Keith Mott’s Champion’s of Yesteryear (Part 83)

LAPPAGE & HALLAM

OF SUTTON-IN-ASFIELD

On a video tour of North Nottinghamshire I visited the MNFC winning loft of Lappage & Hallam. Steve Hallam is very well known for his excellent Derbyshire Federation notes in the British Homing World, but is also a premier flyer in the mighty MNFC. Steve & Ray have been in partnership since 1982, with the birds being kept at Steve's home and they prefer middle to long-distance racing. Ray Lappage is secretary of the Derbyshire Federation, which is made up of 24 south road clubs, with up to 5,500 birds being sent.

Steve Hallam started up in 1971 when his father's miner friend asked him to look after his birds because he had long shifts down the mine and Steve caught the bug. Lappage & Hallam have been highly successful in M.N.F.C. races winning countless positions including 1st Section, 1st Open Nantes, 1st Section, 2nd Open Picauville, 1st Section, 46th Open Angouleme and many 1st prizes in the club and federation Channel racing.

The first bird we looked at was their champion red chequer widowhood cock, a winner of many prizes including 1st Section, 1st Open Nantes M.N.F.C, also 4th and 7th Section in the M.N.F.C, 1st club Rennes (twice), 1st club, 6th federation Angouleme. This handsome cock is now breeding winners in the stock loft, including a son which won 1st Section, 46th Open Nantes M.N.F.C. He is a direct son of their number one stock hen, which was bred by Geoff Kirkland and all the best racers in the loft have her blood in them. Another top racer we handled was a Kirkland cross blue chequer cock raced on widowhood and he had flown 500 miles five times, four times on the day. He has won three section prizes in the M.N.F.C, 1st club, 1st federation Angouleme and 1st club, 12th federation Angouleme. A wonderful loft of birds.

Racing widowhood, they pair up in mid-January with the MNFC races in mind. Cocks and hens are split when the youngsters are 15 days old and the cocks finish rearing.

They are re-paired three weeks before the first race and the cocks are given seven 10- mile training tosses while sitting eggs, then they're split for the widowhood. They get no training in the racing season and never fly out with the hens, even when they are paired prior to the widowhood. Cocks race inland to get them fit for the M.N.F.C. events and are broken down three days a week during racing. They are fed on a first-class widowhood mixture with extra maize added for the long distance. They are shown the hens on marking night and always get their mates on their return from the race. The widowhood loft is 14ft long with 24 nest boxes and open-door trapping.

The main family is Geoff Kirkland and they house 15 pairs of stock birds, which are paired up the same time as the racers so their eggs can be floated. Steve says when they bring in a new stock bird it must be off the best National winning lines. About 70 young birds are bred each season and they are raced on the darkness system. Steve maintains his best darkness youngsters make up to be their best old birds. The young cocks are raced through to the south coast (180 miles) and the hens go all the way to Picauville (260 miles). Young birds are broken down three days a week, the same as the widowhood cocks and are trained from 10 miles twice a week during the racing season. Thanks to Steve and Ray for a great loft visit!

TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT

10/12/07