roundabout or widowhood

[speedbird]

thinking of racing roundabout i usually race widowhood cocks & widowhood hens but im trying to cut my number of birds down as there are cocks & hens left at home waiting for there mates  & as i have more widowhood cocks alot of decent hens are going to waste which i dont mind if roundabout doesnt work!! whats the best way to race roundabout interested of what you think

[Guest WINGS 04]

i will be racing 100% widowhood this year as i think if you are racing 2 systens if one is doing better you tend to take your eye of the one that is not doing to good

[carl]

If i was to race widowhood i would race them seperate but this means having spare cocks and hens always at home for there mates arival.I think the roundabout system is bigger than ever now and thats the way forward.Next year i will be flying 12 cocks pure widowhood flying to spare hens and the rest of them on the roundabout.

[mealybar]

When I've used the Roundabout system, I've always raced both the hens and cocks usually the same week. Once the cocks come home they (longer races) want a few mins rest before you put a hen in, and I found that they dont mind what the hen is. I sent one lot the one week and the other lot (hens and cocks) the next, this way they get a weeks rest between races, and there is always something for the birds to come home to. I couldnt afford to keep pigeons a year just to be there for their mates to come home to.

[Guest]

i will be racing widowhood in 2006 as i did in 2005 it proves to be the best option for me for alot of reasons also i willbe racing darkness with young birds

 

 

kind regards

paul carter

[AlanWilkins]

only race the cocks at the moment but trying a new stystem with hens next year ill let you know if its any good

[jimmy white]

ITS A LOT SIMPLER RACING WIDOWHOOD COCKS, KEEPING THE HENS KEEPS THE STRAIN , RACING ROUNDABOUT NEEDS MORE TIME, AND HAS ITS HICCUPS, BUT BOTH THESE SYSTEMS WILL PRODUCE RESULTS.

[Guest shadow]

I have raced rounabout for three years now and found it a very good system as you are not wasting good hens, also you then know which hens to keep for future breeding. The strike rate over the season just put the hens in front of the cock birds

fly hard fly fair

[Southener]

I usually race just widowhood cocks and have had good success racing this way, but next year I want to race hens too, I really don't want to have 20 or so pigeons sitting around doing nothing for months.

Is is really necessary to have 2 lofts/sections that are the same to race roundabout? I have two seperate lofts next to each other (not joined) one has 20 boxes and the other has 24 (in two sections of 12) I thought I would have 20 pairs and after breeding move the hens over to the other loft, train them etc to this loft and race them back to their breeding loft ( the cocks section) on race day. Can the cocks and hens go to the same race?

 

[Guest shadow]

In the main section I have 16 boxs and in the next section I have 24 V perches which is used by the hens once I start training. Both cocks and hens trap back to the main section. Yes you can send cocks and hens to a race as long as they are not partners they both trap as quick as each other.

fly hard fly fair

[JAS]

We have raced roundabout for years and we think its the best way. Both cocks and hens go every week up to 250mls. then you can pair up the distance birds you will fined they are ready and fit for the job.This is why we are getting more distance birds in so we can try some longer races on the roundabout.

[speedbird]

thanx or the tips so far for roundabout do you have some spair cocks & hens at home for the first birds to come home incase there mates are late ect

[speedbird]

anymore tips for roundabout

[speedbird]

ive got 2huts of widowhood cocks but have another hut which can house up to 12hens which i had 8in there this year on widowhood  which proved very successful however i want to cut down my old cocks which i pair to them also have some old hens which dont race which i pair to the widowhood cocks. would it work if i paired my racing hens to the widowhood cocks & when they are parted thy then go in the hut with 12 boxes & train & exercise from there & on race day go back to the widowhood cocks loft?? would this work open to ideas as i realy want to cut my team of old hens & cocks which dont race by ding it this way i will be 24birds less alot eh!!

[Guest shadow]

When racing roundabout  to make it simple use one loft in one section have the cocks with their nest boxes the other section can be fitted out the same. or you can use V perches or poles which helps  stop them pairing together Come time to exercise let the hens out first and close the door. now put the cocks in the hens section. when it is time to get the hens in trap them to the cocks section. Then let the cocks out for their exercise, and put the hens back in their own section and feed them. then get the cocks in back to their own section. Just make sure the cocks do not see the hens. Also so they can not hear each other I have a radio playing all day which I swictch off after it is dark.

[speedbird]

cheers shadow good points but does it afect the cocks exercise being in another hut? the reason i was gonna use the hut which isnt next door its the hut which is directly nect door i usually put ybs in there & does the radio stop both birds resting?

[Guest]

Roundabout is the best thing to do but i know it takes age to do hens and cocks, fly for an hour in the morning and afternoon.

[jimmy white]

in latter years i raced widowhood cocks, i found a good tip was after showing the hens, used to take the cocks 4 mile up the road, let them fly back to hens, but after basketing , laid the basket out on the lawn with a cover over it to let them settle, then to the club.  [ found it good for the shorter races]

[speedbird]

i did that this year with the hens with good results & a few years ago the first time i had widowhood hens my dad took up the road & single tossed em the one which did quickiest time i pooled up she came & topped the combine 200miles

 

this year i showed cocks there hens before race with good results but heard that showing cocks there hens got them too excited hence using alot of nervous energy so in theory used alot of energy before race even started maybe causing em to be behind.

 

so i tried you showing em bowl they did go to race alot calmer but sumthing got me thinking they wernt buzzing like when they see the hens.

what do other members do before the race?

[TheSaddler]

I race roundabout - And race both the cocks and hens every week. I have topped the fed over 3k birds with a hen. I find they beat the cocks most of the time for about the first six weeks - but as the weather gets better the cocks hit form and lead the way.

 

The downside - Be prepared for bad traps.. If they come togther its down to lady luck

The upside - Every pigeon in the loft races - You're not feeding pigeons for nothing - Ideal for the small team fancier.

 

 

[ribble]

hi,saddler do you think it necessary to move the cocks and hens to each others section?i will be trying all my birds on roundabout but only loft training hens once a day after lunch,cocks morning and evening.all with experience please can i have your views,thankyou.

[TheSaddler]

My hens section is approx 3ft by 5ft, v perches and sloped wire mesh on the floor to prevent pairing. This section is adjacent to the cocks sections. The cocks and hens always enter through the same double doors - I don't push my pigeons around the loft like on the traditional system.

 

I have double doors to enter the loft and then a corridor, the cocks sections is behind the dowel corridor (covered by a pink blind during the day), the hens section is through a door to the left of the corridor. The hens only enter the cocks secion on race day and for the first few training tosses of the season. The rest of the time the blinds are down on the cocks section and the hens eat and drink in the corridor. They know the cocks are behind the blinds but this tends to get them more motivated, they often fight in the section and this just improves the motivation.

 

My tips are:-

 

Keep more hens than cocks, the hens are best when jealous

Remove hens that tend to pair

Keep the team young - mainly yearlings and 2 yr olds

Leave the birds together for longer (before the race) for the harder races

Vary the rourine - Keep them interested -- My best hens likes to build a nest before she races..

 

Hope this helps

 

 

[TheSaddler]

My fed winning hen, shes had many others cards too - She beats my cocks most weeks!

[ribble]

thanks for that,when you say she likes to build a nest,do you mean when you put them together before the race.also do you let them tread?

[TheSaddler]

The hen in the picture builds a nest in two hours - I always put them together for the last inland race of the season at midday with nest bowls and straw. When I return she's built a nest that some pigeons fail to make in a week.

 

She then homes like a maniac! 2004 she finished 1st Fed > 3K birds, 2005 8th Fed over 3K birds - Al this from a bird that was never even raced as a young bird..

 

Each pigeon will have a factor that I call a trigger - It's the skill of the fancier to find out what motivates each bird in the loft. Dont abuse the trigger though - You can only use a trick so many times before the pigeons hets to know the game.. Save it for the big races.

 

Jealousy works for most hens - But be careful that you dont demoralise the hens too much.