racing

[Guest]

25

[Lennut Tar]

 

i am retired so time is not an issue , my loft is 40 foot X12 foot deep X 8 feet high it is of concrete block construction and dry , i have four compartments ,one has a few show racers ,one has some racers (busharts) and two spare compartments that i hope to race to, ......hope that helps

PS. it will be my first year and attempt at racing

 

Interesting etc   ;), 4 sections/compartments in 40 ft x 12 ft. plenty of room there I would have to say "But" much to big in my view, & you could just find your birds become wild somewhat in the loft. To me !!!!!!!!! a good size section etc, is when you stand in the middle & touch all 4 walls. Something to think about  ;D ;D seeing as your retired.

Enjoy.

 

 

[stan p]

i think loft to high whants ceiling droping i think lennut and just ask me good advice

better to be 6 shourt than 2 to many

[Guest Paulo]

I'd say 30 to start with. The more you have the harder it is to basket them and train them and keep an eye on them to check for aliments etc.

 

Providing your birds are healthy and trained properly and looked after you should do well providing they are of good breeding.

 

Feeding

 

1. Never starve young pigeons they are growing and you'll get out of them what you put in.

 

2. Feed a light feed on the morning something with plenty of carbs in say gerry plus.

 

3. Feed a high protein mix on the night with plenty of peas etc in. Bucktons and Bamfords do decent ones. They should be perching up with a decent bit of corn in their crops.

 

4. When they start training supplement this with something like red band or TK conditioner.

 

5. Pick the young birds up on a dailey basis to check their weight. they need body on them cause they tend to loose weight easier than old birds if stressed.

 

6. On race day feed them a light feed of gerry plus or red band about mid morning. Never send young birds to races with full crops of corn as they tend to spew up in a basket.

 

Training

 

Before training make sure the birds have been basket trained and know how to drink in the basket.

 

First toss take them three miles. Don't just let them out give them 10 to 15 minutes to orientate themselves. A lot of fanciers have't the patience to do this and this is why they lose pigeons. If you chuck them when they are oriented they clear the site quickly if not they tend to circle and thats when the local mob flier following murpys law tends to chuck his 80 Yb's for their toss and your birds get in with them and get dragged all over. This can be a good thing as it teachs the birds by experience but not for the first cfew tosses anyway.

 

Then start taking them up to 10 miles for a bit then finally 25 miles. Once they have a few 25 milers under their belt. You can drop back to 12 miles twice a day. Then start chucking then in sixes, then threes. This teachs them to fly in a small group of birds and they tend to race each other home.

 

I could go on and on but hopefully this will give you a bit of intial advice if your stuck with out just ask on the forum all the lads are really helpfull.

 

Most important thing don't send birds that aren't 100% right on any race your just chucking ya pigeons away for nowt.

[Guest Paulo]

thanks lads , 24 birds seems like a good starting number but in my mind i am thinking can i breed that many , how many will i loose , i have heard about "fly aways" , it is just a waiting game right now and it would be better if there was someone localy whose ear i could "bend"

 

If your stuck for young un's give me a shout in march and I'll see what I can do for you

[fred x]

The old birds you have to bred from ,get a test kit from a vet, have the dropping tested, then treat them before they paired up,  If they are Y/Bs you are buying in have a test done on them. once you know they are healthy you can think about training then get them down the road as much as you can, before you intened tho race them, I would say 25 y/b seems a good number,  Dont be to heavy on the feed & feed by hand, when one go's to the drinker stop putting any more food down. you are always learning in this sport, so never be afraid to ask.        Hope this helps  

[white logan]

it will help when i have completed a season , some of your comments about training and room are realy usefull , they were a bit wild when i got them but now the birds eat out of my hand , i am still having problems telling cocks from hens but when i give them nest boxes and bowls that will show me more i hope .

 

                  thanks guys

[Guest Owen]

I agree with the lads as far as numbers are concerned. But it is important that you realise that at the end of the day it will be the quality of the birds you keep that will be the deciding factor. If you have a load of old rubbish, they will cost you time and money and will end up disapointing you. Good birds cost less to keep, in the end. And they will give more and better sport.

[andrecrock]

Last year was my 1st season and just to get a feel for things i started with 16 and i ended the season with no prize winners but a respectful 11 birds.So as a starter i would advice anybody to start small and put all your effort in a few birds and next year you can build on that.

Just my thoughts.

[Guest Paulo]

I agree with the lads as far as numbers are concerned. But it is important that you realise that at the end of the day it will be the quality of the birds you keep that will be the deciding factor. If you have a load of old rubbish, they will cost you time and money and will end up disapointing you. Good birds cost less to keep, in the end. And they will give more and better sport.

 

This year in the club in my first full season of racing I was runner up to the young bird averages. I had 15 pigeons on the dark and 25 on natural. I did all my winning with the 15 pigeons on the dark so you don't need big numbers to win but like owen says you need quality birds. Quality birds don't neccessary have to be the most expensive either. Chances are you go to someone in your area whose a top man and your not flying against they will do their best to help you out. Normally if you buy a few and they are a geuimine pigeon man and know your starting off they will throw a extra one or two in and some eggs or summat.

 

Go to a man who is flying and winning though not a poxy stud.

 

Some of the lads on here who have good reputations for supplying quality pigeons at a decent price are:-

 

Jimmy Bambling

 

Stuart Wilcox

 

I'm selling young birds this year as well but seeing as you are starting up like I've already said if your stuck give me a shout in march I'll have all my young uns off by then and give you some to help you out. Only thing is you won't be able to put them on the darkness system and believe me if your not on this system you'll get slaughtered after the first three races. You won't loose the birds and you might get a chalk out on the first few races but after that the darkness ones are just too strong you'll be a good 10 minutes behind every week. On the plus side though natural is best way to learn with the young un's and natural young un's in my opinion don't get YB sickness as easy as darkness youngsters.

 

Best thing to do to teach yourself a bit more about racing is to get plenty of dvds, videos and books.

 

No one not even national winners like Chris Gordon know everything about pigeon racing theres always something to learn which makes it such a good sport.

 

Decent books I recommend are:-

 

East to West by Kevin Hurst - best book I've ever bought

 

Winning with Hens - Barry McNicolas - got it for nowt off murray mills when they were late with an order of mine

 

Best videos:-

 

Anything with Ad Shaelackens in the mans a pigeon racing god

 

Boddy and ridewood do the vids for a fiver very cheap

 

If you want any help just ask on here everyone is really nice and helpful. If you lucky you may get some good advice off Asha who is a pigeon racing legend with his strain of pure British (no Belgium rubbish) pigeons lol

 

[Guest cloudview]

some good advice there paulo,

just one thing bemuses me you state ,as young wont be ready till march wont be able to have them on darkness ,     why not    mine a weaned most years toward end of march ,

i have no problem with on darkness

[Roland]

 

why only on old bird race days ? and what do you do with them from the nest box ?

 

Get one into a 'Good' habit.

Found the very best way is to take from - when Ready' and basket train them. Then after 2 - 6 days on how you feel. Of course let then in and out a couple of times into their new loft. But feed and water them in the basket.

Likewise Basket  then up so they can have a good look around.

Basket never then a concern, and they feel safe and at home. Likewise when then introducing them to their new loft. And of course, walking in and out of their new loft, gives them a sense of safty there straight off. Just watch them take off into the the loft at the first noise or scare.  When that is accomplished, reput them through the traps just after you have put their dinner out. 3 days or so later they will trap quickly at the sound of your command and feed. Soon just your voice will do the trick.

Patience is the key word here.

[white logan]

 

If your stuck for young un's give me a shout in march and I'll see what I can do for you

 

thanks paulo , there has been a lot of very kind advice and offers from members , i have a very good idea of how to keep them in good condition , no idea how to race them and as of yet i dont even have an egg so i cant say how many i will have apart from the few people have kindly offerd me . thanks again guys

[Guest big pete]

;)must be at least 1 or 2 on here near you ,perhaps put a new posting up ,to try and find a buddy near you. best of luck ,shame your not closer would have been happy to help you .          andy.

 

 

hi white logan I am only about 20 miles from you, but like you a new starter,I will pm you with my phone no