Training

[Held2025]

So I've coached at different sports and at different levels over the years, what I do see at all levels is improvement. So my question is could an average bird in another loft become a good bird in a top flyers loft? Could a bird not come good by 3/4 by which point people will have already got rid of them out their team? What’s the oldest pigeon you’ve sent?

[Held2025]

Hi Held
So I no longer race, but since 2022 I've been "remotely" helping Phil Bourke
In 2022 he had a cock called "Mr Fahrenheit" that in a 6 week spell won 4 x 1st on the bounce and 2 x 2nd
Now when I asked what this 2019 cock had done before the answer wasn't really overwhelming
It just shows that in this particular case the untapped potential had always been there and he'd never been "right" before


Now, I gotta be honest and say at my loft (a sprint loft) that scenario would never play out
A pigeon may have say 5 races as a YB and lets say 12 as a yearling (if its a sprinter) so that's say 17 races
Now the only pigeons that made my team at 2 years of age were pigeons that had won/scored on multiple occasions
I've had pigeons win at 2, 3 and 4 years of age but I tend to side with Neil really - there's no answer to youth (especially sprinting)

A sprinter that does "ok" once in every 17 races aren't odds that get me outta bed in the morning.
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That’s interesting Mike, I’ve seen lads with talent who don’t put the work in and other lads less talented have reached higher heights than them due to commitment and dedication. Now I imagine the birds are similar like most things you get out what you put in along with right training, feeding, loft management and no doubt standard of bird to begin with but like some coaches the fancier could be holding the bird back similar to what you just explained.

[chrisroscoe]

good post tbh.

one of my birds became good as a 2year old once i sucked it up and sent them over the 200miles mark and it ended up always in the top 5 for 3 races untill a young stupid me sent it knowning it wasnt 100% from a training toss i took it too and it came back 2 hour after the rest.

so i dont think they get faster from training but i do think birds improve on getting home lol

[Anthony webster]

I love racing hens there my favourite by far can normally get hens bombing in like ybs ,I can do cocks but cocks take a lot more time for some reason if I spend extra time with cocks my cocks come like hens but I can spend little time with hens I have there feed mastered and they just bomb in race day if its a good day ,we get them days where its just poor but that's racing ,,I don't lock hens up do nothing daft just work them and race them ,but hens seem to love me if one goes missing n u see it in garden as they see me they normally come to me fanning tail iv video it few times for friends once I feel asleep in garden n woke with my race hens on me on sun lounger lol
Me personally just love hens there my favourite by miles.