Training Methods & Management With Paul:

My view on Breeding depends on the situation, If l am going to breed for stock or flying. I like to inbreed for stock and cross for flying. As a rule I do not put just any bird in the breeding loft it must be a champion or daughter or son of a champion. In the flying loft I will let two birds I like together and take a pair of youngsters off them.

I have a rule here Breeders are for Breeding and flyers are for flying so I do not ask my flyers to become my breeders and I rarely take young birds off them. . In the past I used to put the birds together Valentine's Day, as here in the Northeast, Jan. Is cold and Feb is also cold but when the eggs come it's the end of the Feb.

It get sunny and warm out in the loft. Today with all the systems out there you have to become a systems player or suffer the consequences of your club mates beating you. Whether Dark or light system you must breed early to compete. The breeding season now starts Thanksgiving Day. To fly YB with success you must have a Hugh first round out of your breeders. One solution  that I do is I put the young birds on the loft floor in the breeder's compartment when they are from 12-14 days old on.

This way the cock who is driving the hen and is not paying enough attention to the Youngsters, another cock or hen will pump them up. The added benefit is I get the breeders to go down early on the second set of eggs. Also I don't have to spend the time to clean every nest bowl daily, as I just put sawdust on the floor and the young birds lay on this and this is easy to change. At nighttime I leave a night-light on in the loft and I have seen young birds getting fed at 5am, In the dark.

I have had no problem with young birds getting scalped or beaten up. I am able to take a couple of young birds from my flyers and throw them on the floor and the breeders pump them up just the same. At nighttime just before dark it is a sight to see six or seven cocks going to each young bird to see if it wants to be fed, So far for me it has worked excellent. My young birds are eating by themselves when they are real young and are flapping their wings on the loft floor getting muscle while every one else's young birds are still sitting in the nest.

Young Birds My young birds for years were taken 35 miles for their first toss, and they usually beat me home. I have stopped doing this training method and changed my ways. I use to feel, if I were going to waste my time to crate them, then they are going for a good ride. I now loft train Young birds daily for 1hr. Till some time in April. I then increase loft flying to twice a day one hour each time. In May training starts and they will be in the crates often. . There is a church down the end of the road 2 miles away. This 2 mile spot I go many times.

I train my birds myself, I do not use a training truck or train with other lofts. This way I have no birds pulling off my line and I am always sure of exactly where they were let go and how the weather is at that moment. Next spot is 6 miles every day weather permitting maybe 10 to 15 times. Now they get into condition and I get it in their heads the crate is now part of their life. From the 6 mile spot I go 15 then 30 and once I get to 50 I will sit there for one-to two hours.  I do not like to single toss, but prefer groups of 15 to 20. I like to train YB on sunny days, not like I do with the old birds.

I like head Wind days because the birds will get that usually on race day as the season is changing and there is much north wind for young birds. I will train them out to 100 mites. Then every young bird not in the race goes to the 100-mile station race day. My young birds are flown to the perch. Widowhood or mated all depends on the loft at the time. I do hold young birds back and not race them. I believe you can race a young bird hard but you can't race it hard as a yearling.

So I sit on some until they become yearlings by just training hard and letting them fly one race or two. Young birds are trained as much as possible. On coming home from a race they have a full hopper of feed. Young birds are trained on line.

Old birds are given a 60-mile tossing right off the bat. I usually have them flying around the loft for 1-2 hours, before that toss. With the help of the neighborhood hawk. The medication program starts before breeding and old bird flying I buy from Pigeon Plus. Pigeon plus has different programs he sells with his supplies. I train all birds every day, the distance may change to what I think they need.

I guess you could say they go often and far. On the natural system I trained the birds and when they came home I would lock them up for the day, no open loft and never allow on the ground. I push all birds YB or OB in to the loft with bamboo sticks every time left out. Loft flying or training or a race it's always the same at loft. I want them hit loft and running in when they land. This happens not just race day but everyday.

I hope you enjoy my Website, I have tried to make it simple, yet interesting and easy to move around in. I have tried to keep it from being too commercial, but do sell a few pigeons each year. Feel free to contact me, if you like the pigeons. If you have any suggestions or comments on our Website, don’t hesitate to let us know. I will be pleased to put you on top of the race sheet. picture below is widowhood cocks flying in the NC sunshine