best system

[PATTY BHOY]

what do the members think would be the best system for distance racing,natural or widowhood??

[Guest KENNY190]

for distance racing a natural hen is hard to beat... so its natural for me

[Geraint Parry]

I think it all depends on the fanciers circumstances, e.g. work patterns etc. You look at the results now and you see birds sprinting out of 500+ miles. So the right bird on widowhood would do the trick, but there again maybe you need that extra pull to the loft. One system might work for one , but wont for the other. All trial and error.

[alec guinness]

natural hens flying 500-600mls into west of scotland.

[robbiedoo.]

in 2009 im going to try the distance spoke to a few fanciers about this myself and got the opinion that if its got the blood the heart and the health your more than half way there no matter what system u work . me im going to put them 600 mile on natural and roundabout to see what system works for me personally if any its all trial and error as what works for me might not for you.

[Tony C]

The temptation with w/hood is you want to race them right through the program as they always look so well. Naturals especially hens have forced rests and don’t go every week. Perhaps there's nothing between the systems..........if set up properly for the task in hand.

[Guest]

in 2009 im going to try the distance spoke to a few fanciers about this myself and got the opinion that if its got the blood the heart and the health your more than half way there no matter what system u work . me im going to put them 600 mile on natural and roundabout to see what system works for me personally if any its all trial and error as what works for me might not for you.

 

Robbie sounds about right. Though I found roundabout and widowhood better than natural. Roundabout my yearling hens whooped the cocks to 400 mile, though lost my one yeraling hen entry at 556m. NFC Tarbes. This year though with Widowhood cocks got two yearlings from Tarbes both in good time , one being 78th open. Geoff Cooper told me natural is a real pain cause you never quite know where you are with hens and I feel that's true. The bottom line I think is quality of pigeon like Robbie says. If I had the time I would do roundabout though this year I cannot afford it cause I have 24 pair to Race with a mixed bunch of ability, some very good cocks and some ok, same with hens. 2010 roundabout will be my goal, I do think it is the easiest and best you just need to be able to have cock and hens out for two hours each day, if you can manage that you don't need any fancy loft set ups, just a seperate section with a wire floor for the hens to stop them laying

[TopSecretLoft]

Do you guys do early breeding as well? is it always best to breed early? or can the natural breeding youngsters beat the early youngsters as well?

[jimmy white]

what do the members think would be the best system for distance racing,natural or widowhood??

 

i dont think theres a direct answer to that one,,   there have been good winners racing both systems , in my opinion the most important thing is the bird must be bred and managed  i,e. set up for the individual race  ,,, for the job in hand  

[OLDYELLOW]

The best system is one that suits you and works for you and the birds