DEREK LAWTON

of Crewe

by Les J. Parkinson

Many years ago when we were in full swing at the shows and went on the local show circuit one fancier who was also a regular and became a friend was Derek Lawton accompanied by his show buddy Geoff Broster. Now when I say a friend I do mean a friend and I must add that is not the reason I am compiling this article.

Over the years Derek has always been steady when racing the pigeons and has never received a great deal of publicity because he is one of those fanciers who has generally been on the brink of "Stardom" in the pigeon world. The 2000 has seen the final conversion to National and Specialist racing complete with a sequence of top results. National competition has been Derek's aim for the last 8yrs and as anyone who takes on that challenge will tell you that it is not just a case of sending and achieving the same results as at club level. National and Specialist racing against fanciers outside your own area is different racing and many cannot make that change, why I have no idea but that cannot. Derek has also had good results in the BBC where he won his section and sees this as a springboard to his future racing at National level.

Derek Races both cocks and hens a the roundabout system but will pair them up towards the end of the season if he thinks that they are losing their form, it is the end of the season when the races that Derek really does like competing in come along. There are some 22prs of racers but there are always some that only have a few races up to the coast because the thoughts are always with the next seasons specialist races. There are also a team of 8prs at stock and together the team rear between 40 & 50 youngsters. The main arcing loft is a timber construction with an apex box profile tin roof and Perspex sheeting alternatively. Loft measurements are 26ft x 6fy 6ins divided internally into partitions of 14 th with 24 nest boxes for the cocks then a 6ft section for the hens that has the "V" type perches, when the pigeons are paired the loft is open to the full 20ft. The other 6ft is for the stock birds that has a 6ft aviary. Ventilation is provided by louvers at the bottom front and wire netting beneath the sputnik traps where they enter the loft, they are let out through the one door at the front of the loft. The young bird loft is also a timber construction some 14ft x 6ft with an apex tiled roof and is internally divided into two sections of 8ft and 6ft. Both lofts have grilled floors that are cleaned out weekly with the boxes being cleaned twice each day. Derek is also a big believer that the pigeons must receive as much natural daylight as possible and therefore has never darkened the loft and does not use a heating system in any of the lofts. Droppings are sent routinely at the start of each season to the veterinary lab for analysis. If necessary the birds are all treated for Coccidiosis, canker and worms and Derek was keen to point out that for the last six seasons his pigeons have not required a worming treatment, all treatments if and when required are with the Harkers range.

The main foundation of the loft are the Dordins that Derek has kept for the last 29yrs. These are mainly. These are based on the Le-Producer line that came from Geoff Jones and Dave Mellor of Crewe in the early 70's. Since then Derek has introduced Dordin's from Jim Biss of Brundall and Mr Dickinson of Cannonk and has also introduced the Van Bruaene family from Mick Lock of the Wirral. There were also two good pigeons from Alan Shore of Hankelow that have done very well. But Derek maintains the Dordin family at a rate of 90% of the loft. The breeding pairs are selected by a combination of eye sign, balance, feather quality plus a dash of good old fashioned "Gut Feeling". There has been success with both line breeding and the first cross. All the pigeons whether stock or racers are paired on the 14 th February weather permitting, so that the young birds are weaned two weeks before the first race. Derek has tried just about every nesting material and found that tobacco stalks are just about the best. The racers are given cider vinegar once per week.

As pointed out the birds are all raced on the roundabout system the hens are kept together in their own section once the racing season is finished until they are paired. They are then allowed to rear a nest of youngsters before going back to their own compartment where they are raced on the system that has proven very successful for Derek over the years. However they are not separated until after the first race because that is part of their training for the season, they are only split after the first race. The hens are trained twice each week weather permitting and they are also exercised around home for I hour both morning and evening on the days that they are not trained and they never go out on a Friday. Up to Saintes the cocks do not see the hens before basketing and the nest bowls are left in the boxes at all times. On their return from the races up to Nantes the hens are left with the cocks for up to 5hrs, on the longer races they are left together overnight. Any cocks or hens that do not go to the race are exercised around home on the Saturday morning. The preference is for both cocks and hens to have at least four land races and one channel race at 300mls before the big races.

Derek said that he used to take notice of the wing but these days he does not bother because over the years he has found that it does not make any difference. The only exception that he makes is if a pigeon has cast a flight in one wing and not the other within two days, on these occasion's he leaves the bird concerned at home. Young birds are weaned at 21 days old and after that they are fed on maple peas for four weeks after which they are put on Versele-Laga Junior Plus with a small amount of energy corn mixed into the corn. They are fed once daily in the evening and allowed to eat as much as they like. The young bird training commences three weeks before the first race. The stock birds are fed Versele-Laga breeding plus in a trough on the floor then when the eggs have chipped out he also puts in a pot of Maple peas in each nest box and keeps them topped up. An addition to the water is the Moor Gold Herbal supplement from Stock Nutrition. The widowhood cocks are fed individually and the hens are fed in troughs on the floor.

Derek has been interested in the eye sign theory for a number of years and considers it to be an important part of his in-breeding structure in order to keep the family of birds strong. He is also a believer that different strains have stronger eye's than others and therefore believes that eye sign is only useful within a family of pigeons.

The cocks as pointed out are fed individually in their boxes with half an ounce in the morning plus ounce in the evening with a spoon of energy corn. That is with the exception of Saturdays when they receive 1 ounce of Red Band with Dave Allens recovery salts in the water. The week before the long races commence Derek will mix a few maple peas into the Gerry Plus mix and give them three or four peanuts each. the hens are fed the same mixture but only once each day in the evening. Derek's whole aim of racing is to have the pigeons right for the National and specialist events that is why when he is racing the youngsters a few are selected after 112mls and stopped. The main aim of the young bird team is consistency because their results are not so important, that is why they are selected and stopped. However on the odd occasion Derek has put a few into the YB National races mainly to try them, most of the pleasure with the pigeons is via the old bird races. Another point with youngsters is that Derek will never send a young bird that is either heavy in moult or only has two flights left in the wing.

After the old bird racing has finished Derek likes to let them rear a single youngster each to keep them content after a hard season. Then after that youngster has been removed they are left to sit out pot eggs then they are split and put on Versele-Laga moulting plus. By the way all the birds are vaccinated with Colombovac prior to the season starting.

Derek's advice to the novice is to buy some late bred's from a successful fancier who are racing their birds under similar conditions that you intend to race your own. You should put them to stock and race the young birds from them. You should also read as much as you can about the sport and do not be afraid to ask. Derek still reads "Food for Novices" plus many other books because there is always something to learn, nobody knows it all. Derek has grown up in the sport with people like the late Denis Gleave who was one of Derek's heroes. Joe Shore of Hankelow and George Stubbs of Sandbach all being are late great fanciers of the sport and sadly missed.

You can always remember something that you have achieved that has given you pleasure. One such event for Derek was topping the old Wrekin Fed when it was a big organisation from Angouleme 528mls flying 14hrs plus in a North East Wind. That was with his legend "Flying Lady" a Blue hen that won him a Meritorious Award and also won two Nantes races. That Dordin hen has figured well in the breeding of many good pigeons over the years. Good pigeons come and go to many lofts and one such pigeon is a 97 bred Cheq Hen who won as a yearling 135 th Open MNFC Nantes then in 2000 was 1 st sec Bordeaux with the British Barcelona Club. This hen was sent to Bordeaux odd after the cock she was paired to went missing at Saintes. Ironically the cock turned up on the Saturday night so was back in his box when the hen returned on the Sunday.

However there are also disappointments with Derek's being the "Centenary" race when he failed to time after sending and losing some very good birds. The ambition "To Win The National" who knows what may happen in the future.