RON BALL
talking
to Les J. Parkinson
I
was talking to Ron down at a National FC meeting in Kidderminster about
his racing over the years and like many fanciers he has some very good
pigeons and a good knowledge of the sport. Me being me and always looking
for news I asked about filling in one of the questionnaires that have
given so much good reading over the last 12mnts or so. Time went by
and I though Ron was going to be like many more, the thoughts there
but not the inclination to sit down and answer a few questions. Whether
Ron sat down and entered the info on the computer and e-mailed it too
me is another matter but who did so made a good job of it and has been
little work to myself, I think thanks should go to Denise Radley Ball
for that part.
Q.
Please introduce yourself and tell us how you got started in the sport?
A. My name is Ron Ball and I am fifty-four years of age. I first started
on my own with racing pigeons when I was fourteen, flying in the Castlefield
Club High Wycombe, flying North Road. My uncle and auntie were joint
secretaries of the club and were very good flyers. For four or five
years before I had my own birds, I would go and watch my uncle's birds
on race days. My brother kept fancy pigeons; Birmingham Rollers and
Bearded Tumblers; and I would help with these also. In 1962 I started
racing with twelve youngsters - they raced very well and I remember
that I would have won my first race but unfortunately the clock I was
using stopped. At the end of the year, my parents moved to Whelpley
Hill near Bovingdon and in 1964 I joined the Boxmoor Homing Society
and have been a member ever since.
Q.
Give the readers the basic results that you have achieved as a partnership?
A. I have enjoyed a fair amount of success at Club, Fed and Combine
level winning the Combine three times from Vire, Lavel and Bordeaux,
but it was always at National level that I wanted to succeed.
Q.
Amongst those results what are the real highlights?
A. Some of the best National results I have achieved are: 2nd Section,
3rd Open NFC Pau with 'Air France', 581 miles on the day winning £2,500
(5500 birds). 1st Section E, 4th Open NFC Nantes with 'Dragoon' winning
£2,500 (11,670 birds). Two weeks later 'Dragoon' was sent back
to Nantes with UBI Combine to be 2nd (3367 birds). 'Eye Shadow' (Dragoon's
full sister) was 1st Section E, 4th Open NFC Saintes, 416 miles winning
£2,800 (5500 birds) and three weeks before this she was 2nd Open
LSECC Nantes (2000 birds) winning £600. 2nd Section, 3rd Open
NFC Vire Old Hens with 'Vire Gerard' winning £1,100, in the same
race my first young bird was 13th Open winning £1,132 (8620 birds).
last year, NFC Herstal ('Hussar') won Section E, 4th Open winning £1,680
(6330 birds). In 1996 the Pau NFC race after a week in the basket, the
birds were liberated at Saintes and my good hen 'Punto' finished 2nd
Section E, 7th Open winning £1,630 and a new car. 'The Ritz' was
7th Open NFC Saintes £450 in 1994. Lastly, 9th-10th Open NFC Ponterson
old hens These are the best positions in the top ten of the NFC National
races over the last fourteen years.
Q.
What organisations do you race with?
A. I race with the NFC, LSECC, BBC and this year I have joined the BICC.
My only Saturday Club is the Boxmoor Homing Society.
Q.
Do you hold any official position and if so do you take an active part,
if no what are your reasons?
A. My only official position is president of the Boxmoor Homing Society.
This is the only Saturday Club I have flown with since 1964 and I am
the longest serving member.
Q.
Do you ever think about competing for averages?
A. No, not any longer. In the past I have won many averages including
the Channel averages in three different Combines. I now concentrate
on National races.
Q.
How do you race your pigeons and how many?
A. I race my birds on the Widowhood, 24 cocks and 14 hens. As the season
progresses, I may pair some up for particular races. Sixty young birds
are bred for myself, thirty are put on the darkness system and these
do most of the races.
Q.
What are your lofts made of and how big are they?
A. My lofts are 80 feet long in total including aviaries. Four sections
for the cocks, 7 feet by 6 feet per section, six pigeons in each section.
Two sections for the hens, one with nest boxes which are for the hens,
the other has deep box perches where the cocks are kept. The young bird
loft has two sections, one for Darkness and one for natural youngsters.
My stock loft has a large aviary with a wooden grill floor. I also have
an aviary for the 24 widowhood hens that are not raced; they spend all
week in the aviary sat on wooden poles and wooden grill floors.
Q.
Do you attach any importance to having a tiled roof on a loft, if so
are there any benefits?
A. My two main lofts have tiled roofs and I prefer these to a felted
roof, they look nice, are maintenance free and most importantly create
a good atmosphere inside the loft.
Q.
How many stock birds do you keep and do you breed off your race team
also how many pigeons do you think that you need to breed off any individual
stock pair each year to see if they are quality producers?
A. I keep in the region of twelve to fourteen pairs of stock for my
own use. I only breed from the stock loft but I do take youngsters from
my top performance pigeons. Obviously the more birds you can breed from
a new pair, the better you will be able to assess the quality.
Q.
When do you pair your pigeons?
A. I pair my birds in stages starting in the Christmas holidays and
finishing in early March when I pair my widowhood hens.
Q.
Do you move the hens with the young birds?
A. No, my widowhood cocks only rear a single youngster and the hens
are removed when the youngster is about twelve days old. This is so
the hens do not lay a second round of eggs because the cocks are then
re-paired approximately 2 weeks before the first race. They sit eggs
a further seven days and then the birds are widowed.
Q.
What criteria do you set down for the pigeons you winter with your thoughts
on the following seasons racing and breeding?
A. I like to keep the competition for boxes at the highest possible
level, also keeping the team as young as possible, very rarely racing
a bird over four years old. This applies to all distances.
Q.
Do you have any grills fitted in the floor or in the boxes, are there
any advantages to using them?
A. I have wooden grills in my aviary which work really well but I do
not like grills in my boxes as the birds never look comfortable on them.
Instead, I have made some wooden trays which I place in my boxes, these
are made of 10mm ply edged down two sides with 30mm strips which gives
you a 10mm gap underneath. Every time I clean out I just turn it over
and it gives you a dry surface.
Q.
What do you think about the vaccination programme for the pigeons and
do you think it affects the pigeons long term?
A. I am sure one vaccination as youngsters is enough and would only
do it once given the option.
Q.
Do you attach any importance to grits and minerals or can the pigeons
get what they want they are out of the loft?
A. Obviously grits and minerals are very important for the pigeon to
function properly, I supply them with as many different ones as possible.
Although one type would do, I think that variation is better as they
then have the opportunity to choose what they want.
Q.
Do you use any floor dressing or do you clean the pigeons out daily?
A. My widowhood cocks are kept on a bed of oat straw with their boxes
cleaned twice a day. The remaining lofts are scraped out three times
a day with floor dressing brushed onto the floor twice a week.
Q.
Do you like to have plenty of room for the pigeons?
A. Yes, you must never overcrowd the birds. My 24 widowhood cocks are
in four sections 7" x 6" each.
Q.
How do you feed the cocks and what do you feed them on?
A. My cocks are fed individually in their boxes on two widowhood mixtures
combined together. On return from exercise, they always find a pinch
of hemp and Red band plus one peanut in their boxes.
Q.
Do you measure the amount that you give to each pigeon, or are they
fed according to the individual pigeon?
A. Yes, I do measure the corn - they get a small spoonful in the morning
which they usually eat up. In the late afternoon they have a large spoonful,
after about one and half hours, I empty their pots, they nearly always
leave some. I never worry about over-feeding my birds, in fact, I worry
about them not eating enough.
Q.
You have quoted your position on being Easterly or Westerly do you set
any stall by the position and if so why?
A. As I concentrate on National races, you have to accept that you are
competing against the whole country and depending on the weather conditions,
some areas will have an advantage on the day.
Q.
Do you consider there to be any advantage having a racing partnership?
A. Although I fly in my own name, my wife Barbara has been a great help
to me over the last few years. She does not handle the birds but will
get the birds in when returning from training. The darkness youngsters
are her main concern, in fact I could not operate this system properly
without her help, so yes, a partnership with the right person or persons
is an advantage.
Q.
Are there any points that you disagree on and if so how do you compromise
a situation where there is a different viewpoint?
A. Not a formal partnership.
Q.
Do each of you have an area within the partnership where responsibilities
take control regarding a decision?
A. Not a formal partnership.
Q.
To term a phrase are you a professional team of pigeon fanciers and
do your circumstances make a big difference?
A. No, certainly not as I work in the exhibition industry and up until
four years ago I would quite often work seven days a week and twelve
to fourteen hours a day, travelling all over Britain and Europe.
Q.
Whenever I have visited a loft fanciers always look at the pigeons eye.
Do you consider that the eye has any importance in (a) the breeding,
(b) distance races (c) sprint races. (d) the pigeons health. Or do you
steer clear of the subject and if so why?
A. A pigeons eye is not something I have studied in depth but like most
fanciers, I like to see a nice eye.
Q.
Do you use any preventative medication?
A. Yes, I do use preventive medicines on my birds. I know that a lot
of people say you should not treat blindly, that's alright if you have
a specialist vet nearby, but that's not always the case. I treat all
birds before the season starts and during the season if I think it is
necessary. Over use of medication is not to be recommended - the least
use the better.
Q.
How many weeks do you think a pigeon can maintain it's form on the widowhood
system for both cocks and hens?
A. Form is only a small word but a very important one. It is very difficult
to say how long a bird can maintain top form because it is quite possible
for a bird to win by its own natural ability without reaching top form.
I myself have won with my widowhood hens in early May right through
to September when they raced in the NFC Old Hens race winning some top
positions. More important is to have loft form and then anything is
possible.
Q.
Does this include channel races or are the specified number of weeks
for sprint races and do you think that a pigeon can be prepared at fortnightly
intervals for the channel races?
A. Once my birds have had a good steady Channel race of about 230 miles,
in an ideal world I would like a three week break before they go over
the Channel again, but this is not always possible. It is possible to
over-race pigeons but they do benefit from going to long-distance races
as long as there is sufficient time between the races.
Q.
Do you think a pigeon has the capabilities of racing both short and
long distance races. Also what distance can a pigeon actually still
"RACE" as opposed to homing from any race point?
A. Many birds win both short and long distance races. I think a good,
steady 500 mile race on the day is a good test for any bird. I am not
keen on two day races and only compete in one race of this type when
the NFC liberate at midday from Pau. I prefer an early morning lib.
as to me there seem to be too many variable factors in two day and longer
races.
Q.
What proportion of your pigeons get better on subsequent trips to the
long distance races and what do you call distance?
A. For distances of over 425 miles, a good 50% get better.
Q.
Which is the more difficult, establishing a team of sprinter's or distance
pigeons and why?
A. I would not say it was easy to establish a winning team of either
sprint or distance pigeons but obviously the further you send them the
more obstacles they have to overcome i.e. the Channel.
Q.
What happens when you are racing either widowhood or the roundabout
when you have a bad race and lose a few from one sex, how do you continue
with those pigeons who have lost their mate?
A. This would not normally happen with flying widowhood because the
widow's mate is always kept at home, but I do keep extra hens and if
a cock was not performing as I liked, I can change his mate and this
has resulted in some good results.
Q.
Sprinter or distance, there is no difference, it is all in the feeding?
A. An out and out sprint loft would I suppose feed differently than
me The difference between sprint and distance is also to do with the
management and of course the bird itself.
Q.
Taking into account distance, which is more difficult racing to your
area, is it a case of a 600ml race is a 600ml race regardless of competition
or route?
A. 600 miles is the same but with the South rout there is 500 miles
and the Channel as opposed to North where the natural barrier of water
to cross is first.
Q.
What families of pigeons do you keep?
A. Every year I bring at least one new bird into my stock loft where
I take at least four youngsters and these are raced through the race
programme. I am not interested in what family they are but they must
be from the best in a winning loft or from the top pairs in a loft breeding
an above average number of winners.
Q.
Do you think that fanciers change for the sake of changing or do you
think a loft can breed a winning team out and lose track of the winners?
A. Yes I am afraid a lot of fanciers do seem to chop and change their
birds and system when most of what's wrong lies with the fancier themselves
always looking for the easy options.
Q.
Early in the article we discussed the wind direction, do you consider
that good pigeons will win in any position?
A. Yes, I do think that good pigeons can win and do win when the wind
is not in their favour but the bigger the area they are flying against
the less chance they have.
Q.
Some fanciers go out and purchase good quality winning pigeons but never
appear to make the grade, why do you consider that this happens?
A. As I said earlier, some fanciers are just not prepared to put the
work in to becoming successful, they have good birds, win some prizes,
then they thing all they have to do is just turn up with their birds
and that's it. I'm afraid it does not work like that.
Q.
Do you give any special treatments when the pigeons return from the
race as a precaution against anything that they may have picked up in
the basket?
A. My birds on return from a race have salts and electrolytes in the
water but if I thought there was a problem I would treat accordingly.
Q.
Which of the two sexes do you consider is the most important when it
comes to breeding?
A. Both sexes are capable of breeding top class birds but it would be
an advantage if it was the cock as it is a lot easier to get the youngsters.
Q.
Some fanciers like big hens for breeding does the size of the hen make
any difference to the quality of youngsters that she breeds in your
past experience?
A. Given the choice, I don't like them to be too small.
Q.
Is there anything that you have not won in the sport that you would
like to achieve?
A. Well, yes, 1st National Flying Club would be nice and this is what
I am striving for after coming close on several occasions, but it's
not easy.
Q.
Who do you consider to be the best fanciers in the Country and for what
reasons?
A. There are some exceptional fanciers across the country and it is
difficult to pick just one but there is one man I have followed ever
since I started to fly the widowhood system, his name is Geoff Kirkland.
I have never spoken to Geoff but have read all his write ups and watched
his videos many times. His record at national level is truly outstanding
and proved to me that you don't have to be one of the shortest flyers
to win.
Q.
What do you think can be done to take the sport forward?
A. Apart from a free bar at the NFC Prize-giving dinner? It may be a
good idea to have a second Nantes races between Pau and Saintes with
the Saintes race a little later.
Q.
Are there any special treatments that you give your birds once the season
has finished what do you recommend the readers to do with the birds?
A. There are no special treatments that I give the birds at the end
of the year, providing all is well, it is best while the birds are moulting
not to give any treatments. As soon as the season is over, I split my
birds, the cocks go in the stock loft and the hens in the young bird
loft, both lofts have big aviaries and they can spend a lot of time
out in the sun and fresh air. They do not fly out all Winter.
Q.
When it comes to breeding do you line-breed or use a first cross or
just pair winners to winners?
A. The breeding side of our sport is very interesting. I believe there
are winning lines without the actual birds being winners themselves
but prefer them to be winners and breeders of winners. Every year I
bring in at least one bird into my stock loft and cross in to my best
lines. If the results are satisfactory they stay to be blended into
my lines.
Q.
Do you breed off the top widowhood cocks after the racing has finished,
do you breed late bred youngsters and what do you think of those later
bred youngsters?
A. The only late bred youngsters I breed are the ones ordered for sale
and for my own stock purposes.
Q.
If your race team went off form during the season what action would
you take to restore their condition?
A. If any of my birds were to go off form, they would be rested completely
for about a week, fed lightly then only allowed out if I thought they
would exercise for the full hour.
Q.
Is a favourable loft location the single biggest factor in sprint racing?
A. I would not say a favourable loft location is the single biggest
factor but it certainly helps. The biggest factors are the birds and
the fancier.
Q.
Do you use the darkness system for the young birds, if so for how long
and do you think it affects them later in life?
A. Yes, I do use the darkness system on half of my young bird team,
to race completely I feel you must be on the system. My youngsters are
weaned straight into a basket for seven days, fed peas only in the same
pots which they had in their nest boxes and the drinker is also attached
to the basket. They go straight on to the darkness and are taken off
the first week in June.
Q.
Are there any feeding methods for the young birds i.e. do you break
them down, do you keep them hungry for control purposes, do you give
them a trapping seed mix?
A. The youngsters are fed a young bird mix with maize. In the morning,
they get a small feed of 50% barley, 50% Red band. I feed the birds
as much as I can in the afternoon while maintaining control of them.
Any bird that does not come in on the call of the whistle misses a feed.
The youngsters are not allowed on the ground.
Q.
What percentage do you consider it takes to win with racing pigeons
for Management and pigeons and why?
A. The main ingredient to win races is good birds, without that you
won't get very far.
Q.
What is the farthest distance that you would train your old birds or
young birds?
A. I train my birds up to the 35 mile mark, young and old. If I had
the time, I would train down to the Coast, about 100 miles.
Q.
If random drugs tests were carried out on your pigeons, would it reveal
any substance, illegal or otherwise?
A. I am in favour of random drugs tests and have nothing to hide.
Q.
How do you consider that the British sport is going compared to the
continentals and do they have any ideas that you think would benefit
the sport in the UK?
A. The sport in Britain is improving. I do think the race information
telephone lines could have a lot ore information on them.
Q.
Is pigeon racing as a hobby going beyond the average working man. Is
it becoming too technical and complicated or can you keep everything
simple and still win with the pigeons?
A. I don't think the sport is going beyond the average working man.
I am one myself and it is only as complicated as the fancier makes it
but without a doubt the sport is far more competitive today.
Q.
You are successful fanciers, there are far too many leaving the sport,
to encourage fanciers to either join or stay in the sport what do you
think about limiting prizes to two per race per loft. If not Why. If
yes Why?
A. To limit a fancier to two prizes could work but personally I have
never wanted to win any prize that I knew I had not really won.
Q.
Do you think winning fanciers should move on from club racing once they
have reached a certain level of consistency. Are club performances paramount
for personal satisfaction or sales purposes?
A. Yes, I think the top fanciers should move on to national racing.
I no longer compete in all club racing but do enjoy competing in every
race I enter.
Q.
Do you attach any real importance to the pigeons wing i.e. back wing,
end four flights and do you look at the wing to see if they have cast
before a race. Any other comments on the wing?
A. Flying mainly widowhood, the birds moulting off their flight feather
is held back so I don't attach a great deal of importance to the wing.
Even if a bird was to moult two flight feathers together, I would take
this as being a sign of the bird's well-being.
Q.
Do you use any form of heating system in any of your lofts. Do you think
it would be advantages for the birds?
A. I do have heating in three sections of my loft, it is turned on when
the birds go on widowhood and stays right through the season. It helps
to keep the loft very dry and also the birds rest very well.
Q.
Do the pigeons need any special treatment on their return from the race
to help them relax. Is any such treatment needed for the short or long
distance races or the hard races compared to the easy races?
A. Nothing special is given to the birds apart form rest. After a hard
fly, the birds will stay in the loft until I think they will exercise
freely.
Q.
Irrespective of how your pigeons have flown, what are your views on
the past season whether good or bad or the management of the sport in
general?
A. With all the problems with Foot and Mouth, it proved to be a difficult
season but most organisations coped pretty well and must be congratulated.
Q.
With your pigeon work do you have a silent partner i.e. wife, partner
or friend, if so what part do they play?
A. My wife helps me a great deal although she does not handle the birds.
I would find it difficult to do as well as I do without her involvement.
I'm sure she gets as excited as I do on race days and we always watch
together.
Q.
Is there anything that you do not like about the sport, something that
you feel needs changing for the good of the sport?
A. I think we start racing too early in the year and we finish too early.
The racing Season should be put back at least 2 weeks.
Q.
Do you compete in the National events, if not why not. Or are you happy
to race in the club?
A. National racing is my main interest, I like to compete in all their
races with the aim of winning that elusive 1st National.
