Beginers Guide
Racing Pigeons -Beginners Guide
After receiving numerous e mails from people all over the world asking me about how to start in racing pigeon sport i have decided to put up this page and to bring them as much information as i can to make their start in racing pigeons as easy and cost effective as possible .
Here we go ....
When starting in racing pigeon sport you will need to take in consideration a few aspects that will help you achieve your goals that every pigeon fancier is looking for ....the Top results in races to come .
1). Decide how much time can you spend with your birds per day ...The more time you look after your birds the better you will become and the better they will know you .
The relationship between you and your birds should not be human - pet ...but ...manager -team .
2). Make sure you provide a good decent loft for your birds with plenty of space as they will need that for the days when they will need to stay locked inside : heavy rain ,cold winter, treatment so on ....see the loft page .
3). Before buying your birds make inquiries about what club you will join and what does it mean from the cost point of view. What races do they organize from the distance point of view : some clubs organize more short and middle distance races for some reasons with one or two long distance races only ,so there is no need for you to bring long distance birds in if you will join a short middle distance club .
4). Join a club that organize races that will favour your loft location ,and what i mean by that is that you will need to ask the members of the club where do they live( loft location )....if you have got 100 members in the club living all on east side of the town and you and you re loft are located 40 miles west ,then what is gonna happen is that on the race day when the birds are released you will have an big flock of birds belonging to the members from the east flying all east with your birds in between them and while their birds will land upon arrival on their lofts your birds will have to fly another 40 miles to your loft loosing precious time ...in conclusion join a club that have the most members from your area and not opposite direction.
You can always find more advice on my published books
5). To find your nearest club google in racing pigeon club in (your area & country).
6). Figure out how much food you will need to provide them ,medication (vitamins ,minerals ,treatments for common diseases in racing pigeons ,vaccines) add them up and see how much do they cost you per week ,month year etc.
7). Good food and medication are a must in today s racing pigeons sport so plan carefully what will be the number of the birds you bring in ...you do not want to bring too many birds and have no money for treatment if an outbreak come up into your loft....read disease and treatment page
I can not tell you how many birds to bring in as this depends on your personal financial situation ,But if you can afford it money wise and loft size wise, i would suggest to bring 30-40 young birds from a top loft which has proven for at least two years in a row good results and two good pairs of breeders .
For this you will need two lofts :one for breeders and one for the young birds .
The best young birds to bring in are first round hatched in January or second round hatched in February.
Set up a program for each day ...what exactly are you going to do and stick to it ...pigeons LOVE to have a program .
8). Decide which racing system are you going to follow ... i strongly recommend darkness system for the young birds and widowhood for the 1 year and old birds ,but this is entirely up to you .
read on this site throughout you will find lots of info under the topics section .
9). Always and always make notes about your birds breeders and young birds alike ,keep 2 books separately one for breeder section and one for the young birds. On the breeder book you will make notes about:
- the pairs you have (results ,strain, sex, year ,colour,)
-Parents (results ,strain ,sex year, colour)
-date of treatment before pairing worming and paramixo virus vaccine .
- results on the droppings test before pairing and date when that was taken.
- what date do they lay their eggs.
- the date of hatching day ,month ,year.
10). On the young bird book you will need to take notes about :
- the date you brought them in and how old are they and previous owner.
- strain ,sex, year, colour
- Parents results, strain ,sex, year colour.
-Date of the worming ,paramixo vaccine ,and other treatments .
-date of the droppings test and the result of this.
-behavioural aspect of each individual .
- date and time of arrival from each training and the release point for each training
- on time or next day arrivals of the young birds from training they all should be written down for each individual
-If you decide to bring young birds up on the darkness system you will need to write down when this has started and when has ended.
- On the young bird racing season ,make notes about each individual
-date of the ,race release point and km
-how many birds per race/ per club
-time of arrival ,quick or late trapping, next day arrival etc
- his phisycal form upon arrival ,TIRED, ON SHAPE ,
- how does he/she recover after the race ,quick or hard recovery.
You can find lots more advice on my published books
" A true fancier is the one who`s birds are always on top, whether they race under his management or somebody elses generation after generation, a true fancier is the one who love competitions and speak highly about his competitors .
Above all ,a true fancier is the one who teach others into the sport and gladly talk about his winning ways "
Dacian Busecan.
More to come .................................... Brought to you by Dacian Busecan.