Just got one back!

[Murray]

Of course there are rare examples of strays that turn out great. Champion Breakaway was one.
I had one that raced for seasons for me. Good pigeon. And he'd go north one week. south for two weeks then north again, never missed a beat.

[NeilA]

Of course there are rare examples of strays that turn out great. Champion Breakaway was one.
I had one that raced for seasons for me. Good pigeon. And he'd go north one week. south for two weeks then north again, never missed a beat.

Agree Murray
Then how many failed compared to the odd one
If a yb goes in and returns home in good condition then I get that
But keeping then breeding off strays that come into the loft is going to make the job of turning your loft to a winning loft so much harder
It’s kind of what we did as kids and no good come of it .
I don’t know any top fanciers now sprinting that think I will keep that stray it will do me a bit of good and there is a reason for that opinion as they know it won’t 9999 times out of 10,000
I imagine top distance fancier wouldn’t want to keep a stray
Goose on here has fantastic distance blood I bet he doesn’t think that’s handy I got a stray in today and the owner says I can keep it
Let’s not let new starters or novice fanciers think that keeping strays is a good thing

[Murray]

You are dead right. I hate it when a stray turns up. Australia is a big place and a lot of blokes can't be bothered getting one back so they just 'gift' it to you.
Nearly always they are no use at all, often they've been chased half way across the country by a hawk, or are ripped.
But yep, the very rare one is okay. Very rare one.

[NeilA]

You are dead right. I hate it when a stray turns up. Australia is a big place and a lot of blokes can't be bothered getting one back so they just 'gift' it to you.
Nearly always they are no use at all, often they've been chased half way across the country by a hawk, or are ripped.
But yep, the very rare one is okay. Very rare one.

Of course I never thought of the logistics
Here for £50 you can send for it worse ways

[Diamond Dave]

While I am very happy to have this bird back, I dont think I would entertain a stray.
When I helped my son get started, we had birds from here there and everywhere and when he left me with the birds, I spent the next 5 -8 years trying to sort them out.
I know what I have now and dont want to have to carry on trying to prove stock birds.

[NeilA]

While I am very happy to have this bird back, I dont think I would entertain a stray.
When I helped my son get started, we had birds from here there and everywhere and when he left me with the birds, I spent the next 5 -8 years trying to sort them out.
I know what I have now and dont want to have to carry on trying to prove stock birds.

Very sensible

[king]

But the physical ones are blatantly obvious

To be honest not knocking the lads that keep strays but we only hear of the good ones there are 1000’s of shit that stay shit and putting them in your loft is just looking for a needle in a haystack n the hope you find a ace
Not you Trev as I know you are not always race focused and you like you distance stuff and having the birds how you want them
But If flying to 350 miles which most in the country do in feds now Just move on every pigeon at the end of the yearling stage that hasn’t met your grading system
Next year make your grading system harder to meet
It’s a lot easier and quicker to find the good ones than keeping strays

I totally agree with you Neil. I don't think any one is suggesting that keeping strays is a way to improve your stock. I myself have only transferred and kept a handful in my 50+ years of racing. Your right you only hear of the good ones. But that's true with the majority of racing pigeons in general. I've yet to meet ANY fancier no matter how successful who hasn't lost birds so every fancier has produced strays at sometime, no matter how good they thought their birds were when sending.
Back in the 70s & 80s when racing it was common to get 3 or 4 strays in EVERY week. But back then there was probably 4 times as many fanciers and birds racing back then. In the last few years I raced I had hardly any strays in. Probably due to more BOP and less birds racing now.
I don't believe there are many fanciers who keep strays, I did have a clubmate, a very good friend who did later in life like to try a stray, thinking it maybe the one. He did top the YMR Fed in the longest YB race from over 200 miles back in 1977 with a stray he found at the side of the road

[Murray]

Here it's normal practice to start the season with between 100 and 200 young birds. More is not uncommon. They expect to lose plenty of them racing.
The ones that make a mistake and end up in someone else's loft, they do not want to see that pigeon again. So if you get one stray in, you often pretty much own it. Some people remove them quick smart, but I'm an old softy.

[Diamond Dave]

Just a quick update on this bird. He had 5 chucks out to 30 miles along with the others, then sent to the first race 88miles as a trainer and he was the only one I dropped.
Likely gone back to wherever he had been.
I cant help wondering if it would have been different if he'd have had a box and a hen but pleased I gave him another chance.

[MIL]

My guess Dave is that it'd not have made a blind bit of difference - but we'll never know