Bren McGrane chats to
RAY MATTHEWS
OF DUBLIN
Ray outside his old bird lofts
Ray, please introduce yourself and tell us how you got started in the sport.
I started racing pigeons in 1989 with young birds. I originally started off keeping small birds and then changed over to pigeons. I have three brothers that race pigeons. Billy races in Ballybrack RPC, Eddie races in Enniscorthy, Wexford and my other brother Sam races in Sallynoggin HPS with his son Adam who is ten and has a great interest in them. Also my late uncle raced in Sallynoggin HPS so you could say it is in my blood.
What club do you race in and how many members are there?
I race in Sallynoggin HPS and we have 35 members sending anything between six and seven hundred birds weekly. Our club is a member of the East Coast Federation.
How do you race your pigeons and how many do you keep?
I race on widowhood and natural for old birds and use the darkness for young birds. I race around 80 old birds and keep 30 pairs of stock birds, and 100 young birds.
What are your lofts made from and what size are they?
They are all made from wood. I have a 16 x 8 old bird and a 16 x 10 Petron that I bought at the Dublin show for widowhood, a 32 x 8 for natural and stock, and a small 8 x 6 shed. All my lofts have aviaries on them as I think this is very important.
Young cocks in the aviary
Some racing cocks
When do you pair up your birds for breeding and racing?
My stock birds and my widowhood team are paired up in December and I don’t pair my naturals until late February/early March.
How do you feed your stock birds and your racers?
I feed my stock birds with hoppers in front of them all day and also I put a pot of food in the nest box. My widowhood cocks are fed twice a day, a measured amount. In the morning they will have about half an ounce after their morning fly and in the evening they will get around one ounce, again after their fly. My natural racers will have food in front of them all day, and my young birds are fed once a day as much as they want as I believe in feeding them well. I feed all my birds on Frazer’s corn. I will mix a bag of widowhood, a bag of breeding and a bag of young bird and feed to everything.
Do you attach any importance to feeding them grit and minerals?
Yes grit and minerals are very important. I feed fresh grit and minerals most days.
Do you use any preventative medication?
Yes. Before I pair up I will treat my birds for canker as I think this is very important.
Part of Ray's set up for old birds
Do you race your birds every week?
I race them most weeks on the land races up to about 180 miles.
How often do you exercise your pigeons?
My widowhood cocks exercise for one hour morning and evening and I will start off by training them from 14 miles. They will have between five and seven tosses from there and then into the first race of 87 miles. The young birds will be let out once a day for a couple of hours and be trained three times a week from 25 to 30 miles.
How many weeks do you think a widowhood cock can stay in form?
A good cock can hold form for around four to six weeks.
Some widowhood cocks
Ray's young bird section
Some of Ray's cocks
Do you use deep litter, floor grills or clean out daily?
I have wooden and plastic floor grills in all sections and I scrape all nesting boxes and perches every day.
What are the main bloodlines that you race?
I have raced the Janssen/Verheye pigeons for a long time. I bought in distance birds in 2010 from Jim and Anne Donaldson of Scotland and this year I have bought some from Kevin Rooney of Northern Ireland.
Tell us about your best pigeons and performance.
In 1993 I won the first of my three opens. This was from Penzance with the East Coast Federation with a dark cheq cock flying natural; he was a Van de Weyer. In 2003 racing with the Irish South Road Federation I won back to back opens from Penzance. I don’t think this had been done before and I think I am still the only one to do that. I won the first one with a cheq tip hen who was a Janssen/Verheye. She was sent feeding a big young bird and beat 2629 birds on the day. My next open winner was a cheq widowhood cock who beat 2257 birds flying about 220 miles; he was also 3rd club and 72nd open in another Penzance race. In 1994 I was 5th yearling national from 4750 birds. I won a meritorious award with a cheq widowhood Janssen/Verheye cock that was clocked three times from France and also the channel averages in the Irish South Road Federation. In 2012 I was 1st & 2nd club and 8th & 79th yearling national when 843 members sent 4337 birds. The winning bird was also 1st club and 11th open from Penzance with 1600 birds in 2011 flying around 220 miles. I also have a pencil blue Janssen/Verheye cock that has won 11 x 1st and a blue cock that has won 9 x 1st.
Winner of 11 x 1st
Winner of 9 x 1st
Meritorious Award winner
Is there anything you have not won in the sport that you would like to win?
Yes I would like to win a national. I have come close and hopefully some day it might happen.
If you could use only two products what would they be?
I would use a product called P3 and Herbacox. Both are from Frazer’s in Co. Down.
What were the last two things you put in the water or on the food?
I put apple cider vinegar in the water and Herbacox on the food with flax oil, dried off with pink mineral.
Where do you keep your hens?
I keep some with the young birds and some in the aviaries.
Ray holding one of his winners
Do you ever think of competing for averages?
No I don’t, but it is nice to win them. If it happens, it happens.
Do you race your young birds hard?
No I don’t. I am not interested in young bird racing. I give my darkness most races and the naturals get between two and three races for experience.
Young bird sickness. Is it a problem for you?
I have not had it the last few years, but when I did I would use apple cider vinegar. I think the best thing you can do is not feed them for 24 to 48 hours.
The new loft for twelve widowhood cocks
Some fanciers go out and purchase top quality birds but they never win with them. What do you think of that?
You can buy the birds but not the man. You have to put in a lot of time and effort and hard work and if you do you will get the rewards.
Do you treat your pigeons differently for national racing?
Yes, I would pair them up later than the others and I would give them more rest before going to the nationals.
What do you find more difficult: establishing a team of sprinters or a team of distance birds?
It would be a team of distance birds as the water and the distance takes its toll on the birds and you need plenty of them to fly the programme we have.
Ray's old bird lofts
What do you think of the vaccination programme and do you think it effects them long term?
I don’t think that it effects them long term. I inject my birds yearly because it is compulsory but if I had a choice I would rather not inject.
What would you prefer to race: up Ireland or across the channel?
I would much prefer to race from the channel as we are all equal and because of the buzz you get from clocking from Penzance 220 miles and from France around 400 miles.
