Ten little nig (12-12-22)
“Nig…” better not the complete word. With that 'n word' you can get into trouble. In this case I refer to a book from my childhood.
Today I have contact with people who have just started with pigeons or who want to start with it. Those contacts make it clear how difficult things maybe for beginners which are the most obvious things for us. Some examples in descending order. As in "ten little nig...."
NUMBER TEN
The winter breeding did not work for P. Coupled November 25th, that is to say, the door between the lofts of cocks and hens was left open, but two weeks later it was still a big mess. And no eggs yet.
What I suspected turned out to be correct. He had not ensured that the cocks already had their own box. The fastest way to do this is to feed them in the box. Animals want to be where they find food.
Before you put them together, let the cocks have half a box.
The interior of the loft of Verkerk. You can give the cocks half a box.
I would certainly let the racers mate freely. A partner against their will can certainly not motivate them to get back home from the races as fast as they can.
Breeders can choose their partners too, but on the condition that they are all worth trying out their youngsters.
NUMBER NINE
S lamented that his pigeons do not like grit, while he had often read that this was so important. Of course they like grit. Of course he had that in jars in the lofts and then pigeons do not peck at it. Grit does not belong in the lofts. You have to give that in small amounts a few times a week. I usually do it along with some ‘sweets’ and peanuts.
NUMBER EIGHT
Then there was that Fleming who asked which are the best eye drops. Dropping the pigeons in the eyes before the flight, or after or even both, is an ingrained but, believe me, completely unnecessary habit for many Belgians.
I challenge those drippers to 'drip' half of their pigeons as they always did and not to do that with the others. Then compare after the season. I am sure they do not drip any more.
NUMBER SEVEN
A local had seen the heating plates in our loft and asked at what degrees they came on. He meant, of course, the dead of winter. Well, they only turn on very sporadically in full season in humid weather. We once went to Romania with Gijsbrechts Senior (Pipa) plus some well-known fanciers. It was in the middle of winter. During a loft visit we were shocked by the breathtaking condition of the pigeons. Heated lofts, that's how we felt right away. "He is going to have a mediocre season," we agreed. Unfortunately for the man, we were right.
NUMBER SIX
Another had imitated a known champion. During the racing season, the pigeons were given food that had a different composition every day. That care for the pigeons was endearing and listening to a champion is of course not wrong. But different food every time?
Think that champion played well 'despite' his way of feeding and not 'thanks to'. Making things that complicated seems really pointless to me. You cannot say that Klak was not a good handler. He gave all his pigeons, racers, breeders, youngsters the same food for a whole year.
NUMBER FIVE
The fellow countryman had some youngsters to start with. They were a bit too old, so he had better hold them for two weeks, the breeder of the birds had told him. That was indeed good advice, but what he did next, waiting for a day with good weather and then releasing them early, was wrong.
The idea behind it was that youngsters that get lost have a whole day to 'search'. So wrong: Pigeons that you move to another location should be released later in the day and, if possible, preferably in dark rainy weather.
Even better when your own (old) pigeons are drying on or in front of the lofts after a bath or a heavy rain shower.
NUMBER FOUR
With today's internet sales, it is especially attractive for beginners to buy old pigeons online. That can be interesting in particular for total sales, but otherwise?
In the case of a partial sale, it is useful to ask yourself why those old pigeons are being sold. Or should I say "have to get out?"Sometimes you read 'because of too many good birds'. Comments like that don't even reach the level of ridiculousness.Also with some loft reports it is useful to ask yourself the question 'why were they written and by whom?'
NUMBER THREE
For beginners it is tempting to fill the still empty lofts as quickly as possible, and that is why there is plenty of breeding. It rarely leads to anything.
It is best to start with foster pigeons. Underneath you put eggs that you received in confidence from a good player and you test the youngsters that hatch there on the flights. Their performance or failure is the best indication of their value.
It is better not to breed from all pigeons, but more from pigeons that have already proven something.
NUMBER TWO
Wrong and injudicious use of medicines and supplements is mainly something that beginners are guilty of. One cures against non-existing diseases, one cures too much, too long, too little or too short.
Doesn't a pharmacist also warn his patients to finish his cure?
With an 'too much' you also kill the bacteria that pigeons need.
If there is too little of the drug, a small proportion of the pathogens will survive. Which may be clear: The strongest. They multiply and if you go back to cure over time, history will repeat itself.
Again a small part remains alive and again the strongest. Until you have grown a strain of pathogens that you can no longer control.
You can also make mistakes with supplements, albeit often less serious. For people who believe in vitamins; Grondelaars and Voets did the same at the time.
They did that in the drinking water and that was of course quite pointless. Much of the effectiveness is quickly lost in this.
If we humans dissolve something in water, we immediately drink it. But tell that to pigeons.
NUMBER ONE
Many beginners have trouble interpreting results correctly. Especially in a time when one races with 100 pigeons and the other with 5.
Being able to read results correctly is important when looking for reinforcements. After all, you get the better pigeons in a region where there is stiff competition.
The speed of the winning pigeons is a benchmark for many when they compare. I think it would be better to compare the speeds of the latest prize winners.
After all, stronger competition is reflected in a shorter duration of the competition.
