RACING PIGEON NEWSLETTER ISSUE 266

Welcome deckers davy issue 266

They are still useful as couriers
By P. Oppili - The Hindu

PIGEONS AS couriers were indispensable for any saga of love or war of yesteryear. Times have changed, but not the pigeons and our love for them.

In the era of multinational couriers and e-mails that criss- cross the world, are pigeons an anachronism? Walk into the terrace of the house of Mr. R. R. Prasad at Royapuram in north Chennai.

You are in a pigeon breeding club. Mr. Prasad has six cubicles for rearing pigeons and rooms have been provided separately for males, females and "youngsters''. There are also lofts for breeding and "racing''.

In the city, there are four associations which promote pigeon racing. Pigeon clubs are functioning in Tiruchi, Madurai, Kovilpatti and Pondicherry.

Training for pigeons starts from the sixtieth day of their birth, says Mr. Prasad. Initially the birds are taken to a distance of five kilometres and then released. Gradually the distance is increased and when the birds reach a target of 150 km, they are ready for the race.

Pigeons are categorised into young and old. Young bird will be below one year and the old above one year and races are conducted for both the categories. On an average, the birds cross about 2,000 km after two years of rigorous training, says Mr. Prasad.

Pigeons with big feathers and dark eyes are selected for the race. They need to be quite disciplined to reach their holes lest they wander around and lose the race.

Various breeding techniques are adopted by the racers like line breeding, in-breeding and out-cross breeding. Good face, beautiful breast and short legs are signs of good "blood line''.

Every racing group will have a few leaders, who guide them back home safely.

In a group there will at least four to five leaders. If one leader fails, the other will take charge and lead the group back to pavilion.

Various racing methods are adopted by the members. For example, both the male and female pigeons will take care of the new born.

If the female is removed and released from somewhere, it will fly faster and reach home quickly in a bid to reach its baby.

Way back in 1986, when a race was conducted in the city, the birds were released in Tiruchi. One of the pigeons of Mr. N. Sampath Kumar reached the city flying non stop for about five hours creating a record. The clubs have conducted races from Kanyakumari and also in the northern parts of the country.

In 1997, a group of pigeons were released from Gwalior and one of the pigeons of Mr. Prasad came first. The bird covered a distance of more than 1700 km and reached his home without any problem.

After this, yet another race was conducted in the same year from Delhi and another pigeon of Mr. Prasad covered a distance of 2186 km. Mr. Prasad claims that both are unbroken records.

Technology might change the way we live, but old habits die hard.

New L&SECC Website.
By Keith Mott

We are currently constructing a new and better London & South East Classic Club website, which will be up and running before we start racing in May. The new site is being built by the best in the business, Mysoft and we at the Classic committee are looking forward to a better up graded site for the membership to enjoy. The new 2010 racing season is looming up and we are looking forward to some good racing from our new transporter, which was purchased recently to cope better with our big birdage races. I would like to welcome our new secretary, Terri Hoskin, who I believe is going to be one of the best administrators in our sport! She is a very keen, but needs a sorting out period.

The new L&SECC phone line and internet has been installed and Terri’s full details are: address - 53, Highham Road, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, HP5 2AF: phone number - 01494 786026: email address – lsecc.terri@ntlworld.com Subs are £25 and 'Gold Rings' cost ?5 each (max ten rings) plus £1 p&p. The 2010 race programme is: 15th May Alencon: 29th May Tours (including the yearling derby): 25th June Tarbes: 16th July Bergerac: 21st August Guernsey 1 (young bird and old hens): 11th September Guernsey2 (young bird and old hens).

Back in January I was given the great honour of being elected as the new L&SECC President and I would like to thank the committee for their vote of support and confidence. Being elected has presented me with an exciting challenge which I will enjoy and relish! We at the L&SECC have one of the best work forces in the sport and I would like to thank them all personally for their good work in the 2009 season and hope for their continuing support this year. I would like to conclude by wishing all our membership the very best of luck for the new racing season!

Alan & Christine Lomax of Woking.

My ol’ friends from the Pyrford club, Alan and Christine Lomax, have had some good success in the L&SECC in recent seasons with their Busschaert hen, ‘Classic Blue Lady’, which has recorded: 2007: 22nd open L&SECC Guernsey 1. (old hens), 24th open L&SECC Guernsey 2. (old hens), 2008: 45th open L&SECC Alencon, 13th open L&SECC Tours. A brilliant record! This game hen came home from the Tours classic in 2008 with her keel skinned and bleeding, and still recorded 13th open. A few years ago Christine purchased six Busschaert squeakers from Oly Gittins of Cornwall for a present for Alan and ‘Classic Blue Lady’ was bred from two of those original birds.

The partners have been winning major pigeon races for many years and 1988 season saw Alan and Christine win the longest Surrey Federation old bird race from Bergerac (450 miles) with 1,763 birds taking part. The partner’s Federation winner was an eight year old Corbett / Busschaert red chequer hen called ‘The 96 Hen’ and she was bred by the late Alec Martin of Worplesdon. Alec was also a past winner of the Surrey Federation from Bergerac. Alan said at the time that he wasn’t very interested in inland racing, with his whole pigeon management being geared to channel racing. Some of the partner’s best channel results then were: 1964: 1st club, 2nd Three Borders Federation Bordeaux (446 miles), 1970: 1st club, 5th Federation Nantes (282 miles), 1971: 1st club, 9th Federation Nantes, 1975: 1st club, 4th Federation, 10th SMT Combine (4256 birds) Niort (343 miles), 1st, 2nd club, 4th, 17th Federation, 15th SMT Combine (4775 birds) Avranches (183 miles), 2nd club, 8th Federation, 35th SMT Combine Bergerac, 1976: 1st club, 11th Federation Laval, 1982: 1st club, 1st Three Borders Federation, 3rd Seven Counties Combine (3415 birds) Bergerac, 1985: 2nd club, 14th Federation, 44th SMT Combine Bergerac, 1986: 1st club Bergerac, 6th Federation, 30th SMT Combine Nantes 1987: 1st club, 4th Surrey Federation, 22nd SMT Combine (4452 birds) Wadebridge, 1988: 1st, 2nd club, 1st, 22nd Surrey Federation Bergerac. A wonderful loft performance!

Alan and Christine got married in 1981 and on moving to Old Woking that year formed their pigeon racing partnership. Christine was very interested in the pigeons and is the book keeper in the partnership, and took over as club secretary of the Horsell Inv. Club in 1989. She was the hard working secretary of the Pyrford club for an amazing 21 years! The partners had five lofts, which are cleaned out every day and Alan maintains that pigeons will race to an orange box if they are happy. The Lomax’s lofts are well ventilated and are kept as dry as possible, in winter and summer. The 35 pairs are raced natural as the partners liked hens for the longer races and pairing up is in March with racing from France in mind. The main families kept are Janssen and Busschaert obtained from Alec and Molly Martin, Cattrysse from Robin Creswick of Woking, but at this time mostly pigeons of the Krauth strain from John Everly. Alan runs a training programme for the Pyrford club members and his birds get regular tosses from Winchester and he feeds on a good general mixture, with added chicken pellets for the longer races. The Lomax’s live in a very rural area of Surrey, with their cottage being sited on a river bank and they get a lot of problems with Sparrowhawks and Minks, which kill they birds regularly. They normally wintered about 40 young birds bred from eight pairs of stock birds and 35 pairs of channel racers. Alan says he likes young bird racing, on the natural system flying to the perch, and gives them lots of training out of Winchester. Alan told me a funny, but true story about two of his young birds. The late Alec Martin gave him a pair eggs from his Red Janssen stock birds and after Alan reared them he let them out with his other youngsters, and those two went straight back to the Martin loft, a mile or so away. Strange, but true!

At this time Alan had been in the sport 50 years, starting racing in 1960, after catching the pigeon bug from fancier school mates as a 15 year old. In those early days he had the Wegg pigeons and received a lot of help from a near by fancier, the late Alec Martin. Alan’s second hobby was playing golf and his job is a green keeper at the Hoebridge Golf Centre. Alan and Christine are great workers for the sport and he was chief clock setter and Surrey Federation delegate for his club. Alan is still the club’s delegate to the Three Borders Federation, a job he has done since the early 1960’s. Alan’s favourite nest condition for the longer races is hens sitting about ten day eggs. Alan said when he started up it was an achievement to get a bird on the day from Niort, such is the advance in our sport in 50 years, that some times you can get a day bird from Pau (550 miles) and not get in the National result. Alan isn’t a show man, but helps out at his club shows to get some funds in the bank. Christine said when the partners pair up they try and pair the best performers together.

There you have it, Alan and Christine Lomax of Woking, two of the nicest people in pigeon racing! They are still racing their pigeons with great success to their lofts down by the river at Old Woking and its great see them get some outstanding performances in the London & South East Classic Club races.

Well that’s your latest L&SECC report and I hope my readers have enjoyed it! I can be contacted on telephone number: 01372 463480.

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT.

Thrill of the race
By DIANE LEWIS

A car would have to travel 90 mph to have a chance at keeping pace with a pigeon flying 1,500 yards per second.

Daryl Hopkins, who races homing pigeons, said the birds are fascinating.

"They have a homing device planted in their head that God just blessed them with," Hopkins said. "How do they know and where do they go? Your guess is as good as mine. There was a 150-mile race last Saturday when that storm came through, and I'm still getting some birds coming in. My guess is they were blown 100 miles or so off course and are still making their way home."

He began racing pigeons when he was a teen-ager and got back into it last year.

"Almost every person about my age would probably tell you the same story," Hopkins said. "Somewhere as youngster, I acquired this pet, a barnyard bird. The technical term is rock dove. The bird would ride on my shoulder and I could feed it. This pet I had was interesting, but the only thing I could do with him is feed him."

Then, Hopkins said, he read about homing pigeons in a book and heard another boy, two years younger in school, had homing pigeons. Hopkins and Melvin Voth, both then of Dodge City, began racing the pigeons.

They continued until they were 16, when they lost interest in the birds.

It wasn't until many years later they rediscovered the fun of homing pigeons.

When Hopkins moved from Dodge City and back to this area, he found Voth also living in Garden City.

When Hopkins decided to get back into homing pigeons last year, he said, "lo and behold, there was Melvin Voth."

Hopkins is one of seven members of the Garden City Flying for Fun Pigeon Racing Club. To keep costs down, clubs in Garden City, Dodge City, Scott City, Cimarron and Manter combine when racing.

Young bird season is August through October, while old bird season runs April to June.

Old birds, the ones Hopkins races, are at least a year old and their flying range is 300 to 600 miles.

Young birds are limited to 300-mile races because they aren't ready to travel long distances.

The birds are trained by flying distances for practice. If they come back, they are entered in races.

"I usually take my birds to Sublette and see if they come back," Hopkins said.

Hopkins stores his pigeons in a loft in his former garage.

Weather is important in pigeon racing. Wind, fog, heavy smoke, heavy dust, rain and solar storms cause problems for the birds.

"They can't handle solar storms," Hopkins said. "They put down a magnetic charge that throws off their internal compass. The birds get disoriented to where all they have is sight, then they can get lost. With the other things, they'll either fly around, over or through it."

Part of Hopkins' interest in the birds comes from history.

"They used to carry messages in the Civil War, World War I and a little in World War II," Hopkins said. "I just learned not too long ago they were used in Desert Storm, except we (United States) weren't the ones using them. Communications are based on radio. Saddam Hussein jammed the radio signals, but the homing pigeons just went right through that."

Hopkins said the pigeons can cost as much as $100,000 or more and are raised all over the world.

In magazines, like the Racing Pigeon Digest, they sell for $100 to $2,500.

But Hopkins said his first birds were given to him by other members in the club.

"We do that for people in the club who are just getting started, because it can get expensive, especially for youngsters," Hopkins said. "Now I have eight pair of breeders, 12 old bird flyers and 35 babies."

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