Yb Falling Apart, Who Race'S Them Still?

[Water Boy]

Hello

 

Please, I don't ever have time to do Darkness as I work 07:30 to 17:30 each day and I have been sending them in the club but they have been struggling as they are heavy in the moult.

Should I just NOT bother racing them and leave them to mature and start them as yearlings as I only want them for the future channel Middle-Long Distance races.

[Delboy]

youve just answered your own question m8

[just ask me]

how far do you let them go in the flights etc

[Water Boy]

how far do you let them go in the flights etc

 

100 miles.

[REDCHEQHEN]

100 miles.

 

 

I think he was meaning how many flights left before you stop them !!

[Water Boy]

I think he was meaning how many flights left before you stop them !!

 

Ohhhh They have between 2 and 4 flights to go as they are different ages. but they seem to be moulting heavy on the head and tail also.

[Guest Gareth Rankin]

Ohhhh They have between 2 and 4 flights to go as they are different ages. but they seem to be moulting heavy on the head and tail also.

 

If they are bald on the head then don't send them, my own young birds were bad last week and they certainly have not improved much this week.

 

You keep pigeons to race, so pick out the best ones available to give yourself an interest on race day.

[OLDYELLOW]

I was always told if bald on head don't send them in a head wind ( north wind )

[Guest IB]

I had 10 sit at home last Saturday as they weren't weather-proof. So, no you don't send them when they are falling to bits, you check them over daily and make a final decision on marking day which are fit to go and which aren't..

 

Bare about the face, head and ears; very loose feathered; are main ones for me that keep the bird at home. I'm not sure on what flight to stop the pigeon, but from Primary 7 onwards, I think it's racing is just about over. I've one on primary 8 that I'm hopeful of sending this week (120 miles) but I think that'll be his last.

[Guest big slim]

If your birds are moulting heavily you have no chance against the darkies. If they have had a few races i would stop them. No point in hammering them, let them rest and have a good moult.

[REDCHEQHEN]

Even though our youngsters were on darkness - some have still thrown flights and one or two have '6 to go'

 

I don't know whether it is the darkness system - or the birds, but we never seem to get them back when they are down to 5, so they are stopped once they get down to 5

[JohnQuinn]

If they've had some training and a race or 2 you should just leave them until 2012, and reap the benefits of your patience with them jmo.

[Guest Owen]

As has already been said, you can not expect to win races against the Darkness Birds but there are two important things about youngsters as far as I can see. They must be trained at about 12 weeks of age and they must experience racing. If, as you say, you can not use the darkness system you will have to stop them because it would not be fair not to, but you still have to prepare them to go on as yearlings next year. I have never found that badly trained youngsters or late breds are worth the time and effort that you spend on them. In a case like yours, you could easily prepare the birds to win the early races and if it were me I would expect them to show me something in those early races.

I know a lot of people thought that the 6.4.2. system that was published on here was a con but it is a very good way to train young pigeons to win the early races. I have been doing something like that for a few years now. A lot of people would be frightened to train that way because of the risk of losses but, if that is the case, you are better off getting rid of those that can not do what you need them to do.

[budgie]

If they've had some training and a race or 2 you should just leave them until 2012, and reap the benefits of your patience with them jmo.

 

Time and patience are fine but without good Health and Guid pigeons forget it no matter what system you employ and dont forget the 98% Rule

[blue bar]

Hi Owen

Whats this 6.4.2 system

[Guest Owen]

blue bar,

the 6 4 2 system is one of these systems that has been advertised in the pigeon press which is supposed to help you win races. A lot of people have sent their money and are very upset at what they have got in return. Basically, it advises you to train your birds on the line of flight repeatedly until they are homing well and then you release the birds in small numbers. First in groups of 6 then groups of 4 then in groups of 2.

The good thing about it is that it stresses the importance of planned training and training on the line of flight. The bad thing is that it is very short on information and does not explain anything properly. For the record, I train my youngsters in a similar way but it is not as simple as loading them into crates and driving to a release point and letting them go. There is much more to it than that. Again, for the record, you might be surprised how many races I score in where my birds have won it on the trap. That is because I work on trapping as a priority and my aim is to stop them circling and messing about when they reach home. I find that youngsters will always be a challenge but my widow cocks trap literally like bullets.

[blue bar]

Thanks Owen never heard of it before i will stick to what i am doing

[lanarkshire lad]

I knew a real top pigeon man ,he told me it didnae matter what stage of the moult you sent them to the race in, they should still come home.When you consider they come home with severe injurys why should the moult a natural occurence stop them from coming home from 150miles??

[Guest Gareth Rankin]

I knew a real top pigeon man ,he told me it didnae matter what stage of the moult you sent them to the race in, they should still come home.When you consider they come home with severe injurys why should the moult a natural occurence stop them from coming home from 150miles??

 

This should be the way Jim, and at one time it was for all the fanciers years ago, many things have changed since then including, more viruses/illnesses going about, greater numbers of BOP, electro interference, therefore these young birds deep in the mount struggle to deal with these extra difficulties.

 

We never found out what happened at Wetherby 2 years ago when the majority of Lanarkshire lofts after a fantastic young bird season got wiped out in perfect conditions.

[dal2]

I knew a real top pigeon man ,he told me it didnae matter what stage of the moult you sent them to the race in, they should still come home.When you consider they come home with severe injurys why should the moult a natural occurence stop them from coming home from 150miles??

 

Do your old birds want tae exercise when moulting? I think yer babies will feel exactly the same!

[Guest IB]

I knew a real top pigeon man ,he told me it didnae matter what stage of the moult you sent them to the race in, they should still come home.When you consider they come home with severe injurys why should the moult a natural occurence stop them from coming home from 150miles??

 

Heard much the same from a fancier through here, though he began 'under 100 miles' .. it didnae matter .. etc.

 

Then again, if the moult has no affect on a young bird's ability to get home, why do so many fanciers do Darkness / Light Systems?

[lanarkshire lad]

Do your old birds want tae exercise when moulting? I think yer babies will feel exactly the same!

If my old doos were let out every day then they would fly like hell,infact they were doing plenty flying up to about a week ago they were up in the heavens and dissapearing just like ybs wanting to range and they are in bits as there separated.Ive been locking them up more as i wisnae wanting them meeting the percy 30mile away fae the dookit.

[budgie]

They are better left in the Dookit.There are some members in our club who,s doo,s only want to fly for 5- 10mins but are hell bent in training them 3 times a week just in case they get a flyer that just canny go by. and its the same wans who moan about heavy losses

[jocky]

They are better left in the Dookit.There are some members in our club who,s doo,s only want to fly for 5- 10mins but are hell bent in training them 3 times a week just in case they get a flyer that just canny go by. and its the same wans who moan about heavy losses

 

gee up yiv made yir point (ps its 1 1/2 hrs roon aboot the laft

[Guest Owen]

To answer the question posed by IB. The darkness system is more than just keeping the pigeons in good wing condition. The birds develop sexual maturity as a result of moulting which is available for the Fancier to exploit by creating extra motivation. The down side is that unless the birds are controlled properly they will pair up and lay eggs all over the place. This pairing up and nesting was at one time used to good advantage by some Fanciers to make the birds keen to get home. As with everything in this life, there are better ways of racing youngsters these days.