TIPS FOR THE NOVICE
When we start out in Pigeon Racing there are a million ways to go wrong. Bad Birds, Overfeeding, Health Problems, Stocking Birds after short races etc., are all common hazards.

I  Get late bred birds or eggs from a couple of Top Flyers to start off with.

2.  Never give the Birds that little bit extra feed because you love them. You will be amazed how easily Pigeons get fat. John Pryor had a habit of feeding only six days a week in the early part of the Season.
They won't die of starvation and you'll be higher up in the results.

3.  Change the water whenever you can. That's where disease spreads from.

4.  Educate your youngsters thoroughly. The more education the better. They don't have to be tossed long but the more often the better for Babies.

S.  Pigeons don't need flash feeds. They will race as well on Peas and Wheat as any mix of different grains. Horses race on 12 per cent protein these days. Safflower is good on hampering day so long as the birds have been closely kept in check during the week.

6.  Don't get too rapt in short race performances. If you stock these birds straight away you'll never know whether they are any good or not. You may have lost them at 350 miles. Wait until the end of the season and you will find that you want to breed from entirely different individuals. Certainly put away your outstanding pigeon at the end of the season, but bear in mind they don't aH breed like themselves.

7.  The winning recipe can seldom he bought at a sale. Most times we have the right birds but not the right system.

8.  You won't do yourself any favors by hiding from the Falcons. Fit birds become adept at handling Falcons. You won't avoid losing some birds to Falcon attack, but many more are lost at the end of the year because the birds are tired and have gone stale.

9.  Plan your season to always have some fresh birds. By fresh, I mean birds that have been trained hard but raced sparingly. You will be amazed at how many winners are having their third or fourth race for the year. Some win after ten races but not many.

10.  Don't chase breeds of Pigeons. Us outstanding pairs that count. The biggest trap is to fall for pures. Cross breeds do better. When you get a dominant pair, keep some youngsters for stock and don't ever be afraid to breed from an unraced brother or sister to a good pigeon.

11.  When your good breeders get old they will produce fewer good race birds, but keep their progeny for stock.

12.  If your Birds are going badly, make sure their health is right before you get stuck into them. Sometimes two tosses of one hour in the same day will shake them up.

13.  Any toss of over 1 1/2 hours in unnecessary although one hard head wind toss just prior to
the Association Races sometimes helps.

14.  Toss both directions. Too may flyers waste good pigeons by flying them in easy races all
season and switching them for the last couple of races. Develop a family for them.

15.  Never stop trying to learn. Everyone learns something new each year. It's the toughest
sport to master next to golf. just when you think you've worked it out you find you know very little at all.

16.  Never look at the successful flyers and clubs and think they win because of where they live.
Examine every good flyer and you'll find its their stock sense, competitiveness and time spent on the sport that makes them successful.  

The Dark and light Systems and how it works

By  Bob Rowland  

> Can someone explain how the light or dark system works pertaining to
the molt? I live in the southwest and would like to know which will get
my birds
>  through the molt quicker.


The above question was on one of the internet sites I look at and it is
such a key question that I ask myself how many others are thinking the
same way!

The molt is triggered by the amount of light that is normal and any
change in the amount of light starts the birds to trigger what they
would do naturally in a normal environment. If we manipulate the length
of the day, we can get the birds to do various things. For example,
lengthening the day normally gets the birds to grow flights whereas
shortening the day normally gets the birds to molt the covering feathers
and the head, etc....

The trick as to any system is to determine what we need to achieve based
on the race schedule we have. Personally, I want my pigeons to be in
their best feathering when the big prize races are there. If we do not
have adequate feathers on our birds, another competitor will stand a
better chance to win IF HE HAS BETTER FEATHERS THAN WE DO!!

There are so many places in this world where the amount of daylight is
very different at different times of the year. For example, Alaska has
very short winter days but very long summer days while places like
Florida have a more even amount of daylight. Even in Florida, the length
of daylight varies but not to the extent that it does say in Alaska so
with that known, one can get their pigeons to molt by how much time they
allow the birds to have. To shorten the day means to restrict the amount
of light while lengthening the day is achieved when we add artificial
light to create a longer day.

Trying to determine which type of system is best is really a matter of
personal preference. One must determine what problems either system
could have. If you breed early, we must extend the amount of daylight so
the birds will lay eggs. As the birds adapt to the longer day, they are
not so anxious to do a body moult but will molt many flight feathers and
the coverings and head will molt around the time the pigeons are molting
the 5th or 6 flight. Now to make sure we have the feathers where we wish
for them to be, a calendar is one's best tool. Knowing when to mate,
when to train, and when to allow them to clean up their body is
critical. Any mistake can have your pigeons in the wrong feather when
you do not want them to be at that point. Establishing a system FOR YOUR
CLIMATE AND RACE DATES is critical. Because America is such a large
country, there are clubs that have completed their old bird races while
other parts of the country have not yet begun.

Both systems have advantages and you must be comfortable with the system
you use. If your heart is not into doing things to enhance your system,
chances are your neighbor may just have an edge if he does things with
more focus and determination. For several years I used the dark system
to prepare my young ones because it fit my schedule and race dates. Then
I moved to Florida where many used a light system as they mate very
early and molt their pigeons through before the young bird races begin.
The advantage here is that they have full feathers during young birds
but the drawback is that the pigeons must also race old birds the
following year on the same feathers. This could be a small tradeoff if
one knows how to feed their birds which then allows them to maintain
silky feathers rather than dried out feathers. New feathers generally
are nicer BUT if the feed is not proper when they are growing, the
quality of the feather could be compromised even before it is needed.

Again, they are no cake formulas that tell us if we do this or that, our
success is guaranteed. Our country is so large that this is not like
racing in Europe where the conditions are almost the same throughout the
entire country and the window of time for the races is the same.

Back to what is best: There are light systems, dark systems and now the
power molt and all have their benefits but how adaptive are you to do
what is required to make the system effective? One thing for sure, if
you have not come out of the dark ages and changed your thinking about
using better methods, odds are that you will be 20 minutes behind the
winner on short races on an easy day.

Remember that if you are still doing what you have always done, your
results will be the same BUT if you have a new shooter in town, and if
they have adapted to one of the newer systems, your old method may not
be good enough any more. So determine if you want to breed early and
have the birds ready at the first race or breed later and have the birds
ready at the end of the season. Then you can determine which system to use.

Hope this helps and as usual, I have not told you that there is only one
way. Only you can determine which method fits your life style.

Bob Rowland
Spring Hill, Florida  USA

rrowlan5@tampabay.rr.com