UkPigeonRacing

Steve Howells wrote: ↑Thu Aug 15, 2024 6:24 pm

Devo1956 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 15, 2024 6:17 pm

Steve Howells wrote: ↑Thu Aug 15, 2024 5:28 pm

Can i ask you Steve, who is the agent for the Thailand OLR please. thank you.

Richard Millington. I’ll PM you his details if you want them. Obviously to late for this year

Thank you Steve.

I’m not a fan of OLR’s myself but I know some are and that’s their prerogative. I do think though that it’s wrong to blame losses on fitness & health issues. I can understand pigeons not winning that aren’t in perfect health but it wouldn’t impact their ability to get home. Look at how poor a condition or injured some of our late arrivals are. But they still get home. For a pigeon to be lost because of health or fitness they would have to be really sick. If a fancier can’t notice a sick pigeon then maybe they shouldn’t be keeping pigeons in the first place. I have been working and keeping all sorts of livestock over the past 50 years. I can tell in a few seconds of entering the loft and doing a quick scan if one isn’t right. When I managed 500 dairy cows in Cornwall I knew within a couple of minutes of going into the cattle sheds if one wasn’t well. I knew each individual cow, as I do my pigeons. I think if these OLR had health issues they would have pigeons dropping dead and not just losing them.

I just had a look at the famous Victoria Falls race

They started with 5,451 birds from 488 different lofts

473 made it to the final race with 126 being recorded home

Really losses in OLR’s should be a lot lower than in club/fed racing. They are generally raced on weekdays when no other liberation are about, meaning no clashing. They are all flying back to the same loft, so no dragging off line. If the weather doesn’t look right the races are postponed. So all this should lead to less losses. These races are really only training tosses that normal fanciers would have, all be it at a longer distance in the final races. I rarely lose anything in training.
The biggest problem is the management. Too many birds for anyone to know them individually, birds having to be sent because they’re entered, racing young birds that are still maturing.
I give very little importance to how birds perform as youngsters. Rarely do your best youngsters become your best old birds.

Andy wrote: ↑Fri Aug 16, 2024 8:13 am Really losses in OLR’s should be a lot lower than in club/fed racing. They are generally raced on weekdays when no other liberation are about, meaning no clashing. They are all flying back to the same loft, so no dragging off line. If the weather doesn’t look right the races are postponed. So all this should lead to less losses. These races are really only training tosses that normal fanciers would have, all be it at a longer distance in the final races. I rarely lose anything in training.
The biggest problem is the management. Too many birds for anyone to know them individually, birds having to be sent because they’re entered, racing young birds that are still maturing.
I give very little importance to how birds perform as youngsters. Rarely do your best youngsters become your best old birds.

Good point your right less clashing
My best cocks are consistent ybs but I can only think of one that was a top yb
Most just come 15 min or so after the first ones that make the best cocks but they don’t make mistakes either

Reading above, yes there are some OLR that do have big losses. Do you really think there is no clashing involved in training or races. There are more birds in Europe, no matter where you go. all doing the same thing, racing and training. no matter what day of the week. Health is paramount in any loft, even more so in OLR. With the number of birds in the loft, and yes they do have vets on call. More and more OLR have become to pop up in different countries. I was told 10 years ago, it was the way forward in pigeon racing. And the number of OLR have grown. And true it's not every one's cup of tea. but it is a choice for some.

There's no right or wrong really

When I think of 3 of my best ever cocks "Houdini" (won as YB), "The Assassin" (Won as YB), "Champion Gareth Gates" (won as YB)

Eddy never won as a YB, but he never gave me a moment's concern - he was always on the heels of the winners

A YB that just survives the YB programme never made in into my OB team

It had to show me "something" to indicate there was some sort of talent there that I could work with

Every loft has its crap And crap tend to smell as such right from the off in my experience

MIL wrote: ↑Fri Aug 16, 2024 8:47 am There's no right or wrong really

When I think of 3 of my best ever cocks "Houdini" (won as YB), "The Assassin" (Won as YB), "Champion Gareth Gates" (won as YB)

Eddy never won as a YB, but he never gave me a moment's concern - he was always on the heels of the winners

A YB that just survives the YB programme never made in into my OB team

It had to show me "something" to indicate there was some sort of talent there that I could work with

Every loft has its crap And crap tend to smell as such right from the off in my experience

Only thing I think with mine is the moult may slow them compared to my smaller framed hens
83 was a excellent yb winning the fed etc
But 58/57 were say top 10/12 to the loft but were never far behind both were great as yearlings from race 1
So maybe not being on the dark stops them against there smaller loft mates
Not sure but it may do

It's not unreasonable

Devo1956 wrote: ↑Fri Aug 16, 2024 8:43 am Reading above, yes there are some OLR that do have big losses. Do you really think there is no clashing involved in training or races. There are more birds in Europe, no matter where you go. all doing the same thing, racing and training. no matter what day of the week. Health is paramount in any loft, even more so in OLR. With the number of birds in the loft, and yes they do have vets on call. More and more OLR have become to pop up in different countries. I was told 10 years ago, it was the way forward in pigeon racing. And the number of OLR have grown. And true it's not every one's cup of tea. but it is a choice for some.

Pigein racing as we know it will die out
One loft races will stay as they need less work for fanciers and life nowadays gives very little time for traditional things like pigeon racing plus with less youngsters coming in the sport it will be a good way for people to maintain some form of interest in the sport
To me it’s a different hobby if I can’t walk in my loft and get the thrill of seeing my team of cocks or my ybs return from ranging it’s very different , looking at ting numbers on a computer would bore me to death
But many like them so we are all different agree in 10 years I won’t have any part of pigeon racing and one lofts will stay
All areas will slowly end up massive feds where you have to drive a hour just to mark pigeons like some areas already are so not many will want that on a Friday night