USING THE NATURAL BEHAVIOUR OF PIGEONS
by Jim Emerton
Making a study of birds for 63 years, there are essential needs and survival behaviours in the flock, which are observable by the human eye. Some empathy with and understanding of these may inform you as to the everyday practical needs of the birds, which can be inculcated into a winning racing system. Birds need a warm, safe and comfortable roost, free of the threat of predation, and where they can live out a life cycle of birth, reproduction and death. Pigeons are gregarious, with individual personalities and dominance/submission behaviours exhibited in a hierarchy or pecking order. As sentient creatures that respond inwardly to the presence of humans, see the joint reaction and learn from it. This unity will cement your feelings and sentiments towards the birds - the old masters loved their pigeons, my mother sang to them. If you get the home environment right, then birds with stamina and navigation skills will reward you in races of great difficulty for man and beast. My feeling for nature reinforces my belief that we are all part of the cosmic whole, a concert or synchrony of life.
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Elimar - December 2014
