UkPigeonRacing

Diamond Dave wrote: Sun Sep 27, 2026 5:29 pm Ah thanks King. Always appreciate your replies.
I hope you might remember that you replied to one of my posts a while back (after I had a bad Bicc Pau race)suggesting that I joined the NFC - can I ask was that the reason for that the reason you said that then and did you mean as well as the Bicc or instead of the Bicc.

A bit of both really Dave. The BICC has no support up here, the Internationals are just too far ALL are 700+, well the short one is 680 miles. The majority up here were members of the NFC & MNFC so they had a choice of NFC Tarbes 734 to me and MNFC Bordeaux 626 miles.
I suggested you join the NFC for a 2nd option, and not instead of. If I lived where you do, I'd race with the NFC to prepare for your BICC Barcelona. The fanciers up around me who raced Barcelona never bothered with the other BICC races simply because they could fly all the distances elsewhere and had easier marking. The BICC marking stations are a joke. Some only open for some races and not others, and some only marking certain ETS systems.

During the tears that I was not in a local club my birds only ever raced over the channel. Having said that of course I’m a lot nearer to the South coast than you Dave. The likes of Guernsey, Le Mans, Fourgeres and Coutances were all under 200 miles for me.
The late Des Coulter who was a very good distance flyer said to me once that once a bird had flown the channel it was never raced inland again.

Andy wrote: Sun Sep 27, 2026 9:27 pm During the tears that I was not in a local club my birds only ever raced over the channel. Having said that of course I’m a lot nearer to the South coast than you Dave. The likes of Guernsey, Le Mans, Fourgeres and Coutances were all under 200 miles for me.
The late Des Coulter who was a very good distance flyer said to me once that once a bird had flown the channel it was never raced inland again.

Des Coulter lived in Worthing Andy. I'm sure if he lived 200 miles further North his birds would have been flown inland before going to the channel. My shortest channel race I ever flew was Lilliers 280 miles on the East route. Due South it was Guernsey 316 miles or Cherbourg 300 miles.

king wrote: Sun Sep 27, 2026 10:42 pm

Andy wrote: Sun Sep 27, 2026 9:27 pm During the tears that I was not in a local club my birds only ever raced over the channel. Having said that of course I’m a lot nearer to the South coast than you Dave. The likes of Guernsey, Le Mans, Fourgeres and Coutances were all under 200 miles for me.
The late Des Coulter who was a very good distance flyer said to me once that once a bird had flown the channel it was never raced inland again.

Des Coulter lived in Worthing Andy. I'm sure if he lived 200 miles further North his birds would have been flown inland before going to the channel. My shortest channel race I ever flew was Lilliers 280 miles on the East route. Due South it was Guernsey 316 miles or Cherbourg 300 miles.

Yes King. Des was in the Worthing & Dist HS that I was a member of. I knew him well. He was a pig farmer and kept his birds above the piggery. In his later years Des lived opposite my brother in Patching. Trev has birds from and down from Des’s birds.
But yes I know what you’re saying which is why I said that Dave was in a different position to me.

Blimey, thanks lads. We are certainly talking about the elite with both Brian Denney and Des Coulter.

Yes King, I am about 120 miles from the South Coast and I have my own "policy" of giving my old birds 2 inlanders before sending them over the channel.
I like them to at least see the sea before flying over it.
That's often difficult when the bicc program starts so early but I do like their race program. I can get 2 channel races with them before the NFC even start.
I have heard it called the South of England National which I guess is what it is but i believe it is far better value for money and I have a marking station close by.
However, I can understand why it doesn't suit you guys up there. I do believe they did trial a couple of marking stations further North but they weren't well supported.
Nonetheless, I think they are a progressive and forward thinking outfit.
My biggest concern is with all the reasonable distance races (over 500) are all internationals and for younger birds say yearlings and 2 yo. that maybe don't have the experience of an international liberation, could be why I am losing good birds at these races. So I have been thinking about the NFC for the younger birds where all the convoy will be going in the same direction.
Love to hear your thoughts lads...

Diamond Dave wrote: Mon Sep 28, 2026 10:06 am Blimey, thanks lads. We are certainly talking about the elite with both Brian Denney and Des Coulter.

Yes King, I am about 120 miles from the South Coast and I have my own "policy" of giving my old birds 2 inlanders before sending them over the channel.
I like them to at least see the sea before flying over it.
That's often difficult when the bicc program starts so early but I do like their race program. I can get 2 channel races with them before the NFC even start.
I have heard it called the South of England National which I guess is what it is but i believe it is far better value for money and I have a marking station close by.
However, I can understand why it doesn't suit you guys up there. I do believe they did trial a couple of marking stations further North but they weren't well supported.
Nonetheless, I think they are a progressive and forward thinking outfit.
My biggest concern is with all the reasonable distance races (over 500) are all internationals and for younger birds say yearlings and 2 yo. that maybe don't have the experience of an international liberation, could be why I am losing good birds at these races. So I have been thinking about the NFC for the younger birds where all the convoy will be going in the same direction.
Love to hear your thoughts lads...

Hi Dave the reason why the BICC races weren't supported is like I said in the other post. NFC marking stations are for EVERY race. The BICC are NOT. If I sent, the nearest marking station was Northhampton, (Marking for ALL National races only (NO International marking), if I sent to ANY International the marking station would be Sunbury, Ashford. (Ashford race point is 211 miles to me) and they wonder why the Northern lofts only send with the NFC?

Another question I would like to ask of you guys if you don't mind is...
Do you allow the birds that you have targeted for 500 + racing to breed and rear a round of y.birds or a single y.bird or not at all.

Diamond Dave wrote: Mon Sep 28, 2026 10:06 am Blimey, thanks lads. We are certainly talking about the elite with both Brian Denney and Des Coulter.

Yes King, I am about 120 miles from the South Coast and I have my own "policy" of giving my old birds 2 inlanders before sending them over the channel.
I like them to at least see the sea before flying over it.
That's often difficult when the bicc program starts so early but I do like their race program. I can get 2 channel races with them before the NFC even start.
I have heard it called the South of England National which I guess is what it is but i believe it is far better value for money and I have a marking station close by.
However, I can understand why it doesn't suit you guys up there. I do believe they did trial a couple of marking stations further North but they weren't well supported.
Nonetheless, I think they are a progressive and forward thinking outfit.
My biggest concern is with all the reasonable distance races (over 500) are all internationals and for younger birds say yearlings and 2 yo. that maybe don't have the experience of an international liberation, could be why I am losing good birds at these races. So I have been thinking about the NFC for the younger birds where all the convoy will be going in the same direction.
Love to hear your thoughts lads...

For those of us down near the coast although the early channel races are a relatively short distance that’s only if the birds come on a direct line. For those in the South West it would mean flying 70+ miles over the channel. To train or give short inland races in preparation means sending them to fly East to West along the coast, or West to East if living in the South East of the country.
Back in the pre 80s at Worthing we raced a fed program over the channel with the longest races with the London and South Coast Combine. The inland races were along the Coast. Seaton, Dorchester, Exmouth etc. Racing across the channel from the likes of Rennes, Niort, Bergerac.
Come 1980 it became compulsory to vaccinate for PMV to fly the channel. We voted as a club to turn North. This meant racing from Stonehaven 430+ miles, Thurso 550 miles and Lerwick with the NRCC 650 miles. For the few members who still wanted to fly the channel it was with the NFC, which back then was the premier racing club from over the channel with the Pau National being the blue ribbon event. This meant turning the birds from North to South, being flown from the North road before being switched South over the channel. This seemed to work quite well. Some will know the late Jed Jackson from Worthing, a fellow club member. He won the Pau National with Genista in 1980. This hen was raced from Berwick 350 miles North Road 2 weeks before the Pau National. Jed was one of my early mentors and a great pigeon man, especially being that he was blind.

Diamond Dave wrote: Tue Sep 29, 2026 9:22 am Another question I would like to ask of you guys if you don't mind is...
Do you allow the birds that you have targeted for 500 + racing to breed and rear a round of y.birds or a single y.bird or not at all.

I’m probably not the best person to comment but I think it would depend on how you were going to race your birds in the build up to the 500+ mile race. If racing widowhood I would breed a round early from them but separate them before the hen relaid. What you don’t want is them starting the moult to early. Ideally have them on about their fourth flight by their main event.
If however you were wanting to send the birds on natural feeding a youngster from their main race I wouldn’t breed early. I know the likes of the Staddons fly their birds on the roundabout system in the early season before pairing them up for their chosen races.

Thanks Andy.
Got to ask is it you with a brother "Trev" who is the eyesign man.....