DAVE & PAUL WHITFIELD

of Staffordshire

by Les J. Parkinson

There are some good winning lofts about that we hear little about and yet they are reaching the top of the results consistently. On the continent it is understandable that lesser winning lofts get a great deal of publicity because we are told that they pay for their articles and if you don't stump up then no prestige's report. This is where the publicity machine in the UK is on a fairer basis because the magazines give it free. So I sent out a questionnaire for then to fill in and give me an idea of how they have achieved their success and then Elizabeth and myself went along to see what sort of system and set up they raced too.

Nothing fancy here just the old fashioned back yard lofts that were the bases of pigeon racing for so long. Report wise we have heard very little of what was until recently a father and son partnership racing under Dave & Paul Whitfield who have competed and achieved excellent success in the specialist races. The senior partner and father is Dave who has had pigeons since he was 14yrs of age with son Paul being brought up and becoming involved from an early age. Paul has not only worked with the pigeons over the years but has also taken up official positions within the sport. But now it is Just Dave with Paul racing to lofts of his own.

Dave does participate if club racing but it does come second to the specialist and National events and as can be seen this is reflected in the results. As a partnership they won some top class positions racing their pigeons and Dave is following suit on his own. T here is an advantage in having a racing partnership as it helps in every day duties and in training of the birds that take up so much time. Just a quick mention on the racing where as a partnership or singularly t hey have won some very good section cards in NFC and the MNFC also winning the Sandbach open old bird Picauville plus the Stafford Gold Ring old birds 2003 there are far to many to list. The highlights being 1 st Band C 3 rd Open Nantes MCCC. 2 nd Band C 9 th Open Saints MCCC. 5 th Band C 18 TH Open Saints MCCC. 1 ST Open Gold ring MNFC. 2 bird club winning Combine average 2002 2003. In 2003 Dave & Paul were runners up for the MCCC Open Combine averages. The 2004 season saw another good year when they won the last OB inl race and combine points trophies with the highly competitive Newcastle 2B where they picked up 2 x 1sts 3 x 3rds plus other prizes to go with £414. In their local club from 12 races competed in they picked up £190 prize money for 8 x 1sts 7 x 2nds 7 x 3rds 9 x 4ths. In their other local club competing with the North Staffs Fed they only competed in a handful of races and still won 9 top three positions. In my opinion this achievement did not get the coverage it deserved. I believe only time will highlight fact. (In an organisation as the MCCC you will not beat the first droppers 60 miles less and that is never always an easy task. The organisations that they compete in include the North Staffs Fed and Wrekin Fed, then with specialist race clubs being the Newcastle 2 bird, plus the MCCC NFC MNFC and the highly competitive Stafford Gold ring. Dave has achieved a great deal in the sport but is still waiting to reach his goal of winning the ultimate prize of 1 st National. Obviously Dave does not compete for the club averages but with the National's and specialist clubs yes because that is where the pigeons get the full credit they deserve for the work that they do. Going back to when Dave flew with Paul and the decisions made, they like everyone else did disagree but they would sit down and sort any problems out in the best interest of the birds. they were and always will be a back garden loft for the average working man, Dave is not and does not want to be professional in any way with his pigeons. At this stage I think we must give mention to Dave's close and very good friend Bryan Heath of Silverdale who helps with the training and the running of cocks a real good man whose help is much appreciated.

There is plenty of loft space with the widowhood lofts being brick with a corrugated roof 14ft x 8ft. The young bird loft is made with the traditional material being wood and is 18ft x 6ft. With only a small team of stock their loft is only 6ft x 5ft and again made of wood. There is also a loft measuring some 6ft x 5ft for 10 yearling widowhood cocks. All roofs are flat and the not the often favoured tiled roof that many fanciers now go for. It is always preferred to see plenty of room in the lofts, no overcrowding is entertained, the pigeons are much happier in those conditions. Heating is something that is not considered in these lofts, Dave pointed out that some pigeon men are far too good to their birds, a case of too good for their own good. Grilled floors are a favourite with many fanciers but once again not used at these lofts because Dave feels that the birds are not happy on them so why have something in the loft that does not suite the inmates. The floors in the race lofts are covered with straw while the boxes are cleaned twice daily. The young birds are on a dressing of sand and lime that is cleaned each day.

For several years the main family of pigeons has been the Verheyes that have served these lofts well with the present day team being made up of 90% from this family. As with all good lofts Dave has also brought in pigeons from the Kuyper lines plus a few Janssen's and also two pairs of Staf Van Reets. The main line of the Verheyes comes from Louella in 73 & 74. If new pigeons are introduced Dave looks at lofts that have stood the test of time and win out of turn on a regular basis. The new pigeons are always given time to establish themselves but do believe that good birds will show a little right from the start. A point raised about changing strains is something that we are all inclined to do at some time in our life. Some pigeon fancier's just change for the sake of change while others breed good pigeons out through poor stockmanship, which you have to get right. A fancier can go out and purchase the best but without the stockmanship you are fighting a losing battle, you will find it hard to win without that knowledge. Another point was that you can only purchase what you can afford and they must be from winning genes, all good lofts have a gene pool, it's keeping the gene pool right that brings consistency year in year out. On eye-sign there was a negative view because they do not consider this point, their best hen only has one eye but that is a good one.

It is hoped to have the stock birds ready to pair at Christmas time while the widowhood team are left until the weekend after the Blackpool Show. Careful thought goes into all the breeding times, which is why the 6 natural hens are paired after the 2 nd race and are ready for the longer races that they are intended for. It is hoped to rear 4 young birds off each stock pair and if all goes well 24 young birds but 90% of the breeding is from the race teams. The stock birds do rear their won but the stock race team are treated differently with the hens being moved at 14 days while the cocks are left to finish the young birds off. Both sexes are very important when it comes to breeding and whether you like big or small pigeons as long as they have the constitution you are on the right track. The Verheye hens are nearly all of medium size and do breed a nice stamp of pigeon. When breeding is considered where possible it is based on winners to winners but the other aspect of breeding that is taken into account is line breeding. What it is not very often done is to rear late-breds as they are considered a nuisance to have about the lofts, you can never do a great deal with them. The main racing system used is the widowhood for the cocks with Dave looking to house 28 cocks plus thoughts are also on the longer races. With this in mind 6 hens are raced on the natural system and are paired to the stock cocks much later on in the year. A good point about racing widowhood is that the cocks always have a mate to come home to but if they were being raced on the natural that would not be the case. With thoughts being on the specialist/National races consideration is taken into account regarding the breaks that they have between races, two weeks for most channel races but when the 400/500ml races come around the pigeons need to be prepared differently. What we must all remember that quality pigeons can win short and long distance races in one season with the right feed and preparation? From 600 plus you need different pigeons, because after day races it's more on homing ability combined with a solid constitution. These 500ml plus races take some doing and they have all sorts of weather conditions to contend with, everything must be suited to that pigeon on the day. It is hard work building a team of distances birds; 600ml racers take some finding, as we all know Rome wasn't built in a day. If you want to compete in the distance races then you need different pigeons. Form is always the important factor in racing pigeons and there is nothing better than natural form. Form put into pigeons through training etc can vary depending on how much work you put in them and how the fancier maintains that work. It is preferred not to race them every week and through the system used the pigeons are mixed around to keep them fresh then the right candidates can be selected for specific races. It is also found that through flying a basic widowhood system the whole racing season becomes far simpler. The system used at these lofts means that the pigeons have nearly always got a good wing and gaps are not seen too often. When the pigeons return from the race they are given a light feed and then the lofts are darkened down as soon as possible. The benefit of the longer races is that everyone is on an even footing, the wind direction does make a difference in the shorter races, and position does matter. The remark was passed that these lofts are the most westerly in most of the organisations that they compete in. The sport could move forward with fewer clubs, there are far too many small clubs; they are very often formed because the wind and position makes the difference. The small clubs could get together, join forces to strengthen their position and have sections that are evenly balanced. Some fanciers prefer to stay in club racing and not move up to the highest level of the sport, it is all what the fancier wants to do and they should be allowed to do exactly that. We should all remember that you also need a combination of 50% 50% pigeons to become successful in pigeon racing without that you don't win anything at any level.

For Dave feeding is the key to success so it all depends on what you set your stall out for, the cocks are fed in pots twice a day and this is left for 15mins so that they know that each pigeon has eaten what they should. The young birds are fed communally once a day after they have been weaned a month cocks. They are fed corn from Dollon Morois young bird mix from Sunday to Wednesday then on the Wed night till Friday the feed is changed to Versela-Laga super w/hood mix. The ybs are fed on Dollon Morris all year round and for the first month they can have as much as they want then they are fed once each day. The only change to their feed is when they are racing the channel with beans being added to the mixture. The young birds are also raced on the darkness system and they would not have it any other way and as long as they moult through it does not affect then the following season. Fresh minerals and grit are available at all times they are a must for birds and every other animal. Dave was saying that young bird sickness struck in 2001 for the first time ever so they depurative for 7 days and gave them a broad spectrum antibiotic, later on in the season they went on to score at club and National level. Every care is taken with the use of anything that the birds receive because as with most fanciers drugs are not tolerated. If a bird goes off colour and does not pick up in three days it has to be disposed of, all pigeons are expected to be in top health to do the job that is expected of them. Having said that they will treat for canker because it is felt that is the main problem with racing pigeons. When the birds return from the race on Saturdays Milton is waiting for them in the drinkers and when it is hot electrolytes are added. Instead of pumping the birds with anything when they go off form they are given plenty of rest, they will come back again. While covering this area I must add that they do not like the vaccination programme as they think it should be done as ybs once in their life. About 60ybs are bred and they are raced in feds very lightly but they are privately trained for the National and Classic events, all ybs must go over the channel at least once. The performances at these lofts have moved up two gears since they started private training with several methods employed and sending their ybs over the channel it can be very painful but long term the gains have proved to be immense. It is not uncommon for these birds to be trained up to 50 miles or so if and when required.

Fanciers should remember that when the season has finished the birds should have plenty of rest to help them through a good moult, a bath every weekend is also preferred. A real good point was made regarding the progression of the British sport compared to the continental's and do they have any ideas that would benefit the sport in the UK? This is an area that does change from fancier to fancier, many of the UK stalwarts want to stay as we are but Dave & Paul said that British fanciers are well behind the continentals and we should have at least a premiership. One point that the majority of fanciers agree with and that is there is too much bickering at the club level you don't get this at the bigger level. This is the reason why some fanciers give up in the sport; it is becoming a business rather than a hobby. I will step in on that one and add that it can be seen in the fancy press the disagreements at club level are now coming out at National etc level. In some cases this is caused by the big team fanciers who get together and dominate clubs because there are plenty of hands on board to cover all eventualities.

A last comment from the partners and that is there are many good fanciers in the UK and they feel that George Litherland rates amongst the best, he ahs won at all levels of competition and one to set your sights on.

I will finish by thanking Dave & Paul for their help in this report and also to Mike Lakin who also helped with information.