1949: old times vs. new times

[Guest Paulo]

The pigeons of the day are just as good if not better than the pigeons of yesterday. The main difference is training methods, moviation and feeding have moved on that much that birds are doing better and faster times.

 

[Guest]

Getting back to why not so many birds, don't turn up on the second day, Anymore!  Perhaps the shutdown of electronic devices, during the  hours of night time, may have the oppositive effect, on their "tuning in"  abilities.

 

Without doubt this year has been the worst for YB losses. Vic, I mentioned above yearlings going to Thurso, yes they would come second morning. YB, another time  I've mentioned when I first became sec of a club there were nigh on 30,000 yb being liberated from about 50 mile to the shortest and 75 mile to the longest flyer in to the valleys by the Welsh North Rd Fed for the first YB race and if you were the short flyer as we were up the top of the valley, you'd get a few drop out early but then through the day right up until the death they would come.

Last Saturday we were up at Littlehampton, at my loft only flown two yb races and only a quarter of my team. It was a funny day the type you get dodgy returns, medium se wind, misty on the hills (we fly east to west across the south coast). Up at 11:15 for 123 mile sent 8, first home at 1:25 (eight mins off the winner), four in quarter of an hour, haven't seen one since!

Though had a phone call yesterday to say 31 (my favourite of the 8) was found in a forest minus its head. But there's something a bit more perplexing going on to our NW with the North Devon lads.

We put down the heavy losses to two main reasons, firstly we fly across southern England (and of course we go over the Channel) and every man and his dog nearly now flies the South road, we are not the biggest of organisations so when our birds clash with libs of 3/4000 + we get clobbered. Secondly the Peregrine, they are so commom and the nearer you get to the jurassic coast and all of Devon (and Cornwall) the more you'll see.

Now this is where the peculiarity comes in for the North Devon lads. They bring their birds to Tiverton to load on to the transporter, fist YB race they brought some 400/500+ (I would estimate, lots of baskets anyway a transit and trailer). As a club we have consistently sent around 100 each week. Last Friday we sent 112, the North Devon lads 30. Speaking to the guy with them (lovely chap) forget his name, he was saying they had been wiped.

If anyone wants to see the area I'm talking about if you get a map out and look for juncyion 27 M5 and then look for the road that goes up to Barnstaple, the birds we are talking about come from South Molton, Bideford and Barnstaple. Now I agree I think atmospherics, the K factor, mobiles, various radio siganals affect our birds homing ability. However why would this area of North Devon going up by Exmoor be so badly affected. Makes you wonder if there is some secret installation or the like up there, intefering with the homing ability of the birds, souns very fiction like but what's the answer?

Hope I haven't taken this off topic.

 

 

[Guest Vic]

Yes Albear, perplexing indeed! This years yb losses are wide spread, with all areas of the fancy suffering the same fate. Why they don't follow through the next day? is another enigma. I believe that something is definitely, affecting their young heads, be it caused through some sort of unrecognised (yet) illness, or the tremendous upsurge in electronic devices.  THERE IS WITHOUT DOUBT, SOMETHING GOING ON!  

[Guest]

Yes Albear, perplexing indeed! This years yb losses are wide spread, with all areas of the fancy suffering the same fate. Why they don't follow through the next day? is another enigma. I believe that something is definitely, affecting their young heads, be it caused through some sort of unrecognised (yet) illness, or the tremendous upsurge in electronic devices.  THERE IS WITHOUT DOUBT, SOMETHING GOING ON!  

 

I was talking to one of the Ace fanciers of the UNC yesterday, and everyone is stumped as to what is the cause for the losses. He simply shrugged his shoulders, and gave the usual list as we all seem to be doing. Purplexed is definately the word! The "unrecognized as yet illness" could be well true Vic! I just wish there was a definite answer as to this problem.

[Guest Vic]

Rose, I only glanced at it. A very old document it seemed by its colour, but obviously was reproduced on a pc.  Perhaps some parts were "touched up"  by one of our so called "whizz kids" that don't know what  the proper LSD  (pounds shillings and pence)was all about. Because, as I said previously, it was very unusual to have subs so high in them days. I'll follow it through. Cheers, Vic,.  

  By the way, it slipped my mind, I obtained the 1949 paperwork, of the Spellow FC. There has been no touching up, and the  subscriptions were £13.00 all them years ago. How much would that be today? 4-5 hundred pounds at least! The yb race was from Stafford, the winners being Welsh and Foster recording a vel. of 1019 , beating the secretary. (a Mr Proctor} who took second place recording 1018.  We dont seem to get races with low velocities these  days, Do we? Yet our returns are a lot worse than yesteryear!

 

 

[jimmy white]

my goodness vic ,, certainly some subscripton,and as you say,,  it would be somewhere around that in todays money,,anyway glad  you got the details you were after ,as it was your post that started "the old and the new,,"    

 

yes ,, we can still  get velocities of 1019 , but when you do,, the second one is about 919 ;D ;D ;D  not 1018 as was then :-/ :-/ :-/ ;D  , but have to agree when you say " theres is, without a doubt ,, something going on" but the big question is ,,",what,"  my own veiw is ,, that it is a combination of many things,,, partly due to the way ,we have managed pigeons over a period of years ,,,,,and a lot we just dont know enough about ??

[jimmy white]

 

Spot on !!!!!!!!! in what you say  ;D ;D ;D. we don't believe in racing pensioners etc   :P here. Out with the old   :) & in with a new batch every year, in most cases (except for a few). Just think about it !!!!!!!!! how many of you old codgers here ???????  :'( :'( :'( could keep pace with the young bucks around today.

Enjoy etc, & each to their own.  

 

 

away with you lennut ;D ;D ;D  ,,how about my old meally [63,,28228], scored in every club race from 60 to 360 miles as a yb and yearling [still have the cerificates ;D]   THEN ;D scoring 9 TIMES at between 505 miles and 608 miles ,,,winning £98 two and ninepence in the snfc at 9 YEARS OLD  ;D winning a 98 mile club race the same year ;D with 4 times the birdage nowadays ,,,even "sir colin" won two 200 mile races then 4 times between 5 to over 600 miles[inc 2cnd national] b4 having his wing broken at 4 years old  [after winning 5000  grand ;D]  dae dont makem like at nowadays  ;D ;D ;D

[jimmy white]

 

Without doubt this year has been the worst for YB losses. Vic, I mentioned above yearlings going to Thurso, yes they would come second morning. YB, another time  I've mentioned when I first became sec of a club there were nigh on 30,000 yb being liberated from about 50 mile to the shortest and 75 mile to the longest flyer in to the valleys by the Welsh North Rd Fed for the first YB race and if you were the short flyer as we were up the top of the valley, you'd get a few drop out early but then through the day right up until the death they would come.

Last Saturday we were up at Littlehampton, at my loft only flown two yb races and only a quarter of my team. It was a funny day the type you get dodgy returns, medium se wind, misty on the hills (we fly east to west across the south coast). Up at 11:15 for 123 mile sent 8, first home at 1:25 (eight mins off the winner), four in quarter of an hour, haven't seen one since!

Though had a phone call yesterday to say 31 (my favourite of the 8) was found in a forest minus its head. But there's something a bit more perplexing going on to our NW with the North Devon lads.

We put down the heavy losses to two main reasons, firstly we fly across southern England (and of course we go over the Channel) and every man and his dog nearly now flies the South road, we are not the biggest of organisations so when our birds clash with libs of 3/4000 + we get clobbered. Secondly the Peregrine, they are so commom and the nearer you get to the jurassic coast and all of Devon (and Cornwall) the more you'll see.

Now this is where the peculiarity comes in for the North Devon lads. They bring their birds to Tiverton to load on to the transporter, fist YB race they brought some 400/500+ (I would estimate, lots of baskets anyway a transit and trailer). As a club we have consistently sent around 100 each week. Last Friday we sent 112, the North Devon lads 30. Speaking to the guy with them (lovely chap) forget his name, he was saying they had been wiped.

If anyone wants to see the area I'm talking about if you get a map out and look for juncyion 27 M5 and then look for the road that goes up to Barnstaple, the birds we are talking about come from South Molton, Bideford and Barnstaple. Now I agree I think atmospherics, the K factor, mobiles, various radio siganals affect our birds homing ability. However why would this area of North Devon going up by Exmoor be so badly affected. Makes you wonder if there is some secret installation or the like up there, intefering with the homing ability of the birds, souns very fiction like but what's the answer?

Hope I haven't taken this off topic.

 

 

yes,, it does sound like fiction,, but unfortunately true,, not that many years ago ,i tossed about 40 yb,s from an army training camp, whatever went on there, at that time , i do not know,, but this 20 mile traing toss was a disaster , with about 30 bewilldered birds making it in a few days [none injured] but refusing to beleive many local fanciers ,,"that something was going on there which was upsetting the birds homing ability" took the remaining birds back there [once they had gathered their wits] and the same hapened again [perfect weather ],,,, at that point, i began to [against my own judgement] beleive these fanciers,, i then took the remaining yb,s [about 20]  20 miles further on from this point [a 40 mile toss]  all the birds were in the loft when i got home ,, so it does make you wonder,, if , like albear has said,, " some secret instalation, or the like,up there,, interfering, with the homing ability of the birds"  just makes you wonder at times its not just the birds,,good,birds , or bad birds,, its something more than that,, incidently one of albears birds , a yearling, scored well in a near 500 mile race up this way very recently , for a good freind of mines

[jimmy white]

well one thing is better nowadays   ;D ;D ;D how to get rid of red mite ,lice etc,    in , 1954 ,, brand new  invention [i,b will laugh at this one]  THE VERMINATER ;D ;D ;D [with foot  pump action off course ;D] to delouse the birds with this, had you fitter than your  pigeons ;D ;D ;D [this was off course the days of d,d,t, ]

[Guest Vic]

 

Spot on !!!!!!!!! in what you say  ;D ;D ;D. we don't believe in racing pensioners etc   :P here. Out with the old   :) & in with a new batch every year, in most cases (except for a few). Just think about it !!!!!!!!! how many of you old codgers here ???????  :'( :'( :'( could keep pace with the young bucks around today.

Enjoy etc, & each to their own.  

 

  LENNUT, YOU DOWN UNDER YOUNG BUCKS, WILL NEVER BE IN THE SAME COMPANY, (I HOPE.) WITH THE SCOTTISH GUYS, THAT WILL NOT REVEAL THEIR , DOWN UNDER SECRETS. LOL.VIC.  

 

 

[Guest Vic]

well one thing is better nowadays   ;D ;D ;D how to get rid of red mite ,lice etc,    in , 1954 ,, brand new  invention [i,b will laugh at this one]  THE VERMINATER ;D ;D ;D [with foot  pump action off course ;D] to delouse the birds with this, had you fitter than your  pigeons ;D ;D ;D [this was off course the days of d,d,t, ]

Yes Jim, we did have all these treadle type pumps at the time, and I still remember one of  our top national flyers using it. It was placed under the bird and the ddt was blown upwards to delouse them. Any wild birds at the time, were goners if contacting d.d.t.  But at the time didn't appear to infect our  pigeons. I sometimes wonder if it did!  

 

[jimmy white]

Yes Jim, we did have all these treadle type pumps at the time, and I still remember one of  our top national flyers using it. It was placed under the bird and the ddt was blown upwards to delouse them. Any wild birds at the time, were goners if contacting d.d.t.  But at the time didn't appear to infect our  pigeons. I sometimes wonder if it did!  

 

d,d,t was used a lot in these days , yet didnt seem to have any bad effects  on the birds except keep them clean,,,remember we used to get keatings powder,, then pestroy,, the rspb blamed  the ddt [which is banned now] for the decline in the hawk population  :-/ :-/ :-/,, the pigeons got more ddt pumped over them than the hawks yet they survived  ?

[jimmy white]

wonder if anyone knows of "2201" bred and raced by a mr  W Ferar of peterborgh, flown lerwick four times winning 4th sec.13 open in 1946, 8th sec 42 open in 1947 2cnd sec. 11th open in 1948,, ,,,,the date on this issue of the gazette is the  1st of april 1950,, the bird certainly didnt make a fool of mr Ferrar      you could actualy handle this pigeon by just looking at the pic, ,

[Lennut Tar]

  LENNUT, YOU DOWN UNDER YOUNG BUCKS, WILL NEVER BE IN THE SAME COMPANY, (I HOPE.) WITH THE SCOTTISH GUYS, THAT WILL NOT REVEAL THEIR , DOWN UNDER SECRETS. LOL.VIC.  

 

 

Do I take it ??????? your suggesting here now, they are a bit tight in relation to what they do with their birds etc. Let me tell you now in all honesty  ;D ;D ;D the ones that I've come across down here unfortunately !!!!!!!!!!, have to throw the old methods out with the bath water somewhat, when they try our style of racing.

Now Jimm  ;D ;D ;D, The old mealy cock & sir colin etc without a doubt have been wonderful pigeons & your very fortunate to have had the pleasure & enjoyment in racing these types of birds in your loft. But just let me say     if you had happened to have raced them down here in your time, at the end of the day you would be  :'( :'( :'( :'( looking at the empty perches if I know anything.

Another thing   :) , all you blokes complaining & somewhat mystified with the heavy losses this year, in your local area etc over there. Let me tell you "PMSL" your not on your own.

The biggest local fed 35000+ rings sold are devastated with their losses here at the moment &  they have only just got to 300 miles (Sort off) & they had to change the scheduled race points, to stop them all being slaughted even at that distance etc. They are all happy chappy's  ;D ;D ;D when they get the wind up there a*se but when it turns in there face like it has been here, most are in total shock, with whats sitting on the perch etc on saturday night sadly :'( :'( :'(.

Enough said !!!!!!!!, but its another header coming up again this saturday.

Enjoy.

 

 

[german owls rock]

take a look at this pic i found in a  museum