CULTIVATING BARCELONA PIGEONS
by Jim Emerton
Right from the potential in the egg they are all individuals, which need specialist treatment. In theory the genes are crucial and good birds for Barcelona can be found in any so-called families, all being of mixed origins. I note the popularity of Barcelona performance birds imported into the UK, some of which may leave good birds in the right hands. There is one way to prove a Barcelona pigeon and it is simple - send it to the Barcelona International race and see if it comes home.
I will advise the steady racing of young birds with rich feeding at all times, preferably on open loft to hone the survival instincts around home. Using the same basic principles take the yearlings out to 4 to 500 miles, and 2yr olds to Barcelona around 700 miles, or if Barcelona is over 750 miles use 3yr olds. Each bird is sent to Barcelona, where the results will be self evident. Nic Harvey aims to send all ours each year, so that eventually we will have birds to achieve 3 times Barcelona International. The race has inbuilt difficulty, yet the UK under the jurisdiction of the BICC and sometimes the BBC will continue to raise the bar of excellence.
Elimar - December 2013
