DENNY PHILLIPS

of NANTYMOEL

1st Welsh SRNFC NIORT 2011

by Gareth Watkins

Denny Phillips has been a top class fancier for as long as I can remember. In the 1970s and 80s the name of Phillips was rarely missing in the results of the then massive Welsh North Road Federation which at that time boasted a membership of more than 1,500 lofts amassing up to 360,000 pigeons in a 25 race programme. In fact Denny finished as top prize winner in the Federation on at least one occasion, and this flying his pigeons to one of the most westerly locations in the Federation.

Denny Phillips alongside Brian Gill in sunglasses

In late June 2011 Denny achieved one of his most cherished ambitions when he clocked his two year old blue hen, now named “Copper Girl”, to win 1st Open Welsh South Road NFC in the Niort race. A visit to this, one of the most consistent winning lofts in Wales, was soon arranged and so it was that along with my chauffeur for the day Brian Gill, I made the short journey over to the village of Nantymoel in the picturesque Ogmore Vale.

The loft set up here is extensive and could quite easily accommodate 300 pigeons as the lofts are set in a compound and measure in total approximately 70ft x 8ft constructed in a U-shape around an immaculately maintained lawn. Open door trapping is employed in all sections. In reality, the nine sections house just 30 pairs of old bird racers, 70 youngsters and 16 pairs of stock birds. The old birds are, in the main, raced on roundabout but a small team of a dozen or so cocks are raced on pure widowhood. Once the channel races come around then the bulk of the round about pairs are re – mated and sent to selected channel races in their most favoured nest condition. The race team undergoes a rigorous pre season exercise regime and once fit receive just two training spins before the first old bird race and very little, if any training thereafter. Both old and young bird racers are kept fit by twice daily one hour exercise stints. They are not forced to fly but are locked out of the loft and do in fact fly voluntarily for most of their exercise periods – if they don’t then Denny is worried.

Denny's range of lofts

Youngsters are extensively trained before racing commences starting at one mile and gradually working out to 30 miles. The Phillips training programme for both old birds and young birds takes place in any weather – the birds are basketted and off he goes with them, even if he has to employ windscreen wipers on the way to the liberation point! The early bred youngsters are raced on the darkness system and are housed in a three section annexe to the main loft facing west and this loft is fitted out with both perches and nest boxes, so that the more precocious youngsters can mate and claim a nest box if they wish. The later bred youngsters are housed in three sections of the main loft and are not darkened.

All lofts are cleaned daily and great use is made of a powdered disinfectant which is applied sparingly after each cleaning. Denny also uses a gas burner on a regular basis in order to minimise the chance of bad bug build up within the loft. The perches in the loft have been designed by Denny so that droppings do not accumulate on them as they are just four inches deep and three inches wide and so do not need cleaning. The droppings fall through grills into boxes at the base of the perches and these are cleaned out as and when required but usually more than once each week. This system ensures that if the young birds should come down with young bird sickness and start to vomit the regurgitated food is trapped in these boxes preventing the young birds’ access to it, thus limiting the spread of the disease.

The darkness YB loft with the mountain towering 1000ft behind - no flat country pigeons here!

Both old and young bird racers are hopper fed so that there is always some food before the birds. During the racing season the feed is a high carbohydrate mixture made up by Denny using Versele Laga and SS mixtures which are supplied by SS Seed Co of Sedgefield Co Durham. Various GEM products are also used throughout the year especially Gemthepax. The drinkers have fresh garlic cloves added most days and when these are included in the drinkers the water is merely topped up not changed. The returning racers have electrolytes in the drinking water and that is pretty much it. When rearing the old birds are fed a high protein mix to which molasses are regularly added thus ensuring that the growing youngsters lack for nothing in their diet.

Once old bird racing is over the racers and stock birds are hopper fed 100% malting barley until the completion of the moult. The birds were being fed this at the time of our visit and were in A1 condition enjoying an excellent start to the annual moult. The stock birds in particular were able to enjoy access to large aviaries and as a result spend most of the daylight hours in the open air.

The pigeons housed are a distinct family that Denny has developed over the past 40 or so years. These are based on the Alf Baker “No Fluke” lines to which Denny has added some Logans obtained from Chambers Brothers of Scotland containing “Nor East” and “Nor West” bloodlines. Other introductions have been incorporated over the years and the resultant pigeons conform to a definite type, being slightly long cast with a little depth to the front of the keel. The feather quality on all birds handled was first class and the Niort National winner could quite easily win in a handling class as she was just on medium sized with superb feathering. Mated in February and allowed to rear one youngster in her first nest, she was raced on Round About for the major part of the season before being re mated and sent to Niort feeding an eight day old young bird. Her race programme prior to Niort entailed every inland race plus Carentan and Messac. She was then set up for Niort. In 2010 as a yearling the National winner was clocked from Bergerac at more than 500 miles to win 1st club 34th Open National.

During our visit I also handled the winner of 2nd Open National Vire and this chequer hen proved to be a little over medium sized with a bit of depth to the keel. Although I didn’t handle many pigeons due to the state of the moult, the ones that I did handle certainly impressed. Before finishing this report I should register Denny’s gratitude to his friend Jake Kristops who helps him around the loft with the various daily chores associated with racing pigeons.

A well deserved National win which I feel sure won’t be the last recorded by this top class and likeable fancier.