September In The Loft

September In The Loft

September is the month where fanciers enjoy the fruits of their hard work they have put in. It is the month where young birds are evaluated from the past breeding season. This is the time where the quality of the previous year’s pairings will be assessed. Most fanciers beat their heart fast as to finding out if they have bred that “special bird” or discovered a “special pair.” What keeps many people in the sport is the thrill of the possibilities and the way it provides pleasure.

Birds should have the proper training and feeding. There was this champion young-bird  fancier who had experience with this field for several decades. This person developed a theory that pigeons seem to revolve in cycles in three weeks. He observed that his top clock birds took three weeks of intense training in order to be in condition and give good performances.

The other part of the cycle was that these birds would go on slack for about three weeks before their having outstanding results. Many established fanciers find that there is a direct relationship with the “three week rule.”

There are birds that fly week in and week out and they have outstanding results. However, these birds are rare and there are exceptions to the rule. Most birds provide one or two three good performances with less than magnificent results for the rest of the racing season.

There are ways on how to check whether birds are in top condition. One way is by measuring the blood-oxygen-ratio. A fancier can know whether these birds are in the best condition to offer their best performance. This will also save these best racers and help them rest if they are not in their best condition.

There are trainers that are into super-hard training of birds while there are those who are not. Training is relative to everyone.  Hard training has never failed in producing winning results.

Here are some ideas for training.

There is truth that birds come into form over a three-week period and remain in form for three weeks. A successful training regimen would begin like this: Young birds should be handled by training at a distance without stressing them too hard. This will enable your team of birds that has not flock flying around the loft very well.

If your birds are training around the loft and they have been routed as far as three or more miles from home, it is possible to train your birds a little farther out.

The distance to start does not matter if it is one mile or ten miles. This does not matter as long as the birds feel comfortable and are capable of handling the task that you give them. Pigeons should have their confidence boost up as they move fast compared to those who have some doubts as to where they are. Daily training can actually boost the confidence of birds.

It is natural to take birds to longer distances. Although there are people who bring their birds to the first race station prior to a race, it does not mean that those who do not will lose ground to those who train super hard. Always remember the “three week rule.”

If you have a large flock and you train them very hard very early, you can send your better birds to the most important races and have other birds that are able to get their wings back under them.

Most people do not have the time or room to have a very large team of birds. It would be best if birds are trained gradually. These would enable them to compete well for the most important races. Another advantage is that a person does not have to loan at the bank to pay for fuel and a new set of tires.

It is not advisable to toss birds in small groups unless there is a person responsible at home who can feed the birds the correct amount as they arrive and not let them over-eat. Champion birds are trained in small groups so they get to learn how to separate from the flock and have their confidence boost even when they fly in small groups.

Each fancier has his own training program and each should consider every aspect of our training regimen before taking a particular course of action.

There was a season when a fancier was having trouble with his young bird team. The birds were sluggish, would not fly well around the loft, and he was having a difficult time getting them on line with the training. He thought that his birds were not well. He gave a detailed report of his regimen that he took the birds out every morning for training. It was either him or his training partner was letting the birds out one basket at a time.

Fifteen birds were released up to twenty minutes apart. There is almost a two-hour time differential when it comes from the first to the last basket. However, there was no one at home when the birds arrived. The fancier barely had enough time to let the birds go and get to work when he trained the birds himself. When his buddy trained for him, he was always at work when the birds eventually arrived.

The main reason why the birds act as they do is not because they are stupid or sick, but they are being fed improperly. The problem was that the birds were not obtaining it the proper way.

The situation was that the first two groups being released on his tosses were coming home and taking their pick of what was in the feeders. The rest of the birds were making do with what was left if there was anything that was left. It is important that the birds should be stopped with training in small groups and let the entire flock up at one time. The “base amount” of feed would be the amount of feed that the birds were cleaning up within ten or twelve minutes after he fed.

It was observed that the birds were much better if there is the correct amount of feed in the feeders. The birds began to fly like gang-busters during the race. The birds won ten of the fourteen races that season.

For fanciers who have day jobs and does all the job in taking care of the birds, then it is recommended that fancy small flock tosses should be disregarded. This strategy is done by those who have every day to train and have the assistance of a group of helpers. It is the quality of the pigeon that will be the sole determining factor if the birds will win the race.

September In The Loft