I have enjoyed including these old reports and this week I include a successful Frodsham team “For my first visit to the lofts of Mrs Garner & son Doug I was accompanied by Billy Gray who introduced me to Doug who now flies the birds of his late father that great fancier Harry Garner. For this visit it was a cold Sunday morning and I am telling you it was very cold. At this first meeting one of Doug’s fellow club members was also there, Henry Dolman who has flown a good bird in Frodsham over the years and also supplies me the info for Frodsham Club. Doug’s father first started in the sport some 50yrs ago with odd birds from different places and went 7 years before winning his first race. Then in 1947 the birds of W T Rimmer were purchased from which time he has never looked back. Doug first took an interest about 20 years ago but never took over the racing management although doing most of the work. Doug did add that many people will not know for the last 5 years his father could not go into the loft for any stretch of time only for a few minutes but still kept his birds in top form, as he could tell by just looking what most people did by handling. This family have been inbred ever since they were first acquired, so after all this time they do not vary much in size or quality, which is very good. The loft is L shape at the bottom of the garden at his mothers, so Doug has to travel two and from the loft. I have never seen a loft as open as this one with a great deal of ventilation on all walls. There is a false roof with a heavy wire mesh at short intervals to allow the warm air to rise during hot weather. The old bird comp is very large to most, if not all other lofts that I have visited but the birds are not too wild. But on the other hand are not too tame as that is not the way Harry likes them, so Doug does not intend changing anything. Nest boxes are around the 30-inch make I have not measured them but that is how I see them, a total of 30 are in this one section along the rear wall is what used to be the old loft. The water troughs are on the outside of the loft to make it easier for changing.
Trapping is done via a type of stall trap so that there is no need to go chasing them around the loft after a hard days racing, you just have to slip the rubber ring off without having to pick up the bird and therefore all birds are clocked from outside the loft. Feeding is done via the hopper with beans from when they are paired up until the end of the season when they are hand fed. They also receive very small amount of wheat maize and tit bits and all corn is cleaned before being given to the birds. Paring up is done during the first week in March for stock and racers and no early birds are ever reared. Normally about 30 – 32 pairs are housed of which there are about 6 pairs are stock that usually leaves between 44 – 48 racers. Around 50 – 60 y/bs are reared altogether but after losses plus any that have been ordered they usually end up with 35 – 40 for racing. For these youngsters if any starts to show good promise in racing they are put to one side for future old bird racing which is the main aim. Training is one of the most important parts of pigeon racing and for those who are prepared to go to the trouble of extensive training prizes come at fairly regular intervals. But for those who can condition as well as train there birds you just can’t keep them out. Normally the birds have always been trained around home for one hour both morning and evening plus 3 or 4 tosses at 30 miles each week. This year however has been different because after the first 2 races Doug was troubled with a cat, which went on for most of the season and stopped the birds exercising around the home as they would normally do. So car training was increased for the next 4 weeks to as many as 9 tosses per week at 30 miles. Then after this spell the birds started to respond so Doug eased off slightly which turned out to be the correct thing to do as the channel performances will show. With the exception of Royal Superstar all birds have always been raced on the natural system and the youngsters are raced to the perch. In 1977 the young birds only had two races but were only stopped for one reason and that was after that very bad smash in early August when most fanciers experienced heavy losses. This is where the real top class fancier shines when he knows his birds have had too much taken out of them and can leave well alone instead of going on to break the hearts of the youngster. When I asked Doug what was the best bird in the loft today he put a great deal of thought into it.
How do you rate your birds when one has such birds as Royal Super Star winner of 8x1sts plus many other prizes. The eye sign of this cock can only be described as fantastic it has a very wide heavily serrated circle all around with orange brown pigmentation and more than its share of black flecks. This cock has always been raced on semi widowhood so was never bred off properly but Doug assures me that his racing days are over and there is every chance that his breeding potential will come to light. The violet eyed Red Cock is another great pigeon at racing and breeding with deep violet full green wide circle this is one of the best breeders at these lofts and has bred two first fed winners as well as many other prize winners, also winning on the road himself. The best of all for everything is the Blue Cock {Harry’s Tribute} yet again the eye sign on this cock is fantastic he has a full black circle which is very wide with brilliant red pigmentation yet again full of black flecks which runs through nearly every bird in the loft. He is also sire of winners as well as a prize winner on the road, with such performances as 1974 1st Frodsham H.S 7th North Wales H.S Hereford 2855 birds. 1975 2nd Frodsham H.S Frome 270 birds, 2nd Frodsham H.S Weymouth 251 birds on both occasions beaten by loft mates. 1976 4th Frodsham H.S Chepstow {beaten by 3 loft mates} 281 birds, 1st Frodsham H.S 2nd North Wales H.S 2nd Cheshire & N.W Champ club Avranches 1319 birds. 1977 3rd Frodsham H.S Chepstow 265 birds 4th Frodsham H.S Weymouth 262 birds, 8th open Beeston Castle Nantes plus£157 {losing 4mins with bad trap and only being 7ypm behind winner}. 1st Frodsham H.S {by 25mins} 1st North Wales H.S 1st Cheshire & North Wales Champ Club, 2nd Combine beaten by decimal from Nantes, Frodsham H.S Trophy N.W.H.A Trophy Cheshire & North Wales C Club Rose Bowl plus over £200 a pigeon any one would be proud to own I am sure you will agree. One other cock I would like to mention with eye sign is a 2-year cock off the above this is one that follows after his sire and Doug fancies him to take over where he left off winning some excellent positions. When handling this cock he is a perfect reproduction. Even though Doug’s late father was not an eye sign enthusiast it was believed by many fanciers that he knew all about it as he usually picked the birds to go to stock with great success. Before going off the subject I would like to thank Henry Dolman for giving this opinion he also said that during the moulting season {as it was whilst on the visit} the birds showed very good eye sign which doesn’t always happen.
While on the subject of achievements apart from the above mentioned Doug would like to add that for his late fathers performances it would take a whole book. In 37 years he timed 27 birds on the day from Marennes 525 miles with only the average team of birds. Also 21st open NFC Nantes, 2nd Sec Pau during his many years racing Harry Garner won absolutely hundreds of prizes in club, Fed N.F.C 2 Bird and open races well as many trophies against the best competition you could wish to come across. In Frodsham for the last 3 years 20x1st 14x2nds 13x3rds and 15x4ths have been won. In Fed 4x1st 3x2nd 2x4th 2x5ths and 5x6ths, which shows the consistency of these lofts. Although this is the first season for Doug without his father he has had his disappointments that was when he lost the mother of Harry’s Tribute at Niort. She had flown this race point on many occasions which to include a win so she was an expected entry she had also won numerous prizes from 100 miles onwards. In this first season Doug won 4 x 1st and 2 x 2nds out of 6 consecutive channel races plus several trophies. While doing loft reports I like the fancier concerned to give any views or advice that he has outside the every day running of the loft. Doug’s words are “I don’t really think that I am in a position to advise novices as this has been my first season on my own. I know that I have done a lot to help my father but until this year the racing brain has been his.
The only thing I can say is for a novice to get birds from a good local fancier. Not one who is at the top for a few seasons. Most of all be patient with the birds” Even though Doug gives credit as a racing brain to his father you must admit that for his first season he has flown extremely well. But with the family of birds that has been built up at these lofts it is going to be a long time before this loft will suffer any set backs. When a loft of birds has been inbred for so many years and winners keep reproducing them selves you cannot go far wrong. The eyes of the fanciers in Frodsham are keen on the loft of Mrs Garner and son Doug to see if the performances will be kept at the top as they have been for the last 30 years or more. I for one cannot see this loft go down hill for quite some time. During the two visits that I made for this report Doug always gave the credit for the performances to his late father. But watching him move around this loft and the reaction of the birds it is not a new relationship it is one that has been built up over a few years. I arrived early on my second visit and Doug was still cleaning out but the birds never moved off there perches while he put sand on them. Does that sound to you like a new partnership? The best of luck Doug in the coming season of which I know you win more that your share of prizes and trophies.
