Welcome to the site Albert
Hen racing age
I see yearlings and two year olds winning here on the sprints not often a old pigeon
I don’t think I have raced one past 3 for some time
If they get to the end of 3 years they really deserve a go at breeding as they have come through 4 years of selection
I don’t think I have raced one past 3 for some time
If they get to the end of 3 years they really deserve a go at breeding as they have come through 4 years of selection
Some very good, bold birds there, I hope those still competing continue to do well and that their offspring (if any) do as well.
I think Hens in particular flown Natural can keep performing from the distance at a good age, you only have to look at the classic results and you often see 7 and 8 year olds in the results from 500+ miles, some of these of course have flown these distances several times. I think generally due to laying hens generally have fewer races a year than cock birds and most are targeted for just one or two races.
I have had a couple of hens in the past still competing from the distance at 5 and 6 year olds, in fact one of these didn't actually score until she was a 4 year old when she was 3rd club from Berwick 348miles. As a 5 year old she was in the cards from Berwick (348miles) 4th club, Stonehaven (431miles) 2nd club, and Banff (495miles) 1st Club, all in the space of 5 weeks. The other hen was in the clock on the winning day 3 years running from Thurso 552miles winning the club on her 3rd attempt. Sadly neither of these hens bred me anything and both were lost from the only complete smash I can ever remember (no fed birds in race time) from Elgin 485miles, one was a 7 year old the other 6. Those results were back in the 90s when I put in a lot more effort than I do these days lol
I think Hens in particular flown Natural can keep performing from the distance at a good age, you only have to look at the classic results and you often see 7 and 8 year olds in the results from 500+ miles, some of these of course have flown these distances several times. I think generally due to laying hens generally have fewer races a year than cock birds and most are targeted for just one or two races.
I have had a couple of hens in the past still competing from the distance at 5 and 6 year olds, in fact one of these didn't actually score until she was a 4 year old when she was 3rd club from Berwick 348miles. As a 5 year old she was in the cards from Berwick (348miles) 4th club, Stonehaven (431miles) 2nd club, and Banff (495miles) 1st Club, all in the space of 5 weeks. The other hen was in the clock on the winning day 3 years running from Thurso 552miles winning the club on her 3rd attempt. Sadly neither of these hens bred me anything and both were lost from the only complete smash I can ever remember (no fed birds in race time) from Elgin 485miles, one was a 7 year old the other 6. Those results were back in the 90s when I put in a lot more effort than I do these days lol
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Anthony webster
- Posts: 76
- Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2024 4:54 am
I raced 3 different 3 Yr olds last season for my first ever time normally only race yearlings n two Yr olds
But 2 out the 3 topped the open n other one landed with winner n was 2nd open, these was on dirty dodgy race days n probably these older pigeons know the tricks of the trade on nice days the 2 Yr old hens were way faster.
I think the further the distance the more likely you are to find a pigeon with a bit of age about it appearing in the results. When you're getting to 550 miles and beyond you quite often see "older" pigeons appearing. In part I think that this is often because the pigeons have been brought along quite steadily - epecially in their earlier years. Ther 600 miles guys who I know aren't too bothered about how much racing these distance prospects get as babies - and even as yearlings aren't often punished. To me this is the "traditional" method and somebody like say Mark Gilbert is much more progressive in asking his extreme distance pigeons the acid question much earlier in their lives. This is an approach that I have a lot of time for.
When you're sprinting (to me where I live in the Mildands we can ge down to the coast in 150 miles) then its all about youth. Yes I've had pigeons score at 4 and 5 years of age - but they're the exceptions rather than the rule. Sprinting with OB is all about yearlings and 2 year olds. There's little substitute for youth. Of course there's examples of good pigeons performing well sprinting at an older age - I had them at my loft too, but i'm generalising. All of my RPRA Award winners in the 0-250 miles category won that award either as yearlings or 2 year olds - without exception.
A pigeon at 2 rarely surprised me. This is because there wasn't a 2 year old in my team without damn good reason for it being there. It'd have had say 5-6 races as a YB and then 12 as a yearling. That's say 18 opportunities to show me how good it was. If it hadn't done "something" on several occasions then there was no place in the team for it. This is because I'd got young cocks coming through that wanted the box.
So distance, yes, you can get examples of older birds doing well - but the more you shorten the distance the more it becomes a younger pigeons game.
Mike
When you're sprinting (to me where I live in the Mildands we can ge down to the coast in 150 miles) then its all about youth. Yes I've had pigeons score at 4 and 5 years of age - but they're the exceptions rather than the rule. Sprinting with OB is all about yearlings and 2 year olds. There's little substitute for youth. Of course there's examples of good pigeons performing well sprinting at an older age - I had them at my loft too, but i'm generalising. All of my RPRA Award winners in the 0-250 miles category won that award either as yearlings or 2 year olds - without exception.
A pigeon at 2 rarely surprised me. This is because there wasn't a 2 year old in my team without damn good reason for it being there. It'd have had say 5-6 races as a YB and then 12 as a yearling. That's say 18 opportunities to show me how good it was. If it hadn't done "something" on several occasions then there was no place in the team for it. This is because I'd got young cocks coming through that wanted the box.
So distance, yes, you can get examples of older birds doing well - but the more you shorten the distance the more it becomes a younger pigeons game.
Mike
I totally agree with your opening paragraph Mike, but the "traditional" method is used by many simple because of the size of their set up. Many back garden lofts don't have the luxury of HUGE teams like the like's of Mark Gilbert and Jelle Jellema. We often hear of their successful yearlings but never about the amount of the birds that don't succeed?MIL wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 11:57 am I think the further the distance the more likely you are to find a pigeon with a bit of age about it appearing in the results. When you're getting to 550 miles and beyond you quite often see "older" pigeons appearing. In part I think that this is often because the pigeons have been brought along quite steadily - epecially in their earlier years. Ther 600 miles guys who I know aren't too bothered about how much racing these distance prospects get as babies - and even as yearlings aren't often punished. To me this is the "traditional" method and somebody like say Mark Gilbert is much more progressive in asking his extreme distance pigeons the acid question much earlier in their lives. This is an approach that I have a lot of time for.
When you're sprinting (to me where I live in the Mildands we can ge down to the coast in 150 miles) then its all about youth. Yes I've had pigeons score at 4 and 5 years of age - but they're the exceptions rather than the rule. Sprinting with OB is all about yearlings and 2 year olds. There's little substitute for youth. Of course there's examples of good pigeons performing well sprinting at an older age - I had them at my loft too, but i'm generalising. All of my RPRA Award winners in the 0-250 miles category won that award either as yearlings or 2 year olds - without exception.
A pigeon at 2 rarely surprised me. This is because there wasn't a 2 year old in my team without damn good reason for it being there. It'd have had say 5-6 races as a YB and then 12 as a yearling. That's say 18 opportunities to show me how good it was. If it hadn't done "something" on several occasions then there was no place in the team for it. This is because I'd got young cocks coming through that wanted the box.
So distance, yes, you can get examples of older birds doing well - but the more you shorten the distance the more it becomes a younger pigeons game.
Mike
It's very much easier to get yearlings a lot of channel/National experience the further South you live? And I'm sure Mark's progressive approach would be tweaked if he lived 200 miles further North.