How Little Birds Can I Successively Race Long Distance

[sefton1275gt]

Hi All,

 

this is my first post (please go easy)!

 

I've been somewhat interested in long distance racing pigeons for some time now.

 

Before I go any further though I need to answer to following question.

 

my garden is very small (in fact its a yard) I could probably fit a 8x4 foot loft (I would like a loft that I can actually go inside)

 

Being a complete newbie I'm currently unsure how many pigeons could be kept in a loft this size and if this small amount would be at all competitive in long distance events.

 

I was even thinking about a trap placed on one side of a angled roof to save more space (not sure if this idea would work at all)??

 

I hope someone can shed some light on the above.

 

I recently bought a book of amazon but its very basic. could anyone recommend a good book for a beginner (something that could give me some ideas on loft design)

 

thanks in advance

 

Craig (Bolton)

[OLDYELLOW]

First of all welcome to Pigeon Basics I think your first step would be to tell us where you live , a few loft visits locally would give you a feel for what you need . No reason why you can't fly from a small loft , welcome to the wonderful sport of pigeon racing

[sefton1275gt]

thanks, I live in Bolton.

 

I'm also worried about neighbours as I live in a terrace house. I worried about pigeons landing on neighbours roofs and pooing everywhere.

[buster151]

welcome to the site

[OLDYELLOW]

thanks, I live in Bolton.

 

I'm also worried about neighbours as I live in a terrace house. I worried about pigeons landing on neighbours roofs and pooing everywhere.

Then why not join a club you maybe able to help someone local and at the same time get many years of knowledge passed on to you

[dal2]

We race the channel from a section 4x6 with eight boxs and, this year, ten candidates as some are paired to non racers

[Leroy]

there is a previous post somewhere I'm sure about a chap who races the channel to a small loft and only breeds a couple of YB's a year. When I get chance i'll try and find the link. Keep it small and simple and it'll be harder to overwhelm yourself and get it wrong.

 

Lee

[THE FIFER]

welcome m8, you are in the right place for advice,

[Guest Owen]

Well there is no reason why your pigeons should go onto a roof at all. It's all about your ability to train them and exercise discipline on a day to day basis.

In regard to you being able to learn about racing your pigeons. It is all about having the drive to learn and then watching what others do. I would recommend the videos of Jim Jenner to start you off. These videos are very good but you will also need to talk to experienced Fanciers as well. The one thing to be careful with is accepting advice from the wrong people. I only value my pigeons on the basis of what they can do as racers and I only value advice on the basis of what the Fancier can do with his pigeons. I never listen to the sort of person who wins nothing but can tell everyone else what to do.

I have not had pigeons all that long and I am not much good at being on the bottom of the results sheet so I made a plan.

I visited all the best lofts in the area and noted the loft construction, the way it faced, what it was made from and so on.

I then found out what sort of system the best Fanciers used to win races and copied them and made changes to try to improve. I now have my own system.

I brought new youngsters in every year and trained and raced them until I found the ones that would give me results. I then bred from the best but never from the others.

I quickly learned to ignore pedigrees and keep my own records to guide me. When I bring in youngsters I never accept pedigrees from the seller because they are misleading and sometimes down right lies.

I studied nutrition ignoring the labels on the bags of corn (pigeons don't read) and worked out the best diet for the birds on the system I fly.

I attended courses to learn about diseases and how to use a microscope properly.

And so on.

One final word. Try to avoid so called theories and stick to the facts because there are plenty of Clowns out there who will tell you a load of nonsense.

I really hope I have helped if only a little bit

Owen

[lenton1163]

Well there is no reason why your pigeons should go onto a roof at all. It's all about your ability to train them and exercise discipline on a day to day basis.

In regard to you being able to learn about racing your pigeons. It is all about having the drive to learn and then watching what others do. I would recommend the videos of Jim Jenner to start you off. These videos are very good but you will also need to talk to experienced Fanciers as well. The one thing to be careful with is accepting advice from the wrong people. I only value my pigeons on the basis of what they can do as racers and I only value advice on the basis of what the Fancier can do with his pigeons. I never listen to the sort of person who wins nothing but can tell everyone else what to do.

I have not had pigeons all that long and I am not much good at being on the bottom of the results sheet so I made a plan.

I visited all the best lofts in the area and noted the loft construction, the way it faced, what it was made from and so on.

I then found out what sort of system the best Fanciers used to win races and copied them and made changes to try to improve. I now have my own system.

I brought new youngsters in every year and trained and raced them until I found the ones that would give me results. I then bred from the best but never from the others.

I quickly learned to ignore pedigrees and keep my own records to guide me. When I bring in youngsters I never accept pedigrees from the seller because they are misleading and sometimes down right lies.

I studied nutrition ignoring the labels on the bags of corn (pigeons don't read) and worked out the best diet for the birds on the system I fly.

I attended courses to learn about diseases and how to use a microscope properly.

And so on.

One final word. Try to avoid so called theories and stick to the facts because there are plenty of Clowns out there who will tell you a load of nonsense.

I really hope I have helped if only a little bit

Owen

 

fantastic answer

[Fly_caster]

there is a previous post somewhere I'm sure about a chap who races the channel to a small loft and only breeds a couple of YB's a year.

 

Lee

 

 

Hi Guys,

 

I think this is the link that you were looking for you.

 

https://service.mail.com/dereferrer/?target=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pigeonracingpigeon.com%2Fwhats-new%2Ftiny-loft-fascinating-pigeon-racing-method%2F&lang=en

 

 

Cheers,

 

 

Steve

[blaz]

Well there is no reason why your pigeons should go onto a roof at all. It's all about your ability to train them and exercise discipline on a day to day basis.

In regard to you being able to learn about racing your pigeons. It is all about having the drive to learn and then watching what others do. I would recommend the videos of Jim Jenner to start you off. These videos are very good but you will also need to talk to experienced Fanciers as well. The one thing to be careful with is accepting advice from the wrong people. I only value my pigeons on the basis of what they can do as racers and I only value advice on the basis of what the Fancier can do with his pigeons. I never listen to the sort of person who wins nothing but can tell everyone else what to do.

I have not had pigeons all that long and I am not much good at being on the bottom of the results sheet so I made a plan.

I visited all the best lofts in the area and noted the loft construction, the way it faced, what it was made from and so on.

I then found out what sort of system the best Fanciers used to win races and copied them and made changes to try to improve. I now have my own system.

I brought new youngsters in every year and trained and raced them until I found the ones that would give me results. I then bred from the best but never from the others.

I quickly learned to ignore pedigrees and keep my own records to guide me. When I bring in youngsters I never accept pedigrees from the seller because they are misleading and sometimes down right lies.

I studied nutrition ignoring the labels on the bags of corn (pigeons don't read) and worked out the best diet for the birds on the system I fly.

I attended courses to learn about diseases and how to use a microscope properly.

And so on.

One final word. Try to avoid so called theories and stick to the facts because there are plenty of Clowns out there who will tell you a load of nonsense.

I really hope I have helped if only a little bit

Owen

 

think the best post i have read by you owen good 1.

 

welcome to site their are members on hear that will help with most questions on racing and any other things to do with racing pigeons

[andy Burgess]

Hi Guys,

 

I think this is the link that you were looking for you.

 

https://service.mail.com/dereferrer/?target=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pigeonracingpigeon.com%2Fwhats-new%2Ftiny-loft-fascinating-pigeon-racing-method%2F&lang=en

 

 

Cheers,

 

 

Steve

thats the report i was thinking of too Steve , must have read it half a dozen times over the years .i think we could all learn something from it .

[sefton1275gt]

thanks for the advice guys!

 

is there a rule of thumb on how many pigeons can be kept in a square foot for example? like I said I'm thinking something like a 8x4foot loft (ideally with a space for feed & other husbandry items).

 

After reading more of my book last night it has become clear just how much time is involved. especially in the weeks running up to a race. lots of traveling each day to toss the pigeons and get them conditions. I have a young family and work commitments so I'm now unsure this would even be a possibility.

 

Is the same amount of time & distance required when working with 'short race' pigeons?

 

thanks for the help again.

 

Craig.

[Guest H@wkBait]

regardless off distance pigeons need you there 52 weeks a year every day you can maybe get the family involved to make things easier get the wife to scrape out while ur at work n feed them if she is available when u arent they even do a nice pink scrapers now lol

[geordie1234]

thanks for the advice guys!

 

is there a rule of thumb on how many pigeons can be kept in a square foot for example? like I said I'm thinking something like a 8x4foot loft (ideally with a space for feed & other husbandry items).

 

After reading more of my book last night it has become clear just how much time is involved. especially in the weeks running up to a race. lots of traveling each day to toss the pigeons and get them conditions. I have a young family and work commitments so I'm now unsure this would even be a possibility.

 

Is the same amount of time & distance required when working with 'short race' pigeons?

 

thanks for the help again.

 

Craig.

 

You will probably find there is a training trailor in your area that could take your pigeons for you at a cost or even better take the kids away for the day or wherever you take them train your pigeons aswell

[Wiley]

One thing to take into consideration is that with a 4 foot wide loft, it effectively only becomes 3 foot, due either boxes or perches inside the loft. Take a look at the red Rose starter lofts they'll give you a good idea.

[Guest Owen]

One of the big misunderstanding about pigeons is that you need to work your socks off. You don't.

I only race cocks after their young bird year so this cuts down a lot of work. It is better to race cocks only than to try to race both sexes and do it badly.

I train my pigeons every day first from 6 miles and then from 10 miles always on the line of flight and never with anyone else. This is enough as long as you do it regularly. I train every day without fail at the approprate times of the year which takes less time than home exercise. I win a lot of races because my pigeons know those important last miles really well and don't wast time. And they trap really quickly because they are very confident which is brought on by lots of practice. What did Arnold Palmer say? "The more I practice the better I get".

I don't spend much time cleaning because I use Loft Granuals on the floor which is clinically cleaner than a scrapped floor and healthier for youngsters providing it is always dry.

I have spent a lot of my life with the following in mind. K.I.S.S. KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID. It works for me because although I like to be a winner I want to enjoy the pigeons and not be a slave to them. Men who make themselves slaves to pigeons usually alienate their women and kids and spoil their own enjoyment as well as that of their families.

[geordie1234]

One of the big misunderstanding about pigeons is that you need to work your socks off. You don't.

I only race cocks after their young bird year so this cuts down a lot of work. It is better to race cocks only than to try to race both sexes and do it badly.

I train my pigeons every day first from 6 miles and then from 10 miles always on the line of flight and never with anyone else. This is enough as long as you do it regularly. I train every day without fail at the approprate times of the year which takes less time than home exercise. I win a lot of races because my pigeons know those important last miles really well and don't wast time. And they trap really quickly because they are very confident which is brought on by lots of practice. What did Arnold Palmer say? "The more I practice the better I get".

I don't spend much time cleaning because I use Loft Granuals on the floor which is clinically cleaner than a scrapped floor and healthier for youngsters providing it is always dry.

I have spent a lot of my life with the following in mind. K.I.S.S. KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID. It works for me because although I like to be a winner I want to enjoy the pigeons and not be a slave to them. Men who make themselves slaves to pigeons usually alienate their women and kids and spoil their own enjoyment as well as that of their families.

 

Good post Owen

Owen someone like myself who has cocks and hens in the race team but wanted to change to your system what would you do with the hens would you race them out? I did try to pm you but I think your inbox is full

[Guest Owen]

geordie1234

Sorry if I have messed up my Computer. I keep the hens that do well racing so that I can increase my stock of the genes I need to improve my results. My original idea when I started all this was to breed from the daughters of Fed Winning Cocks but as I have progressed I have found that I can breed from winning hens which is even better. The hens only race as youngsters so they have to be mature at a young age. It has worked out that on many occasions I can breed from hens that have won from Fathers that have won paired to Cocks that have won. One thing I should point out is that although some of the birds I breed look great on paper it does not mean that they always show their breeding on th road. I was interested to note that even the greatest Race Horse Sire, Galileo, can only produce about 50% of winners in his progeny in spite of the fact that he only covers the very best mares. By selecting from hens that win as youngsters I am continually selecting for early maturity. Hens that do not make the grade are gone. To me, my job is to proceed by fair and thorough progeny testing and selecting the birds that conform by actually winning races.

[sefton1275gt]

wow, just received a great starter pack from rpra (only applied 2 days ago) it even has a book in it by Guy Barrett.

 

in all honesty though...the more I read the more I feel I haven't the time to successfuly run a loft.

 

I might have to re look at this in the future.

[Wiley]

You could always get into a partnership with a local fancier maybe?