What's Your Views On Your 2013 OB Season

[THE FIFER]

Lets here your views regarding your own 2013 old bird season, in your own words, from training to finnish,

[eastcoaster]

Done ok in club but failed in my target in fed due to not training enough only one ticket in the nationals due mostly to losing my candidates in training and then lost my best hen at Maidstone so I would give it 5/10 season.

[geordie1234]

Well were do I start?

 

I set out too race out the end product of 3 loft moves in as many years which was basically 32 odds and ends most un raced..

 

I sent every pigeon to every race I could apart from Leicester as I was steaming in Magaluf on a stag doo lol

 

The only pigeon's that remained home were eggy hens

 

I personally feel I tried to hard at the start of the season training too hard for races sub 200 miles, which I will not make the same mistake again.

 

I'm looking to compete in the SNFC races (apart from the yb race)...

 

I set a criteria all yearling's had to compete from one inland national which I did and anything older had to cross the channel

 

End product 4 yearlings done either inland national while collecting my first ticket I managed to get 2 yearling hens from ypres and a 2 year old cock. Only sent 3 so 100% returns

 

Out of the original 32 I was left with 5 yearlings and 3 old birds all for the channel next year

 

 

So for me the main thing I have gained this year is another year's experience.. I really worked hard this year but really worked hard at all the wrong things which I now realise. After young bird racing I'm left with a team in total of approx 35 for next season which have all in my eyes earned a perch for next season. Going through my pigeons I now can start to see a team getting built I have removed pigeons I do not like and brought pigeons in that I feel will add to what I'm trying to do here..

 

Youngbirds for next year I will prob be on darkness as I lost total interest when I knew I had a snowball's hell in chance of competing with natural's

[dal2]

sh**

[Novice]

I was very disappointed to lose good pigeons at short races. I mean proven pigeons which raced and won from distances much greater than the distance they were last from. There can only be one reason for this and that is predators. It really makes you wonder if it's all worthwhile.

[Kyleakin Lofts]

Lost too many, didn't race the full programme, but have 8 left, 5 of which done what I asked, 1 injured so stopped early, 1 worked back from its final race so will keep an eye on its performances next year and 1 back after entering 2 lofts so mega black mark for it.

Not as good as last season, but almost started over again this season so hope for better things next year.

[VMS]

Just ok,but once again threw a couple ov good birds away,maybe I will learn next season

[andy Burgess]

this season was our 2nd for Old birds ,was just starting to build up a nice team too .had a smash and lost 5 in one race ,almost finished me off .we did win a few ,and took a card in every race except Maidstone .will only have half as many to race next season ,and don't have a great deal of confidence in half of them .

will be making some changes , and again ,hopefully,in 2 years will be in a better position team wise .,,,,, as long as the sport lasts another 2 years

so , ok , but personally ,not very happy

[andyyy]

Old bird season has gone alright, lost a few but I know it happens.

I started with 24, have 14 old cocks in the o/b loft, all have had at least one card.

My aim was to give the Chanel ago, sent to three Chanel races and prized at two.

the old bird season has given me a few highlights including sending 6 cocks to a race, having 3 drop together to take 1st 2nd and 3rd.

Next year hoping to have a bigger team as there's to many good birds left.

[blaz]

had 1 or 2 sore races but done ok at our fed opens. lesson taught was not to lose faith in bird after 1 mistake. spat the dummy out newbury

[yeboah]

Only give my birds few tosses before first race for obvious reasons ,the one I fancied this year never seen a training basket as per the previous year which proved the correct decision ,they are only loft trained after that .

Every racer had first 6 races ,2 out of 2 at Newbury national,0-2 from gold cup ,1-1 Ypres

Lost a really handy yearling hen at gold cup which in hindsight was probably the owners fault will reword that was the owners fault really need to wisen up with youngsters that are well bred and performing well ,

Tried as usual to race the hens widowhood as the cocks ,they flew the sky's at home but never beat the cocks come race day so will revert back to natural hens as I have proved I am useless at hens on widowhood

Maybe in next few years If I can build a good team of cocks won't race hens

Still enjoy the buzz on a Saturday as much as I did 40years ago ,getting the odd good one now and then keeps the pecker up lol

[moscow master]

This year I only won seven races three or four down than the norm but made up for it by achieving my dream by winning the national my young bird season was rubbish after getting tanked at my first two tosses I never recovered as for next year I would like to time from 500mls plus on the day that's my next target am aiming for as just now its my Achilles heel so roll on the breeding season I've already been looking at some pairs lol desperado

[peter2010]

I defo started to early with my birds I had a lot of broken doos and thought it would be good to get them homing to my loft big mistake every toss just about they were getting skelped the ones that came home were ripped to bits but I picked up a few minor cards with old birds but icing on the cake was topping the fed from ingleton but main thing is I've got 32 pair for next year mostly ybs so hopefully onto better things

[Guest stb-]

had 1 or 2 sore races but done ok at our fed opens. lesson taught was not to lose faith in bird after 1 mistake. spat the dummy out newbury

sometimes the mistake is the making of them gary

[blaz]

sometimes the mistake is the making of them gary

 

could be right rab as he fluffed his lines newbury then 1st fed open 16th s.n.f.c maidstone

[VAGIN]

Helped to feed the BOPs Ficken Basas . " Never mind Christmas is just around the corner"LOL

[walterboswell59]

i have been lucky enough to win my club old bird and combined average three years running with 12 or so national tickets in the past four years plus fed west sect combined ave last year so winning the club ob and com ave with 5 first club and 1 first sect with 18 national tickets and in the running again for the west sect ave in the fed againt 30000 thousand birds in the section i am over the moon highlights this year 1st club 2nd sect fed 8th sect national ypres and having such a good race in clermont national being 11th 35th 98th open but was very disapointed not to get one on the night so i guess this has been my best season so far and one of my very best years for learning your neaver to old to learn lol one thing i learned this year is when your winning out of turn watch your back you become a bassa in some peoples eyes the green eyed monster is after you sportsmen eh

[Guest IB]

Not happy at all.

 

OBs: Got to only 1 National - Maidstone 375m. Inland Nationals have been a graveyard for my yearlings, and I had planned to miss them both, and send to Ypres instead, as strangely enough my yearlings do Ypres 450m no bother. But the way their nest condition was the week leading up to Maidstone I felt I couldn't let it go by - result 0/5 home from it to this day. [birds had 5 days in basket. Following that my YBs now do at least 3 days basket-training]

 

Dropped 25 OBs and I'm left with 6 : 4 yearling late breds raced to 220m, an injured 3-yo that flew 500m last year but unraced this year due to injury on her first trainer, and an injured yearling raced to 185m this year, due to injury in her last race.

 

YBs: I bred 15 to race, and with no OBs left to compete in National program, I'd plenty free time to train YBs the way I always wanted to - round the compass - basically tried to lose them by taking them up to 45 miles off the beaten track. I rarely went to the same place twice, I singled- or doubled-up, and I didn't lose any.

 

They fell to bits 2 weeks before YB season ended so they've all done 100m and a couple 157m. Looking to put back breeding a couple of weeks next year to March, reduce my YB breeding to 20, and go for a single round because for me it is a lot easier to train everything during July, and single-age youngsters will help that.

 

I have 9 left, I lost 3 racing and killed 3 that fell sick. I've also 8 latebreds: 2 x trained to 20m, and 6 that will remain untrained to next year. All 8 latebreds are falling to bits, 2 not long split, so waste of time thinking about training, best left alone to get moulted out as far as they will go, and look to start them with OBs sometime next year, and race them to 220m when they'll be stopped.

[gulkie]

Old birds rubbish YB rubbisher worst season for years not the birds the management

Worst decision to race natural old and YB won't happen again only consolation I still have

My 2 fancied birds are still there out of the gold ribbon race as well but lost some good

Birds as well .lost the best hen i,ve had for years (Davie Young breeding ) sad sad lose.

[Delboy]

So many highs and lows this year. lows 1. lost my best pigeon SPIDER ( 4 channel tickets )at Wetherby .2.Leading west section averages and only one left in L.S.C Gold cup and fell on my face at Clermont. highs 1. won the L.S.C 3 times and premier prize winner with double figures in trophies. 2. Won West Region twice and scored in most SNFC races winning over 3 grand in prize money, all without a club/fed. :emoticon-0123-party:

[maverick]

So many highs and lows this year. lows 1. lost my best pigeon SPIDER ( 4 channel tickets )at Wetherby .2.Leading west section averages and only one left in L.S.C Gold cup and fell on my face at Clermont. highs 1. won the L.S.C 3 times and premier prize winner with double figures in trophies. 2. Won West Region twice and scored in most SNFC races winning over 3 grand in prize money, all without a club/fed. :emoticon-0123-party:

 

 

Very good season for you under the curcumstances then Delboy

[Delboy]

Very good season for you under the curcumstances then Delboy

 

Aye Mav, one door closes and another opens, as they say

[Guest stb-]

So many highs and lows this year. lows 1. lost my best pigeon SPIDER ( 4 channel tickets )at Wetherby .2.Leading west section averages and only one left in L.S.C Gold cup and fell on my face at Clermont. highs 1. won the L.S.C 3 times and premier prize winner with double figures in trophies. 2. Won West Region twice and scored in most SNFC races winning over 3 grand in prize money, all without a club/fed.

del the way you have flown at the lsc and the nats this year yer maby better aff without one

 

well done on your year

[Delboy]

del the way you have flown at the lsc and the nats this year yer maby better aff without one

 

well done on your year

 

Food for thought RAB, Cheers m8

[peter pandy]

I made the stupid mistake this year as I had last year which was attempting to race O/B from the first to last races losing the bulk of the yearlings at Newbury 330 miles where I sent 15 and to date 8 have returned.

It crawled around in my mind that I would not have enough mortal years left when I should have been taking what I really wanted to do and know what I should have done and carried out a sensible programme instead of pushing them to a distance they were not mature enough for.

I only competed in 4 club O/B races winning 2 first's and 3 seconds and 2 Y/B races before they fell to bits in the moult.

Next year I will not be sending yearlings further than 150 miles, 2 year olds 300 miles and 3 year olds 500 + due to them being slow maturers.