Training.

[speedbird]

i hate training in such cold days,you can do it but they wont last the season mines had 1toss not to get em fit but to get use to the widowhood.my first race is 5th april why on earth are we racing this early when we have much better weather in september!!

[schouwman71]

i hate training in such cold days,you can do it but they wont last the season mines had 1toss not to get em fit but to get use to the widowhood.my first race is 5th april why on earth are we racing this early when we have much better weather in september!!

 

I agree,we seem to start earlier every year,thought someone would realise that but no,we start when the weather is cold and finish when the weather is hot.No wonder people are starting to train there widowers,after all were there to compete in races,you just carnt send them to the first race with no training,ive seen this happen and some have lost them on the very first race.Bad or what.and not because it is cold,because of lack of training.

 

Les

[jonny]

had first toss today 8 miles  9 degrees , all yearlings ( novice ) hens in the boxes waiting and the cocks seemed to love it

[jonny]

had first toss today 8 miles  9 degrees , all yearlings ( novice ) hens in the boxes waiting and the cocks seemed to love it

[speedbird]

if mine dont get any training & weather is still cold i will not be sending ive got all yearlings & ive seen so many yearling lost at those first few races when its so cold

[schouwman71]

Thats what i mean,its too cold so you dont train,racing comes,novices enter there birds,birds not fit enouth,crash,they dont get home,not because of the cold,its because there not fit enouth to tackle it.

 

Les

[jimmy white]

train now,, you may win the first race,,,,,, but the birds will never last the season ,,,,,,never

[Guest Paulo]

I disagree to be honest thats a bit of a sweeping statement. It depends how much training the birds get and where you are located in the UK.

 

Mine are in condition now and the first race is next week. They have had 5 chucks and will only have training now if the weather is perfect the pigeons tell you when they are tired and they are flying well around the loft. HOWEVER thats my inland team that will get stopped at 300 - 400 miles as they are all very very fast sprint pigeons.

 

The channel/long distance team have only had 2 chucks and will step up their training when the weather improves and use the club races as trainers and get them on eggs for the events I want them in.

 

Horses for courses you have to a plan if you want to try and perform competively in every race.

 

You have a lot more experience than me so I agree with you to some extent you have to admit it depends on location and the local weather conditions.

 

Would you be happy sending birds to the first race with no training at all Jimmy? Fair enough its a short race but they are going to have to race in it my dad clocked winners in the snow many a time for races in April. The answer would be to move the races back a bit when the weather is better but as it is those birds have to go and race next week and I want them prepared for it.

 

Train Hard Fight Easy if the birds are getting good bait and free from disease you can easy use a few 12 - 25 mile chucks to build them up providing you pick your days.

 

HOWEVER if theres the slightest slightest doubt of it snowing I don't take them they can cope with a little bit of cold they are getting exposed to it if you make them fly round the loft but they can't cope with wind driven snow and blizzards like on easter monday when the club transporter took them and they had a lousy chuck.

[Delboy]

Charlie Miller, more renown for his secretarial and auctioneering duties, would say:-  (if you get what I mean)  Leave 'em at home, 'till the tree's turning green.

 

Your Spot on Vic, I never train until leaves on trees.Training in north east winds takes the edge off the birds.Even the cows in the fields turn their *expletive removed* towards an easterly wind.

[jimmy white]

I disagree to be honest thats a bit of a sweeping statement. It depends how much training the birds get and where you are located in the UK.

 

Mine are in condition now and the first race is next week. They have had 5 chucks and will only have training now if the weather is perfect the pigeons tell you when they are tired and they are flying well around the loft. HOWEVER thats my inland team that will get stopped at 300 - 400 miles as they are all very very fast sprint pigeons.

 

The channel/long distance team have only had 2 chucks and will step up their training when the weather improves and use the club races as trainers and get them on eggs for the events I want them in.

 

Horses for courses you have to a plan if you want to try and perform competively in every race.

 

You have a lot more experience than me so I agree with you to some extent you have to admit it depends on location and the local weather conditions.

 

Would you be happy sending birds to the first race with no training at all Jimmy? Fair enough its a short race but they are going to have to race in it my dad clocked winners in the snow many a time for races in April. The answer would be to move the races back a bit when the weather is better but as it is those birds have to go and race next week and I want them prepared for it.

 

Train Hard Fight Easy if the birds are getting good bait and free from disease you can easy use a few 12 - 25 mile chucks to build them up providing you pick your days.

 

HOWEVER if theres the slightest slightest doubt of it snowing I don't take them they can cope with a little bit of cold they are getting exposed to it if you make them fly round the loft but they can't cope with wind driven snow and blizzards like on easter monday when the club transporter took them and they had a lousy chuck.

 

to be honest paulo, it is a sweeping statement , but neverthe less true , asking me about sending to the first race without training the answer would be no,,but i used to just train spare hens, about 4 or 6 , these birds were trained hard , many times won , even topped the fed ,,,,,,,,,,,,but these birds went just 4 races then finished for the season ,, then came out the team of widowhoood cocks in the middle of may , when it was warmer , sometimes 3 tosses then in to 150 miles , these cocks rattled in right up to and beyond 365 miles , the odd one scoring in nationals at 5 to 600 miles , but i would have different birds paired later especialy for these races , these birds would be at least 2 years old and only have 3 or 4 races , then plenty training in july, i learned my lesson many many years ago, thinking the same as you , i trained them in early march, done well first couple of races , then a whole team were ruined for the rest of the season,, pigeons hate cold east winds and will not benefit from it, please beleive me, its a long season and their not machines  

[Guest Paulo]

Problem I have is the whole team is yearlings so don't really fancy jumping them into races. Suppose things will change when I have an estalished team

[jimmy white]

i dont mean to keep disagreeing paulo   but there are more yearlings lost this early in the season and the early first races [ even allthough theve flown 280 miles as ybs ] maybe you would be better splitting them up , if you have a look at the top fliers in your area , youll find theyll be saving their birds for the bigger and better races later in the year , but with pigeons theres allways exception to the rule so i do really wish you well , but maybe worth just keeping that in mind  

[Ronnie]

So why are the first race's so important?Surely good birds are better than club average's if a birds not ready to race then it wont race.If its not had the training it needs dont race it.This is my first season of old bird racing proper and i have a team of 32 on the roundabout and not one has been trained yet.

I am more concerned about building a good team for the future than a few early wins.

[Whats it called Cumbernauld]

So why are the first race's so important?Surely good birds are better than club average's if a birds not ready to race then it wont race.If its not had the training it needs dont race it.This is my first season of old bird racing proper and i have a team of 32 on the roundabout and not one has been trained yet.

I am more concerned about building a good team for the future than a few early wins.

 

Well said Ronnie

 

Rab Smith

[tskyes]

SURELY IT DOESN`T MATTER IF IT`S THE FIRST OR LAST RACE I WOULD OF SED THERE ARE ALL AS IMPORTANT AS EACH OTHER !

[schouwman71]

i dont mean to keep disagreeing paulo   but there are more yearlings lost this early in the season and the early first races [ even allthough theve flown 280 miles as ybs ] maybe you would be better splitting them up , if you have a look at the top fliers in your area , youll find theyll be saving their birds for the bigger and better races later in the year , but with pigeons theres allways exception to the rule so i do really wish you well , but maybe worth just keeping that in mind  

 

Jimmy,you talk a very lot of sence,anmd with the years of expierience you have had it does make you think,the pigeons are very important,there like a family to me,and the birds i have now i love em,i carnt wait on my days off to spend the time with them,and it would hurt to see them go down in the first races,luckily ive had some years of experience and hopefully know when to send them and when to keep them at home,but good advice jimmy,keep it up bud,theres a lot of new commers to the sport and would benefit from this.

[JSTOON]

Well Les, i got my first chuck in today and theyve come just lovely, its the best weather weve had. First chuck ten miles, and i must agree that some fanciers start training too early. Ive sent them to the first race on many years and won them, i think if they are excersised well round home, and looked after, you only need to get a couple of chucks into them, to dust away the cobwebs as to speak. last year my old birds had 4 chucks before the first race, which i was 2nd, and then went on to win the next three. Training is about picking your right time with the weather, unfortunately when your working thats hard to do. still think though that we all start far too early, why we dont wait till late April when the weathers just turning and longer days lord only knows. :(

[schouwman71]

2nd training toss today with the transporter,i had 1 cock 5 mins before the rest,trapped straight up to his box,the other came all together and trapped up so ime pretty pleased with them.Looks like my first 1 split straight away. ;D

 

Les

[pearse1888]

1st training the day and 2 misssing in action hahaha

[DUBLINFLYER]

3rd training toss today 8mile... 3 x 8 mile tosses sun shining the last few days 10 to 11 degrees southern winds!!!!! cant see anything wrong with it just happy to get a couple of  little 1s under them just to keep them ticking over ;)

[blackjack]

If people will not listen to commonsense from Frank,Vic and Jimmy what can you say .I had a yearling in yesterday flown down a idiot from Brum had been training and was he concerned about his losses he said he was yearlings down yes you guessed to one bit.

[blackjack]

sorry that should have read not one bit.

[Guest IB]

Don't believe in mollycoddling the pigeons, but I think if you keep a small team, you approach the whole thing more cautiously: 1 bird down in a race team of 10 is a big hit, and it can upset any plans you may have had for its mate.

 

I honestly see no gain in sending a trained and raced old bird 10 miles. I'd rather see them out exercising from the loft twice a day, and wait till race week to get 2 x 20 or 30 mile trainers in decent weather.

 

Regarding temperatures: you must also take wind-chill into consideration. Nice & Sunny yet freezing cold is quite normal here this time of year, and thats at ground level. 100 feet up in open skies without shelter is another kettle of fish. Remember too that a normal household fridge runs at 5 degrees, so 10 degrees aint hot.

[Merlin]

In fairness the previous three days have been nice on this side,slight S/W wind with warm sunshin,but now this evening wind has gone round to a N/W direction and a little stronger,and bitter colddefinitely no weather for training,nourishment they want at this stage not punishment.