LES J. PARKINSON'S
NEWS-REPORTS-ARTICLES
The young birds are going well in training and I am pleased with them. I've dropped one or two but we always do that, especially when the distance is increased. When we got them to the 25ml stage there was a big difference in the amount of food they were wanting - and I didn’t say getting. While they were flying around home they were on just over half a tin and they were drinking and then perching with no problem at all. When they were at the 4ml stage they were no different but I started to notice that they were after more food on their second 12ml stage so I increased the daily feed but only slightly and they were happy. Then when we reached 25mls they were far from happy with their feed and I again increased it. I work on the basis the more work they do the more they need to eat to keep in good form. At all times I am making sure that they are not overfed. I am talking young birds now, old birds are a different matter. On the first toss at 25mls 21 of the 32 dropped together and a further 9 came back during the day so one down. There next toss at Stafford saw an even worse effort when the first took 2hrs 15mins and then they were coming back all day with 19 as it went dark back in the loft. Over the next three days we had another five so seven missing from this toss.
Yearlings distance
I was looking at a note from a top National and International winning team who were asking about yearlings and how far do you think they should be sent with the long distance races in mind. I personally when I was working on the distance races that I had quite a few goes at I liked the yearlings to go to Saintes 520mls, and if not Saintes then Niort 482mls. We have clocked at Pau/Tarbes (27th open Tarbes 697mls the best) and at Pau 43rd open 684mls both with the NFC. Up in Cheshire and beyond there are a quite a few who I have spoken to who expect their yearlings to do at least Niort. What I must add is that when you start pushing yearlings to those distances they do start to fly home and not race. You can get yearlings to race fast but that is not what you want because if they come out of the basket at speed then they burn themselves out quickly and go down. If we are looking for a pigeon to fly nearly 700mls we need a pigeon to fly steadily home and keep going and not burn itself out by the time it has got half way. That's why when I am thinking ahead I like them to go to about 500mls as yearlings. In most cases I do think it knocks the speed element out of them as soon as they get out of the basket. When you look at the NFC result from these race points you de see the odd yearling or two on them and they are racing to southerly located lofts.
North West Classic Messac
Birds are getting a bit thin on the ground and with so many channel races available to the North West clubs are struggling to find any numbers to compete. Many fanciers have quite a number of empty boxes so no longer have the birds to send. The first two Combine races have been unfortunate this year falling on weekends when the atmosphere was not good to the pigeons flying ability. These two races even saw some lofts close down their ld bird teams and started working on the young birds in the hope that they can fill their boxes with experienced racers for 2014. However in this latest Classic race 33 members entered 181 birds and just over half were clocked and on the end result so not a bad race even though it was testing for some birds.
1st & 4th Open 1st & 2nd section A is Brian Lee who is flying well in these specialist races. This is a good spell for this blue hen who also won the Fougeres race a couple of weeks earlier. She is also a winner of 2nd Cheshire 2B Carantan as a young bird and sent back to National FC Carantan winning 16th section L. “30” is bred from Roger Sutton Van de Weyer/Andrie Bertie Janssen stock. 30’s nest sister 29 was third Cheshire 2B Carantan when they dropped together, she was also sent back to Carantan and won 2nd in the Maddely 2B. These hens fly on the roundabout system and will race every week up to and including Messac. The race team are not broken down they are fed Gerry plus early in the week then onto Vanroabays Bordeaux mix. Brian does play about with this dependant on weather conditions with various seeds and conditioners. By the way Brian sent her sisters to the Cheshire Two Bird Messac on the same day winning second after being found in the loft.
2nd Open 1st section B is won by Mike O’Hare & Ron Woodward of Middlewich who clocked a 2y/o hen flown on our roundabout system. She returned injured from an early season race and was put to one side until she recovered. She was reintroduced to the race team at the beginning of June and sent to Mangotsfield on 7th June with Middlewich FC then to Fougeres on 15th June with the MNFC and was their 3rd bird timed. She was then sent to North West Classic race from Messac to win 1st Section B, 2nd Open. She has now been paired up in preparation for for NFC Saintes race. Her Sire is a gift bird from Ken & Mark Cliffe from Congleton and the dam is a Gaby Vandenabeele from their own successful M & D Evans bloodlines the dam being a double great granddaughter of Super Gaby and Gerty V.
Mike O'Hare & Ron Woodward 1st section B NWCC
3rd open, 2nd section is H Bratt & Son of Winsford with a yearling Dark cock, a Busschaert x Janssen, flown roundabout. The Busschaert line is from John Preece of Telford. John gifted me a son off Joe 90, his R.P.R.A winning cock. This cock has produced good pigeons. My No1 racing cock is off him. The Dam is a Mark Kidby Janssen. I retired this hen after she had won 3x1st. Her Sire is my No1stock cock, a son of Mark Kidby's Governor. This cock has flown really well, but hurt his wing six weeks ago. The benefit of picking pigeons up to clock them in is that I found blood on my hands. He came to win finishing well and I think I have a good one for the future. In finishing I would like to thank the vet I use in Ireland, Francis Scullion, for getting the birds fit again after they went off form. Also Robert Kyle of Darlington from the North East for looking after my No1 racer and he took the trouble to rest and feed him and got him to Doncaster from where he returned back to the loft this is a true pigeon fancier.
Mel Bratt with the dark cock that was 2nd section B 3rd open North West Classic.
5th Open 3rd section a sees the Congleton decorator Anthony Cooke collect a well earned prize with a yearling cock flown on the natural system that is a blend of Congleton distance stock. The sire is bred down from Roger Suttons Andre Bertie Janssen’s through Keith & Stevie Morris stock and was a gift to Anthony as was the dam from Alan Wynstanley’s National winning distance stock.
6th Open 4th section A sees another good prize go the way of Roger Sutton who has gone very quiet with information nowadays.
7th Open 3rd section B is the market gardener Tom Howarth who works hard himself so does the same with the pigeons. The pigeon came about when Tom went to a sale at in the Haydock area with his better half and her sister liked the pigeon and they bought it. This is a red yearling cock raced on the widowhood system and has been to every race in the club and at the time of putting these notes together Tom was telling me he is going to Niort. Was Tom’s second pigeon at Fourgeres where he was 14th section 59th Open in the NWCC race, 2nd Woolaston Mid Week club and was also a fair young bird.
1st 2nd & 3rd section C go to Graeme Marskell who is always willing to have a go at these races and is this Messac race his first bird is a Jan Aarden yearling hen whose sire and dam were both bred by Bob Mcdonald. She has been raced every week on the roundabout system and showed improved form as the distance increased and she was Graeme’s 4th bird back from the previous classic race from Fougeres and was rested up afterwards until this race. The second bird back from this race being only 30 seconds after the 1st bird was a 4y/o blue cock which was Graeme’s first bird back from the Fougeres race when he was 17th open. He had a couple of short training tosses between the two channel races and will also be going to Niort. He was a gift bird from Richard Barker a couple of years ago and has turned out to be a good racer on the hard channel races with him being from the Eric Ceuleman breeding via Frank Bristow. He is raced on the roundabout system and was sent every week prior to this race. He has previously been 7th section 22nd open Fougeres and 7th section 33rd open Messac both in the North West Classic. Graeme then clocked a yearling silver hen which was also his bird back from the Fougeres race when she was 40th open. She is from Graeme’s middle to long distance family. Her sire was bred by Ian Gill and is a grandson of Drumiller Hill Lad the Kings cup winner and her dam is bred from the full brother to Enigma as was the second bird when he was paired to Graeme’s best mealy hen winner of 5 x 1st including 1st section L in The National Flying Club. She only had a few races as a young bird and then this year has been raced on the roundabout system going every week inland and then every fortnight across the channel.
Graeme Marskell takes the first three in the NWCC section C
1st section C for Graeme Marskell
2nd section C for Graeme Marskell
3rd section C for Graeme Marskell
Club/Fed news
Peter & Mike Child are certainly adding up the cards this year in the Moulton FC with another collection taking the top three positions in the last inland old bird race of the season from Cheltenham when 5 sent 64 birds getting thin on the ground at this late stage in the season. They clocked two yearling chequer pied cocks and a 2y/o chequer cock recording vels of 1417/1406.9/1406.0ypm. 4th goes to Mr & Mrs Chris Herbert on 1367ypm with a 5y/o blue cock nearly drawing his pension. In the Middlewich FC 8 sent 62 birds again the big races are here and birds are needed for those. Dickens & Wilkinson are 1st & 3rd with their team of Curtis, Wall & Lunt stock the first a blue cock that has 2x1sts plus a couple of other cards and then a chequer hen won a few prizes this year, their vels being 1439/1414ypm. Mark & Heather Smith are 2nd and continue to get in the prizes whether land or channel races, in this race they clocked a 5y/o blue Staf Van Reet cock that has several first to his credit plus many more prizes, this has been a good cock for the partnership. Mike O’Hare & Ron Woodward are 4th with a yearling blue Vandenabeele hen, these pigeons have done well for the partnership since they introduced them a few years ago and they are winning in the National races. The first share of pool money went to Dickens & Wilkinson with their fourth in the clock with the second share going to Syd Latham/Son & Daughter Joyce. The Middlewich 5B were at Frome when 10 sent 66 birds that saw Mike O’Hare & Ron Woodward have another good race. Mike called in to drop me something off and he was saying that although they do win a few races inland it is the channel and especially the National & Classic races that they are more inclined to go for. In this Frome race they take the top two positions with a yearling chequer hen and a 2y/o blue hen both as expected are Vandenabeeles and both won various prizes and record vels of 1406/1402ypm. Ken & Stan Bosson are 3rd with a blue hen on 1399.9ypm just decimals ahead of Mark & Heather Smith who collect another card being 4th with a chequer cock on 1399.6ypm with a Vandenabeele from O’Hare & Woodward. In the Crewe West End Mr & Mrs Richard (Badger) Young are having a good season with 8 x 1sts to date in this strong club. You would normally expect 250/300 birds plus in this club but we are now at the end of the season and 10 sent 115 to Frome where the top three positions went to Mr & Mrs Young with a yearling and two 2y/o recording vels of 1435/1434.5/1434.0ypm ahead of 4th placed Bob Humphries who clocked a yearling on 1431ypm. Here is the latest news from Mel Bratt PO for the Winsford club where 8 members sent 109 birds to Frome with the South West Cheshire Federation. Richard Ormandy continued his excellent inland flying, taking the first three positions with velocities of 1430/1429/1427ypm with all three birds being yearlings. Mel goes on to say, I can only put in my report what I am given and that is it! In 4th place are the ever consistent Mr & Mrs Albert Austin with this one also being a very consistent pigeon. When the wind turns this pigeon just loves the North winds having in the past won 2x1st, won as a y/b and had three prizes this year. This 2y/o blue pied Vanwildemeersch flown on the widowhood system and record’s a velocity of 1424ypm. If it helps any members supply information my e-mail address is
Liz at work in the office. I don't think she knew what I was doing when I took this on. As you can see, I have still got my montage that Ron Williamson gave Elizabeth a few years ago.
Les J Parkinson. 11 Rushton Drive, Middlewich, Cheshire, CW10 0NJ, +44 (0)1606 836036. +44 (0)7871 701585. E-mail:
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