Guess the time

[MIL]

You not wrong

A yb and yearling realistically has had 15 races in total?


How many chances are you gonna give it to be exceptional?

[Murray]

They don’t get any quicker mate

I have changed my ideas in the nearly 20 years in Australia. In New Zealand I raced widowers for season after season. an old bloke once told me that a pigeon was as good as it would ever be at the end of it's young bird season. I scoffed.
I don't scoff now.
If they can't win as yearlings, they are unlikely to win as old birds.

[NeilA]

They don’t get any quicker mate

I have changed my ideas in the nearly 20 years in Australia. In New Zealand I raced widowers for season after season. an old bloke once told me that a pigeon was as good as it would ever be at the end of it's young bird season. I scoffed.
I don't scoff now.
If they can't win as yearlings, they are unlikely to win as old birds.

All my best sprint cocks have been really good as yearlings

[Trev]

Again I guess it depends what you are looking for !!
You do still see fanciers with 4/5 year olds, sometimes even older, still winning. Granted they do tend to be from the longer/tougher races rather than the out and out sprints but there is definitely still a place for them in some lofts. However in most instances if your older birds are regularly beating your younger ones then there must be something wrong with your breeding or the stock you are purchasing.
Having said that I personally couldn't out a pigeon just because it's got old, I think that's the difference between a " pigeon fancier" and a "Pigeon Racer", I consider myself a fancier before a racer, I love my birds and get pleasure from just having them around.

[Trev]

Our race next week is currently under debate Devo, looks like 3/5 of our clubs aren't sending, it just depends if the rest want to pay the extra cost of sending just a few birds.

[NeilA]

Again I guess it depends what you are looking for !!
You do still see fanciers with 4/5 year olds, sometimes even older, still winning. Granted they do tend to be from the longer/tougher races rather than the out and out sprints but there is definitely still a place for them in some lofts. However in most instances if your older birds are regularly beating your younger ones then there must be something wrong with your breeding or the stock you are purchasing.
Having said that I personally couldn't out a pigeon just because it's got old, I think that's the difference between a " pigeon fancier" and a "Pigeon Racer", I consider myself a fancier before a racer, I love my birds and get pleasure from just having them around.

If there still winning at 3 then no reason to remove them
I just do it quickly at the end of the yearlings season i want it done before i race ybs so i am not tempted to keep a bird if I have a bad yb season
I do a basic thing where in 10 races they must get in the top 2 per cent of the fed at least twice but if the years been favourable to me with wind they need to do it 3 times I kind of judge it that way
I also run a little league to my loft 6 points for first 1 for 6th to the loft
That and the percentage system is how I select

I don’t think that’s asking a lot of them if they can’t do that there never going to be any good for sprinting
My best cocks in the past will achieve double what I ask of them in that selection process

[MIL]

Any pigeon in my loft was there on merit alone

I had no room for sentiment

2nd was beaten and I’d rather win and be unpopular than everyone’s mate and last every week

Thats where different approaches are most evident i guess

[Murray]

You blokes live in an alternative universe to us in Australia.
I had a call from a bloke who had a team of youngsters from me when we moved from Bendigo. A red youngster from one of the red Thone' cocks was in the clock for the forth time in four races.
The bloke was delighted!
He is putting him into the stock shed now, reckons he's pushed his luck far enough.
You don't select them at season's end here. You count what you have left.
It is tough here, I can tell you.

[NeilA]

You blokes live in an alternative universe to us in Australia.
I had a call from a bloke who had a team of youngsters from me when we moved from Bendigo. A red youngster from one of the red Thone' cocks was in the clock for the forth time in four races.
The bloke was delighted!
He is putting him into the stock shed now, reckons he's pushed his luck far enough.
You don't select them at season's end here. You count what you have left.
It is tough here, I can tell you.

I had 5 fed winners missing or badly injured by peregrine this year Murray
But that wouldn’t change my selection
I would still select to the system and replace with young birds or I would end up with homers and sprint to 250 has been my thing these last few years
What I worked out this year is the peregrine is hunting in my area more than ever now so I have more ybs 20 more so they can take more strikes or kills but likewise gives me young cocks to deal with the missing / injured
Not ideal but selection stays the same but more youth available to cover empty box’s or ones that fail selection
It seems March to May was the killing time
I totally get in other areas like Goose lives it’s constant but I am not at that level yet so selection can stay but with more youth to pick from

[MIL]

Ok George

So - Gordon Bros have now finished for the season

Phil has 2 races this week - let me explain


Last weeks race was void and it also was scheduled to be the Futurity Race from Blandford Forum (Think of it like a Breeder Buyer)

The Fed has decided firstly to go to Blandford and liberate the Futurity birds from there - there'll be about 40-50 liberated on their own from there

Phil has ONE for this . Distance 139 miles 559 yards


After that the Fed is going back with the rest of the convoy to the scheduled race point of Marlborough with the rest of the convoy

Now that's not a decision that me or Phil are entirely comfortable with and 48 hrs ago he wasn't sending

As of now he'll be going with 5 or 6 to the Marlborough race 100 miles 564 yards