Evaluating Your Old Bird Season

[marmite]

bit better than expected as my 1st season tryin widowhood as always been natural well here goes 4 x 1sts in a strong widowhood club 5 2nds 3 3rds clocked the 2nd of only 2 birds on day from poiters in club 400mls was runner up inland avgs and runner up channel avgs & runner up combined avgs scored well in classics taking in a bit of cash and won the pools in club 8 wks in a row with same bird . started season with 24 widow cocks still 17 lft and same amount widow hens got 15 lft so all in all not a bad season lessons learnt tried to push yearlings to early in season in head winds with east in not good but those that are still here have performed well enough to earn a perch for nxt yr atb clive

[Guest Paulo]

Now the old bird season is over, how do the members evaluate their season, performance,losses etc?

 

Well I started the season by moving to a new club so knew would be up against some stiff competion as very good fanciers in the new club. On the other hand I knew I would probably always win what I normally win in the fed when my pigeons are bang on but would probably win more in the club as I'm no longer giving away the overfly I have done in previous races in my old club. Overall the season has meet my expections as after two full seasons 2008 & 2009 of racing pigeons my mish mash mix of pigeons brought from all over the place are starting to come and I know what I'm breeding off.

 

Performance

 

Overall I won the following positions:-

 

Club

 

1st Club Wakefield 77 Miles

 

1st Club Clermont 412 Miles

 

2nd Club Folkstone 278 miles

 

2nd Club Maidstone 263 Miles

 

4th Club Billericay 236 Miles

 

4th Club Folkstone 278 Miles

 

4th Club Arras 360 Miles

 

Federation

 

3rd Fed Wakefield

 

5th Fed Folkstone

 

3rd Fed Clermont

 

Amal

 

88th Amal Folkstone

 

34th Amal Clermont

 

Looking at my previous results for old bird racing my performance appears to be improving:-

 

2008

 

Club

 

2 x 1sts

 

1 x 3rd

 

Fed

 

1 x 1st

 

1 x 5th

 

1 x 8th

 

Amal

 

1x 1st Fastest Bird in Amal

 

 

2009

 

Club

 

1x 1st

 

Fed

 

1 x 4th Fed

 

Amal

 

44th Billericay Yearling Classic (wasnt a club or fed race so no chalk in either)

 

I always race a better young bird than an old bird and my young bird performances have been great while my old bird performances not so good. Now I seem to have bred birds that can win from longer distances which was what I lacked before highlights for me was getting my first channel race positions this season winning clermont and getting a 4th from Arras. Before all my decent positions in the fed and amal have come from up to 236 miles past that I was struggling to get birds back in good time. My sprint pigeons were great but couldn't compete at middle to long distance. Luckily I managed to source some busschaerts from a fancier packing in and these have won my major races this year supplemented by some belgium 09 birds I got from natural breeding station and lier market when I went over there in 2009.

 

My sprint birds have been disaapointing but I think this is because while I have my young bird system nailed I am still struggling to develop a decent OB system. I have raced natural for first two years and found it was ok but you couldn't have birds race fit every race and had to get them went for example my good sprint hen only came on chipping eggs so only got two to three races out of her a season! I've experimented with a form of roundabout this year and it worked after a seasn with one hen bred off the good sprint hen getting a 4th club.

 

My supposed channel pigeons on natural in a extra section I built onto the cree have done the damage tho maybe this is because they had no young uns and weren't paired up until 14th fed?

 

I found the rounabout did keep my pigeons in better nick but didn't seem to moviate them however when paired back up and on eggs they have all come again for the channel and longer inland races.

 

I think I can improve my results as I definately have the quality of pigeon now but its something I'm doing wrong with my system. I will be spending winter trying to puzzle the anwsers out. Maybe I'm aiming too high to win all the races now you seem to have to be on roundabout or widowhood but with working full time roundabout doesn't work with two many sets of pigeons to keep letting out. Maybe I should stick with natural accept I'm never going to win the OB averages and concentrate on the longer races and pairing up with different times etc for the sprinters? Then for averages and proper sprint racing my young birds can do that.

 

Losses

 

Lost 14 birds in total 13 from the channel and 1 from the sprint race. Channel losses expected as hard racing and me not really sending birds I know are bred for the job but trying to weed the rubbish out thats not performing inland.

 

Overall good enjoyable season with some big highlights in my career such as winning channel been unlucky not to top the fed but hopefully will come with young birds.

[Ronnie]

Well started with 6 cocks and raced their hens as well on the channel .

Finished with 3 cocks and and only won one race with them but it was the two bird club from niort also won niort in the club with a hen.

overall i didnt put the work in with the birds until the channel and i was lucky enough to get a win in the race i aimed for.

Next season its going to be more work from me and i expect to raise the bar a bit.