DO YOU SHOWE THE HENS

[liverpool_boy]

DO YOU SHOW WIDOWHOOD COCKS THE HENS BEFORE THE RACE OR AFTER IT AND FOR HOW LONG

[Silverdale Lofts]

I put the nest bowls in the nest boxes 1/2 hour before i show the hens the cocks always see the hens on return unless they are late back

[Guest speckled]

I always show the hens after the widow cocks have been racing,but thay might not get any contact, but its just a reward for returning, but the late commers wont get nothting.As the racing continues,say the 3rd race the hens will be shown to the cocks before racing,before thay go racing i will put the hens in with the cocks 10mins before i am due to basket. Speckled.

[Guest]

I think the trick is to keep them guessing, some weeks I show the hens, some weeks they get a bowl only, some weeks I put mirrors in the boxes to make them jealous. But they always have the hen waiting for them when they return, no matter what time they come home, as sometimes in a pigeons racing career its going to make a mistake and I feel if you punish them for it, they will lose confidence in you.

[Guest shadow]

only show hens on return to early arrivals late comers do not see hens.

[jimmy white]

quite a big question really, everyone allways says i show them the hens this amount of time or i dont show them before they go, i would say that every cock is an individual, and has to be treated accordingly, some cocks will race better seeing their hens, some get too exited , some even race better with another cock in their box ,with their hen,,, all are individual, and i think really its finding out what they race best to, ive even found some birds that when seen the hen on the thursdayfor 10 mins, then just lifted out the loft on the friday, do better that way, whats the old saying,,,,,theres many ways to skin a cat   :)

[Guest speckled]

Ye jimmy totaly agree with ya, mate every pigeon, has diffrent  things that motivates it.not all birds respond to the same motavation,it up to the fancier to observer,the birds. " thats another way to skin that rabbit" lol  ;D ;D ;D Speckled.

[liverpool_boy]

thanks for all your idears i have 24 cocks on widowhood and i give them the hen for 10 min befour bas and on return for 20min but going all widowhood this year i have 48 on widow going to try and not give 24 off them just the bowl and the hens on return just to cif there is a diffrents so we will c thanks

[Silverdale Lofts]

Best way to do it trial and error i had 2 compartments one week one compartment saw the hens one saw the bowls soon learnt the ones what saw the hens were back first .If your trying a system try it with one compartment .

[speedbird]

some birds are different as some cocks get too excited & use too much nervous energy before the race also it can be haerd to show the cocks there hens before the race especialy if you have alot as i try to take the cocks out when they get down low in the bowl before & soeme cocks wanna tread straightaway so its knowing your birds

 

last year i raced some widowhood hens while i went to get there cocks before bthe race a cat went in i got three hens & a cock together & won firt 3 so could try that!!!

 

[carl]

last year i raced some widowhood hens while i went to get there cocks before bthe race a cat went in i got three hens & a cock together & won firt 3 so could try that!!!

 

 

you have lost me there speedbird?

[Guest Silverwings]

Hens on return allways , one drop of aniseed oil rubbed into their hens feet every time they see them ! this creates assosiation by smell ? on friday nights put the nest bowl only back in their boxes smear the bowl with the spot of aniseed oil this gives them the illusion that their hen is close ,but at the same time contains the excitement of the cock ..........abscence makes the heart grow fonder ?

[speedbird]

what dont you understand carl!! a cat went in the loft & it didnt stop them winning, so as a joke said you could always chuck in a cat into the loft

[southbankhs]

i would say on return from race just given bowls before going they basket a lot better all there training was done to nestbowl .week before first race cocks are given bowl for 3 short training spins of 12miles then on fourth day cocks given bowl for ten minutes taken 12miles and on return will find there hens.As it has been said a lot of nervous energy is lost before a race

[JPW]

just depends on the pigeon we have a cock put him straight in the basket without seeing his hen just the nest bowl , some cocks like just 20-30 secs with there hen without contact . i think you just have to find what makes each pigeon tick trial and error

[Diamond dave]

Has anyone noticed that the cock that tries to tread the hen before basketing is never the first bird home?

[Mike Lycett]

Diamond Dave

 

To be honest, thoroughly diagree on the "treading" front.  Our first birds home are always those that choose to tread on a Friday - takes the stress outo f them before basketing.  We used to stop 'em treading, but found out by error that it works so we let 'em do whatever they want now.   Contentment is paramount.

 

Regards

Mike

[Diamond dave]

Hi Mike

 

its always interesting to compare views. May I ask how long you give them the hens prior to basketing and have you noticed this on short and long distance birds?

My approach is to show the hens for the shortest period of time 30sec -2minutes. It is this principle that I have based my notes.

[Mike Lycett]

Dave

 

Moreo ften than not we only show bowls on a Friday - especially the first 4-5 races. As the season progresses we start to use the hen - its fresh & new to them at this point & it increases the desire & motivation.  

 

In the past, we did exactly what you did  - no more than 90 seconds.  Nowadays, I put all the bowls in, let the cocks have them for 5 minuteso r so, then put the hens in.   When all the hens are in I go in the house, have a cup of tea and write the sheet out - popping up every now and again to ensure all ok.  We find by leaving the cocks longer, that they settle better & every one of them will be calling in the bowl etc..   We do watch as well though for treading activity.  Last season when Houdini had his 5 week spell of 11th Fed, 2nd Fed, 1st Fed, 1st Fed and 7th Fed he only had his bowl on every occasion.  I was too scared to do anything different with him!

 

Cheers

Mike

  

[Guest]

I think I will try only giving them the bowls for the first few races as you describe Mick, as after a day at work it a pain in the a--e putting in and taking out all the hens. I suppose as long as the yearlings see the hens after a few training flights they would get with the game quick enough. Have you ever tried putting a mirror in the cocks box, with any success. One thing ive tried is basketing all the pigeons in whicker basket, then releasing the hens into the loft so the cocks can see the hens, which drives them mad, this always works once in a season, but they get too wise to it if tried too often.

[pigeonjock]

ROSE,IT IS THE EASIEST WAY TO FLY PIGEONS.YOU SAY IT SEEMS COMPLICATED TO FOLLOW???PIGEON RACING IS ONLY AS COMPLICATED AS WE KEEP ON MAKING IT FOR OURSELVES.SOME PEOPLE ON THESE FORUMS WILL BE ABLE TO TELL THE DAY OF THE WEEK ONLY BY WHAT COLOUR THEIR PIGEONS WATER IS!!!!BUT WIDOWHOOD IS LESS TIME CONSUMING FOR WORKING MEN AND EASIER TO MOTIVATE COCKS AND HENS THAN HAVING TO WAIT FOR NATURAL BIRDS TO BE SITTING WHAT YOU WOULD CALL THEIR"IDEAL"POSITION.

[pigeonjock]

ROSE TO TRUELY ENJOY THE GAME OF PIGEONS THEN NATURAL IS THE WAY.WIDOWERS ARE EITHER IN THE SKY OR IN THE LOFT,YOU CANT HAVE THEM ON OPEN HOLE OR PICKING AROUND THE GARDEN LIKE YOU CAN WITH NATURAL BIRDS.SO IF YOU LIKE TO WATCH THEM CLAPPING AROUND THE GARDEN AND ARE PREPARED TO NOT WIN SO MANY RACES IN THE EARLY SPRINT RACES YOU DO WHAT YOU LIKE AND FLY NATURAL AND ENJOY YOUR BIRDS. :) .I KNOW MANY MEN WHO HAVE GOOD SUCCESS WITH THEIR BIRDS FLYING WIDOWHOOD AND DONT KNOW THE FRONT OF A PIGEON TO THE BACK.SOMEONE WHO FLIES NATURAL AND BEATS YOUR WIDOWHOOD MEN AT ANY DISTANCE IS A TRUE CHAMPION AND KNOWS HIS STUFF BELIEVE ME(AND I TAKE MY HAT OFF TO THOSE GUYS)I CANT COMPETE WITH NATURAL PIGEONS AGAINST WIDOWERS IM NOT GOOD ENOUGH SO I FLY WIDOWHOOD

[Guest]

Its more a time thing for me, if I had the time I would race both systems, widowhood for the sprint and natural for the distance, but that would require 5 hours of pigeon time a day which I cannot do. As it is I have recently lost my girlfriend due to spending too much time with pigeons and that was during the winter where I only spent 30mins in the morning and 45mins on an afternoon, so until Im old and retired (or win the lottery LOL) it will be widowhood all the way for me. Ill just have to keep trying to find that special bird that will race well from the distance on widowhood, I have a few in the loft now that do but I want a day bird.

[Guest]

That would be a dream situation, as Kel (the ex) in the year and a half since I put the lofts up only looked at the birds once. I thought should would have been better with them as her family are all pigeon fanciers, her grandad, dad, uncle and cousin all either have raced or do race them. I think it was the money that Ive spent on the birds lately that p--sed her off as we were supposed to be saving for our wedding. Still if I couldnt convince her after 8 year to accept pigeons one had to go, and looks like the pigeons have LOL.

[Diamond dave]

Mike

Thanks for that Mike - I was always advised not to show the hen to the yearling cocks, cos they get too woundup and I have associated this with (maybe) why yearlings are somewhat unreliable. However if giving them the hens for a longer period settles them, then it should make them more reliable.

I'd love to know about your experiences with the yearling cocks when you switched to this method?