How Many ?

[Guest REDFOXKRAUTHS]

How many pairs of stock is a good number???????

[geordie1234]

How many pairs of stock is a good number???????

for mate as many good quality stock you can get

[sapper756]

How many pairs of stock is a good number???????

 

I currently have 9 pair, but would be happy to work with just 6 pairshttp://forum.pigeonbasics.org/public/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif

[Guest REDFOXKRAUTHS]

yeah i was thinking 12 pair

[grizzal]

had 8 pairs lowered to 5pairs, but looking to bring 1 new pair in

[Guest JonesyBhoy]

whether it be 2/4/6/8/100 pairs off stock.. i think the question is 'do they merit being in the stock loft' .. stock doos surely have be to consistently producing performance pigeons..???

 

if someone has 12 pair of stcok doos that really merit being in the stock loft, then they must be top top flyers.. JMO

[Guest REDFOXKRAUTHS]

i think we are all "sinners" of keeping some stock, that really arent that great and i agree with you there

[geordie1234]

whether it be 2/4/6/8/100 pairs off stock.. i think the question is 'do they merit being in the stock loft' .. stock doos surely have be to consistently producing performance pigeons..???

 

if someone has 12 pair of stcok doos that really merit being in the stock loft, then they must be top top flyers.. JMO

good point

[Rooster J. Cogburn]

whether it be 2/4/6/8/100 pairs off stock.. i think the question is 'do they merit being in the stock loft' .. stock doos surely have be to consistently producing performance pigeons..???

 

if someone has 12 pair of stcok doos that really merit being in the stock loft, then they must be top top flyers.. JMO

 

Agree fully

 

At the moment I have around 9 pairs of well bred pigeons i've gathered over the last year or two for breeding purposes.Suppose they won't really deserve the title of stock birds until they have actually produced something.

 

As for number,the more pigeons anybody has that are breeding winners at their chosen distance the better.

 

Out of the 9 pair I'm trying out at the moment if i was left with one 3 or 4 years from now I'd be happy.Read about a fancier who has been winning at the highest level for nigh on 4 decades and he claims to have only really had 3 or 4 exceptional stock pigeons.

[PIGEON_MAN]

Think a good question would be "How many stock pairs have you got that have bred winners."

[dal2]

Think a good question would be "How many stock pairs have you got that have bred winners."

 

I have 12 pairs of stock which is far too many!!! I have aboot 8 pair that I have had winners off! The rest are not proven but hopin they will come good! They are from the right blood with proven results so thats wot its all about. PATIENCE!!!!

[steve d]

Stock pigeons should be breeding good pigeons, after all that is why they are supposedly in the stock loft for, when I hear of people keeping 24 pair, 30 pair etc I know a lot of birds are there for their pedigrees only has how can that many pair of stock breed winners, its hard enough to get a few pair, we got 9 pair (majority are retired racers) and last year 6 pair bred at least 1 first prize winner and 8 pair bred pigeons to score in the first 4 at club level, the only pair that were not sucessful were a pair that in previous years had bred very good pigeons ?........In the past we have kept birds because there grandfather/grandmother were big winners but not now they must breed prizewinners, that is why they are there, even good racers never make it in the stockloft we have disposed of birds that have won 6 x1sts, 7 x 1sts etc simply because they never bred anything decent.

[Guest youngboy]

well last year i had 12 pairs got rid of 4 and brought in 7 but these will be cut down next year

as i have birds donated to charity which sold to some strong areas ( doncaster, cumbria, dublin, wexford ) and im doing a few swaps with wexford north road and dublin fellas so will help me choose the winners from the loosers

[Guest IB]

I know I was worried that I had too many stock pigeons near end of OB racing when I'd more pigeons sitting at home than went to the races.

[Guest spin cycle]

alot of fanciers i meet like collecting stock and the breeding side more than racing...i'm the opposite. i'll have about 5 pairs of stock. i had two stock cocks ,that had bred a winner, drop dead last year....thats pigeons

[Guest Owen]

Towards the later part of Taffy Bowen's life I used to visit him and was facinated at his knowledge and common sense. For those of you who have never heard of Taffy, he was probably one of the most knowledgable pigeon men ever, or certainly that I ever met. He was on widowhood with both cocks and hens years before most people had heard of it. He had the best birds from Europe years before it became the fashion and he was on first name terms with just about all the top Fanciers. I reckon that all the older Welsh Fanciers would have known Taffy.

Taffy told me that I should decide on a number of stock birds to keep and stick to that number no matter what happened. Then at the end of each year evaluate the birds in the racing loft and compare them with the stock birds. If any race bird proved to be better than any stock bird the stock bird would have to go and the race bird would replace it. The stock numbers were to remain unaltered. He also said that a Fancier should always breed from pigeons that had in some way marked themselves out for that privilage, giving priority to those that had won races.

I know that many say that non winners will often be good breeders, but I do not trust them. I only ever breed from winners and as far as possible put winners to winners. So to answer the point made, there are quite a few ways to reduce your stock bird numbers, starting with strict selection. My widowhood cocks are often not good enough, in my view, to be allowed to breed. So I pair them up and use the Bull Cock on their hens. This gives me the best of all worlds.