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Good morning folks

Morning folks

As Admin of this site, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Members of Fife Federation for holding their annual young bird breeder buyer sale on this forum Also thank you for the kind donation, which will go towards the ongoing running costs of the site. Thanks for your ongoing support Also. Special mention to Thunderbigbaws aka Brian Chalmers

Well done all

Scottish International Pigeon Show - Dumbarton Football Ground - 19.12.26

🐦 MARK YOUR CALENDARS! 🐦 Pentland Hills Federation Breeder & Buyer Sale 📅 31 January 2027 | 📍 Edinburgh ✅ Great pigeons ✅ Great prices ✅ Great company 💛 WE'RE SEEKING DONATIONS! 💛 Support your Federation — every donation makes a real difference. Help us make this event a huge success. Message us now! 📩

**WHO’S HEADING TO THE DONCASTER SHOW AT THE END OF THE MONTH?** Rod & I will be there, and it would be great to see some familiar faces and meet some new ones! If you spot us walking around, don’t be shy — come over, say hello, have a chat and introduce yourselves! 👀 **Keep an eye out for our logo on our jackets** — that’s how you’ll recognise us! **Who’s going to be there? Drop a comment below!** 👇 OUR NEW FLYERS HAVE JUST ARRIVED 😁

Please meet John Lodewyk! John was previously a member of the SSPO and often visited BPK and NRHU alongside Celestine Donough. Recently, he spent some special time with these precious little ones, sharing his passion for and knowledge of the wonderful sport of pigeon racing. The joy he brought into the classroom by showcasing his racing pigeons was truly contagious! The excitement, curiosity, and smiles on the children's faces said it all. Moments like these remind us of the magic that happens when someone shares their passion with the next generation. What a wonderful ambassador for our sport John is! 🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️ Thank you, John, for giving your time so generously and for planting seeds of inspiration in young hearts. Who knows? One day, one or more of these children might become pigeon fanciers themselves, inspired by the experience you gave them. Our children are the future of pigeon racing, and the future of our sport starts with people like you, John! 🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️

Elsie giving our new addition the once over

Winners of the Lanarkshire Federation Young Bird Averages 2026 Barclay McCrindle & Son Racing against 471 lofts sending 9,360 birds over a six race programme Recording 3 x 1st sections Wooler 1 race-1st,2nd,3rd,12th,14th,15th section. Wooler 2 race-1st section. Wooler 3race- 2nd,3rd,4th,5th,15th section. Alnwick 1 race-1st,2nd,3rd,4th,5th,6th,7th,8th,11th,12th section Alnwick 2 race-th,7th,8th,9th,10th,11th section Ripon race 5th,6th section. As reader will know Barclay McCrindle & Son are one of the best Young Bird Fanciers in the country, Their results are simple spectacular and up with the best. Season 2025 seen them crowned 1st Pinnacle Young Bird Ace, special recognition of Excellence Award with pigeon named King William . I took the time to visit the Barclays to catch up with this years Lanarkshire Federation Young Bird Average winners. This year hasn't been ideal for the partnership with ongoing health issues and other issues that seen the partnership well behind in their breeding dates with 17 of the 21 youngsters raced only being banded late March early April. The partnership pushed on and adopted a system to work around attempting to compete. Barclay jnr explained that the team was well behind what their usual team would be coming into a programme but after a small number of very short road trainers with their youngsters and a loft exercise that consisted of out twice per day. They were very please with the start winning 1st,2nd,3rd section,6th,11th,14th Open federation. This was a big surprise to the partnership because they were so young in their development. Barclay explained racing later bred birds can produce inconsistency as they lack the maturity and drive within the sexes, especially on the system they wish to fly,being the sliding door system(Kept seperate all weekand allowed 1/2 hr before race basketing) Barclay says Its a must to have them "early bred" to get the best out of them! Their wasn't really any "rhyme or reason" to the season preparation this year ,but the 21 youngsters worked hard around the loft twice per day. Due to the constant falcon attacks and loss of a good number of their team ,this year the partnership tried something different, before the morning exercise they would release a fireworks rocket into the sky about five minutes before releasing the birds. This had a positive effect on controlling attacks for the partnership with no birds lost. They explained a good management system is required to compete at the highest level including key aspects being Routine/Discipline/Feeding/Loft Environment and the right pigeons for the type of racing you wish to fly. The partnership are only really interested in flying out to around 200 miles being the competition they enjoy and with their bloodlines being Leo Herman,Van Den Bulk, Eiderkamp, Patrick Bromkamp lines which are speed lines. From the previous year the partnership only retained seven stock pigeons, all producing multiple winners at federation and award winning status. This season will see 16 individual breeding pens in the stock loft . Young Bird Management All youngsters are vaccinated in the nest with Pharmavac 3 in 1 and again three weeks later with Colombova PMVA.. Barclay thinks this is very important giving them this start against the common illnesses in youngsters. The system is clear in a normal year of preparation the youngsters are disciplined from leaving the nest they quickly get into the routine of eating and drinking within the metal crates on the front of the basket. They are schooled early in road training with any birds not responding to system not getting what they wish. If they are late they sit out until the birds are fed and then they enter. No Bad Habits! Birds have to react to you with Barclay saying they react to me as soon as I put on my loft jacket they respond. Observe everything in the loft, their behaviour. When race day comes they are well used to the routine, the basket and what is expected from them. They are road trained to return immediately to the loft, initially short repetitive trainers moving them out to around 25 miles. Although as stated this year didn't go to plan but they still managed to get the best out of the system they used with the birds only going to around three miles.. The birds are fed on all Versela Laga mixtures throughout the season. When racing the birds receive Gerry Plus at the start of the week and moving onto 50% 50% Thursday and Friday(Basketing day) .They are observed throughout the feeding and after evening feed when five or six go to the drinker the feeding is finished, morning feed is just enough to get them excersising.Friday they have 3/4 oz in the morning and anything that isn't eaten is reintroduced at 2pm as Barclay feels they need this extra as the racing has been difficult recently and he thinks they will be lost if enough fuel isn't provided. They receive Pro vit in the water on a Friday and Gem Strike on the Sunday and Naturaline during the week. On a Sunday evening they receive one drop of TCP down their throat as a disinfectant cure. The partnership are very rigorous with testing their birds every week during the season and once per month in the non racing season. They are given 14 days of Buttermilk in the water( 500 mls ready made from Supermarket topped up into a 2 litre drinker) The birds are fed first and then the water an hour later ,taken away and given again in the evening. Barclay says the feather fly out them and helps them get through the moult! After this they have 4 days of cider vinegar and then 14 days of Gem Strike, a product they wouldn't be without. Sedecol and Naturaline is also used throughout the winter months. Another excellent season has passed for the lads and they are already thinking about the future the visit to Belgium to catch up with the best in the sport! Thanks very much to the two Barclays for the insight into how to fly pigeons at the very top level. Tom Corrie jnr Lanarkshire Press Officer.

A TRIBUTE TO FRED DICKSON OF CRAMLINGTON. I was very sad to receive a message today from my friend, Pauline Brown, telling me that my dear friend, Fred Dickson had passed away in hospital on the 6th October. This great ‘Up North’ pigeon racer was a good friend of mine for many years and you could not meet a nicer man. Fred celebrated his 101st birthday on 11th May and had to pack up his beloved pigeons recently but was still winning at the highest level up too his last racing seasons! My good friend had two bouts of Covid in recent years but was still in good form. He used to ride his bike to his loft on the allotments over two miles away from where he lives and told me he can’t ride up the hills any more. The local club he raced in packed up and not being a driver, and the nearest club being many miles away, he had to pack up his birds. Sorry for your sad loss to Pauline and our sincere condolences to the Dickson family at this very sad time – Keith and Betty. Fred loved long distance pigeon racing and over the years has been outstanding racing at all distances, but very special at 581 miles from Bourges to his loft in Cramlington, Northumberland. He sent four birds to the Bourges race in 2013, with four Combines competing and with the race turning out to be a very hard push home, the birds clocked in the Combines on the day of liberation could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Fred lived at the top end of the North of England Homing Union area and clocked his good Eric Cannon blue chequer cock, ‘Northern Expected’, at 06.03hrs next morning to record 1st club, 1st Federation, 1st New North Amalgamation and 8th North of England Homing Union open result (2,355 birds). This wonderful round about cock had now flown Bourges (581 miles) three times and won 1st, 3rd and 4th Federation. A fantastic achievement! A half-brother to ‘Northern Expected’, a 100% Eric Cannon blue chequer cock, also recorded 1st Federation, 1st Amalgamation Bourges in the 2012 season. Later in the 2013 season Fred won with a yearling blue chequer cock bred by us in Claygate and he recorded 1st club, 2nd Federation, 12th New North Amalgamation Arras (377 miles) in a strong north east wind. These seasons were the tip of the ice burg, as Fred had brilliant success over a life time in pigeon racing! Fred had had pigeons all his life and both his great grandfathers were outstanding pigeon racers in the North East of England. He owned a pigeon wall plate dating back to 1910, which belonged to his great grandfather, and this had all the Cramlington HS winners painted on it for that season. Fred’s trade was an electrician working in the coal mines of the north east of England for most of his working life, but when the coal industry went in to decline, he became a factory worker and found it hard to race his birds, having to work 12 hour shifts. In the year between 1950 and 1960, Fred told me he had the best pigeons in the local area and won many races from 50 miles through to 600 miles out of turn. The family of pigeons raced at that time was the Stassarts and had a red cock that won eleven firsts and twice 1st Federation. A sister to the red cock won five firsts, including 1st club Bourges (581 miles). In the 1957 season the club had 17 races with the Federation and the Dickson loft won twelve firsts. Fred raced his small team of old birds on the natural and roundabout systems to his allotment ‘L’ shaped loft, which was 28ft long. Fred built the loft him self in 1989, with open door trapping and used sand litter on the floors. His real interest was in long distance pigeon racing, but told me, he only used the shorter Federation races for training, but he did enjoy these events and won a lot of premier prizes in them. Fred had no stock birds in the later years and told me the main families kept were Eric Cannon and Brian Denney, with 600-mile racing in mind. He had a great admiration for the late, great Eric Cannon and had followed his wonderful performances in the long-distance Nationals over many years. Fred obtained a couple of outstanding Eric Cannon based breeders from the Keith and Betty Mott loft in Claygate and from the late Ced & Clive Allwright, who had won the NFC three times in recent seasons. Fred sent his yearlings through to 431 miles and his old birds had to fly Bourges (581 miles), with the yearling being paired up in February and the channel birds in March. The birds were fed on ‘Gerry Plus’ and a quality ‘widowhood’ mixture, and were never broken down during the racing season, even on the shorter training races. The birds were normally trained prior to the first Federation race, then after were exercised around the loft for any hour twice a day. Fred told me his old birds had no training in the 2012 season but still won the Federation! Fred had a few short distance pigeons from his good friend, Tommy Laskey of Gateshead, who had won 1st Up North Combine. It has been very upsetting for me writing this tribute today, as with the passing of Fred Dickson, I have lost a dear friend, and the sport of pigeon racing has lost one of its great champions. Fred Dickson RIP. KEITH MOTT (7th October 2026)