DISTANCE OR SPRINT

[REDCHEQHEN]

Do you 'pigeon hole' your pigeons?

 

If the breed or strain is supposedly sprint based - do you stick to that - or test them out over a longer distance?

 

Would you send an older pigeon from a sprint-based line to longer races

 

Do you think that its a load of tosh - and use your gut feeling when it comes to how you think a bird will perform at the longer distances regardless of breed or strain ?

 

One of the reasons I ask - is that we have some Marcellis, one scored at 320 miles - but looked knackered, another one flew 400 miles and was as fresh as a daisy when he got home

[Guest]

;Dpersonally Sue i would send sprint birds out to 400 mile , but would keep a close eye on wich way the wind was blowing ? etc etc . the two you sent ? was it to the same race , same age birds etc ??                        andy 8)

[thunderboult]

i tried my best sprinter hens at liege(422mls) and lost em all although the distance birds where rolling in from 4.30 , for me i'd get the right birds for the job  

[Guest TAMMY_1]

i tried my best sprinter hens at liege(422mls) and lost em all although the distance birds where rolling in from 4.30 , for me i'd get the right birds for the job  

 

aye its horses for courses

[stevebelbin]

Ive always wondered if the difference between sprint and distance pigeons wasnt actually in their blood as such and was more down to the time of year the bird actually comes into the right condition to perform, i.e. pigeons may perform better in sprint races as they come into form earlier in the season and channel pigeons may peform better later in the season as the weather changes etc. If you keep a record of the way the birds look throughout the season certain birds seem to come into condition at different times, even when fed and treat the same etc. My best channel cock used to tell me he was on blob in june as he used to go off for hours on his own and this happened at the same time each year and he still does it now at 9year old even though he's not racing, whereas his son does it slighly earlier and goes off on his own around about mid-may.

[Guest]

i try to have sprint to middle croses as i believe that having long distance in ur birds slows them down .

most birds today can fly say 400mls,depending on fitness and the way they have been prepared.

i have won with birds from swindon...54mls to take cards from leige 381mls to me.but if u want to fly longer distances at national level uve got to have some staying power in ur birds in the shape of introducing distance birds .u will now and again hear of sprinters winning at distance but these are far and few between,fit birds can compete but fit and prepared birds will win!

 

as i dont personally fly further then say 450mls(at a push) then i dont introduce distance into my loft .im happy at competing upto this distance.

[thunderboult]

hi inv. not all distance birds are slow ,i got a 02 van geel cock that's won this year from 115mls and last year from 99 mls

[REDCHEQHEN]

;Dpersonally Sue i would send sprint birds out to 400 mile , but would keep a close eye on wich way the wind was blowing ? etc etc . the two you sent ? was it to the same race , same age birds etc ??                        andy 8)

 

The two were brothers - but one is 04 - the other 05, the 320 miles race was in a SW wind, the 400 mile race in a West wind - the races were the same year (2006) - 2 weeks apart, the latter 05 bird went to both, the 04 bird just the shorter one cos he looked so tired when he got home

 

to date - the 400 mile race (which is actually 392) is the furthest we have sent - but we do have two longer race points of 450 miles and 545 miles - which we have not yet had the bottle to send to - next year we will though ( we said that this year - but definately will send next year  :B 8) watch this space  8))

[Guest]

hi inv. not all distance birds are slow ,i got a 02 van geel cock that's won this year from 115mls and last year from 99 mls

 

hi m8 , i should have put as well as sprinters winning at distance...distance winning at sprint but few and far between....in other words any bird can win at any such distance but percentage would mean that ur distance bird would be out done by the sprinter at sprints as would the sprinters be outdone by ur distance at distance....paul.

[THE PRIEST]

I had a karel herman hen win 4 times from 400 mls but none of her family could do it.  

I have also had 3 marcells win from 320 mls and one from 400 mls however i think they are few and far between as i have lost a lot of these same familys trying them.

[Guest]

Our club champion flies Van Reets, sprinters, which he reckons are 'spent' after 200 miles. Strange thing tho, he still scores well right out to the longest inland race which is 370 miles, but whether its the same family, or crosses, can't say for certain.

 

Internet book I read author was of opinion a sprinter was a 'fast & furious' pigeon, a 50 mile-an-hour shot, and would burn itself out over a certain distance. Long distance pigeon was more 'laid-back' steadier pace eating up the miles, certainly not at 50mph.

 

Robert Cormack, Winchburgh [now retired from racing] on an SNFC video, also said he kept two families, one for the distance and sprinters for club & fed racing. He had been gifted sprinters to give him a bit of fun in club & fed racing. From that reckoned he thought distance pigeons were slower - too slow for club & fed racing.  

 

Rod Adams at one of our moots said he believed it was two horses for two courses - sprint and long distance.

 

My own experience also tends to support the two families theory; flying a slower long-distance family, say a 40mph pigeon, against a say 50 mph sprinter family in a 200 mile race, long distance birds could in theory be up to an hour behind. Because of that the internet book author was of the opinion you should try to breed speed into a long distance family, by crossing 'fast' lines into it.

 

[Roland]

I go into the loft on basket night, and obviously the ones still there can do the distance. Then I wait for the wink and look for the eye liner. Nice in hand then they go. Simple as that.

Never ever bothered about strain or whatever, I am only interested in the distance races, and as they are mostly on  natural, I expect them to home. How fast is the question one has to set  a bird for.

I personally - outside of rare weather etc. and can then get disorientated - firmly believe that birds don't get lost. They are either sent not conditioned for the race - bad managerment - or just decide to no come back for whatever reason. Hence it is harder to lose contented naturual birds that widowerhood etc.

[REDCHEQHEN]

I've only ever sent birds that I believe could do the races - across the channel

 

And although I have not sent to many - 4 in total, have had 100% returns in 3 of the races and lost 2 in the last channel race - incidentally the 2 we lost were raced natural - and for both it was their first time over the channel ( though they were both 2 year olds)

[jimmy white]

horses for courses,, the weather , the race , the setting up, all play a big part