AT HOME WITH ELIMAR

What's happening in the loft this week

with Les J. Parkinson

My anti-hawk device

I have always had feedback from my articles but not as much as I have had over the avian flu and Jason Ross with the BICC National win. Oddly enough I have not had one against Jason, everyone who has contacted me has been in his favour and I must add this one that I received regarding this issue. “Hi Les. Well done on your Tarbes National result and I agree fully with your comments on the DEFRA issue. Some chaps in our club started on about some members racing channel back to back so I said to them "So you quarantine your birds after each channel race do you" and their reply was "No our loftsare too small", so I said to them, "Then you have broken the law". That shut them up smartly.” Thanks for that Brian, this is only one of many comments on this front.

The ill feeling from fanciers towards DEFRA were obviously expected but I did not expect some of the names to appear on my list. I considered some of them to be too quiet to comment but with their hobby being affected so much they have a lot to say. Also after my comments over the DEFRA ruling I have had quite a few calls regarding financial support one way or another. This does not surprise me in the least because when Jan & Albie Deacon were on the same theme there was plenty of support shown towards such a scheme.

As I sat in my deckchair having a break  in Wales I had a call from Jason Ross who was asking if he could use my comments in his case with the club. As I told him, I have no problem with that at all because at the end of the day we as a group of pigeon racing enthusiasts need to support his case and if needs be take on DEFRA. At the end of the day pigeon racing is being used as an easy target so that DEFRA can say they have made a stand and are doing something about the problem with avian-flu. Yes they made a stand against the easiest opposition that they are likely to come up against and that is why as a group we have to stand up and be counted. Yes I know he has broken the law of the land, how many more are breaking it on a daily basis and getting away with it and in more serious cases than just send a harmless pigeon across the water. DEFRA have got it wrong and unless we stand up and be counted we are going to have our sport ruined forever and a day. What happened when the French pigeon fanciers took a stand against their authority they made their point and carried on? We should not stand back and take a feeble attitude towards this issue we need to be strong and now is the time to do it. While all this has been going on the poultry industry have carried on and done what they want regardless of what is happening with avian flu. They have got away with it because they are a strong lobby who are making money and lots of it so they get away with it and carry on with there day to day business. Some people need to get a life and if they sit down and analyse what they do in everyday life they will be surprised how they have broken the law not matter how little the case may be.

For me the old bird season has now finished and for once I am working on the young birds for about three races and then they will be finished for the winter. I want them to go through a nice easy moult with plenty of rest and very little exercise during the winter months. If you remember I said about letting the old birds and young birds out together. What I did notice about letting the old out with the young to put more vigour in them it only lasted for a couple of weeks and then the old birds started to bring the young down but it did serve its initial purpose. It was strange how the old and young flew so well once they were let out on their own with the old birds actually flying longer that the young birds. The problem of keeping a kit of young birds is once again with us and there are many who are reporting big losses. This never changes year after year because no matter what we always ask the same question, “Where do all the young birds go to”. Well I went to meet Danny Whitehead from Oldham after he reported a youngster of ours. Danny told me that he had made 6 calls reporting pigeons and with the exception of myself they just said toss the bird when you go training. This is not what the sport needs, yes I know Amtrak is expensive but if you do like I did you can make arrangements and get them back with minimum expense being incurred.

I had a lengthily conversation with Dave Hull about the old bird losses this year and later in the same day with Albie Deacon and they like me did not know the reason why so many pigeons were going missing. Being able to talk to the winners of the big races most weeks of the racing season I can get a general feeling of what is going on but this year not only the mention fanciers it appears that no-one has the answer. Theories come and go but at the end of the day do we really know what goes on in the pigeon’s head. Dave was saying that as yearlings this year he has lost most of his distance based pigeons and stuck to the sprint to middle stock. In such cases we could look to say the pigeons are not up to it but I very much doubt if that is the case. The people that I have spoken to have all sorts of pigeons and numerous strains and lines have been mentioned so don’t be too hasty thinking it is just the strain or line that you have, that could be a big mistake. There are top fanciers who are rather upset at the amount of loses and late arrivals they have had, fanciers who you would expect to appear on the major results but are not.   

For some reason the pigeons are very often flying about 300yds south, south west of the loft and anyone would think that was where there home loft was. This is just on the edge of the houses and where the fields start, I could understand if they were going down but they are not they just fly around that area. I took a walk to the area and there is nothing but a field where the houses finish, no pit or water of any description so it is not that attracting them. I stood there for quite some time and there were others that joined them but non-ever landed. In winter when it is cold they do fly further north over the houses, which I can understand because the heat rises but over the fields I have no idea. 

If you take a look at the photo there just might be a partial reason although I don’t think so.