DAVENPORT & ROBERTS
Winners of 9 different Channel races in 2005
Report by Cameron Stansfield
A couple of years back I penned an article on Darren Roberts of Wrexham who, at that time, had won 7 out of his previous 7 Channel races. After that Darren went into partnership with Chris Davenport of Chirk and he has continued in the same vain. In fact, flying with Chris, he has now won 18 of his last 20 Channel races, and in 2005 alone the partnership won 9 different Channel events. That would be impressive if they lived on the south coast, but remember, they are located in Shropshire and their Channel distances range from 250 to 509 miles. This is not just a Channel loft, however, as they won 40 x 1st altogether in 2005 and were crowned the Shropshire Federation Old Bird Combined Average winners. To appreciate that achievement properly you will need to get a map out and see the topography on their line of flight and, moreover, they are one of the furthest flying lofts being tucked up in the far north-west corner of the Fed so they also had to overcome the prevailing westerly winds.
Young Joe. 1st Club, 2nd Section, 8th Fed, 14th Combine Saintes, 509 miles, as a yearling late-bred carrying nest flights. Sire is a son of Padfield Family’s Vince, 1st National Pau. Dam was bred by Brian Reid of Carlisle.
Their 2005 Channel season began at Picauville on Saturday 21st May from where their red cock, Combine Leader, took 1st Club, 1st Section, 1st Fed, 1st Combine against 3072 birds, and it reached a highlight in September when they entered 15 youngsters in the National Flying Club Fougeres race. This was a tricky affair, yet they timed six birds on the winning day and had 12 out of the 15 home by the end of day two. Theirs was the only clock returned on the day of toss in the Shrewsbury clock station and their positions included 14th & 24th Open.
Miss Messac. 2005 results: 6th Club, 6th Section, 17th Fed Mangotsfield 2330 birds; 4th Club, 5th Section, 8th Fed Messac 875 birds; 1st Club, 1st Section, 8th Fed Messac 451 birds; 5th Club Saintes.
The partners fly their old birds on roundabout and, based on past experience, resist all temptation to re-pair. They breed a large team of early youngsters which are put on the darkness, and also have a second young bird team which only get a couple of races.
Cheq hen. 2nd Club, 2nd Section, 3rd Fed, 7th Combine Picauville 3072 birds; 1st Club, 1st Section, 1st Fed, 1st West Shropshire 2 Bird, 1st Show Race, 6th Combine 1857 birds Messac; 7th Club Fourgeres. A granddaughter of the Twisted Beak Cock.
The old birds are paired early January and rear a round of youngsters before the hens are removed before they lay again, the cocks finishing of the youngsters. The hens are then left alone for a week or two to get over the separation and by early March all birds are on full roundabout, exercising for one hour every day. They only go out once a day until the 2nd race as Darren and Chris don’t want them too fit nor do they want them getting bored prematurely later on in the season by a routine of twice daily exercise. Last year the cocks had only one toss and likewise the hens. Both times they were hawked hence no further tosses were risked.
Super Star. 2005 performances: 1st Club, 1st Section, 23rd Fed Cheltenham 1489 birds; 1st Club, 1st Section, 4th Fed Mangotsfield 2330 birds; 2nd Club, 2nd Section, 17th Fed, 23rd Combine Fourgeres 2520 birds; 1st West Shropshire 2 Bird, 2nd Club, 2nd Section, 13th Fed, 29th Combine Messac 1181 birds.
If right, all birds go every week up to and including Fougeres, 350 miles, which will be their third Channel race. Note: there is a fortnight between these Channel events. However, the pigeon which won Saintes had had a six-week break on account of him being a broken pigeon who kept overflying to his old loft, so they’d decided not to bother with him. He was in fact the last one on their sheet for Saintes and very nearly wasn’t sent!
Combine Leader. 1st Club, 1st Section, 1st Fed, 1st Combine Picauville 3072 birds; 4th Club Cheltenham; 4th Club, 4th Section, 17th Fed Portland; 2nd Club, 2nd Section, 7th Fed Portland; 4th Club Blandford; 1st Club Mangotsfield.
They like to send their birds with a bit of muscle weight on them for the Channel rather than being blown up and light. This is because they want them to have the resources to recover quickly so they can go over the Channel again. Darren likes the idea of trying to get 5 or 6 cards out of a pigeon on the Channel in one season. Those, he says, are the pigeons he wants, though he acknowledges that by racing them so frequently they are possibly sacrificing one outstanding performance from them.
Cheq W/F cock. 1st Wrexham 2 Bird Cherbourg, by half an hour, also beating the whole convoy of the Gloucested Fed which were flying many miles shorter. He is a g.son of the Number One stock cock, the Twisted Beak Cock.
They have clear water all week but on their return from a race through to Sunday afternoon they have Johnson’s Tonic and Epsom Salts. Darren mixes a 500ml bottle of tonic with a 200gm packet of salts in hot water, then fills a 2 litre pop bottle with it. He adds it to the bottom of the drinker so it is to a depth of a quarter of an inch and then tops up the drinker with tap water. He has been doing this for five years. On the land the old birds spend all day together on their return and have a hopper of young bird mix, the doors being left open for three or four hours so they can do as they please. They are out early on a Sunday morning for a bath and Darren says if they don’t bath he is suicidal because it is a bad sign.
1st West Shropshire 2 Bird, 2nd Club, 8th Fed, 16th Combine Picauville Young Birds. One week earlier this pigeon was timed in the NFC YB race after being 11 hours and 15 minutes on the wing.
The cocks are out from 9-10am and from 5-6pm and the hens from 10-11am and 6-7pm. The hens exercise freely and when right they fly in small batches, whereas the cocks do just the opposite, striking off on their own, and Darren notes that their birds seem to fly higher than other peoples. Darren thinks one of the most important things is to get them out in the mist and the rain and he knows that if they fly freely in such conditions they are right. When the Channel races are reached, for extra motivation they stop a cock which hasn’t been shaping and ensure he is always locked in a bottom box when the hens come in from their exercise.
Big Al. 1st Club, 1st Wrexham Fed, 1st Marches Combine Picauville beating the Combine by 20ypm and the Shotton Gold Ring birds (up together) by 40ypm. His nestmate won 1st Section, 18th Open Western Region Gold Ring race 2005. A grandson of the Twisted Beak Cock.
They are hopper fed barley when on the land programme and are trapped to a quarter of an ounce of young bird mix. On Thursday and Friday they have as much young bird mix as they want. For the coast races they are given 50:50 hemp and maize, as much as they want, on the night before basketing through to dinner time, when they are given a bit more hemp to get them to have another drink. The sexes go together at 3pm and are basketed at 5pm so can tread and so forth.
Cheq cock. 2nd Section J, 14th Open NFC YB Fourgeres 2005. In this National race Davenport & Roberts timed a further six day birds and were the only loft in the Shrewsbury clock station to time on the day. They had 12 out of 15 home by the end of the second day. Breeding is Wim Muller x Huybreght, the sire being a g.son of Padfield Family’s Albert and the dam a daughter of 1st Saintes, 516 miles.
The night before basketing for the Channel races they are given a canker tablet. They used to do it on the actual day of basketing but were concerned that as some birds are sick in the basket they wouldn’t gain any benefit. For the Channel races up to 400 miles in the three days before basketing they have as much cinquitina maize and hemp as they want and this is always coated in Bee’s Gold. Over 400 miles, peanuts are added, again as many as they want. The young birds return from a race to Nifuramycin in the water then have the tonic and salts mix in the evening.
Sire of 1st West Shropshire 2 Bird Picauville 2005. Bred by Brian Stansfield of Tattenhall, Cheshire, bloodlines being Keith Bush of Cossall x Gwyn Richards of Ton Mawr, S.Wales.
For Channel races they put the bowl in before basketing the cocks. The basketed cocks are still in their section when the hens are let through. The hens jump on the basket and fight in the boxes so they act quickly and basket them up too.
For the first four races the youngsters are trained twice a day from 10 miles and never go out of the loft. They have as much YB mix as they want, once a day, and up to this point the sexes are still together. After the fourth race they have no more training and the sexes are divided. They now go out once a day and are fed as much Gerry Plus and peanuts as they want. They handle big and solid but light. Before the fifth race the youngsters are separated all week. Then they are all allowed into a previously unused section which has nestboxes, bowls and shavings. The hens which nestle down in the bowls are the ones they pool. Under this method these youngsters won Cherbourg, two different Picauvilles and Fougeres in 2005.
4th Section J, 24th Open NFC YB National 2005. She is from a g.dtr of N. Black & Son’s Hall of Fame hen x a son of Old 89, the foundation cock of Albert Padfield & Family.
The mainstay of their team are the Huybregts but recent additons which made an impact in the 2005 Channel races included birds from Albert Padfield & Family and from Brian Reid of Carlisle. It was this cross which bred their Saintes winner, which, incidentally, was carrying nest flights. The Padfield birds have also hit with the Huybregts, one being 14th Open NFC Fougeres, and with the David Black of Northern Ireland birds, one of these being 24th Open NFC Fougeres. Darren also had a pair off Brian Stansfield’s Palamos hen (bred by Gwyn Richards of Ton Mawr) when she was paired with a Keith Bush of Nottinghamshire cock. One of these bred their 1st West Shropshire 2B Picauville winner, and the other bred 18th Section, 105th Open NFC Fougeres when crossed with a Padfield x Brian Reed pigeon.
They are crossing all their various lines to make their own family. They see a big future for the David Black pigeons crossed with the Huybregts for the distance. And their Padfield pigeons are looking very promising. They have six cocks direct and five of these bred Channel performers in 2005, in fact the only one they have raced as an old bird won Saintes.
The loft is aiming to build a stronger team for the longer distance events as they fancy having a go at Saintes, Dax and Tarbes with the NFC and Bergerac with the MNFC. Going by their recent Channel success, it would be foolhardy to bet against them winning high Open positions in the next few years.
18th Section J, 105th Open NFC YB Fougeres. Sire bred by Brian Stansfield being of Keith Bush & Gwyn Richards lines. Dam is the Padfield x Brian Reed hen.
