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Fascination With Racing Pigeons


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Whats the Genesis for the fascination in keeping and Racing Pigeons and how do you create a strain of battle-hardened birds to keep going on when the tough gets Going.

Find some right old homers that will come thru snaw

Breed off them till ye have aloft fae then send the lot to every race. Then use the bull system the next year with the cock that wusnae last wae the rest of the hens!!!!!

 

 

Easy as fook Andy??

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Find some right old homers that will come thru snaw

Breed off them till ye have aloft fae then send the lot to every race. Then use the bull system the next year with the cock that wusnae last wae the rest of the hens!!!!!

 

 

Easy as fook Andy??

 

If only. :emoticon-0140-rofl: :emoticon-0140-rofl: :emoticon-0140-rofl:

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I guess it was the fact they homed and people started taking them to release further away, then of course the competitive nature of humans took over and racing was born, I think you need to obtain a family that are renowned for staying on the wing for hours when racing and take it from there

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Find some right old homers that will come thru snaw

Breed off them till ye have aloft fae then send the lot to every race. Then use the bull system the next year with the cock that wusnae last wae the rest of the hens!!!!!

 

 

Easy as fook Andy??

weel it looks like our bull cock was firin blanks steve lol

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Whats the Genesis for the fascination in keeping and Racing Pigeons and how do you create a strain of battle-hardened birds to keep going on when the tough gets Going.

We'll we all have our stories and reasons for getting hooked on this great hobby but how we build a team of birds that will do all we ask of them is through years of trial and error and even then I don't think we will be totally happy because we will always find something else to improve or conquer just to prove a point to ourselves and others. This is what makes this fascination with our birds so great. :animatedpigeons:

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I’ve read things that show a human interest in pigeon's homing instincts going back 100s/almost 1000s of years. There is one old book that cites this man as one of the forefathers of the modern day long distance pigeons in the UK.

 

William Bernhardt Tegetmeier, who was born in 1812 and lived to be 96 years old. He was from a fairly privileged and moneyed background, with his father being a skilled surgeon. From a very young age he apparently took a great interest in birds and bees(literally), there was the loose beginnings of racing pigeons going on around him with some people having mile races at weekends etc. He was always discouraged by his parents, but this made him all the more interested in pigeons and he made friends with some of the locals who kept birds in the poorer areas of London near where he grew up.

 

He too became a qualified medical doctor, but apparently it wasn’t what he was interested in. He wrote a number of books on plants, bees, poultry, pigeons etc etc.. It was said that he had hundreds of pigeons including a number of what we’d probably refer to as ‘fancy breeds’. He became interested in showing birds and was a founding member of the Philoperisteron Society. At one of their meetings which were held in a sort of Masonic Hall he was introduced to Charles Darwin by a mutual friend. Darwin was very interested in the habits of pigeons and bees as part of his work and was told that Tegetmeier was the man to ask on these things. Tegetmeier gave him a lot of advice to help him with his research as well as actual animals to study.

 

Back to the racers, Tegetmeier made acquaintance with a number of Belgians. At that time there were a handful of recognised ‘types’ of pigeon in the country. I can’t quite remember them all but I’m sure two of them were the ‘Antwerps’ and the ‘Liege’. One of them was said to be of the larger type, bigger boned, bold wattles etc and the other were finer and smaller altogether.The rest apparently comprised of crosses between the birds from these regions. He started to organise competitions for these Belgian men and would bring birds over to England with him and release them. The ones that made their way home he would usually buy for his own collection. Although he never raced himself a number of the British ‘pioneers’ obtained their stock through him.

 

There were a number of fanciers taking an interest in different parts of the country simultaneously and two of the record breakers/record makers were J. W Logan and J. O Allen. These fanciers seem to have been the first two UK fanciers that were recording pigeons from distances in excess of 400 miles on the day of liberation. As a point of interest the J. O Allen blood could be found in the ancestors of the Burrell of Douglas Water pigeons.

 

As for the creation of the battle hardened strain, it’s down to opinion and not many fanciers are genuinely qualified to tell someone how to do it(myself included). I personally think Jim Biss’ method was very interesting; purchasing a number of the UK’s greater distance record holders at great expense, for what he considered to be their constitution and survivability. He also bought numerous MULTIPLE performance birds. Great 600-700 mile champions like; Knightsdale Lady, Hermano,Hermana, Prima etc. Doos that scored something like20 times between them from Spanish racepoints. Interesting to hear him talk about visiting the Fear Bros, he had little interest in Clandown( a NFC Pau Open Winner) as he had only scored once.

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To time in from any race across the channel, after waiting all day, gives a buzz that hasn,t diminished since I started racing pigeons and this year with the Snfc we have now clocked up over 100 Diplomas starting from The Silver Jubilee of Our Patron Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11.I also love the Fed Short Races which has good membership and some very good flyers at the short/ distance race points.Sadly within a few years in our area Lanarkshire most of the local clubs will become non-existent partly due to the fall in numbers.No matter the Distance enjoy it we only get one go at it and good luck to all in 2014 and don't forget the 98% rule and stay clear of Aged stock Birds its the only way to pull together a team of pigeons to enjoy racing.

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like andy if i stop getting the buzz when i see that first bird landing il pack it in but i differ in the fact i only buy old stock birds for a few reasons one they dont get to that age for nothing two i know what im buying and three i trust the man i buy them from and also as they get older the price comes down all my best birds have been bred from cocks between 8 and 17 years old and were bought when they were 8 9 10 and 11 years old when i bought them as for timing in nationals its great to get one but theres no way i would be keeping 30 or 40 pigeons for five races a year it would be so much easier for me if i did but theres a full season of races that i enjoy in club and fed so i use my latebreds and yearlings for this and my old birds can go to the nationals its much more work but i enjoy it and its a long season this im a distance man is crap imo an excuse for not winning whats there yearlings and birds that dont go to the nationals doing and i only fly distance bred pigeons from 60 to 500miles plus maybe as i get older and my health fails and cant work the birds anymore i might consider keeping them for five races but untill i cant walk or drive im out to win in all races i compete in but thats just the way i am

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George your right so many true national men use fed racing for training. Which must be really hard as most weeks they are last but come to the channel races. These guys and there birds come to the fore. For me I would rather take a good channel ticket any day. But you've got to take your hat off to guys who compete every week. Different races and different doo men.

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I dont race but my farther in law used to me why my bifd wasnt performing and you know what he dont and the problems l have since l started up he told me the answer straight away being young and foolish l jgnored him and sort m hut own answers im sure if his disabled daughter wasnt born he would be up there with the best but 4hats life

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After forty odd years I still get a buzz each time they return even if it's from the neighbours chimney

As for a battle hardened strain try to source the best and try to better them ,somewhere along the line a certain pair will produce the goods on more occasions than most from good fortune rather than good choice .

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Don't agree with ye watty I see doomen who only care about the channel races but when they want too the can win from Otterburn but is no interest to them

aye there the weans races as they call them george but watch the same guys change there tune when they win a few its aye there in good order a new id get that one p h if they only go to the races to get birds fit why pool and get a clock set m8 dont let them kid ye george there just as happy as me when they win them pal and like i said all there birds are not going to nationals whats the rest of there team doing my birds are all distance birds no sprinters here m8 but everyone to there own i know of a real good distance man that chapped a clock setters door at 11 oclock at night to get his clock checked when he found out he might be winning kelso 60 miles the clock setter chased him he had the same patter when he was winning the early ones it was i it was a good race but when others won it suddenly became the weans races up to 200 miles lol im not saying that all the distance guys are like that but we all know plenty who are im happy to win any race as there all hard to win but im not a distance man im a pigeon man how many so called distance men do you know that put there yb on darkness why do that if your not trying to win heard it all before to long in tooth to kidded now george good luck this year pal

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Guest TAMMY_1

aye there the weans races as they call them george but watch the same guys change there tune when they win a few its aye there in good order a new id get that one p h if they only go to the races to get birds fit why pool and get a clock set m8 dont let them kid ye george there just as happy as me when they win them pal and like i said all there birds are not going to nationals whats the rest of there team doing my birds are all distance birds no sprinters here m8 but everyone to there own i know of a real good distance man that chapped a clock setters door at 11 oclock at night to get his clock checked when he found out he might be winning kelso 60 miles the clock setter chased him he had the same patter when he was winning the early ones it was i it was a good race but when others won it suddenly became the weans races up to 200 miles lol im not saying that all the distance guys are like that but we all know plenty who are im happy to win any race as there all hard to win but im not a distance man im a pigeon man how many so called distance men do you know that put there yb on darkness why do that if your not trying to win heard it all before to long in tooth to kidded now george good luck this year pal

 

there were 2 members in my old club Netherburn who always said the same thing you are telling Walter,the short races are the weans races or just trainers but as you say when they win a short race then it is a different matter they are cock a hoop,me I love to watch my birds coming from anywhere but I do get more of a buzz when they are over the water at 500 odd miles,I was like a loony last year when I watched our grizzle hen coming from Saintes to win what was her last race,she is now in the stock loft :animatedpigeons: but I was just as happy when our red chequer hen came home over a week later [well almost!!! ]

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for me racing pigeons dont start until they hit the two hunner mile mark and onwards but as they say i still get a buzz from early races as well :animatedpigeons:

of course you do sam we all do if we are honest m8 we all want to win the last 4 and score in nationals but theres no reason why we cant do both why keep a loft of doos and only send 3or4 to the gold cup wheres the rest and if you dont get one youve done nothing as i say there may come a day when i cant be bothered to try and win early races but when that day comes i will not try and take anything away from the guys that win them with hard work and effort and down grade the races the win to weans races because i cant be bothered its insulting to the guys that work hard to win them imo how many weans races has the macs won

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Sorry Walter I cannot agree some people genuinely set there stall out for the distance.

 

I do know the guys your on about who say they dont care about short races but canny do anything at the distance either

 

But the guys I'm talking about wattie are guys like yerself. If u picked just distance I know for a fact u would do well just like you do or if u choose just sprint u would do the same.

 

A real top class doo man can win from 60 mile to 600 mile just depends what takes their fancy.

 

For instance your top top sprint racers see if they put their mind to it they could win at the distance.

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there were 2 members in my old club Netherburn who always said the same thing you are telling Walter,the short races are the weans races or just trainers but as you say when they win a short race then it is a different matter they are cock a hoop,me I love to watch my birds coming from anywhere but I do get more of a buzz when they are over the water at 500 odd miles,I was like a loony last year when I watched our grizzle hen coming from Saintes to win what was her last race,she is now in the stock loft :animatedpigeons: but I was just as happy when our red chequer hen came home over a week later [well almost!!! ]

thanks tam we have all seen and heard it im not knocking the guys that only keep pigeons to fly nationals just the ones that use it as an excuse for not winning in the club or fed and try to demean those that do as i say if your willing to work you can do both thats all

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Hi Walter your bang on on your posts am like you I want to win every race I enter if I didn't think the birds were right to win I'd keep them another week in the house if you enter birds and set a clock your trying to win simple as that. I can remember when I started up in galston there was five doo men within 100 yds of me and even from a club toss I want a doo drop to me first and that's without clocks set !! There's a guy in my club he moved down here from the Blantyre area he's the same when he doesn't win his excuse is we're all too serious it's just a hobby to him yet he's been telling the same stories about his alleged winners 30 years ago in Blantyre and during the racing season his car does more miles than a space shuttle that tell me all I need to know am to long in the wids to be fkd about by an owl !!

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thanks tam we have all seen and heard it im not knocking the guys that only keep pigeons to fly nationals just the ones that use it as an excuse for not winning in the club or fed and try to demean those that do as i say if your willing to work you can do both thats all

Best flyer in the fechan last year won from beginning to end. As he does quite often and this year got them at the water this doesnt always happen but he is a top notch fancier.

 

Some fanciers only have limited space and time which leads them down either distance or sprint. A hard choice cos its a long season for channel guys and even longer when it goes wrong? Undoubtetly, the glory is with the water races and also the BIGGEST buzz

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of course you do sam we all do if we are honest m8 we all want to win the last 4 and score in nationals but theres no reason why we cant do both why keep a loft of doos and only send 3or4 to the gold cup wheres the rest and if you dont get one youve done nothing as i say there may come a day when i cant be bothered to try and win early races but when that day comes i will not try and take anything away from the guys that win them with hard work and effort and down grade the races the win to weans races because i cant be bothered its insulting to the guys that work hard to win them imo how many weans races has the macs won

very seldom at home for the early races walter have to work sat and by the time am home pigeons are home and wife had to time them ,but dont get me wrong i do win early races and over the moon with them and have won from most race points in card to the coast,occasionally timed from the channel and lost many a good winner from inland races so can see the argument from both sides but in saying that have learned one thing a pigeon that wins from the last race ,ie,coast will not win from the channel races ,but then again as in all things pigeons there are exceptions :animatedpigeons:

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Sorry Walter I cannot agree some people genuinely set there stall out for the distance.

 

I do know the guys your on about who say they dont care about short races but canny do anything at the distance either

 

But the guys I'm talking about wattie are guys like yerself. If u picked just distance I know for a fact u would do well just like you do or if u choose just sprint u would do the same.

 

A real top class doo man can win from 60 mile to 600 mile just depends what takes their fancy.

 

For instance your top top sprint racers see if they put their mind to it they could win at the distance.

very few sprint pigeons can fly the distance unless its a very high velosity george but distance pigeons will hold there own with sprinters if you work them right im afraid if i only kept them for nationals id be bored out my skull like i say if your prepaired to put the work in you can do both its just harder thats all if your birds are good enough your yearling will keep you in hunt in club and fed and gain great experience doing so out to the coast 2yr olds and up over the water im just knocking the guys that use the national as an excuse or reason that they get beat in the club because its bull s t and george rankin is the proof in the pudding winning from 60 to 600 miles and mid week sprints to just like me george and gareth put the work in to win them all no im a distance man excuses and never tried to take any fancier down when he got beat by saying its weans races

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very seldom at home for the early races walter have to work sat and by the time am home pigeons are home and wife had to time them ,but dont get me wrong i do win early races and over the moon with them and have won from most race points in card to the coast,occasionally timed from the channel and lost many a good winner from inland races so can see the argument from both sides but in saying that have learned one thing a pigeon that wins from the last race ,ie,coast will not win from the channel races ,but then again as in all things pigeons there are exceptions :animatedpigeons:

i agree with you there sammy as that was the mistake i was making till i started watching the velosities of the later birds and a light went on threw away some great 300 mile pigeons before the penny dropped could have kept me competing in the fed for years but thats the great thing about our sport the answer is there you have to find it as not many will tell you m8

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