WHAT MAKES A PIGEON TICK?
by Jim Emerton
Like humans they have basic survival needs that constitute a life cycle. Attempting to understand one may give insight into ourselves, since we are both life forms sharing the same planet. With empathy we can react and respond to the behaviours of a pigeon and perhaps to its mind, which is the essence of being - they are not soulless machines. Lady fanciers are often clever at the more sensitive aspects of communication, and Dorothy sang to each one as it sat on the perch - oh come all ye faithful perhaps? Switch on your mind, tune in and focus on each bird in the loft - you may enjoy the relationship. All nice and soft, yet the objective is to entice the birds to race home from greater and greater distances - the good ones will give their all. This with top overall management is the quintessence of clever fanciership. A bird needs a secure, comfortable home, with quality food, water, breeding facilities, and access to nature so that it can exhibit its instincts and just be in optimal surroundings. My partner knows how to do it, and pigeons will give their all to return to his methods - as seen at Barcelona. Many good birds just lack condition when race entered, a factor which depends largely on the fancier - the man makes the bird, he is at the top of the pecking order in the food chain, and the intricate web of the sport.
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Elimar - January 2015
