SEPTEMBER BLOG 2009
CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations to Antonio Dias and his partner Keith for winning 1st and 2nd in the first 100 mile young bird race with Antoine Jacops pigeons bred in Tulsa, Oklahoma!
THE MOULT
Although the young bird races are underway in many areas of the country and the race team demands much effort, attention should still be given to the old bird race team and the breeders. Both sets of pigeons should be going through the moult soon, if not already. Pigeons going through the moult should be fed a product with a substantial amount of protein in order for pigeons to replace old feathers with healthy new feathers. Also, moulting pigeons should have access to bath water several times per week, if not every day. I usually use a good bath product to clean and stimulate the feathers.
Pigeons that are in a heavy moult often cannot fly and navigate as well as normal. If breeders or old birds pigeons are exercised outdoors, care should be given to make sure that predators do not get an unfair advantage when these pigeons are outside. The cool weather has begun to tickle the skies of Oklahoma and Cooper's Hawks seem to be more prevalent than normal. Although hawks can be a year-round problem for many fanciers, the race team can be particularly depleted in the fall months by hungry raptors who take advantage of moulting old birds. Beautiful fall days can stimulate fanciers to let their best pigeons outside for a morning or afternoon play time. Although this activity can be beneficial, it is often not worth the risk if hawks have been observed in the area.
Lofts should be cleaned every day in order to remove body feathers and flight feathers. Feathers can give mice material for their nests. Every effort should be made to keep lofts clean and to prevent mice from gaining a foothold in the loft. Mice carry disease and can contaminate a healthy young bird team very quickly. Keeping the loft clean is always important; but it is especially important during the moult.
THE 2010 BREEDING SEASON
September 1st is the time of year when I begin to match different pairs of breeders "on paper" for the 2010 breeding season. Breeders all over Europe will be paired around December 1st. That is only 90 days away. It is time to begin to organize the breeder loft and the old bird loft in order to breed early youngsters that will be sexually mature for the 2010 young bird race series.
I use a loft management software system to mate breeders together "on paper." I title prospective youngsters TEST 1, TEST 2, TEST 3, etc. By entering a male and a female in the proper areas of the pedigree form, I can instantly create many variations of prospective youngsters "on paper." As I have said in earlier blogs, I seldom couple unrelated breeders unless I am beginning to create and establish and new family or pigeons. For instance, in 2010 I will cross the Jacops pigeons with the Ceulemans pigeons and breed youngsters that are a 50/50 cross. If I find an outstanding youngster from this cross in the 2010 young bird race series and beyond, I will breed the outstanding youngster either back to the Ceulemans or back to the Jacops or to another Ceulemans/Jacops cross.
I prefer to breed pigeons that are 70% line-bred and 30% outcross genetically. This formula generally allows pigeons to race and to breed well. A 70% line-breeding component will concentrate enough genes that the pigeon will probably breed well. A 30% outcross component will usually gives pigeons enough hybrid vigor that they will probably race well. I prefer to couple breeders that have the same general body type; regardless of what distance at which the pigeons perform well. Although a breeding couple make look very good on paper, they must complement each other physically. Great breeding couples should breed youngsters that possess genetic prepotency, physical hybrid vigor, and mental intelligence. It can never be too early to couple breeders on paper. Despite all of the work that goes into the breeding loft, breeding great youngsters also usually involves a healthy dose of luck.
EMPIRICAL TESTING
The 2009 young bird race series should be an empirical test of the decisions that were made in 2008 regarding the breeding loft. If the 2009 youngsters have not been educated and trained on how to race and race well - if the 2009 youngsters have not been put in a position to succeed in the young bird race series by using a top-notch motivational system to trigger their mental acuities - if the 2009 youngsters have not been managed well during the past year including health and overcrowding - there can be no way that the 2009 young bird race series can be an accurate test of the 2009 breeding program.
Accurate testing depends on the certain assumptions being met. If the 2009 young bird race team has not met these assumptions, no accurate testing is possible. Racing and breeding are two-side to the same coin. They both depend upon the other. Effective breeding comes from the diligent study of pedigrees and an accurate analysis of race results. Effective racing comes from proper care, proper management and proper education. Racing pigeons at the top of the race sheet is a 365 day a year job. There is no time to coast or to ignore other segments of the pigeon loft in favor of the task at hand. Please don't ignore the old birds and breeders during the young bird race series.
9.14.09 - Monday
I recently received an email from a fancier asking the following question:
I watched your video that you are explaining the racing pigeons body. Actually I’m interested and it’s beneficial for me. I have a question, how can I identify the long distance pigeons and the middle distance pigeons? What is the different between the both?
THE IMPORTANCE OF TERRITORY (NEST BOXES) IN PIGEON RACING
One of the most important "triggers" of the homing instinct in high quality racing pigeons is the type and amount of territory that each racer claims or is allowed to claim for him or herself due to the construction of the pigeon loft. Homing pigeons primarily return to the territory they have claimed within the loft more than they return to the loft itself. The amount of territory that each racer claims is very important to the motivation and ultimate speed at which racers return home. To a significant degree, it is important for each racer to claim a minimum territory in the loft that measures 10 inches in depth by 30 inches in width. Many Belgian nest fronts can be purchased to fit nest boxes this approximate size. Personally, I do not think that a nest box 10 inches deep is deep enough. I prefer a depth of 22 to 24 inches. Usually, the depth of nest boxes is determined by the length of a fancier's arm. In order to adequately scrape the back of a nest box, the depth of a nest box should not be longer than a fancier's arm can comfortably reach the back of the box. I do agree, however, that 30 inches is an adequate width for a nest box.
People usually place a great value on their house. Inside a house, men tend to prefer dens or offices, or work rooms or bathrooms while women often tend to prefer kitcfemales, bedrooms, and children's rooms. Mean and women often like to "nest" inside a home in a particular room that meets their most personal needs and preferences. Not surprisingly, the same type of preference is true in homing pigeons. As a rule of thumb, perches are much less desirable constructions of territory than spacious nest boxes. Territories lower to the loft floor are less desirable than territories near the loft ceiling. In my lofts, both racing and breeding, nest boxes are located no lower to the floor than my waist or about three feet off of the loft floor.
Up to a reasonable point, it has been my experience that the bigger the claimed territory inside the loft, the faster a pigeon will race home. Why do I say this? Because pigeons will rest more comfortably and be mentally more relaxed and alert if they are not constantly fighting other pigeons for a small amount of personal space that they can claim for themselves. As a rule, territories or nest boxes should be about 24 inches by 30 inches in size. I have seen larger nest boxes, however. My friend Achiel Vangilbergen in Belgium uses nest boxes that are much larger than 24 by 30 and have no nest front on them.
This is one of the reasons that I prefer not to race very many pigeons. An adequate loft to properly house 50 to 100 pigeons constructed to the dimensions I have just recommended would be a mammoth structure - far too large for most urban yards (gardens in Flemish) and far too large to clean and reasonably maintain. Let me repeat my basic mantra: "It is better to race one pigeon well than many pigeons poorly."
Each section of my racing loft is about 60 inches wide or the width of two nest boxes side by side. I have blogged that sections of this width are easy to dominate physically and therefore control the behavior of the pigeons in it. when I enter each section, I want each racer to remain in their nest box rather than attempt to fly away into another section. If racers are on the floor when I enter their section, I gently tap a stick or broom on the floor as a signal that they should immediately ascend to their nest box while I am present in their section of the loft. when I am in a loft section, it is important to me that each racer is quietly standing in their nest box and attentive to me.
It has been my experience that pigeons raced to roomy nest boxes - especially young birds - race much better and much faster than pigeons that are raced to marginal or over crowded territories. As I have said many times, champion pigeons should not be treated like chickens or some other "flock" birds that can be squeezed into small spaces to live their lives in constant competition for a small modicum of personal space. Racing pigeons need enough territory or room in order to motivate them to want to play the game at the top of the race sheet.
Motivation is significantly influenced by the adequacy of the amount of territory that each pigeon has claimed. It is important to provide enough territory for each racer to claim in order to unlock and unleash the true passion of the homing instinct.
The commencement of our young bird race series was postponed until next weekend by rainy weather in Oklahoma. Currently, there are 14 young males in three sections of the loft presently on the race team. That is an average of 4.7 pigeons per 5 foot by 5 foot loft section. There are 6 nest boxes per loft section. Each nest box is from 10 to 24 inches deep and 30 inches wide. Each racer has enough personal space to adequately satisfy their territorial needs. If a racer does not return from a race, their nest front is closed. If the nest front is not immediately closed, the most aggressive racers will claim more than one nest box within the loft section. Why? Because great homing pigeons love space or territory!!! They love to occupy more and more territory if the opportunity arises. Each racer probably would love to claim all of the territory in each loft section if I allowed it to be available. I believe that fanciers often underestimate the tremendous importance of space to a racer's basic territorial needs, to their psychological happiness, and to their passion to return home very quickly from far away places.
The following blogs were adapted from a delightful little book called "Lessons From A Sheep Dog," A True Story of Transforming Love written by Phillip Keller.
THE DELIGHT OF OBEDIENCE
According to the MSN Encarta online dictionary, the definition of obedience is: "the act of obeying: the act or practice of following instructions, complying with rules or regulations, or submitting to somebody's authority."
In order to consistently play the racing pigeons game at the top of the race sheet, it is absolutely critical that racing pigeons must be obedient. That is, racing pigeons must meet expectations and follow commands on a daily basis. Everyday, both in or out of the loft, the behavior and temperament of every single pigeon on the race team must meet my expectations to perform well. Although homing pigeons are naturally a "domesticated" bird and therefore relatively tame, each racer must learn how to obey and meet my expectations or be removed from the race team for a period of time or forever.
Not all homing pigeons are capable of this essential basic criteria. Not all homing pigeons are physically and mentally capable of playing the game at the top of the race sheet. In earlier blogs, I have estimated that less than 10% of the pigeons bred each year are capable of playing the game at the top of the race sheet. If this statistic is relatively accurate, that means that as fanciers we spend most of our time and most of our energy and resources training and managing pigeons (90%) that will never meet the criteria or expectation of performing or racing at the top of the race sheet.
Frequently I hear fanciers speak of how few birds they lost in training or how many pigeons were left at the end of the race season. Less often do I hear about how many of their pigeons raced in the top 10% or 20% of the race sheet. Although fanciers may have 30 or 40 pigeons remaining at the end of the young bird race series, I am more interested in how many of those remaining pigeons consistently flew or performed in the top 10% or 20% of the race sheet.
In many areas of Belgium, "prizes" are allocated on the basis of one "prize" for every three pigeons in the race. Consequently, if there are 90 pigeons in a race, there will be 30 prizes awarded. In other words, the top one-third of the pigeons in the race receive a "prize." Belgian fanciers are primarily interested in winning prizes - especially 1st prizes - whether its in their club or province or inter-province or semi-national or national or international. when we Americans read that a champion homing pigeon in Belgium won 25 prizes in his or her lifetime, it probably means that the pigeon performed in the top one-third of the race sheet 25 times.
Rather than valuing how many pigeons remain after the race series has completed, Belgian fanciers value how many pigeons consistently win prizes in each race in which they compete. I have observed that many American fanciers value their race team from what I call the "bottom up" (how many pigeons remain) while Belgian fanciers value their race team from the "top down" (how many pigeons consistently won prizes). Ad Schaerlaeckens has written extensively on this subject. He states that just because a pigeon has won several "head" prizes doesn't necessarily mean that it is a "champion" racing pigeon. He believes that the number of prizes won must be a ratio of how many races the pigeon competed. If a pigeon is advertised as a champion with 4 head prizes out of 40 races flown, is that pigeon really a champion?
In order to race week after week in the top one-third of the race sheet, racing pigeons must learn how to be obedient. It also means that fanciers need to know more than their pigeons about how to play the game. Although the homing instinct is innate and most pigeons will fly home, actually racing home and playing the racing pigeon game at the top of the race sheet is entirely another matter. To meet this lofty expectation, pigeons must be taught how to play the game at the top of the race sheet.
Educational lessons should be intense yet uncomplicated. Pigeons learn the meaning of each command and expectation very gradually in small degrees over time. By managing the race team consistently on a daily basis, pigeons will steadily begin to positively respond to commands and expectations. In my loft, every correct move is rewarded with positive reinforcement while every incorrect move is rewarded with negative reinforcement.
Fanciers and their race teams should go about their daily tasks together. Instructions to every member of the race team must be clear. Expectations and commands must be seen, heard and understood in unmistakable terms. Racers should "fear" their handlers. In this case, "fear" refers to the word "reverence" which means to hold in such loving esteem that to be without direction from their mentors would cause a degree of fear or uncertainty about the future. Reverence is built upon mutual trust which is based upon a consistency of daily behavior. Our race teams should be eager and anxious to obey us. If this goal can be accomplished, the end result is a remarkable collaboration that culminates in the accomplishments of smoothly functioning teams of pigeons and fanciers at the top of the race sheet.
"Taming," teaching obedience or teaching pigeons to play the game consistently at the top of the race sheet is a pilgrimage in which fanciers transform wild and uneducated domestic pigeons into champions. People created the sport - the racing pigeon game. Pigeons didn't create the game. While most pigeons naturally know how to find their way home - they do not naturally know how to play the game - especially at the top of the race sheet. when fanciers let the races do the training, they are abdicating their role as teacher to the random forces of the races or the random forces of chance.
These same tenets are true throughout the animal kingdom and especially true among people. Beyond our basic abilities as humans, people must be taught how to perform well in society or how to be successful in an occupation or sport. Just as living life well is an educational process for people, racing pigeons well is an educational process for pigeons. And, our educational process should be a happy and uplifting experience both for our pigeons and for us.
There is a great joy, delight and self-satisfaction that comes from obedience and performing well in any life venue including sport. As fanciers and stewards of the racing pigeon game, we must be obedient to the true essence and values of the game as it has evolved and been handed down over centuries of time just as our homing pigeons must be obedient to us. Obedience involves both fanciers and pigeons. If we do not perform well, how can we expect our pigeons to perform well?
If there are young birds that are currently playing the game this weekend without the benefit of knowing and understanding an effective motivational system that they have learned through an intense yet uncomplicated educational process over the past few months, then their performance in the game will inevitably be a matter of luck. If the young bird races are used to condition and train pigeons to return home quickly, then performing at the top of the race sheet will require many birds on the race team to increase the odds that lightening will strike and one of them will accidently perform well. I prefer to try to play the game at the top of the race sheet relying on education and obedience rather than luck. For me, there's a lot more delight and satisfaction in the game.
Next subjects to come:
SET THEM FREE
LEARNING TO TRUST
IN THE WRONG HANDS
THE TEST OF FAITHFULNESS
LOVE AND DISCIPLINE
HAVE WINGS - WILL TRAVEL
Thank you................................................................................................................Dr. John & Morgan Lamberton