From The Chair By Chris Williams
At times pigeon sport can be like a maze and you are never sure which way to go , this is what happens when we are dealing with a living creature .
I once read a brilliant article by Ad Schaerlaeckens called “What do we know about Pigeons?” I must admit that on Saturday 22nd January, as Dad and I paired the birds up I asked myself that same question. In the natural loft, I have a lovely quiet natured blue hen who sits happily on top of my head, last season she was paired contentedly with a cock, and I thought to myself that come breeding season I would take a youngster from them. Well since then the little lady has had a change of heart and selected a new beau. Free mating is quite common these days so I will give it a go in this case and see how it works out. The environment our pigeons find themselves in has a huge impact on them. Dave Allen has always been one of my favourite English scribes as his articles are not only informative, but they also make you step back and think, which is important because perfect pigeons only exist in books and so you must be on your toes as things can and do change in the blink of an eye. The same can also be said of the loft, this came to me after reading Dave’s latest “Food for thought” column which had been made available to read on The Racing Pigeon magazines website. Dave states: Now is the time to assess just how good your loft is. At this time of year, it’s cold and damp and if you leave the droppings in the loft for a few days and they begin to gather mould on and around them then the loft is too damp, and you need to do something about it. I’ve always said that there are three basic things you need to be successful at in the pigeon racing game and they are in order of priority: -
1. A good loft
2. Good pigeons
3. Good management
Living so close to the sea as we do here in Weymouth it is something of a constant battle to get the humidity in the lofts “just right” and so Dad and I always need to think on our feet making adjustments to the air flow within the loft as and when it is needed. At times like this flying in a partnership is a God send because there are always two sets of eyes on the look-out in the lofts. If you stop and think about it for a minute pigeons are no different to we humans because our environment also has a huge influence upon us. This is something that human Psychologists have attempted to understand for many years and why the business sector invests in the mental and physical wellbeing of employees. Of course for this to be effective communication and observation are vital, so as we cannot communicate with our birds in the conventional sense, with regular contact you soon learn to read their moods .
The bond between fancier and pigeon is paramount for success, this is certainly the case when it comes young birds, with this in mind when the weather allows I have been sitting in the corridor and moving my wheelchair up and down. This process allows me to observe the birds in their natural environment without disturbing them while at the same time it reintroduces them to the movement of my chair.
Sitting here on February 1st, 2022 and the first eggs have started to appear in the natural loft, I am pleased with this as the majority of them are yearlings and it is a sign that they are in good health and everything is working as it should be .
This time of year, with signs of new life in the loft, is always a real boost to the morale for me because it means we are “one step closer” to the start of the racing season .
I am currently in the process of getting a new powered wheelchair, I am hopeful that this will make my life among the birds a little easier as the seat will be height adjustable and this will at long last enable me to independently access the top boxes, little things like this I hope will make a big difference in further strengthening my relationship with the birds and be a great help to me when cleaning out .
I love to watch anything and everything to do with our great sport and recently stumbled across the YouTube channel “DREAMTEAM LOFTS”, Naomi Pearce has got to be one of the most enthusiastic fanciers I have ever seen, what a fantastic advert for the sport good luck to her and her family in 2022.
Readers may recall that Habrru organised a sale for the Dutch charity Stichting Bergh in het Zadel Foundation in aid of cancer research. For this very worthy cause 59 of Europe’s elite pigeon racing enthusiasts donated pigeons and vouchers for the event held online from Saturday, January 15, 2022 ending : Saturday, January 29, 2022 raising a grand sum of €23,250. Congratulations to all involved .
That’s all my news for this week enjoy your pigeons.
