Young bird racing (part 1)

From conversations with fanciers it appears that there is a lot of misunderstanding about the huge gap that some have created. Even a child understands that this can't just be a matter of quality.
Or would it all be 'messers' who can dominate with youngsters because they are ‘Doping sinners’ or medicine men? Don't believe that!
The truth may be that in today's young pigeon game, it does not seem to be the best pigeons that dominate but the better fanciers with the better methods. The time when playing with youngsters was so attractive because the chances were more equal is behind us.

ALSO IN THE PAST
Fanciers who play well with young were always there. But they were less dominant. Today's specialist rushes like a train over the hearts of hobbyists. Performance is the norm and he has no message about sentiments.
But… If a small minority has the rest in a stranglehold, that is a regrettable development. Because pigeon racing is crying out for more balance. That is why we are going to pay attention to young bird racing in some articles. To offer the dizzying fancier more support.
Of course it is an impossible task to give everyone a ready-made answer to all their questions and problems.
Every pigeon is different, every person is different and every loft is different. X-rays of the soul of pigeon or fancier are not possible and there is no such thing as 'THE system'. Those who believe in this are, before they know it, on the slippery ice of the proven differences between one 'specialist' and another.

DO NOT FLY
When pigeons are a few months old, the first problems often come. They sit fat, eat little and do not fly, while under normal circumstances they should be lively and eager to fly.
That flying is good. It promotes appetite and will develop the muscles, lungs and other organs that are important for the development into full-fledged racing pigeons. Some worry when their young are in this kind of crisis and wonder if they have bred a bunch of lazybones that will soon be unable to win prize. You don't have to. After all, I was talking about 'normal circumstances'.
This is not the case in March with young born in December. They will molt (not normal for birds in the spring) and pigeons that molt will not fly. Not in September and not in spring. Not around the loft and not on the prize list.

MAYBE SICK?
It is also possible that young do not train because they are sick. I have also had years with such not well-behaved winter breeds.
For a long time I thought that the moss that was rampant on the cement roof tiles was responsible. That turned out not to be the case. There was trichomoniasis combined with gastrointestinal disorders.
And I took action against that. Ronidazole and Altabactin (together) for a week. You saw them refurbishing. They pulled tight, started eating again, the manure became good again and they started to behave as healthy youngsters should behave. Later Adeno/Coli became a problem everywhere, but good medicines came along. What was confusing was that what helped for one fancier had no effect on the other.

BAD LUCK?
Furthermore, in the first months of life, your babies must learn manners once and for all. In that respect, they are just like people. Every educator knows how important good habit formation is in early childhood.
A child who has not been taught a good posture in the first years of life is very difficult to put on the right track.
With pigeons it is no different. There will be naturally bad trappers, but few.
Bad trappers are MADE by the fanciers.
Men who play well with young without exception have pigeons that come in well. After all, you can't play well with bad trappers!

MISTAKES
What I mean becomes clear when you see such a 'specialist' as he is called nowadays, dealing with the pigeons. How the pigeons know him and he knows the pigeons. If, on the other hand, you are dealing with someone who can barely grab the pigeons because they are obsessed with panicked fear and fly out of the loft when they see him, then that is not a 'specialist' with absolute certainty. How can you expect pigeons to attach themselves to the loft, to want to be at home, if they are frightened in that same loft?
Sometimes you feel sorry for man and pigeons when you see how they are handled. Between the legs or against the window, one knows how to grab a pigeon just by a leg or wing.
A shower of plumes is the swirling proof of the ignorance of the fancier. You have to be a big opportunist to expect such pigeons to storm in after the flight.

FOOL
Sad to see how a seemingly normal human being can turn into a strange creature when the pigeons come from a race. Ice-skating, he walks back and forth, pearls sweat on the forehead, lighting one cigarette with the other.
With a voice skipping with nerves, he shouts 'come come' while the pigeon that finally dares to land often gets a load of feed poured over him.
As a result, even more time is lost. In the meantime other pigeons may arrive.
They wonder why that man is acting so crazy. Why he rattles like a fool with a feeding can or even resorts to throwing lumps of sand or pebbles. Poor pigeon and poor fancier!
For the pigeon, the boss belongs to the loft as the drinking bowl. That drinking bowl is the same on Sunday as in the week ...
The boss should also be the same! Every animal attaches itself to the environment. This does not include a fancier who is not always himself.