After the winter (25-02-2025)
Every winter you hear the same wailing at the end of January and later. About pigeons that don't want to mate, hens that don't want to lay and other 'disasters' such as broken eggs and murdered youngsters by cocks that are too angry. I myself now have something going on with an old. Never had any problems with it and now, at the end of February, it has already started to leave the eggs three times.
It's a pretty good one and if you have a problem with such, the additional problem is sometimes even bigger. Such a pigeon usually has a good partner and a year is also lost to her. No young and if that is an older hen maybe never again. Leaving the nest is often a sign of lice, but I've had my lessons with that and it's not the case now. Of what? And what to do? No idea.
FREE PAIRING
Actually, pigeons from which you breed must have performed so well or have such good (ancestors) parents that it does not matter who is coupled with whom.
I myself am in favor of 'controlled free pairing'. Don't many super pigeons come from pigeons that the boss didn't expect? I will never forget what the great Schellens once said to me when we both visited Maurice Voets. He had had many winters making ‘couple notes’ before he started breeding. Until he was completely done with it and let his birds mate freely.
To his pleasant surprise, breeding better youngsters was the result. It must be said that with him, as it should be, there was only room for the very best in the breeding lofts. Loyal readers know my mantra about this.
MANTRA
‘The breeding couple does not make the super pigeon but the other way around, the super pigeon makes the 'breeding couple'. No one can put together breeding couples from which the good ones will 'roll' automatically.
Some ‘go by the eye.’ Boy oh boy. How naïve.
It usually goes like this: Suddenly you are in possession of that good pigeon and then you check from which parents it came.
Some statements by some greats about this:
- Klak. 'The youngsters of my best pigeon, the '013', are not more expensive than the others. I use the same price for everything. You never know where they will end up.' A bit exaggerated of course, because with certain pigeons you definitely have more chances, but still.
Then I remember what Miel Daems said at the time. I have always suspected this champion from Bevel of having foresight. Or was he far ahead of his time because... Miel had a lot of grizzles! Even then.
- Miel: 'If your best pigeons come from your best breeding pair, you are not in a good position. 'That 'good' one should be a surprise. From unexpected parents.'
By the way: Experiments with, I believe a kind of finches, showed that you get more vital young if the parents have been allowed to choose their partner. Why should it be any different with pigeons? Maybe some know the story of my 'Home Alone'. Forcing racers to pair seems completely wrong. A forced partner just can't be motivating
BREEDERS AND RACERS
In the 80's it became more or less fashionable to have a loft with pigeons from which fanciers bred, ‘the breeding loft’ so to speak. Hardly any breeding was done from the racers. Even earlier, few had separate breeders, they had pigeons to race and they bred from the same.
There was no question of foster pigeons or reserve pigeons at all. It also had to do with the feed that was much more expensive than it is now. How do you weigh something like that against each other? Calculating how long you have to work for a bag of food, or whatever. Except for those people who feel better with crazy priced food. In the 90's I started to also breed from the racers myself. Some were deliberately paired, most could choose a partner.
HOME ALONE
I mentioned 'Home Alone'. In the racing loft I had a few pigeons in mind from which I wanted youngsters and a few from which I did NOT.
Immediately after putting the sexes together I noticed that two pigeons fell for each other real seriously. No way, I thought. ‘Far too closely related.’
But no matter how I tried, I couldn't keep them apart. The cock was temporarily put in another loft but it did not feel comfortably.
In the end I just gave up and let them go. Killing the babies was always possible. But one of them was so dazzlingly beautiful that I couldn't bring myself to do it. When a certain Kuze from Japan wanted to buy it for a lot of money, this was certainly a reason for me to keep it.
This pigeon 'the 62' would later win a provincial race with a lead of FIVE Minutes against over 13.000 pigeons. I named it Home Alone from then on. The Belgian combination Jespers v d Wegen knows how good his youngsters were. His descendants won several times in the first 5 National against 30,000 pigeons.
A brother of Home Alone became grandfather of 'Anita' from Michel Vanlint via de Bruijn. Anita won 1st National Argenton in Belgium. The blood of the brother of 'Home Alone' is also in Willem de Bruijn’s ‘Murphy’s Law’.
AND FURTHER
Putting the cock away for some time may help.
Regarding this it is easy if you have an empty box.
Incidentally, the fancier is sometimes also to blame. In a 'new season' it is best to let pigeons live as much as possible in a place identical to where they are used to.
If that was 'top left' then now also 'top left' if possible.
Hens that do not lay eggs are often older birds or yearlings.
A new loft from a new fancier can also cause problems. I have often heard people who do a lot of trade with the Far East say that they had to replace pigeons because they did lay eggs with the new owner.
Symptomatic is what happened to me this year.
Two hens didn't lay eggs. One was from 2018, the other was a summer bred from 2024. Recovered from a big name, from very good parents and what a beauty.
I was especially curious about her. No eggs and I will try again later with another cock. Maybe nothing again, but so what?
The time that I worried about pigeons that refuse to mate or lay eggs is long gone.
My 164. Not a nice colour but who cares as long as they win.
This 164 won 1st against 24,000 pigeons