The Novices Social Circle (part seven) A proven system of racing pigeon management for the small team fancier or those of limited means. by 'Spinksy'	Search this Site for whatever you seek! Find this: SEARCH THIS SITE
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NOVICES' SOCIAL CIRCLE. ( part seven - continuing)

So you a here again my old currant bun and I'm pleased to see you, It's a lonely life sat writing all day. I think for the moment we are well ahead of events, so perhaps this is a good time to discuss some of the myths and frustrations that you have encountered in previous years. Every time you pick up the paper or enter into conversation at the clubhouse, you get the impression that pigeon racing is some mystical secret known only to a few. Try as you might to emulate your peers, nothing ever goes to plan. For instance, you pair up your pigeons and expect to see every pair with a clutch on the evening of the tenth day. Peek-aboo, not one single pair has laid, some haven't even started to build a nest, horror of horrors, Tom, Dick & Harry must surely be masters at the game!
Well I've got news for you; after over forty years of involvement with pigeon breeding, I have never known in my own loft nor any champion friends loft, a year when every pair had eggs on the tenth day! In a ten pair loft the norm would be 10-16 days depending upon the weather and the individual pigeons inclination. Should any cock be driving without success beyond that time, you would be advised to separate the pair, because he will wear himself out and be ruined for the season. Even if he were to be your best racing cock, forget about youngsters from him until the latebred stage after racing. Sometimes it pays to make small sacrifices! Tom, Dick & Harry all have early bred youngsters, so in previous years you have done the same and then you reared another round just for good measure to equal their mob. Well my old currant bun; it takes more stuffing out of a pigeon rearing two consecutive nests, than flying two 500 mile races back to back, but you would never dream of doing that, now would you? There are special attentions required for January rung youngsters which we shall cover at a later date. At this point softlee-softlee-catchee-monkey, patience is the name of the game and your March rung youngsters will hold their own once we go through their training. It is not the intention to be top prize winner for a season, the target is getting to the top then staying there with a family to be proud of.

Previous to this season, your pigeons wouldn't exercise for more than 30 minutes, Tom, Dick & Harry were training every day, so you followed suit. By the ecky thump, now your pigeons wouldn't fly at all, your car needed a new set of tyres, clutch, water pump, etc., etc., etc. What Tom, Dick & Harry didn't tell you was that they didn't train every pigeon every day, but only selected birds that were rested or so far hadn't been in the basket previously! When they said that they trained from 30 miles, they forgot to say that sometimes they only went ten because of the wind chill factor or lack of good light! Tom, Dick & Harry had thirty training tosses before the first race which they won, but neglected to say that 30% of yearlings were lost before that day, and where were they once the races went beyond five hours? They told you stories about the old cock, topping the combine with this treatment, but neglected to say that this was its only prize ever won. Nobody was more surprised than them and now they have a loft full of children, still hoping for another fluke! Now Tom, Dick & Harry will tell you that a pigeon is worthless if it can't stay on the wing for 12-14 hrs. in a nose - ender, they have built their lofts around such birds. However I will tell you this---- there has hardly ever been a racing pigeon born that will continue to make home after 8-30 p.m. Those that do, were super fit and super motivated on that day after missing the bad weather that brought faster pigeons down, rarely repeating the performance again.
The majority of pigeons will roost around 8-00 p.m. coming on early next day and it doesn't matter at what time of day they were tossed at the distance. So if your bird came on next day and recovered quickly, don't condemn it, next time it could be a winner and win again in future years. Now don't get me wrong, every prize won is a prize worth having and given equal opportunity the best bird won on its day but one swallow doth not a summer make. Sitting on your perch is "Dream Boy", the pride of your life, he won a young bird prize five years ago and has never raced again. Since that time has become the patriarch of your loft, his illustrious genes flow through the majority of your birds, do you take my point?

Tom feeds 100% beans, therefore so will you, but what Tom neglected to tell you was that; he feeds 20 ozs. to 20 pigeons daily, then as the distance increases and four have gone by the wayside he still feeds 20 ozs. per day, plus a seed ration and a percentage of maize! Dick feeds widowhood mixture so you decide to do the same, but Dick didn't tell you about the bag of peas he uses to beef it up a little! Harry hopper feeds peas, so in your frustration you give it a whirl but, Harry didn't tell you that he supplemented this with a light mixture every night before the birds were put to bed! Now it isn't so much what is done, but the way in which it is done, you probably changed your feeding and system as often as the weather. Bodies react to change, a man who eats three meals per day would perform below par on one, the man used to a single meal would be sluggish if forced to eat three. A vegetarian suddenly forced to consume meat, soon becomes nauseous until his body adjusts. The meat eater would be tired if fed a vegetarian diet until once again his body adjusts; the rotating shift worker has trouble sleeping, it upsets his biorhythm, metabolism and digestion. Yet you have done this very same thing with your pigeons in the past!
So I am giving you a balanced way and an opportunity to observe your birds actions and interactions, cause and effect, it does not matter what system used, provided that it is regular and only modified according to need! Now Sonny Jim, you are wondering why I told you to keep only your first arrivals from the previous season, when one swallow doth not a summer make? The simple reason is that every Everest climber has to establish a base camp and in your case this was the best place to start. Next season will be different (flexibility & forward planning) you will have a record of every pigeons individual performance and response. Certain common denominators will evolve i.e. parentage, relationship to others, breeding success with this years young birds, consistency etc. You will have a base from which to form a reasonable analysis and forward projection after a fair assessment of each and every individual, without fad or favour! You will begin to find strength in depth within your team, but better still you will be discovering your own inner depth, passing your confidence to your birds. You are going to plant your banner on the peak for all the world to see and you must not waver from that single minded aim. Be there rain, hail, snow or avalanche be prepared to beat adversity through determination and modest pride.

I know you can do it, the only person who needs convincing is yourself! What I am attempting to do : produce winners by proxy; is possibly the hardest task that I personally have ever attempted but, I don't THINK that I can do it, I KNOW THAT I CAN ! That is the attitude that I expect from you, walk tall in the world and hang the devil.

O.K. when the season started and daylight was limited, you exercised your pigeons at first reasonable light; since that time you should have been getting progressively earlier. Working backwards to 6-00 a.m. as mornings grow warmer and longer, the evenings are also extending, working outwards to 8-00 p.m. before the sudden drop in air temperature. This is late enough and little can be gained by flying them in cold air after this time for the reason outlined previously. Of course they can be made to fly until dusk, but for what reason when a 6-00 a.m. liberation at 500 miles would see 98% roosting at this time! Cold air eats up energy, whether exercising, racing or sitting on a perch, don't do it! Having said that 98% of entries will go down between 8 p.m. - 8-30 p.m., those with the motivation and love of home will still come on to home. If the bird was worth entering, then it deserves your loyalty and confidence until the day is done and all light gone, don't let it down in this respect! You will soon recover from your disappointment, the pigeon might not and many a fancier has spoiled a good bird by going to the pub! You wouldn't want to return home from a fourteen hour day, only to find the house in darkness and all of the locks changed; well neither does a pigeon, it breaks it's heart!

So there you go sunshine, just a few little things to ponder over, a little psychology of man and pigeon, a little self awareness and analysis. Have you found the spots and lines in the iris yet? What about picking the best entries from your club mates birds? Did you find the pimple and how did the bird perform? How are the colours changing with fitness or feathers tightening up? Do the birds seem larger and yet feel lighter in weight? Was the wing up on its second, third, fourth primary? Was it full winged, one primary dropped, one new quill about to burst or was it still just a needle shaft? Was it sitting, celibate, widowhood, racing to its youngster or returning after a spell in the meat safe? Are some of the reds displaying fluted feathers on their backs? Are they all a quiver and purring at your feet, are they talking to you and are you listening to what they say? Have some decided to fly on their own or developed personalities that stand out? Have you looked and seen what you are looking at, or did you just chuck them corn and go to watch Coronation Street? These little things should all be noted in your B.H.W. stud book so that you can repeat the birds winning condition. Individual birds, individual traits, individual responses, individual levels of response to varying motivation! No Sonny Jim, there are no secrets, but there are pigeon fanciers and pigeon racers, or my name isn't "Rumplestiltskin".
One last observation from the silly old git 'Spinksy' ---- so many people in this world LOOK but very few ever SEE!
The secret is in seeing that which one is looking at and registering it in ones mind! Go back three paces and read
'Ethology and the Pigeon Fancier' -- it wasn't written to simply pass the time!

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