UkPigeonRacing

NeilA wrote: Wed Oct 29, 2025 10:49 pm

goose1 wrote: Wed Oct 29, 2025 10:43 pm

NeilA wrote: Wed Oct 29, 2025 10:32 pm

Cheers Goose
Just thinking maybe I should have tried them as 2 year olds
We are lucky here but it’s only going one way
I had 5 good birds missing last year 8 laid up with BOP injury by May
6 or 7 years ago we had one or two hit a year
I could have 20 finish with 17/18 cocks
I can’t now
So it’s coming

There's an argument to say you maybe should had Neil, maybe even pushed them to the 500 mile mark? But like us all we make the decision we think best.
Yeah I do fear for the sport up here I really do. Once we get over 200 miles you know your gonna be waiting all day for pigeons. At one point last season we had 21 hens that had been hawked at some point in their life, and a few of them more than once.

That’s awful mate

MIke Lycett wrote: Thu Oct 30, 2025 7:05 am If you give everything a chance there's a danger you end up with more "chancers" in the loft than those who can do the job

[Every pigeon has to earn the perch is what phil says ]

MIke Lycett wrote: Thu Oct 30, 2025 5:24 am

CHARLTON34 wrote: Wed Oct 29, 2025 5:51 pm What members thoughts with regards to selection at this time of year sprint, middle or long distance whatever your discipline how do you select at your own lofts. Maybe you select right the way throughout the year.

It's a lot easier to assess a sprinter Dave
Let's say a YB (sprinter) has 4-5 races as a YB and then 12 races as a yearling. That's 16 opportunities right there for the pigeon to demonstrate that it has some kind of potential for you to work with. When I was racing a sprinter would never have made it into my widowhood team as a 2 year old without at least several efforts where it had done something of real note


For the distance I think you ultimately have to be a bit more patient, especially if its a pigeon of distance breeding.
These pigeons tend to be brought along a bit steadier as youngsters, and then progressed as yearlings
So if they are of 500 miles breeding it might be the case that they are 2 years old and not actually been out that far yet to actually judge them.

MIke Lycett wrote: Thu Oct 30, 2025 5:24 am

CHARLTON34 wrote: Wed Oct 29, 2025 5:51 pm What members thoughts with regards to selection at this time of year sprint, middle or long distance whatever your discipline how do you select at your own lofts. Maybe you select right the way throughout the year.

It's a lot easier to assess a sprinter Dave
Let's say a YB (sprinter) has 4-5 races as a YB and then 12 races as a yearling. That's 16 opportunities right there for the pigeon to demonstrate that it has some kind of potential for you to work with. When I was racing a sprinter would never have made it into my widowhood team as a 2 year old without at least several efforts where it had done something of real note


For the distance I think you ultimately have to be a bit more patient, especially if its a pigeon of distance breeding.
These pigeons tend to be brought along a bit steadier as youngsters, and then progressed as yearlings
So if they are of 500 miles breeding it might be the case that they are 2 years old and not actually been out that far yet to actually judge them.


[me and dad need to start being a bit harsher]

Bowbroom wrote: Thu Oct 30, 2025 9:10 am I think that it should be remembered that not everybody keeps pigeons to win all the time but more for the pleasure of looking after and enjoying them and are happy just to compete it should also be remembered that without losers there would be no winners
[Very tue and if you lose i just means you should try harder next week ]

NeilA wrote: Wed Oct 29, 2025 11:17 pm Cheers Goose
So I need to think about that and not judge the yearlings to quickly next time
They don’t need to cross water but I think from where Fraserburgh is located they probably cross some particularly in a west wind and similar for Thurso but could as I got around the coast
Steve will know more as he’s much more knowledgeable than me