The last feathers to drop are the second from the outside tail feathers. This should be completed by December fifteenth.
Twenty words or less TCC Loft series
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
History of Racing Pigeons
Pet Article World
By Dave Peterson
7-16-2010
Today's generation is fortunate enough to experience the wonders of modern communications. Letters are electronically sent in a matter of seconds via the Internet, and real time conversation with colleagues from far away is now possible through Instant Messaging.
Ah, thanks to technology. Did you ever wonder what was it like a thousand years ago, when ancient man was still one with nature and empires were just about to be built? Tribes communicated with each other through pigeons, and the racing pigeons were animals that were revered by many because of their speed and agility.
The great civilizations from East to West made full use of the racing pigeons as messengers that deliver important messages coming from the emperors out to the most remote areas of their lands. As empires expand, more and more racing pigeons were sent out to the sky.
Because of their intelligence and swiftness, racing pigeons were regarded as prized possessions during the ancient times. Just imagine empires having only horses and caravans as their message-carrying tools. It would take weeks before messages can be exchanged from one area to another. Animals that travel by land are also more prone to danger, especially during warfare.
One famous incident in history where racing pigeons proved their worth was when Napoleon was defeated in Waterloo. No other person knew about this event right away, except for Count Rothschild, who got this first-hand information through a racing pigeon. This knowledge enabled Rothschild to make decisions way before other persons had a chance to meddle. He was able to collect a large amount of money to start up a banking dynasty.
Racing pigeons were not only used as an important military weapon. During the Industrial Revolution when people started to revolutionize their way of thinking, racing pigeons were used as news-carriers not to aid a war, but to keep people informed about the society. Julius Reuter, the founder of the world-renowned Reuter News Service, was actually established as a line of pigeon posts. Up to this day, the symbol for many European postal systems is a racing pigeon.
As years go by, a lot more people have taken to raising pigeons. Gone are the days when only the nobles can have them. Most of the time, these birds are seen with racing enthusiasts, with the birds as the main attraction.
The most successful modern racing pigeons were developed in Belgium. They were a result of a cross between the Cumulet and the Smerle. The Cumulet is often described as a pigeon that has the ability to fly high and can be gone out of sight from the sky. The Smerle, on the other hand, doesn't fly as high as the Cumulet, but is much faster and hastier.
It's no surprise that the Belgians were the ones who first enjoyed the hobby of pigeon racing. The first long distance pigeon race was in Belgium in 1818. After 1875, the hobby of pigeon racing gained popularity in England. In the 19th century, the popularity of the hobby reached the United States.
Today, the world continues to be enthralled with the speed, endurance and the intelligence of racing pigeons. Amidst the technology that we have today, these pigeons still surely know how to get our fancy.
Read more ...
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Pigeons under attack in Moss Park
The Toronto Star
Friday December 10, 2010
Curtis Rush
Staff Reporter
This red-tailed hawk has been seen eating pigeons and rats at Moss Park.
A red-tailed hawk, showing no fear of people — or anything else for that matter — has set up a killing zone for pigeons in Moss Park.
It lunches on them in broad daylight and in clear view of motorists and pedestrians at the corner of Sherbourne and Queen St. E.
People wandering to and from Moss Park Arena snapped cellphone shots of the hawk devouring a pigeon in a tree on Wednesday, not far from a sidewalk and within steps of the arena’s front doors.
It carried the pigeon to the lowest branch on the tree, and within minutes all that was left of it were the feet and a few feathers — still visible on the branch a day later.
Meanwhile, other pigeon carcasses lay nearby, apparently previous victims.
But observers say the hawk’s diet is not limited to pigeons. Squirrels and rats have reason to fear for their lives, too. And like coyotes found roaming in the city, this hawk is unusual because it seems totally urbanized.
“It seems to like this corner,” said Graham Willcock, who operates Moss Park Arena.
“When I saw it, it was just sitting on the branch cleaning itself with its beak,” said another observer, Ruth Dundas, who was here from Thunder Bay to watch a grandchild participate in hockey camp.
Willcock said the bird has been lurking around the park for three years. He tells a recent story of the hawk on the ground just outside the arena doors, clutching a rat with its talons, as kids walked by, lugging their hockey equipment.
“The kids weren’t scared. They were fascinated,” Willcock said.
Some people weren’t sure whether it was a hawk or a falcon, another raptor species that has taken a liking to downtown Toronto.
But Ron Ridout, a biologist from Bird Studies Canada, a non-profit group that monitors bird populations, confirmed from a photo that it was a red-tailed hawk.
The bird has a brown-streaked belly band on a pale underside, and of course a red tail, which wasn’t visible in the photo.
While falcons are known to take up living quarters in high rise buildings, it’s more natural for hawks to nest in trees, the biologist said.
Red-tailed hawks are quite different from falcons in other ways: they’re bigger, with broader wings. Their hunting styles differ as well.
Falcons normally rely on speed to chase down their prey, while hawks soar high overhead and dive quickly, catching their prey by surprise.
The arena operator at Moss Park said he has seen the hawk strike pigeons right out of the sky. The pigeons have come to sense when the hawk is close by, and will panic and fly off.
Being migratory, red-tailed hawks often fly down to the central United States in the winter. But not all of them; if the supply of food is sufficient, some will stay behind, the biologist said. And this hawk clearly likes the food supply at Moss Park.
However, it is highly unusual “to see them on a street corner eating a pigeon.”
Sympathy for the pigeons was in scarce supply among people outside the arena Thursday. One man, asked if he’d heard about the hawk’s hunting habits, said he hadn’t, but added: “Good for it.”
Read more ...
Friday, December 9, 2011
Jim Jenner's pigeons
by Brad Webber
The Rotarian -- December 2011
The Rotarian -- December 2011
Fifth grader Kane, with Jenner, is among the Philipsburg, Montana, students taking part in Young Wings. Photo by John Nilles
“I’ve heard every joke,” says Jim Jenner. Those laughs come at the expense of Columba livia, or the rock dove – also known as the humble pigeon. Jenner bristles at the bird’s bad PR, particularly Woody Allen’s famous characterization of pigeons as “rats with wings.”
With their uncanny ability to find their way home from hundreds of miles away, pigeons deserve a little respect, says Jenner, an award-winning filmmaker whose 1990 documentary, Marathon in the Sky: The Story of Pigeon Racing, remains an inspiration for hobbyists. Actor and director Michael Landon narrated the film in exchange for Jenner’s footage of birds in flight, which Landon later used in his TV movie Where Pigeons Go to Die.
Doves, which mate for life, are often a symbol of peace, but as Jenner noted during a speech to England’s House of Commons in 2005, they’ve also played a vital role during wartime, braving flak to carry code across battlefronts. One of the earliest domesticated creatures, pigeons boast a diverse group of famous fanciers, including Charles Darwin, Pablo Picasso (Paloma, his daughter’s name, is Spanish for dove), and Queen Elizabeth II. A program on the Animal Planet network, Taking on Tyson, follows former prizefighter Mike Tyson as he races his pigeons against birds owned by trash-talking wiseguys.
Thomas, who is featured in Jenner's documentary, is part of a pigeon program in Belgium. Photo by Jim JennerJenner, a member of the Rotary Club of Philipsburg, Mont., USA, “is a pretty dynamic figure in our world,” says John Heppner, president of the National Pigeon Association.
"Young Wings, a program Jenner started in 2009, brings children in Philipsburg, a 19th-century mining town, closer to the natural world. Through the program, children raise pigeons in a horse-trailer-turned-pigeon-loft. “This domestic creature, this wonderful, hardy, easy-to-care-for, inexpensive, and profoundly intelligent pet, can fit in with helping kids,” Jenner says.
He is completing a documentary about the program and similar projects, including one for former gang members in South Central Los Angeles and another for juvenile offenders in England.
Pigeons can help “young people become better people,” says Jenner. “I decided to make a film where I would tell a little of my own story and look for evidence that these birds can have a profound effect on children.”
Mike Cutler, superintendent of Philipsburg School District No. 1, says he’s seen how Young Wings has turned things around for some youngsters. “We’re a small community, but we have children from broken families. When those children find a love for pigeons, it kind of replaces things they may not be getting elsewhere. And it has taught the kids about the birds and the bees. It’s been a great science lesson.”
Jenner’s connection with pigeons began at age 10, when a classmate brought a cage with two street pigeons to their school in Seattle. “It was the first time a bird looked back at me,” he recalls. After talking his parents into letting him keep some birds of his own, “I had this responsibility, rain or shine, in all seasons, to take care of them. That teaches a child so much. Here I was, witnessing these very gentle, loving creatures. Their conduct with each other is a beautiful thing.”Besides, “it’s pretty neat to let something out of its cage and let it fly around the house at 50 miles per hour.”
Read more...
"Young Wings, a program Jenner started in 2009, brings children in Philipsburg, a 19th-century mining town, closer to the natural world. Through the program, children raise pigeons in a horse-trailer-turned-pigeon-loft. “This domestic creature, this wonderful, hardy, easy-to-care-for, inexpensive, and profoundly intelligent pet, can fit in with helping kids,” Jenner says.
He is completing a documentary about the program and similar projects, including one for former gang members in South Central Los Angeles and another for juvenile offenders in England.
Pigeons can help “young people become better people,” says Jenner. “I decided to make a film where I would tell a little of my own story and look for evidence that these birds can have a profound effect on children.”
Mike Cutler, superintendent of Philipsburg School District No. 1, says he’s seen how Young Wings has turned things around for some youngsters. “We’re a small community, but we have children from broken families. When those children find a love for pigeons, it kind of replaces things they may not be getting elsewhere. And it has taught the kids about the birds and the bees. It’s been a great science lesson.”
Jenner’s connection with pigeons began at age 10, when a classmate brought a cage with two street pigeons to their school in Seattle. “It was the first time a bird looked back at me,” he recalls. After talking his parents into letting him keep some birds of his own, “I had this responsibility, rain or shine, in all seasons, to take care of them. That teaches a child so much. Here I was, witnessing these very gentle, loving creatures. Their conduct with each other is a beautiful thing.”Besides, “it’s pretty neat to let something out of its cage and let it fly around the house at 50 miles per hour.”
Read more...
Sunday, December 4, 2011
How pigeons produce ‘milk’
Deakin University
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Deakin University scientists have revealed some of the secrets behind the pigeon’s rare ability to produce ‘milk’ to feed its young.Deakin PhD student Meagan Gillespie and research fellow Dr Tamsyn Crowley, along with colleagues from the University’s Institute for Technology Research and Innovation and CSIRO Livestock Industries, have studied the genes behind pigeon ‘milk’ production. They found that, like mammalian milk, it contains antioxidants and immune-enhancing proteins important for the growth and development of the young.
“Producing milk to feed babies is normally the domain of mammals, including humans. However, the pigeon is one of only three bird species (the others being flamingos and male emperor penguins) to produce a milk-like substance to feed their young,” Dr Crowley explained.“We looked at the genes involved in the production of pigeon ‘milk’ and found that it contains antioxidants and immune-enhancing factors. This suggests that, like mammalian milk, it plays a key role in enhancing the immune system of the developing baby.”Both female and male pigeons produce a nutrient rich substance in their crop to feed their young (squabs). This substance has been likened to lactation in mammals and is referred to as pigeon ‘milk’. This ‘milk’ is essential for the growth and development of the pigeon squab, and without it they fail to thrive.“Bird crops are normally used to store food. However, in the pigeon the crop changes prior to ‘lactation’ in response to hormones and returns to its ‘non-lactating’ state at the end of the lactation period, a bit like the mammary gland,” Ms Gillespie explained.“During ‘lactation’, a curd-like substance is created from fat-filled cells that line the crop and regurgitated to feed the squab. This ‘milk’ contains protein, fats, minerals and antibodies to provide nutrition to the young.”While studies have investigated the nutritional value of pigeon ‘milk’, very little is known about what it is or how it is produced.“This study has provided an insight into the process of pigeon ‘milk’ production by studying the genes expressed in the ‘lactating’ crop,” Ms Gillespie said.“Birds are different to other animals in that they don’t have sweat glands, but they do have the ability to accumulate fat in their outer skin cells (keratinocytes) which act like sweat glands. We found that the evolution of pigeon ‘milk’ appears to have developed from the ability of these outer skin cells to accumulate fat.“The way pigeon ‘milk’ is produced is an interesting example of the evolution of a system with similarities to mammalian lactation, with pigeon ‘milk’ fulfilling a similar function to mammalian milk but produced in a different way.”The results of the study will be published this week in BioMed Central’s journal BMC Genomics.About pigeon ‘milk’The crop in most species of birds is normally used as a food storage area. It is located between the oesophagus and the top of a bird’s stomach where food is moistened before further breakdown and digestion through the gastrointestinal tract.The pigeon is one of only three bird species (the others being flamingos and male emperor penguins) known to produce ‘milk’ to feed their young.In pigeons the milk starts to be produced in the crop of the parent birds two days before eggs hatch.During ‘lactation’, a curd-like substance is created from fat-filled cells that line the crop and regurgitated to feed the squab. This ‘milk’ is made up of protein (around 60 per cent), fat (up to 36 per cent), a small amount of carbohydrate (up to three per cent), a range of minerals and antibodies.Squabs are fed the ‘milk’ until they are around 10 days old. Once the young are weaned the ‘milk’ stops being produced.The unique qualities of pigeon milk have been shown in previous studies.One study tried replicating pigeon ‘milk’ however, for the squabs fed the artificial substance, their growth was either very poor or they died. This suggests that there is a unique quality to the pigeon milk that is necessary for squab growth and development.In another study, when pigeon ‘milk’ was fed to chickens their growth rate improved by 38 per cent. Since this study, it has been shown that pigeon ‘milk’ contains certain antibodies, which provides further evidence that it is not just a nutrient-based substance.
Read more...
Science Alert Australia & New Zealand
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Deakin University scientists have revealed some of the secrets behind the pigeon’s rare ability to produce ‘milk’ to feed its young.Deakin PhD student Meagan Gillespie and research fellow Dr Tamsyn Crowley, along with colleagues from the University’s Institute for Technology Research and Innovation and CSIRO Livestock Industries, have studied the genes behind pigeon ‘milk’ production. They found that, like mammalian milk, it contains antioxidants and immune-enhancing proteins important for the growth and development of the young.
“Producing milk to feed babies is normally the domain of mammals, including humans. However, the pigeon is one of only three bird species (the others being flamingos and male emperor penguins) to produce a milk-like substance to feed their young,” Dr Crowley explained.“We looked at the genes involved in the production of pigeon ‘milk’ and found that it contains antioxidants and immune-enhancing factors. This suggests that, like mammalian milk, it plays a key role in enhancing the immune system of the developing baby.”Both female and male pigeons produce a nutrient rich substance in their crop to feed their young (squabs). This substance has been likened to lactation in mammals and is referred to as pigeon ‘milk’. This ‘milk’ is essential for the growth and development of the pigeon squab, and without it they fail to thrive.“Bird crops are normally used to store food. However, in the pigeon the crop changes prior to ‘lactation’ in response to hormones and returns to its ‘non-lactating’ state at the end of the lactation period, a bit like the mammary gland,” Ms Gillespie explained.“During ‘lactation’, a curd-like substance is created from fat-filled cells that line the crop and regurgitated to feed the squab. This ‘milk’ contains protein, fats, minerals and antibodies to provide nutrition to the young.”While studies have investigated the nutritional value of pigeon ‘milk’, very little is known about what it is or how it is produced.“This study has provided an insight into the process of pigeon ‘milk’ production by studying the genes expressed in the ‘lactating’ crop,” Ms Gillespie said.“Birds are different to other animals in that they don’t have sweat glands, but they do have the ability to accumulate fat in their outer skin cells (keratinocytes) which act like sweat glands. We found that the evolution of pigeon ‘milk’ appears to have developed from the ability of these outer skin cells to accumulate fat.“The way pigeon ‘milk’ is produced is an interesting example of the evolution of a system with similarities to mammalian lactation, with pigeon ‘milk’ fulfilling a similar function to mammalian milk but produced in a different way.”The results of the study will be published this week in BioMed Central’s journal BMC Genomics.About pigeon ‘milk’The crop in most species of birds is normally used as a food storage area. It is located between the oesophagus and the top of a bird’s stomach where food is moistened before further breakdown and digestion through the gastrointestinal tract.The pigeon is one of only three bird species (the others being flamingos and male emperor penguins) known to produce ‘milk’ to feed their young.In pigeons the milk starts to be produced in the crop of the parent birds two days before eggs hatch.During ‘lactation’, a curd-like substance is created from fat-filled cells that line the crop and regurgitated to feed the squab. This ‘milk’ is made up of protein (around 60 per cent), fat (up to 36 per cent), a small amount of carbohydrate (up to three per cent), a range of minerals and antibodies.Squabs are fed the ‘milk’ until they are around 10 days old. Once the young are weaned the ‘milk’ stops being produced.The unique qualities of pigeon milk have been shown in previous studies.One study tried replicating pigeon ‘milk’ however, for the squabs fed the artificial substance, their growth was either very poor or they died. This suggests that there is a unique quality to the pigeon milk that is necessary for squab growth and development.In another study, when pigeon ‘milk’ was fed to chickens their growth rate improved by 38 per cent. Since this study, it has been shown that pigeon ‘milk’ contains certain antibodies, which provides further evidence that it is not just a nutrient-based substance.
Read more...
Science Alert Australia & New Zealand
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Bath & Moulting Pigeons
Do not overlook that moulting pigeons should have the opportunity to use the bath once or twice a week.
Twenty words or less TCC Loft Series
S. G. "Jim" Biss
S. G. "Jim" Biss
Widowhood Old and New
Edited by Colin Osman
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Annual pigeon racing tournament in Lahore: Bahrain’s sports ministry gives Rs 2.5 million to pigeon club
Daily Times
By Shahnawaz Klan
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
* Working with Pakistani govt to arrange pigeon tournament in both countries and exporting racing pigeons
LAHORE: The Bahraini Sports Ministry has given Rs 2.5 million to the Pakistan Pigeon Club (PPC) for its annual pigeon-racing tournament in Lahore, said Nayab Haider Naqvi, renowned pigeon keeper and racer, told Daily Times on Tuesday.
Naqvi is also PPC’s president and has authored a book and publishes a magazine on pigeon keeping and racing. He said the Bahraini ministry was also working with the Pakistani government to arrange a pigeon tournament in both countries as well as exporting racing pigeons from Pakistan.
He said Prince Sheikh Salman Bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, who also has a hobby of keeping pigeons and racing them, met PPC members during an international tournament and later introduced them to Sheikh Muhammad Ibrahim Bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Bahraini Sports Ministry Finance and Human Resources director.
Naqvi said that later both Bahrainis visited Pakistan and participated in annual pigeon racing tournaments. The Bahrainis said their government supported pigeon keeping and racing and suggested the PPC members forward it a summary on pigeon tournaments and trade in Pakistan, he added.
He said the PPC members forwarded the summary to Bahraini Sports Minister Sheikh Fawad after which the Bahraini government sent an official invitation to PPC members for talks on the issue. Naqvi said a three-member PPC delegation led by him and consisting of Amir Shakeel and Qamar Khan visited Bahrain and met Sheikh Fawad. He said that during the meeting the men discussed pigeon keeping, racing, trade and international tournaments, after which the minister said the Bahraini government wanted to give Rs 2.5 million for five annual tournaments to be held in Lahore. He said the PPC accepted the money and named the annual tournaments the ‘Bahrain Cup’, the first tournament to be held on May 28, 2007.
Naqvi said the first instalment was given to the PPC and that the Bahraini Sports Ministry showed interest in export racing pigeons from Pakistan and holding international tournaments in Bahrain and Pakistan on the government level.
Talking a bit about the actual sport of pigeon racing, Naqvi said it was a royal sport that could be traced back to the Mughal era.
He said the sport’s growing popularity had encouraged Pakistani pigeon keepers to organise international racing tournaments in the Gulf. He said pigeon lofts built using bricks were now a common sight in upscale areas such as Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Gulberg, Garden Town, Model Town and Allama Iqbal Town. He said pigeon keeping lost its appeal when it fell into ‘common hands’.
Naqvi said several renowned personalities including Tahir Sharif, owner of Pak Hero Motors; Hassnain Haider, owner of Hassnain Constructions; former Punjab Assembly member Imtiaz; Khalid Latif Randhawa, former Model Town Bar Association president; Dr GM Chattha, deputy medical superintendent of Services Hospital; Syed Gulzar Shah, zone manager of Askari Bank; Khalid Rabbani, manager of Deutsche Bank; Ehsan Sabri, former anti-terrorist court judge; and Muhammad Ahmad Khan Bhatti, legal adviser to the provincial ombudsman; were members of the Pigeon Association and had been trying to help the sport regain its glory over the past 20 years.
He said that according to a rough survey there were about 300,000 pigeon enthusiasts in Lahore and that pigeons association had organised two tournaments called Lahore Champions Cup and Lahore Champions Trophy in the city. He said the pigeon-racing season started in April and ended in the winter.
Naqvi said there were two types of pigeons called ‘Homers’ and ‘Tipplers’. He said Homers were long distance racers and one Homer completed a 400-kilometre race in 11 hours. He also said Tipplers flew for longer periods and such pigeons were used in endurance races.
Naqvi said several royal personalities from the Gulf had also picked up the hobby with the help of Lahore-based pigeon enthusiasts. He said international tournaments were being arranged annually in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.
Read more ...
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Mating Up Birds
Mate birds that fly best in an East wind together. Mate West winders together similarly. You will find it worth while.
W. S. "Billy" Pearson
Widowhood Old and New
Edited by Colin Osman
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Finished
A poor moult or wasted muscles are sure signs that the end is near.
Taken from Widowhood Flying
by Mark Gordon
Twenty words or less TCC Loft series
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Feather of a Sick Pigeon
The feel of the feather of a sick pigeon is much different from that of a healthy bird. The healthy one's feather has a satin smoothness allied with a seeming 'greasy' feel whereas the sickly pigeon's feather is dry and coarse, appearing to be 'brittle' to the touch. The difference is quite unmistakable.
Taken from The Ailments & Diseases of The Racing Pigeon
by Old Hand
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Worms
Be sure to treat for worms a month before pairing up the birds.
Twenty words or less TCC Loft series
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Five-Point Inspection
Old Hand's five-point physical inspection of long distance pigeons includes;
- The bulge of the Pectoral Muscle
- The slight arch in the back
- The short forearm when studying the wing butt
- The silky Plumage
- The throat and serrated curtain
Taken from The Racing Pigeon & Pigeon Racing For All
by Old Hand
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Selecting Foundation Stock
When selecting pigeons as breeders, it is preferable for the fancier to divide his appraisal of the bird into several distinct categories. for example,
- Inspect to confirm the bird's physical properties
- Inspect to confirm its general good health
- Investigate to ascertain its class breeding
Taken from Racing Pigeon & Pigeon Racing For All
by Old Hand
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Stress
Pigeons under stress are more susceptible to illness than those that are relaxed and serene.
Twenty words or less TCC Loft series
S. G. "Jim" Biss
S. G. "Jim" Biss
Widowhood Old and New
Edited by Colin Osman
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Good & Bad
Nothing is more easily contracted than a habit.
Twenty words or less TCC Loft Series
Twenty words or less TCC Loft Series
Violette
Widowhood Old and New
Edited by Colin Osman
When the Racers Take Flight, Literally
The New York Times
By DEVIN SMITH
Published: October 26, 2003
SHIRLEY— LESS than 70 miles from New York City, where pigeons are widely regarded as feathered rats, fanciers gather to haggle over the price of thoroughbred racing pigeons.
Every week, on Wednesday nights and Sunday afternoons, as many as 60 people crowd into the back room of the Pigeon Store at 60 Northern Boulevard in Shirley to discuss breeds, eat doughnuts and occasionally buy a bird.
''Pigeons are a big deal around here,'' said Joan Schroeder, who works at the store and breeds her own birds. ''I nearly couldn't squeeze into the auction room last week there were so many people.'' Auctions are also held at the Pigeon Store's second location, in Lindenhurst.
On Long Island, an estimated 2,500 pigeon owners breed, fly and race more than 300 types of birds. The Nassau-Suffolk Pigeon Fanciers Club, which has about 100 members, holds three shows and a swap event each year at the Holtsville Ecology Center. Its biggest event, to be held on Nov. 15. this year, showcases about 2,000 birds, none of which would be found on a city street corner.
''The general public will always assume the pigeons we breed are the same as the ones they see in the park,'' said Deone Roberts, the spokeswoman for the American Racing Pigeon Union in Oklahoma City, a national organization that promotes pigeon racing. ''But that's like comparing a thoroughbred to a plow horse, or a champion show dog to a street mutt.''
There are some 1,000 pigeon clubs in the United States with membership ranging into the tens of thousands, the racing union estimates. Although no organization keeps track of the exact number of clubs, fanciers with decades of experience estimated that there are 12 to 15 on Long Island alone. Some towns on the Island require licenses for pigeon lofts, but fanciers said that that stipulation was honored mostly in the breach.
As with horses, the variety of pigeon breeds seems endless, but at the Pigeon Store's auctions, homing pigeons -- birds capable of returning to their home lofts from after journeys of thousands of miles -- constitute the largest number of sales.
Then there are the tipplers, or birds that can stay aloft for more than 15 hours; fancy birds, the result of crossing different breeds to create rare and elegant strains; and rollers, or pigeons that tumble as if shot in midair, only to spring back to life and surge skyward.
At a recent auction, iridescent green and gray homing pigeons fluttered nervously in their cages. As big-band music filtered through overhead speakers, a handful of men, mostly elderly and white, appraised the birds, preparing to stock up for the fall racing season, which runs from Labor Day to early November. Some unsentimental fanciers even buy large homing squabs for the dinner table.
The average price for a racing pigeon is about $5, but the cost of a bird with a champion lineage can rise into the hundreds, if not thousands.
On the day before a race, which may range from 100 to 800 miles, fanciers gather at their local club with the birds they plan to register. They load the birds onto the club's trailer for the trip to the race's starting point, called the liberation site. For Long Island fanciers, the sites are usually somewhere in Pennsylvania, Ohio or New Jersey, depending on the race mileage.
At dawn the next morning, club representatives release the birds and watch as they wing their way eastward. The bird that flies at the fastest average speed, measured in yards per minute using Global Positioning data, from the liberation site back to its home loft, is the winner. Most of the birds fly at speeds of 35 to 60 miles per hour, depending on the wind direction and velocity.
''Racing pigeons are little athletes,'' said Ms. Roberts, the racing union spokeswoman. ''They're racehorses with wings.''
Some fanciers have equipped their lofts with high-tech clocks and electronic landing pads that read transmitters on their birds' leg bands and automatically clock them in. The owners then take a printout of the times to the club sponsoring the race.
Tradition-bound fanciers do all this by hand. They wait for their birds with string paddles, or poling sticks, which resemble lacrosse sticks and are used to capture the birds when they arrive. The owners remove the leg bands and put them in capsules, which are placed in the slot of a time-stamp clock. When the fancier turns a crank, a capsule is stamped with the arrival time. Capsules are held in the clock's innards until the clock is opened at race headquarters.
But sometimes the birds don't come back at all. Predators, power lines, storms and strong winds all take their toll. ''You hate to lose them, but you can't beat nature,'' said Val Matteucci of Hicksville, a fancier for 40 years and the secretary-treasurer of the International Federation of American Homing Pigeon Fanciers, organized in 1881. ''If they stop in a tree or hit a wire and fall to the ground, they can become prey very easily.''
Humans have used homing pigeons for more than 5,000 years to send messages over great distances. The United States Army used tens of thousands of birds in both World Wars and in the Korean War when radio silence was necessary or when communications had been disabled. Now pigeons are used by the military as a double-check on chemical-weapons sensors, much as canaries were once used by miners.
Scientists still don't know how homing pigeons find their way, but they believe that the birds pick up cues from the position of the sun and from geomagnetic fields.
In Europe, pigeon races often carry six-figure cash prizes, and each year, the Million Dollar Pigeon Race is held in South Africa. In the United States most fanciers compete only for diplomas and trophies, although the Snowbird Classic, which is sponsored by the Fernando Valley Club of Sun Valley, Calif., is expected to offer $100,000 in prize money for the first 10 finishers. The race will next be run on Nov. 20, 2004.
Gary, a fancier from Mastic Beach who insisted that his last name not be printed because he did not have a license for his 350-bird loft, said that feeding pigeons has some fringe benefits.
''Their droppings are the best fertilizer,'' he said. ''You scrape it up and throw it in the garden. In a few days, it pushes up tomatoes like forget about it.''
Photos: John Leone, far left, checks in for an East Meadow Pigeon Club race. There are an estimated 2,500 pigeon fanciers and 12 to 15 clubs on the Island.; For the East Meadow club's 300-mile race last month, pigeons were transported in crates to the starting point in Somerset, Pa. (Photographs by Phil Marino for The New York Times)
Read more ...
Monday, October 17, 2011
The 'First' Cross
It remains only for me to point out that most of the big classic long distance races have been won by racing pigeons bred from a first cross, mostly in those cases where an inbred cross has been coupled to a member of another good line-bred, or inbred family. In other words, the first cross champion is usually the product of a coupling between two well-established inbred families, not from an out-crossed specimen mated to another much out-crossed bird.
Taken from The Racing Pigeon & Pigeon Racing For All
by Old Hand
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Vaccinations
Hold off your vaccinations until after the moult. Avoid negative results during the breeding, racing, and moulting periods.
twenty words or less TCC Loft series
Monday, October 10, 2011
Intelligence
Intelligence is the first quality of a good pigeon. An intelligent bird while homing will take the best out of favourable circumstances, it will fly low and prefer the valley when a headwind is prevailing; with favourable wind, it will choose the zone in the sky which is likely to help it to its loft in the shortest time.
Taken from The Practical Side of Pigeon Racing
by Leon Petit
May 1952
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Pigeon racing a feather in his cap
Otago Daily Times
Jasmine Netzler-Iose
July 2, 2009
Brian Christian, of Timaru, has had a fascination for pigeons since he was a young boy.
In 1976, when he was old enough to own land, he built a loft and raced pigeons as a hobby.
Now, 33 years later, he continues to be fascinated with birds and, in particular, pigeons' homing ability.
Mr Christian said that kept him passionate about the sport.
Racing pigeons were trained when they were four or five months old, he said.
The pigeons were taught how to fly in a straight line instead of in circles.
The pigeons eventually learnt how to increase their flying distances, he said.
The pigeons were driven or freighted to the start of races and then they were liberated.
Once the birds were a week old, a metal ring was placed around one of their legs.
The ring recorded the date the pigeon hatched and the name of the club it belonged to.
The ring stayed on the pigeon's leg for life.
But before a race, a rubber ring was placed on the pigeon's other leg, he said.
Once the bird arrived home from a race, the rubber ring was removed by the bird's owner and placed into a pre-set clocking machine, identifying the time it landed.
Mr Christian believed it was this method of clocking in the birds that prompted many people to leave before the races were over.
Mr Christian, who is the secretary of the South Canterbury Pigeon Flying Club (SCPFC), said the club was always keen to recruit new members.
‘‘It's a sport very big overseas and in the bigger centres around New Zealand, but in Timaru we are struggling for members at the moment,'' he said.
The SCPFC was established in the 1930s, he said.
Back then, the club had many members, right up to the 1970s when there were more than 16.
Today the club continued, but with only 10 members.
‘‘It's not an expensive sport to be a part of but this depends on the number of birds in your loft,'' he said.
Mr Christian said it was not the cost of raising pigeons that was the problem but the fact pigeon racing was time consuming.
''This is why the club is struggling with members.''
Often during races people left before the birds returned home, he said.
He said many people continued to enter their birds in the young birds' races because they were less time-consuming, but the club was looking at a new method of clocking in the birds.
Mr Christian said the club was seeking funds to buy an Electronic Timing System which would allow pigeon owners to be elsewhere while the machine automatically clocked the birds in at the end of a race.
The young birds' racing season, involving birds aged six months to a year, is from March to June.
After turning one, the birds are eligible for old bird racing competitions, which take place in September and December.
The SCPFC's longest race was 1000km from the East Cape in the North Island to Timaru, Mr Christian said.
Anyone interested in joining the club can contact Gary King on (03) 688-3946 or Mr Christian on (03) 686-1819 or 027 600-5572.
Read more ...
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Feed The Moult
Feed the moult as you would feed developing babies in the nest.
Twenty words or less TCC Loft series
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Close & Far
Breeding for stock, breed as close as you can. Breeding for racing go as far as you can.
Taken from Widowhood Flying
by Mark Gordon
Twenty words or less TCC Loft series
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Are racing pigeon fanciers a vanishing breed?
The Wenatchee World
By Hannah Dreier, McClatchy News Service
Thursday, August 12, 2010
McClatchy photo
Martinez Homing Pigeon Club members Hans Foell, left, and Juan Soto stand with some of their birds inside a loft in Concord, Calif.
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — Hans Foell spends race days pacing his Concord, Calif., backyard, squinting up Kirker Pass as he waits for one of his prizewinning birds to come into view.
Foell’s brother gave him his first homing pigeon when he was 5. He speaks passionately about his pedigreed fleet and dismisses common pigeons as “street rats.”
But the birds may not be coming over the pass much longer — blown off course by changing cultural currents, this esoteric pastime is in decline.
The “thoroughbreds of the sky” are remnants of a time when children spent afternoons on rooftops and in barnyards, sons learned the sport at their fathers’ sides, and even toughs such as Marlon Brando’s character, Terry Malloy, in the 1954 film “On the Waterfront” sought solace in feathered companionship.
Oakley, Calif., resident Wes Askins, who won his first pigeon race at age 14 and now hosts a weekly pigeon-themed show on www.pigeonradio.com, remembers those days well.
“We didn’t have computers or video games,” Askins, 56, said. “Pigeons were all we had — or trouble.”
When Askins and Foell were growing up, the Martinez Homing Pigeon Club had dozens of “junior members.” Today, the youngest fanciers in the almost century-old club are in their 30s. Old-timers say it is too difficult to interest over-scheduled youths in a sport that requires several hours of solitary labor every day to compete in, let alone win.
Fanciers must be trainers, vets, parents and friends to their birds. The most successful trainers rise before daylight to sweep cages, administer vitamins and exercise the small athletes. Many have spent sleepless nights waiting for lost birds to return.
“You have to be there every day,” said Lee Schneider, treasurer for the Bay Cities Combine, the Bay Area’s umbrella pigeon-racing organization. “You can’t ever close the door and leave for the weekend.”
Zoning ordinances and urbanization have driven fanciers to the more rural corners of the region, and the increasing costs of feed and medicine have driven away some from the sport.
Combined membership has dropped by one-third since World War II to 200 members, even as the area the organization covers has expanded. Nationwide, the number of pigeon fanciers has plunged to 20,000 from a peak of 100,000, according to the International Federation of American Homing Pigeon Fanciers.
Membership would have fallen even more dramatically if not for an influx of immigrants who grew up with racing pigeons in their native countries, Schneider said.
Vincente Saro, of Byron, Calif., is one of several younger Martinez club members who raced birds as a child in Mexico. His pigeon, El Gordo, recently won a 250-mile race.
“It’s a beautiful thing because it fills you with pride,” he said in Spanish.
But it saddens Saro that his American-raised sons have failed to take up his hobby.
“There’s no way to teach a child the joy of flying pigeons,” he said.
Read more ...
Saturday, September 17, 2011
The Muscles
Graders such as Piet de Weerd pay more attention to the muscles on a pigeon than any other aspect of its confirmation.
Taken from Widowhood Flying
by Mark Gordon
Twenty words or less TCC Loft series
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Tom, Dick and Harry
Don't invite Tom, Dick and Harry to visit your loft after they have just left another.
Taken from The Ailments & Diseases of The Racing Pigeon
by Old Hand
Twenty words or less TCC Loft series
Friday, September 9, 2011
The Loft Ceiling & Ventilation
The ideal loft, in my opinion, does not have a flat roof but a peaked one, so that a ceiling can be built and there is an air space between it and the roof. It should face south or south-west, have plenty of windows, which can be opened or shut easily. But most important, it should have a ventilating system. There are many variations, but the ideal one has a louvered ventilator or opening of some sort in the front of each compartment at or near floor level. This is where the fresh air enters. If there is an opening on the back wall it will create a draft. Many lofts have such an opening above their perches and they wonder why, on cold damp days after nice warm weather, their birds come down, with colds and other illnesses. But the fresh air must rise and leave the loft to work properly. Therefore there should be ventilators in the roof.
In the loft, pigeons should be kept on the back wall, either in nests or on perches. The back half of the ceiling should be solid and usually is constructed of plywood. The front half should be of dowels or narrow slats. Now the fresh air can enter the loft on the coldest day when the windows are shut. It gradually rises and as it cannot get out behind the birds or above them, it moves to the front of the loft and goes out the roof ventilators as newer fresher air enters the lower ventilator.
Taken from Widowhood Flying
by Mark Gordon
Monday, September 5, 2011
Study finds pigeons love a flutter
Abbie Thomas
ABC Science
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Some gamblers like to forgo their winnings for the chance of a much bigger win - and it seems pigeons like to take the same risk.
Research by Thomas Zentall and Jessica Stagner from the University of Kentucky shows pigeons prefer an all-or-nothing outcome than the guarantee of a much smaller reward.
Feeling lucky pigeon? Research suggests pigeons, like humans, would rather play for a bigger outcome (Source: STR New/REUTERS)
The researchers say this runs contrary to optimal foraging theory, which says animals evolve to make the most rational choices possible to guarantee their survival.
Instead, it seems pigeons behave more like human gamblers, risking everything for the small chance of a big return.
In the experiment, which appears today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, eight pigeons were taught the outcomes of two different sequences if they pecked either a vertical or a horizontal line on a screen.
They learned that if they chose the vertical line, they had a 20% chance of a big food reward (10 pellets), or an 80% chance of no reward at all (0 pellets). If they chose the horizontal line, they had a guaranteed reward of three pellets - effectively a non-gambling option.
When the pigeons were then presented with the choice of pecking either vertical or horizontal lines, to the surprise of the researchers, most chose the vertical line despite the fact that it gave them less food overall.
Averaged over many trials, six of the eight pigeons made choices that gave them an average of two food pellets over an alternative three.
"This choice behaviour mimics human monetary gambling in which the infrequent occurrence of a stimulus signalling the winning event is overemphasised and the more frequent occurrence of a stimulus signalling the losing event is underemphasised," the researchers write.
In other words, we only remember our wins, not our losses.
Lifestyle consequence
Commenting on the research, Dr K-lynn Smith who is a behavioural biologist in the School of Biology at Macquarie University says the results are interesting because they contradict accepted theory.
"Animals are supposed to make rational decisions," says Smith. "An animal would normally think 'what's the easiest way to answer this question?' or 'what's the fastest way to get the food'? - that's why these results are so surprising.
"What we're seeing here is the concept of a jackpot - you have a very positive feeling when you suddenly get a huge amount of food and you remember that very well, whereas when you lose and you didn't get what you want, you discount that."
Smith believes the pigeon's behaviour may have something to do with their lifestyle.
"Pigeons spend their time looking for seeds or trees that are blooming. These are patchy food sources where there might be a big win if you hit the right patch," she says.
"So it could be that they are being driven to find the big rewards where there could be a huge amount that will pay off and feed you all at one time, rather than staying on a food source where there is very little [reward].
"It could also be that the pigeons in the experiment weren't that hungry. They knew they were always going to get back to their cage to get food. So it's possible that they didn't need this reward as much - it wasn't a life and death situation.
Either way, Smith says it raises some interesting questions.
"Perhaps it tells us the reward system in pigeons is more similar to humans
Read more ...
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Cod Liver Oil
Heitzman gave his young bird racers Cod Liver Oil Capsules during September and October cold nights.
Twenty words or less TCC Loft series
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Loft Atmosphere
Keep widowers in a warm but fresh atmosphere with the least amount of change in temperature between night and day.
Taken from The Secret of Speed
by E. J. Sains
Twenty words or less TCC Loft series
Monday, August 22, 2011
News Carrying Pigeons Aid Japanese Press
Popular Mechanics
February 1935
Latest news and undeveloped photographic film frequently are rushed from the scene of a big event to Japanese newspapers by pigeons. The birds have been found a handy substitute for telegraph and telephone, being sent winging to headquarters with the latest scores of games or news bulletins. This flying messenger service has been operated successfully between Yokohama and Tokyo. Exposed film is placed in a case resembling a fountain pen and attached to the bird’s back, while news reports are carried in aluminum capsules fastened to the bird’s legs.
Read more ...
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Heavy Pigeons
Heavy pigeons lose more weight in a race than a pigeon sent with the correct weight and in condition.
Twenty words or less TCC Loft series
Friday, August 19, 2011
The Father Of Freud
by Earl Lowell Robbie aka "No Sweat" Robbins, Jr.
Its the biggest race of your life. You've done everything to create the perfect bird. You put Mendel to shame with your genetic prowess. The body and feather of your entry has been created for this exact race. You know exactly what type pigeon it will take to conquer this terrain, distance and the weather that's likely to be encountered. Moult, your bird makes Mona Lisa frown. Psychology, you are the father of Freud.
How smart are you about condition? A genius. Assuredly.
Maybe not.
Maybe there's another way of thinking. Thinking not new. Thinking you would have been exposed to if you were a collegiate athlete in swimming or track. Thinking that involves more than physiology. Thinking that's been adopted for training thoroughbreds. Training quite the cup of tea for any animal on a given day.
What is it like to walk one mile or swim 100 yards? If you do it over and over what happens to your body? What happens to your mind? What if you decide to run one mile or that 100 yards?
What is the best way to be your best?
Is your pigeon a pigeon?
Freud's father was never advertised for being too smart. But then, he might've been smarter than the ever so many genius' roaming within our sport that look upon a poor pigeon as some kind of locomotive constant. Something you can train over and over at the same distance. Your little locomotive.
That pigeon ain't no pigeon?
To get the best from a racing pigeon it should have that perfect body, feather, eye and disposition. Oddly enough, the same can be said for humans.
If you are in some sort of training schedule and you run a five miles every day or if you are a pigeon and home 100 miles every day you may eventually be great at what you do but when can you be your very optimum best?
Strange and mindless. I suppose sums up humans. Freud concerned himself over such. When it comes to racing pigeons, it shines.
A pigeon is decidedly not a pigeon.
After you turn that pigeon into your artistic F-15 how can you get it to do its absolute best?
Of course. But you need to have an edge over love. Love can move mountains but it might not win a race.
Somewhere down the line you have either developed a sixth sense about pigeons or you haven't. Unfortunately, most of the fanciers I've stumbled upon do well to have five senses, let alone this sixth.
If you are a sheik and come to America and buy the best yearlings down from Seattle Slew, Alyadar, Unbridled, Curlin and company, and think that's all it will take to win the Kentucky Derby--- that and locomotive training, then you will sadly learn as so man sheiks have already experienced, it ain't that simple.
Are you one of those fliers training birds 20 to 100 miles every day believing that doing such will have your birds perfect come that one great race?
Taint so.
That kind of thinking and that kind of psychology puts Freud's father a genius in comparison to your wretched brain.
There is a method of training called, tapering. Tapering is not a method wherein a human or pigeon is trained to do the same thing over and over day in and day out and on any given day be its best. It is in fact a method that explores and utilizes a certain discipline and understanding of all things possible. And in this understanding, if done just so, you actually do have a given day or a given time frame wherein you or your pigeon can be at your optimum best.
And yes, there are exceptions to everything. I suppose, even exceptions to tapering. On given events, I've observed humans, horses and pigeons winning and in review of their training there was no tapering involved.
But then, that same person, horse or pigeon may well have done even better than it did if it had been tapered just so.
In something physical you need to build up to that point you are hoping to achieve. This involves a gradual increase going from a beginning to that pinnacle of where you want to go. I was a distance swimmer in college, training with 15 ALL AMERICANS for four years. I was as green as grass when I came there. Didn't know a thing about tapering.
But my swim coach, Don Combs, the son of Earle Combs, the famous Hall Of Famer that batted third on MURDERERS ROW for the NY Yankees after Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, for some reason, probably because I was a poor hillbilly like him, took me under his wing and after four years, instilled within me a seasoned knowledge of what tapering was all about and how it had no human boundaries.
I've also been around thoroughbreds for some fifty years and by some nefarious design fell into wagering on them. There was a point in my poor life where I thought I had a real handle on all there was to know about race horses. I can still remember betting $4,000 on Alyadar in The Kentucky Derby. Losing that bet was an expensive education.
I still love thoroughbreds. I still swim. And I still dwell at the track and breathe that same air that I did over a half century ago. I still read the form. And because I do study the form so closely, I've noticed several things regarding thoroughbreds that have evolved over the past fifty years. One is that now the breeding of thoroughbreds is centering far more on line-breeding than it ever once did. In years past, you rarely saw such concentration on certain blood. And two, its become obvious that many of the trainers are beginning to employ variations of tapering.
Mark Spitz could tell you about tapering. So could Michel Phelps. Both used tapering to win to make them the best swimmers in the world. The way they handled tapering put them at their very best for a given time. They beat every swimmer in the world. It was no accident. It involved much preparation. And certainly, they were not locked into some mindless training wherein all they did day in or day out was the same routine.
Tapering is complex when studied on all fronts as it must encompass everything around you as well as the basics.
Basics is the nitty gritty. For racing pigeons, tapering could apply differently depending on when and what you want to achieve. Tapering could take on several faces. But allow me to explain some simple arrangement of understanding of tapering. Let's say there is going to be a 300 mile young bird race of great importance in November. Its that race you've known about for a year and would love to win. You know how to conquer all the issues of breeding, moult, etc but you really don't know anything about tapering.
To begin, you would want to circle the date of the race in your mind. If the race is on November 15Th you will have to time your training and tapering for that exact date. At some point you will have taken your young birds out for their first training toss and as time has gone by you will have them out as far as 100 miles, possibly farther. A series of training tosses increasing in distances could vary. For the sake of argument and a simple example allow me to hypothesize a basic outline you would want to employ. Let's baby these birds and take them on this toss-training-tapering schedule as best we can: 1st toss: 1 mile. 2nd toss: 5 miles. 3rd toss: 10 miles. 4th toss: 20 miles. 5th -- 6th toss: 30 miles. 7th toss: 20 miles. 8th- toss: 50 miles. 9th--10th toss: 60 miles. 11th toss: 20 miles. 12th toss 100 miles.
This is just one hypothetical schedule that starts out using a tapering training program to begin to get your birds in superior condition. You could adopt nearly any manner of distances you feel that are best suited for you just so long as you employ the basic theme of what tapering encompasses.
First, the basic concept involves gradually building your birds up by increasing distances. Sometimes you may want to stay at those distances to make certain that you are very strong at that level. Then, at some point, you will want to regress and go back, decreasing the distance. Alot happens when you do this. But basically it will normally cause the animal to have a little less pressure placed on it that day, Less energy output. And in the doing will cause a rather wonderful expansion in psyche and muscle development. Its almost the same principle in a round about way as your employer telling you that he's giving you a paid month's vacation and when you come back he expects you to tackle some tough assignments. And the truth is, it works. Surveys have proved that people who work four ten hour days are happier and more productive than people who work five eight hour days.
When it involves racing pigeons, what you must learn about tapering is how to build up to a distance, maintain that distance, come back down from that distance and then go on farther with the distance. Continuously building up and going back at all sorts of levels. Slowly but surely reaching new levels of endurance. Its a matter of timing and understanding and with racing pigeons you must always be astute, carefully handling and watching each bird. If a bird becomes weak or is in a heavy moult you must note such. If the sky turns dark and there is likely to be a downpour on a training day you have to back off and re-think your strategy.
Freud's father, Jacob, was a wool merchant. He lost his business because of the economic crisis of 1857. A crisis that led to our Civil War. A great many events led to this crisis. Events beyond Jacob's control. And yet, history records Freud's father at being basically unsuccessful.
Maybe Jacob would have done better if he had understood tapering.
But then, Jacob, in his despair, would've confessed, some pigeons are pigeons.
One of the favorite tactics that race horse trainers employ is to have their chosen horse that has been racing at 11/8 mile races on a regular basis to drop down in distance to a mile or even a six furlong race for a given race. As a handicapper, you must always pay careful attention when a trainer does this as so many times such a horse will win this shorter race. This all comes back to tapering. Even when trainers are aiming at The Kentucky Derby they will work their entries previous to the races with all manner of workouts and so many are either in the building up stage or the tapering down stage. Both involving the principles of tapering.
So what about that big 300 mile bookoo race that is going to put your handsome face on the cover of The Racing Pigeon Digest and have your racing pigeon soaring in every fancier's imagination?
If it were me, I would build the bird/s up to 100 miles something like I've mentioned. Then,depending on what the race schedule happened to be. I would employ that schedule to my design. If the race schedule didn't fit my plan, I would train the birds on my own at the distances and times that best benefited them. Once you reach 100 miles many things are possible. You might want to continue several tosses at that distances. You may want to go on up to 150 or 200 miles. You may even want to fly a 300 or a 350 or a 400. Flying a 300 prior the race and then tapering back down with ample rest would be an ideal situation. Tapering down before that bookoo 300. And throughout this tapering down, you would also want to assure that your birds were beautifully content and in love with their home. I would take up residence in the loft watching their every move, psychoanalyzing their every coo. During this tapering you would want to employ all your knowledge regrading the right types and amounts of feed, the right amounts of light that the birds should have while roosting-- controlling the darkness of the a loft in harmony with tapering can help achieve superior contentment of the birds as well as condition.
If tapering didn't produce winning results, athletes and thoroughbred trainers wouldn't use it. It remains rather amazing that so many racing pigeon fliers still own no concept of tapering and how to use the method. Locomotives may be locomotives but pigeons ain't pigeons.
Not unless you are a pigeon, too.
Ask Jacob.
Its the biggest race of your life. You've done everything to create the perfect bird. You put Mendel to shame with your genetic prowess. The body and feather of your entry has been created for this exact race. You know exactly what type pigeon it will take to conquer this terrain, distance and the weather that's likely to be encountered. Moult, your bird makes Mona Lisa frown. Psychology, you are the father of Freud.
How smart are you about condition? A genius. Assuredly.
Maybe not.
Maybe there's another way of thinking. Thinking not new. Thinking you would have been exposed to if you were a collegiate athlete in swimming or track. Thinking that involves more than physiology. Thinking that's been adopted for training thoroughbreds. Training quite the cup of tea for any animal on a given day.
What is it like to walk one mile or swim 100 yards? If you do it over and over what happens to your body? What happens to your mind? What if you decide to run one mile or that 100 yards?
What is the best way to be your best?
Is your pigeon a pigeon?
Freud's father was never advertised for being too smart. But then, he might've been smarter than the ever so many genius' roaming within our sport that look upon a poor pigeon as some kind of locomotive constant. Something you can train over and over at the same distance. Your little locomotive.
That pigeon ain't no pigeon?
To get the best from a racing pigeon it should have that perfect body, feather, eye and disposition. Oddly enough, the same can be said for humans.
If you are in some sort of training schedule and you run a five miles every day or if you are a pigeon and home 100 miles every day you may eventually be great at what you do but when can you be your very optimum best?
Strange and mindless. I suppose sums up humans. Freud concerned himself over such. When it comes to racing pigeons, it shines.
A pigeon is decidedly not a pigeon.
After you turn that pigeon into your artistic F-15 how can you get it to do its absolute best?
Of course. But you need to have an edge over love. Love can move mountains but it might not win a race.
Somewhere down the line you have either developed a sixth sense about pigeons or you haven't. Unfortunately, most of the fanciers I've stumbled upon do well to have five senses, let alone this sixth.
If you are a sheik and come to America and buy the best yearlings down from Seattle Slew, Alyadar, Unbridled, Curlin and company, and think that's all it will take to win the Kentucky Derby--- that and locomotive training, then you will sadly learn as so man sheiks have already experienced, it ain't that simple.
Are you one of those fliers training birds 20 to 100 miles every day believing that doing such will have your birds perfect come that one great race?
Taint so.
That kind of thinking and that kind of psychology puts Freud's father a genius in comparison to your wretched brain.
There is a method of training called, tapering. Tapering is not a method wherein a human or pigeon is trained to do the same thing over and over day in and day out and on any given day be its best. It is in fact a method that explores and utilizes a certain discipline and understanding of all things possible. And in this understanding, if done just so, you actually do have a given day or a given time frame wherein you or your pigeon can be at your optimum best.
And yes, there are exceptions to everything. I suppose, even exceptions to tapering. On given events, I've observed humans, horses and pigeons winning and in review of their training there was no tapering involved.
But then, that same person, horse or pigeon may well have done even better than it did if it had been tapered just so.
In something physical you need to build up to that point you are hoping to achieve. This involves a gradual increase going from a beginning to that pinnacle of where you want to go. I was a distance swimmer in college, training with 15 ALL AMERICANS for four years. I was as green as grass when I came there. Didn't know a thing about tapering.
But my swim coach, Don Combs, the son of Earle Combs, the famous Hall Of Famer that batted third on MURDERERS ROW for the NY Yankees after Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, for some reason, probably because I was a poor hillbilly like him, took me under his wing and after four years, instilled within me a seasoned knowledge of what tapering was all about and how it had no human boundaries.
I've also been around thoroughbreds for some fifty years and by some nefarious design fell into wagering on them. There was a point in my poor life where I thought I had a real handle on all there was to know about race horses. I can still remember betting $4,000 on Alyadar in The Kentucky Derby. Losing that bet was an expensive education.
I still love thoroughbreds. I still swim. And I still dwell at the track and breathe that same air that I did over a half century ago. I still read the form. And because I do study the form so closely, I've noticed several things regarding thoroughbreds that have evolved over the past fifty years. One is that now the breeding of thoroughbreds is centering far more on line-breeding than it ever once did. In years past, you rarely saw such concentration on certain blood. And two, its become obvious that many of the trainers are beginning to employ variations of tapering.
Mark Spitz could tell you about tapering. So could Michel Phelps. Both used tapering to win to make them the best swimmers in the world. The way they handled tapering put them at their very best for a given time. They beat every swimmer in the world. It was no accident. It involved much preparation. And certainly, they were not locked into some mindless training wherein all they did day in or day out was the same routine.
Tapering is complex when studied on all fronts as it must encompass everything around you as well as the basics.
Basics is the nitty gritty. For racing pigeons, tapering could apply differently depending on when and what you want to achieve. Tapering could take on several faces. But allow me to explain some simple arrangement of understanding of tapering. Let's say there is going to be a 300 mile young bird race of great importance in November. Its that race you've known about for a year and would love to win. You know how to conquer all the issues of breeding, moult, etc but you really don't know anything about tapering.
To begin, you would want to circle the date of the race in your mind. If the race is on November 15Th you will have to time your training and tapering for that exact date. At some point you will have taken your young birds out for their first training toss and as time has gone by you will have them out as far as 100 miles, possibly farther. A series of training tosses increasing in distances could vary. For the sake of argument and a simple example allow me to hypothesize a basic outline you would want to employ. Let's baby these birds and take them on this toss-training-tapering schedule as best we can: 1st toss: 1 mile. 2nd toss: 5 miles. 3rd toss: 10 miles. 4th toss: 20 miles. 5th -- 6th toss: 30 miles. 7th toss: 20 miles. 8th- toss: 50 miles. 9th--10th toss: 60 miles. 11th toss: 20 miles. 12th toss 100 miles.
This is just one hypothetical schedule that starts out using a tapering training program to begin to get your birds in superior condition. You could adopt nearly any manner of distances you feel that are best suited for you just so long as you employ the basic theme of what tapering encompasses.
First, the basic concept involves gradually building your birds up by increasing distances. Sometimes you may want to stay at those distances to make certain that you are very strong at that level. Then, at some point, you will want to regress and go back, decreasing the distance. Alot happens when you do this. But basically it will normally cause the animal to have a little less pressure placed on it that day, Less energy output. And in the doing will cause a rather wonderful expansion in psyche and muscle development. Its almost the same principle in a round about way as your employer telling you that he's giving you a paid month's vacation and when you come back he expects you to tackle some tough assignments. And the truth is, it works. Surveys have proved that people who work four ten hour days are happier and more productive than people who work five eight hour days.
When it involves racing pigeons, what you must learn about tapering is how to build up to a distance, maintain that distance, come back down from that distance and then go on farther with the distance. Continuously building up and going back at all sorts of levels. Slowly but surely reaching new levels of endurance. Its a matter of timing and understanding and with racing pigeons you must always be astute, carefully handling and watching each bird. If a bird becomes weak or is in a heavy moult you must note such. If the sky turns dark and there is likely to be a downpour on a training day you have to back off and re-think your strategy.
Freud's father, Jacob, was a wool merchant. He lost his business because of the economic crisis of 1857. A crisis that led to our Civil War. A great many events led to this crisis. Events beyond Jacob's control. And yet, history records Freud's father at being basically unsuccessful.
Maybe Jacob would have done better if he had understood tapering.
But then, Jacob, in his despair, would've confessed, some pigeons are pigeons.
One of the favorite tactics that race horse trainers employ is to have their chosen horse that has been racing at 11/8 mile races on a regular basis to drop down in distance to a mile or even a six furlong race for a given race. As a handicapper, you must always pay careful attention when a trainer does this as so many times such a horse will win this shorter race. This all comes back to tapering. Even when trainers are aiming at The Kentucky Derby they will work their entries previous to the races with all manner of workouts and so many are either in the building up stage or the tapering down stage. Both involving the principles of tapering.
So what about that big 300 mile bookoo race that is going to put your handsome face on the cover of The Racing Pigeon Digest and have your racing pigeon soaring in every fancier's imagination?
If it were me, I would build the bird/s up to 100 miles something like I've mentioned. Then,depending on what the race schedule happened to be. I would employ that schedule to my design. If the race schedule didn't fit my plan, I would train the birds on my own at the distances and times that best benefited them. Once you reach 100 miles many things are possible. You might want to continue several tosses at that distances. You may want to go on up to 150 or 200 miles. You may even want to fly a 300 or a 350 or a 400. Flying a 300 prior the race and then tapering back down with ample rest would be an ideal situation. Tapering down before that bookoo 300. And throughout this tapering down, you would also want to assure that your birds were beautifully content and in love with their home. I would take up residence in the loft watching their every move, psychoanalyzing their every coo. During this tapering you would want to employ all your knowledge regrading the right types and amounts of feed, the right amounts of light that the birds should have while roosting-- controlling the darkness of the a loft in harmony with tapering can help achieve superior contentment of the birds as well as condition.
If tapering didn't produce winning results, athletes and thoroughbred trainers wouldn't use it. It remains rather amazing that so many racing pigeon fliers still own no concept of tapering and how to use the method. Locomotives may be locomotives but pigeons ain't pigeons.
Not unless you are a pigeon, too.
Ask Jacob.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Full of Fire
After flying five, six, or seven hours, a pigeon is entitled to look as though it has extended itself but after a few hours it should be full of fire again.
Taken from Widowhood Flying
Taken from Widowhood Flying
by Mark Gordon
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Homing pigeons reveal true magnetism
BioEd Online
by Michael Hopkin
Nature News
November 24, 2004
Iron crystals in their beaks give birds a nose for north.
It's official: homing pigeons really can sense Earth's magnetic field. An investigation of their ability to detect different magnetic fields shows that their impressive navigation skills almost certainly relies on tiny magnetic particles in their beaks.
The discovery seems to settle the question of how pigeons (Columba livia) have such an impressive 'nose for north'. Some experts had previously suggested that the birds rely on different odour cues in the atmosphere to work out where they are. But the latest findings suggest that they are using magnetic cues.
The idea that pigeons' beaks contain tiny particles of an iron oxide called magnetite is not a new one, says Cordula Mora, who led the latest study at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. But the particles themselves are likely to be only a few micrometres across, and no one has ever seen them under the microscope.
Mora's behavioural experiments therefore give the best indication yet that pigeons are aware of Earth's magnetic field. She and her colleagues taught the pigeons to discriminate between magnetic fields by placing them in a wooden tunnel with a feeder platform at either end and coils of wire around the outside.
Tunnel test
The pigeons were trained to go to one end of the tunnel if the coils were switched on, generating a magnetic field, and to the other if they were switched off, leaving Earth's natural field unperturbed. "I was pleasantly surprised. The pigeons were very fast learners," says Mora, now at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Their skills were impaired, however, when the researchers attached magnets to their upper beaks, and also when the upper beak was anaesthetized. This suggests that their ability is down to the presence of magnetically sensitive material in this area, the researchers report in this week's Nature.
The team then set about seeing how these magnetic signals might be transmitted to the birds' brains. When they severed the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve, which leads from the upper beak to the brain, the birds were unable to distinguish between natural and perturbed magnetic fields. But when the olfactory nerve, which carries smell signals, was cut instead, the birds performed fine, dealing a seemingly fatal blow to the idea that they navigate by relying on odours.
Nose for navigation
The results sit well with previous studies of another impressive navigator, the rainbow trout. The species both seem to have a system in which signals from magnetite particles are carried from the nose to the brain by the trigeminal nerve, says Mora. This is not surprising, she says, as iron-containing materials are common in many animals' bodies.
So why has nobody seen the particles? Other researchers are looking for them, Mora says. But the problem is that even though we know where to look, they are elusive because of their small size and the fact that many other biological materials, such as blood, contain iron.
The particles are small because there's no reason why they should be any larger, Mora adds. "You don't need a large receptor structure like you do for the eye, because the magnetic field permeates everything," she says. "It's like a needle in a haystack."
1 Mora C. V., Davison C. V., Wild J. M. & Walker M. M. Nature, 432. 508 - 511 (2004).
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Saturday, August 13, 2011
Trigger
Over lapping stresses can trigger a disease out break. Check your youngsters regularly and be prepared to separate ill birds.
Twenty words or less TCC Loft series
Twenty words or less TCC Loft series
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Missing: Royal racing pigeon
London Evening Standard
By Nick Curtis 16.08.02
It's enough to ruffle the regal feathers - one of the Queen's racing pigeons has gone missing.
The bird, known somewhat coldly as GB02ER41, vanished on a training flight for the pigeon-fancying community's contribution to the Golden Jubilee celebrations.
The event - billed as the One Loft Race - will see birds flying from York to Cheltenham on 21 August.
The Queen originally had a brace of birds scheduled to start the race, organised by the Royal Pigeon Racing Association (RPRA), of which she is the patron. Now she has only one, GB02ER34, a yearling known to her manager as "Queenie".
So far the association has not officially informed Her Majesty of her loss. Nick Orchard, loft manager at Cheltenham, says: "Lord Vestey, who has pigeons racing with us, told me he was having dinner with the Queen and asked me if he should break the news to her. I said, 'If you do, do it gently.'"
Peter Bryant, RPRA general manager, sheepishly adds: "We don't inform owners if their birds are lost. But we post results of training races on our website, so members can follow their birds' progress."
With a moment's pause, he adds: "I suppose there will be no knighthood for me this year."
The Queen is not alone in her loss. A thousand birds, all only a couple of months old, were introduced to the Cheltenham loft as their "home" in May, and some two-thirds of them have gone missing in training flights over gradually increasing distances since.
"That's the enigma of pigeon racing," says Mr Bryant. "Some birds, for some bizarre reason, don't come back."
Explanations for the disappearances range from the usual suspects - cats, foxes, electrical wires and cars - to a more modern threat to nature, the mobile phone. "Mobile phones give out microwaves and we do know they can affect the birds' homing instinct," adds Mr Bryant. "Some research was done into the subject by a Swiss university."
There is a chance GB02ER41 is still out there, waiting to be pointed towards home. Many birds are found and returned, although GB02ER41 is only distinguishable from others by that serial number, including the regal ER, on the ring around its leg. "It was a blue bar, a common or garden-looking pigeon," explains Mr Orchard.
Mr Bryant adds that royal endorsement does not increase the bird's worth. "The record price for a bird was £106,000," he says. "But these are only young ones and because they're not very experienced, it's probably worth about £400 or £500."
There is no reward offered: not even chicken feed. "If the bird were returned, I'd sent the finder a thank you note," says Carlo Napolitano, the Queen's loft manager at Sandringham. "But I don't think they'd get a personal note from the Queen."
Mr Napolitano says that, although the Queen takes a great interest in her birds, she last visited him "for a chat" in the winter, before GB02ER41 was born. So, for now, Buckingham Palace's hopes in the race rest on "Queenie", assuming she makes it through today's 140-mile training flight from Doncaster to Cheltenham.
In the Queen's case, the RPRA waived the £100-per-bird entrance fee for the race but, if Queenie wins, there is the matter of the £20,000 prize money. "If she did win," says Mr Bryant, "I'm sure the money would go to charity."
Perhaps to an organisation that helps lost and confused homing pigeons.
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Sunday, August 7, 2011
E. Coli
E. Coli is a bacterium that is usually present in the bowel of pigeons. With stress, it increases in numbers. It can invade the bowel wall, causing an enteritis (leading to loss of tissue fluid and an interference with nutrient absorption) and the development of green watery droppings. It also produces a toxin, which makes the birds feel unwell. It is often associated with high humidity (which in itself is an acknowledged stress in pigeons), which keeps the droppings damp in the loft. If this is coupled with poor hygiene or poor watering and feeding practices, this leads to a high exposure to the organism.
Taken from The Flying Vet's Pigeon Health & Management
by Dr Colin Walker
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Canker
Canker is more difficult to manage in breeding lofts that are still not established and continually introducing new birds.
Twenty words or less TCC Loft series
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
The Most Important Thing To Breed For Is Instinct
When a bird is found with that strong homing instinct and combined with condition, it will be a champion.
Charles Heitzman
Recorded by E. Lowell Robbins
Charles Heitzman
Recorded by E. Lowell Robbins
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Condition
After the evening's work is done with the pigeons and the loft, quietly open trap and take notice of those birds that come out and clap about; they are generally in highest condition.
W. S. "Billy" Pearson
Widowhood Old and New
Edited by Colin Osman
Monday, August 1, 2011
When the Racers Take Flight, Literally
The New York Times
By DEVIN SMITH
Published: October 26, 2003
SHIRLEY— LESS than 70 miles from New York City, where pigeons are widely regarded as feathered rats, fanciers gather to haggle over the price of thoroughbred racing pigeons.
Every week, on Wednesday nights and Sunday afternoons, as many as 60 people crowd into the back room of the Pigeon Store at 60 Northern Boulevard in Shirley to discuss breeds, eat doughnuts and occasionally buy a bird.
''Pigeons are a big deal around here,'' said Joan Schroeder, who works at the store and breeds her own birds. ''I nearly couldn't squeeze into the auction room last week there were so many people.'' Auctions are also held at the Pigeon Store's second location, in Lindenhurst.
On Long Island, an estimated 2,500 pigeon owners breed, fly and race more than 300 types of birds. The Nassau-Suffolk Pigeon Fanciers Club, which has about 100 members, holds three shows and a swap event each year at the Holtsville Ecology Center. Its biggest event, to be held on Nov. 15. this year, showcases about 2,000 birds, none of which would be found on a city street corner.
''The general public will always assume the pigeons we breed are the same as the ones they see in the park,'' said Deone Roberts, the spokeswoman for the American Racing Pigeon Union in Oklahoma City, a national organization that promotes pigeon racing. ''But that's like comparing a thoroughbred to a plow horse, or a champion show dog to a street mutt.''
There are some 1,000 pigeon clubs in the United States with membership ranging into the tens of thousands, the racing union estimates. Although no organization keeps track of the exact number of clubs, fanciers with decades of experience estimated that there are 12 to 15 on Long Island alone. Some towns on the Island require licenses for pigeon lofts, but fanciers said that that stipulation was honored mostly in the breach.
As with horses, the variety of pigeon breeds seems endless, but at the Pigeon Store's auctions, homing pigeons -- birds capable of returning to their home lofts from after journeys of thousands of miles -- constitute the largest number of sales.
Then there are the tipplers, or birds that can stay aloft for more than 15 hours; fancy birds, the result of crossing different breeds to create rare and elegant strains; and rollers, or pigeons that tumble as if shot in midair, only to spring back to life and surge skyward.
At a recent auction, iridescent green and gray homing pigeons fluttered nervously in their cages. As big-band music filtered through overhead speakers, a handful of men, mostly elderly and white, appraised the birds, preparing to stock up for the fall racing season, which runs from Labor Day to early November. Some unsentimental fanciers even buy large homing squabs for the dinner table.
The average price for a racing pigeon is about $5, but the cost of a bird with a champion lineage can rise into the hundreds, if not thousands.
On the day before a race, which may range from 100 to 800 miles, fanciers gather at their local club with the birds they plan to register. They load the birds onto the club's trailer for the trip to the race's starting point, called the liberation site. For Long Island fanciers, the sites are usually somewhere in Pennsylvania, Ohio or New Jersey, depending on the race mileage.
At dawn the next morning, club representatives release the birds and watch as they wing their way eastward. The bird that flies at the fastest average speed, measured in yards per minute using Global Positioning data, from the liberation site back to its home loft, is the winner. Most of the birds fly at speeds of 35 to 60 miles per hour, depending on the wind direction and velocity.
''Racing pigeons are little athletes,'' said Ms. Roberts, the racing union spokeswoman. ''They're racehorses with wings.''
Some fanciers have equipped their lofts with high-tech clocks and electronic landing pads that read transmitters on their birds' leg bands and automatically clock them in. The owners then take a printout of the times to the club sponsoring the race.
Tradition-bound fanciers do all this by hand. They wait for their birds with string paddles, or poling sticks, which resemble lacrosse sticks and are used to capture the birds when they arrive. The owners remove the leg bands and put them in capsules, which are placed in the slot of a time-stamp clock. When the fancier turns a crank, a capsule is stamped with the arrival time. Capsules are held in the clock's innards until the clock is opened at race headquarters.
But sometimes the birds don't come back at all. Predators, power lines, storms and strong winds all take their toll. ''You hate to lose them, but you can't beat nature,'' said Val Matteucci of Hicksville, a fancier for 40 years and the secretary-treasurer of the International Federation of American Homing Pigeon Fanciers, organized in 1881. ''If they stop in a tree or hit a wire and fall to the ground, they can become prey very easily.''
Humans have used homing pigeons for more than 5,000 years to send messages over great distances. The United States Army used tens of thousands of birds in both World Wars and in the Korean War when radio silence was necessary or when communications had been disabled. Now pigeons are used by the military as a double-check on chemical-weapons sensors, much as canaries were once used by miners.
Scientists still don't know how homing pigeons find their way, but they believe that the birds pick up cues from the position of the sun and from geomagnetic fields.
In Europe, pigeon races often carry six-figure cash prizes, and each year, the Million Dollar Pigeon Race is held in South Africa. In the United States most fanciers compete only for diplomas and trophies, although the Snowbird Classic, which is sponsored by the Fernando Valley Club of Sun Valley, Calif., is expected to offer $100,000 in prize money for the first 10 finishers. The race will next be run on Nov. 20, 2004.
Gary, a fancier from Mastic Beach who insisted that his last name not be printed because he did not have a license for his 350-bird loft, said that feeding pigeons has some fringe benefits.
''Their droppings are the best fertilizer,'' he said. ''You scrape it up and throw it in the garden. In a few days, it pushes up tomatoes like forget about it.''
There are an estimated 2,500 pigeon fanciers and 12 to 15 clubs on the Island.; For the East Meadow club's 300-mile race last month, pigeons were transported in crates to the starting point in Somerset, Pa.
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