team size

[Guest chrisss]

if any one was thinking of racing for the first time [young birds to start] what do you think is a practical size team to have a fighting chance, bearing in mind the "horror show" losses nowdays

[ALF]

if any one was thinking of racing for the first time [young birds to start] what do you think is a practical size team to have a fighting chance, bearing in mind the "horror show" losses nowdays

 

20-25 SHOULD BE ENOUGH I WOULD THINK FOR ANYONE JUST STARTING

[p charlton]

i will be starting again as soon as i move i will be buying 12 pair of stock so will be looking to breed 50 the 1st year id want to breed 40 the next

[carlsberg]

about 40 youngbirds should be fine

[Guest chrisss]

i will be starting again as soon as i move i will be buying 12 pair of stock so will be looking to breed 50 the 1st year id want to breed 40 the next

 

yep i have the same problem [as some of you know if you have read my previous posts]i am in effect starting again as all of my "breeders" are very old with the exception of 5 pairs given to me by guys on this site [ i have got 7ybs so far] i am looking for info on what size team gives me a chance to look fellow club members in the eye and have a fighting chance to at least get a place

[Guest shadow]

30 young birds is enough for a new starter to handle

[Whats it called Cumbernauld]

surely what you fly (Breed)would play a part then you can look at how many,or do you think it matters not to how many you will be left with.

[p charlton]

i will hope to cut the stock team down i am going to go to 4 places for my stock get 3 pair of each person test them against each other

[Whats it called Cumbernauld]

I to will be returning to the sport this year,so this is something i will have to give some thought to as well.However I will be testing to the full whatever i get. Still unsure if I will start with young birds or get the right stock and bread my own any thoughts would be welcomed

[Guest chrisss]

surely what you fly (Breed)would play a part then you can look at how many,or do you think it matters not to how many you will be left with.

 

i would like to think i would have a few left to race old birds next season hence the numbers bit [but first things first ] :D :D

[Guest cloudview]

the size of your loft  , will be a deciding factor

[Guest TAMMY_1]

if any one was thinking of racing for the first time [young birds to start] what do you think is a practical size team to have a fighting chance, bearing in mind the "horror show" losses nowdays

 

whatever you can manage comfortably to begin with

[Guest chrisss]

the size of your loft  , will be a deciding factor

 

for my ybs the size is 10x5 ventilation is good [i have had pigeons since 2001 then in 2002 my daughter died which stopped me in my tracks ]hence the bit about old breeders, from what i have seen ybs appears to be a numbers game if you want some left to form a old bird team next season

[carlsberg]

just think about 50% losses then you know how many you need for next season

[Guest cloudview]

ten feet xfive feet    36  yb,s   comfortable  

[Guest chrisss]

so if i look at the average i am looking at 35 to 40 [if i am to have any chance of an old bird team next year]it looks like my 5 pairs are going to be very busy [dare i say shagged out :D ]

[Lennut Tar]

so if i look at the average i am looking at 35 to 40 [if i am to have any chance of an old bird team next year]it looks like my 5 pairs are going to be very busy [dare i say shagged out :D ]

 

;D ;D ;D Maybe so ?????? But if they are top quality stock etc (Get a few pumpers/foster parents), I think you will be fine in the long run & you will still have a lot of enjoyment in my view. Only time will tell thou   ;) if you win anything.

Enjoy.

 

 

[sapper756]

Why not breed 36, train out 12, and race the remaining 24, that almost ensures you hav a team of 12 yearlings for next season. I know well known fanciers who do this and are very successfull.

[Guest chrisss]

sounds like a plan thanks [now to get the ybs which is turning out to be harder]

[Castleview]

Depending on all my 8 Nestboxes being full I would breed 16 and that would be it. I'd split them into two teams of eight. If I lost the lot in either training or racing then I would assess my pairings and not make the same mistakes again. If only 4 remained out of the 16 I would breed of those four youngsters and their parents. I was a mob flier once (back in 1996) when training my birds they always flew in crowds. I knew alot of mob fliers in our club. This is my second chance at pigeons and this time I'm doing it right. NO MOBS! All birds will be singled up, isolating the best birds during training and telling me which pair to breed from in the future and which ones to put floated eggs under.

[Whats it called Cumbernauld]

Casleview you are spot on mate the health of your pigeons will also be so much better.You need a lot of room, for a lot of pigeons and this is where most fall down.They then reach for the medicine box and never really get back.

 

Indeed I would argue that most fanciers do well initially this is because they have not built up a big team.Fast forward a few years and they wonder where they went wrong.

 

Quality and not quantity should be the goal.

[Castleview]

Thanks  ;D After experiencing and breeding 'Rubbish' in 96 due to inexperience (one is my picture, but he was tame and never raced due to bad wing) I'm learning from my mistakes. If the pigeons don't exercise around the loft and choose to sit on the roof then its pigeon pie for the roof sitter and if they all sit on the roof then I've got many pies to eat. I want workers! Not roof sitters, lazy pigeons that float on the air instead of pumping muscle and any pigeon that comes in back on a box comes through the front door and straight into the bin.

[Guest TAMMY_1]

Thanks  ;D After experiencing and breeding 'Rubbish' in 96 due to inexperience (one is my picture, but he was tame and never raced due to bad wing) I'm learning from my mistakes. If the pigeons don't exercise around the loft and choose to sit on the roof then its pigeon pie for the roof sitter and if they all sit on the roof then I've got many pies to eat. I want workers! Not roof sitters, lazy pigeons that float on the air instead of pumping muscle and any pigeon that comes in back on a box comes through the front door and straight into the bin.

 

Any bird can make a mistake at some point.  :-/

[Castleview]

I agree Tammy, but what if he makes it again?   I had too many before coming back in boxes and it's true they never returned back in a box they just vanished on race days leaving the answer that they were rubbish.  :'(

[Guest spin cycle]

24. split into hens /cocks(roughly as it sexing can be difficult). race the'hens'hard they will be you're 'insurance policy' next year. train the cocks and if you've not lost to many 'hens' try 6 cocks in each of the final 2 races(if short enough) just to educate them slightly. if you 'go to hard' to win and it goes bad you'll be back to sq.1. better to have some decent yearlings for may 09.