I am not sure why, but this years crop of pigeons are far superior to any I have had before in Australia.
I know I have some new blood, from the Jos Thone's and Heremans youngsters I brought in for stock last year, but there is more to it than that. The young birds have been super vigorous since day one.
I usually train 18 at a time. two 9 bird boxes. So, the 18 that go today may not be the same as the ones that went last time. I have tossed the younger ones the last three days. I went down to the creek with a box full of youngsters on Friday. About half a mile.
I took 18 assorted pigeons a few miles in the other direction yesterday. They all arrived in a bunch.
I turned them round and took another assortment of big youngsters and younger ones the usual way today. I just got home and bang, they hit the roof!
Then they dived into the shed, had a rest and a drink, then when I let them all out they flew for another hour or so.
Not sure what is different this year. The youngsters have had nothing, not even a wormer. Never seen an asprin.
Yet they are in fabulous health, and it shows. It shows because I am not losing them.
It's food for thought. Other years I have had some shocking tosses. Cleaned out most of them after a few tosses. I have blamed the hawks, the weather, clashing with other pigeons, etcetera .
This year I am training from three directions, starting to mix later bred ones with older ones, and I am not losing them.
I went in and took the feed trays out and quietly handled a few of them just before. There isn't an empty perch in the shed.
I don't know what is different, but something is working.
Life in Bendigo.
Pleased to hear that your babies are doing well mate, the mystery of our sport is also the beauty of our sport, no two years are the same and it doesn't matter how long we keep pigeons we keep on learning. I have to say that apart from this current blip of ybs my youngsters have been flying better than any I have bred since I started up again.
I just need to get my numbers down this year and my loft sorted out then hopefully next year they will be better still.
I hope they continue to come well for you Muzza and that you have a successful season racing
I just need to get my numbers down this year and my loft sorted out then hopefully next year they will be better still.
I hope they continue to come well for you Muzza and that you have a successful season racing
On Friday David delivered some bags of feed. A while ago I told him that I usually train 18 at a time, 2 boxes of 9. I tend not to send the same ones every time, but it's a bit of a random thing.
He is an Australian, so his plan is to hammer the cocks, since they are cheating so and so's
and keep the hens for later.
I don't agree at all, but when he said he had a heap of marker rings I could have, I agreed that was a good idea. Over the weekend I put markers on the other leg of half the young birds. So I have two teams. One with white markers, and one without.
I had to be careful not to automatically pick the ones I like best and put them in one team. So I put half the best ones in each team, randomly sorted half of the others and put a few of the late breds into each side. This was done regardless of sex.
Today I put one team in the boxes, plus a couple of last year's racers, and went out the other direction. On Friday they took an hour. Today they took 30 minutes. Then they flew hard around the loft for a while with the others.
They were all in and fed and happy by 4.30.
He is an Australian, so his plan is to hammer the cocks, since they are cheating so and so's
and keep the hens for later. I don't agree at all, but when he said he had a heap of marker rings I could have, I agreed that was a good idea. Over the weekend I put markers on the other leg of half the young birds. So I have two teams. One with white markers, and one without.
I had to be careful not to automatically pick the ones I like best and put them in one team. So I put half the best ones in each team, randomly sorted half of the others and put a few of the late breds into each side. This was done regardless of sex.
Today I put one team in the boxes, plus a couple of last year's racers, and went out the other direction. On Friday they took an hour. Today they took 30 minutes. Then they flew hard around the loft for a while with the others.
They were all in and fed and happy by 4.30.
Greetings from the land down under.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
There's two reasons why these youngsters need to be well trained before the races.
First, there will probably only be less than 100 pigeons in the races, and they need to be able to do it without any bunch to drag them home.
Second, the first races are only about 60 miles from the west, but two of the flyers with bigger teams live about 38 miles south of me, so they will tend to get taken well away from the line to Bendigo.
So I have to drill them to break away at the start and head for home. Otherwise I will either lose them or they will be hopelessly late.
First, there will probably only be less than 100 pigeons in the races, and they need to be able to do it without any bunch to drag them home.
Second, the first races are only about 60 miles from the west, but two of the flyers with bigger teams live about 38 miles south of me, so they will tend to get taken well away from the line to Bendigo.
So I have to drill them to break away at the start and head for home. Otherwise I will either lose them or they will be hopelessly late.
Greetings from the land down under.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
Well planned mateMurray wrote: ↑Tue May 23, 2023 1:38 am There's two reasons why these youngsters need to be well trained before the races.
First, there will probably only be less than 100 pigeons in the races, and they need to be able to do it without any bunch to drag them home.
Second, the first races are only about 60 miles from the west, but two of the flyers with bigger teams live about 38 miles south of me, so they will tend to get taken well away from the line to Bendigo.
So I have to drill them to break away at the start and head for home. Otherwise I will either lose them or they will be hopelessly late.
Sadies Lofts home of decent birds just a useless loft manager, and now a confirmed loser but proud
Two things from yesterday's training toss.
My old Van Loon hen, Phryne, who is 12 years old, paired up with my old Jansen Cock and they hatched a pair of youngsters. One is a delightful blue bar pied hen. I put her through the small tosses with the other late bred youngsters, then yesterday the time came for her to take her turn in the hamper. They mostly arrived quickly in a bunch, but several were missing. One blue chequer hen arrived 20 minutes later, then the wee blue one zoomed in and dropped in the sputnik.
I don't know that pigeons off old parents make racing pigeons a lot of the time. But a young daughter of those old pigeons that does everything right, I might just keep her for stock. I don't know if the old hen will raise another round.
I have a nice dark chequer hen, 2772, who went well last year. She raced 6 times, and was third in the last race, despite us not being in the best position from that direction.
She's a half Jos Thone'.
I hadn't made any plans for her, I just assumed I would race her again this year. I was talking to my mate David, and asked if he had many of last years pigeons to go again this year. He said he had a handful, but last year he had lost the best cock birds from the year before when he tried sending them again. He reckoned the pressure from the falcons here is so bad that after one season if they are still there they are had it.
So, yesterday I popped her in the box and sent her for a fly. She didn't come back until this morning and today was on her perch looking very unhappy.
It appears the Aussies are right. You will get the odd one that will race for several seasons. I have my little Melbourne hen that flew 600 miles three years in a row. But nearly all of them are one season jobs.
It's a tough sport down here.
My old Van Loon hen, Phryne, who is 12 years old, paired up with my old Jansen Cock and they hatched a pair of youngsters. One is a delightful blue bar pied hen. I put her through the small tosses with the other late bred youngsters, then yesterday the time came for her to take her turn in the hamper. They mostly arrived quickly in a bunch, but several were missing. One blue chequer hen arrived 20 minutes later, then the wee blue one zoomed in and dropped in the sputnik.
I don't know that pigeons off old parents make racing pigeons a lot of the time. But a young daughter of those old pigeons that does everything right, I might just keep her for stock. I don't know if the old hen will raise another round.
I have a nice dark chequer hen, 2772, who went well last year. She raced 6 times, and was third in the last race, despite us not being in the best position from that direction.
She's a half Jos Thone'.
I hadn't made any plans for her, I just assumed I would race her again this year. I was talking to my mate David, and asked if he had many of last years pigeons to go again this year. He said he had a handful, but last year he had lost the best cock birds from the year before when he tried sending them again. He reckoned the pressure from the falcons here is so bad that after one season if they are still there they are had it.
So, yesterday I popped her in the box and sent her for a fly. She didn't come back until this morning and today was on her perch looking very unhappy.
It appears the Aussies are right. You will get the odd one that will race for several seasons. I have my little Melbourne hen that flew 600 miles three years in a row. But nearly all of them are one season jobs.
It's a tough sport down here.
Greetings from the land down under.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.