cant bear to part with them Ben Fichter once said that you can breed pigeons a lot cheaper than you can buy them as far as sons and daughters go I have about 60 sons and daughters, sisters, brothers, aunts ect if you go to buy these they are about 3000 - 5000 dollars each they all breed good birds ones that fly good here don't do good elsewhere the ones that are flying well for us in Florida are  not doing well here so you have to look at what you are racing against and where I have a loft with about 40 birds ALL of which flew 600 miles as yearlings we set 200+ birds to the 600 mile station and only had 3 birds in race time ( yes one was mine ) I sent 26 birds and got 24 back 4 guys lost everything they sent with most getting 40 - 60 percent back so how could you justify culling these birds I have them flying out like wild pigeons I go feed them 3 times a week and have done well in the shows with these birds as they are a little fat but the feathers are perfect !!! I wish I had the restraint to fly 20 birds and only have 8 breeding pairs and kudos to those that do but me personally I like pigeons and the more pigeons the better I got a flock of about 200 that I fly around the house and race I will have some more new lofts soon and hope to have enough to darken the sky I want it to look like the Barcelona liberation when I open the doors of the lofts I know I am nutty but I dig pigeons man !!!

[George UK]

if u fly your stock pigeons

take miles away let 1 out at a time

and get the wife to clock what time they come back

do this over a few weeks from diff areas

let them all together they will follow

i am a fool lol

happy new year