THE RACING PIGEON 29 MARCH 2024
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Winning Naturally by Alf Baker WINNING THE NATURAL WAY Chapter 13 Waiting and Watching
birds fret through mental strain, even from the short races; those that have got off their line and have been lost for several hours and have worked back to get home. I am sure that’s why a lot of birds fail at the distance, not through physical fitness but mental strain which saps up energy far more than flying. This weakens the homing instinct and they are lost, and those that don’t regain it are never seen again unless reported. With those that home under these circumstances after several weeks, it is because something has clicked in the brain and they are straight home. As I have said, these will often pay the corn bill and may never suffer from this form of amnesia again. Some of the unfortunate feeble-minded people are as strong as an ox, but when it comes to using their brain they show their weakness; the same applies to the racing pigeon. Don’t think those frets will lessen the birds’ chances for next year. I have heard fanciers say they won’t do any good till they have moulted them out. I was beaten once by a pigeon that had the worst fret marks I have ever seen across the flights. It had been out for several weeks as a young bird and learnt from its mistakes. Those that are fretted on the third flight will have to go to the long race with it. I would sooner mine go with the fretted third flight than moulted out and on its fourth. We all have our likes and dislikes with regard to colour. I have never known a fancier who does not like blues or blue chequers. Something like 80%, the majority that go to the race are of such colour. The other colours are in the minority of winning. I have always said a good pigeon cannot be a bad colour. From my own family I bred two white cocks; they all knew in London of their performances from the long races. I could name several others that were the fancier’s best pigeon over several years. I remember in the bad winter of 1962-3 seeing a white sparrow in my garden and I don’t remember seeing it show any effects to the hard times they were having. In fact, when it came to the grub-stakes it was most aggressive and always had its fill before the others could get near it. If whites were in the majority to the blues and blue chequers sent to the races those who think the colour is a sign of weakness would think differently. Keeping the loft clean Why some fanciers want to use V-perches or saddle perches instead of a nice row of box squares I will never know. To me pigeons don’t look right on them and I am sure they are much easier to catch or pick up from a box square than the others. How nice, too, the birds look when the boxes have been whitened. Perhaps it is to save scraping the droppings from them each morning, as we know if you powder the saddle perches with limestone powder the droppings will fall off. Scraping out the loft is something I have never tried to shirk, and at each weekend when I do my floor and shake a handful of lime over it, I always look back and admire how nice it looks. Some fanciers put two or three inches of sand down and sieve it each week. This a friend used to do till I told him the birds would pick and eat it because of the salt from their droppings. He stopped it straightaway and was soon doing much better with his birds. When the time comes that I cannot scrape my perches every morning and the floors at the weekend I will pack up. I can hear someone say what about old so-and-so, he does not scrape out for weeks, or they are on deep litter. Yes, I know and have seen it, but I could not keep my pigeons under these condi- tions. I often wonder how they win and find their pool pigeons. Birds look better in a nice clean loft and I can assure you while I have been scraping out I have often noticed something to my advantage for the following week’s race. Earlier on I said I would write about my visits to Belgium and the lofts I have visited. I was more than pleased to see in the Pictorial the lofts of George Goossens in an issue some time back. I don’t know what it is but when you have lived pigeons as long as I have, there is something about a good fancier as soon as you see them, and G Goossens gave me that impression straightaway. When he picked up his pigeons to show me I knew he was a born fancier. Although he kept many colours, they looked as though they had come from the same mould, not too big, just the right size. No wonder the pigeon that put up such a good perform- ance in South Africa was a Goossens-Baker, as they are an identical type with my own. They are housed in perfect surroundings well above the ground. Like most of the lofts in Belgium, even the backyard lofts are well away from rising damp, and most of them that are able to do so have some form of heating under the loft, proving what I have written about pigeon lofts. They must be kept dry to keep them fit. You could travel for miles around Belgium without noticing pigeon lofts unless the birds were out. They are not built like the English with a wire or dowel front, the backyard lofts are completely boxed in. Only on the front will you see several panes of glass and a drop board where the birds enter. Some Belgians Visited In Maurice Delbar’s loft there were radiators on either side, also some form of heating directly under the loft which is in use during the winter months. What a wonderful fancier! The birds were a shade bigger than the Goossens and of only two or three colours, mostly blues or blue chequers with the occasional white flight, built more for the distance. Although my Flemish is not all that good, with the bit I picked up during the war I always got through to them, and the hospitality of the Belgians is out of this world. I am sure there is a bond among pigeon fanciers second to none, no matter what language you speak. That’s why it is such a wonderful sport. The amount of good friends I have made over the years makes me proud I am a pigeon man. Like the unforgettable visit we made on the De Baere Bros of Nokere.
“Keep your eyes and ears open, your tongue still and you will go through life the right way”. These were the words my mother used to say when I was a boy. How right she was, especially when I became a pigeon fancier, and where there were pigeons I was not far away. What a treat it was when some of the fanciers used to let me see and handle their pigeons! Some were as big as ducks and some just the opposite in another fancier’s loft. But they all had their share of winning. I knew then that as long as the heart was in the right place the size made no difference to the art of winning races. In those days they all fed and raced their pigeons differ- ently with an equal amount of success. That’s why I’ve said many times there is no book of rules to the pigeon game. I am sure they would not have changed their winning ways just because someone was doing better. Several members of my club have built their lofts identical to my own, they use the same training points. They are only doing what I did many years ago. If you do get the opportunity to see a good fancier time in, don’t ask too many questions while he is waiting for his birds, as his mind is on one thing – the pigeons that he is waiting for. It’s surprising what runs through your mind while waiting for your birds; who will be the first or from which way will they come. Much can be learned on the arrival, even from the short races, the way they trap on the conditions you have sent them. Look always for those that show signs of distress. My late arrivals get the same treatment as the early ones, as the next week they could be my first pigeon. Nothing is more disturbing than for someone to keep asking questions when you are expecting them; that’s why when I was a boy and kept quiet I was always invited a second time to see a good fancier time in. The off season is the time to get all the necessary jobs done to the loft, never leave until tomorrow what can be done today. I’m sure this phrase could have been meant for pigeon fanciers. First a coat of paint on the outside. When I built my old loft the back was lined with hardboard. At the back of the nest boxes I fixed it rough side out to soak up the creosote. The young bird loft I fixed it smooth side out which gives it a good finish with the white emulsion which I’ve always used since it first came on the market. I always pick a good drying day for the job. After letting the birds out, I wash it down with boiling water and it is completely dry within the hour ready for the birds to come back in. I’ve never painted the inside of my loft, solely because I have not got another compartment to put them in for two or three days while the paint is drying. I find emulsion is quite adequate for making the loft clean and keeping them free from lice and red mite, especially if you add half a bottle of Duramitex and it is done two or three times a year. That’s why I have never had to dust my pigeons with insecticide after they have been weaned. Don’t leave your nest bowls outside so that the snow and frost will crack them. I remember up to a few years ago when we could go to our local potteries and pick out the misfits for a few pence each. Today they are many times that price but I am sure there is no substitute for earthenware nest bowls, unless you have time to make boxes lOin square by 4in deep, then creosoted and left to dry before using. These have made excellent substitutes when I have run short of nest bowls. Nest Box Fighting Transferring the young cocks over to the old bird loft can sometimes be a problem unless this is done as soon as the young bird season ends, as I like to get them well acquainted to their nest box before the breeding starts. This all helps to stop fighting at the wrong time. I make a habit of going up to the loft late at night and putting them in the empty box I have chosen for them. After several nights of this practice I find I have no more trouble. When you keep pigeons you never seem to have enough lofts for your requirements. I always wish I had had three compart- ments, one especially for the young cocks to race to as yearlings and then when they are two years old transfer them over to the old bird racing loft. This would not only solve the problem but the headache it can cause with some old cocks that have decided they want two or three boxes but I have always managed, with a little patience. I cannot remember the last time I went through my pigeons without finding one or two with fret marks across the flights. I’ve heard fanciers say it’s a sign of weak- ness. What a lot of poppycock! It all depends on the state of the flight when sent to a race. If the flight had been more up in the wing with the hard fly or a night out it would not be visible. You will notice the majority of the frets are within one inch up the wing, proving my point – the flight had not completely broken through. Some
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