UkPigeonRacing

I don’t think darkness is all it’s cracked up to be but that’s just my personal opinion. There’s no denying that they look immaculate but they’re also flying with a wing of nest flights. The new flight feathers are generally a bit bigger and stronger than nest flights. You say modern darkness Neil! We had a member in Worthing back in the early 80s that raced a form of darkness. Yes he won more than his fair share of young bird races, but he would also stop work and go on the dole for young bird racing. He rarely scored with old birds though. I’m not sure that you could turn a racer into a homer or visa versa. I suppose it’s what you want out of your young birds in the end. I’m sure others will disagree with me.

Andy wrote: ↑Tue Apr 30, 2024 3:44 pm I don’t think darkness is all it’s cracked up to be but that’s just my personal opinion. There’s no denying that they look immaculate but they’re also flying with a wing of nest flights. The new flight feathers are generally a bit bigger and stronger than nest flights. You say modern darkness Neil! We had a member in Worthing back in the early 80s that raced a form of darkness. Yes he won more than his fair share of young bird races, but he would also stop work and go on the dole for young bird racing. He rarely scored with old birds though. I’m not sure that you could turn a racer into a homer or visa versa. I suppose it’s what you want out of your young birds in the end. I’m sure others will disagree with me.

I can’t agree Andy I’m sure fanciers turn racers into homers with there methods they destroy the confidence , the no fear and general zip by flogging them when they should be in the loft

That's an interesting one. In theory I would let the cocks raise a baby or maybe a pair, but on the odd occasion that for some reason they didn't it made no difference that I could see. They performed just as well.

I watching a video on Fuchs and wolf who I hadn’t heard of in Germany
I thought it wasn’t a bad idea once the yb are about 12 days old I think they said they move the cocks to the next section and start to fly them out but they get a hour with the babies but no hens to feed them then moved again

NeilA wrote: ↑Wed May 01, 2024 8:44 am I watching a video on Fuchs and wolf who I hadn’t heard of in Germany
I thought it wasn’t a bad idea once the yb are about 12 days old I think they said they move the cocks to the next section and start to fly them out but they get a hour with the babies but no hens to feed them then moved again

Here is some information about them Neil.

https://www.fuchs-wolf-pigeon-racing.com/

Devo1956 wrote: ↑Wed May 01, 2024 8:55 am

NeilA wrote: ↑Wed May 01, 2024 8:44 am I watching a video on Fuchs and wolf who I hadn’t heard of in Germany
I thought it wasn’t a bad idea once the yb are about 12 days old I think they said they move the cocks to the next section and start to fly them out but they get a hour with the babies but no hens to feed them then moved again

Here is some information about them Neil.

https://www.fuchs-wolf-pigeon-racing.com/

Thank you
I will enjoy the read in the video I thought they had a lovely team of pigeons but I know very little about continental racing etc but it did seem a similar set up to the uk

Some information for you Neil.


SG Fuchs & Wolf: Great start to the 2024 OLR season!!


We were able to achieve a great result in the final of the As Golden Pigeon Race Winter.

Of our 11 pigeons used, 5 were placed in the top 100!

4th-19th-35th-37th-96th

A dream result for us.

In addition, the 4th final winner also became 3rd ace pigeon long distance




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International pigeon market in Kassel
Hall 1 / Stand 160 & 161

The International Pigeon Market in Kassel is finally taking place again! We are there with a nice selection of young pigeons from the summer and look forward to your visit.

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We not only owe our success to our pigeons, but also a special friendship!

It all started with a trip to China at the end of 2017. Together with the Röhnfried Racing Team we got to know successful breeders there, saw spectacular pigeons and lofts and visited trade fairs.

Shortly afterwards we met again on stage for the award ceremony of the German championship! An experience that we will never forget.

At the following big pigeon events (Olympics in Poznan, award ceremony "DeDuif", trade fairs in Kassel and Dortmund) the chance acquaintance turned into a really good friendship. Although there are a few kilometers between us, we have visited each other several times and spent lovely holidays together with our families.

Since then, individual pigeons have been “forced” to switch back and forth.

For example, in the loft of SG Ullrich there is a daughter of the Olympic pigeon "Bella" from SG Fuchs & Wolf. This was mated to the parent bird "413". Since this only happened late in the summer, the children were only used in breeding, which turned out to be a real stroke of luck. The following winners were bred from the children:

-"Bonnie + Clyde" at Robert Maaß with 1. 1. 1. 1. 2. 2. 3. 5. ... bankruptcy!

-4. Ace Pigeon Pyramids OLR 2021

-4. Ace Pigeon Algarve Winter Derby 2021

-7. Final Pyramids OLR 2021



It also works very well the other way: A daughter of "413" from SG Ullrich breeds very successfully on the loft of SG Fuchs & Wolf.

A son became the 4th best bird in Hesse as a yearling with 2x 1st prizes!

But not only through the exchange of pigeons, but also the exchange of experiences and insights, we were able to advance and motivate each other!

Here we would like to offer you the opportunity to get access to children from our successful breeding and racing pigeons, who have proven to achieve strong performance when crossed. The auction starts on October 28th, 2023.

Many greetings from the Ullrich/Fuchs&Wolf teams

PS: As a little highlight, we have created videos of all the pigeons on offer, which you can view in the respective auction.

Thank you Devo

Andy wrote: ↑Tue Apr 30, 2024 3:44 pm I don’t think darkness is all it’s cracked up to be but that’s just my personal opinion. There’s no denying that they look immaculate but they’re also flying with a wing of nest flights. The new flight feathers are generally a bit bigger and stronger than nest flights. You say modern darkness Neil! We had a member in Worthing back in the early 80s that raced a form of darkness. Yes he won more than his fair share of young bird races, but he would also stop work and go on the dole for young bird racing. He rarely scored with old birds though. I’m not sure that you could turn a racer into a homer or visa versa. I suppose it’s what you want out of your young birds in the end. I’m sure others will disagree with me.

My personal view also it's not all it’s cracked up to be. Darkness is not as new as many think, I've read articles from the early 50s were fanciers were using a form of darkness but it wasn't yet called darkness. The principle of darkness is sound, but many have just copied others thinking you must race this way to succeed. When first used by a few fanciers the advantage it give was dramatic, but as more and more fanciers began using it that advantage has reduced.
I think the biggest mistake many on darkness make is not training their birds early enough, when I raced the fanciers all around me always bred their birds earlier than me, yet I was always first to start training them? I'm sure TOP fanciers can make it work, but I'm sure those same TOP fanciers would still beat their clubmates if they raced their YBs natural. Putting YBs on darkness does make them any better, they will be in better feather, but a better prepared natural may still beat them.

I first started racing Darkness more than 30 years ago. In those days there was a lot said about the impact it had on pigeons ability to race well as yearlings. To test it out for 3 years I only raced the hens on Darkness, the cocks were natural. The findings were clear

For the first 2-3 races the naturals could mix it with the Darkness birds (especially if the racing was fast).
From the 4th race onwards the natural YB are TOAST.
Their moult is more advanced (in wing and body) and as the distances are increasing it reallyi is men against boys.

My birds were bred the same way, fed, conditioned and trained the same way. The natural YB CANNOT compete

You come to my Club with a Natural YB from the 4th race onwards and try and win and the lads like Nesbitt & Leadbeater (Both former MNFC combined Champions) will have you for breakfast, lunch, tea and supper.

Darkness still needs to be performed effectively of course

The way forward in 2024 is not to race YB on Darkness if you want to win - It's to have Darkness YB on widowhood - that's the secret