MIDLANDS NATIONAL FLYING CLUB

MIKE LAKIN

An interview with the New MNFC One Loft

Managerial Team

At the recent Open Weekend it was announced to the many people who visited who the team are that will be looking after and training the One Loft entries. I must say that I am very pleased with the choice made by the MNFC’s Committee because I know these lads will give the job their all to make this year a successful one. The truth of the matter was that though the two of them never applied for the position the Committee felt that Ian Fradley and Alan Windsor were the ideal team to take the One Loft race on and happily after a few drawn out negotiations the lads finally agreed to take on the task. I have known Ian Fradley who is better known as ‘Snooker’ to local fanciers and Alan Windsor who Snook calls ‘Aga’ for reasons that I aren’t privy too for many years. I’ve personally raced against them at club and fed level and that along with their C. V. since they joined the Midlands National of 4 x 1st NW section wins and Open placings that include 2nd Open from Vire in 2014 and 5th Open Vire in 2015 plus what Snooker claims to be his finest moment in pigeon flying when their yearling Cock ‘Struyffy’ dropped into the loft at 9.23pm and won 4th Open from Bordeaux in 2011. I had bred the bird for  Alan from my  Francois Struyf  birds that simply love flying the distance as ‘Struyffy’ has proved by successfully flying from Bordeaux on four consecutive occasions. Additionally in 2015 Alan’s good hen ‘Chanel No5’ won 1st section & Open MNFC Middle Distance Ace pigeon after a string of good performances that season. At club level they have been top prize winners on many occasions over the years in the various clubs that they have competed in. I think these facts amply endorse the fact that Alan & Snook are an excellent choice to be the managers of the 2017 MNFC One Loft.

Ian 'Snooker' Fradley     -     Alan Windsor

The montage that acts as the ideal racing C.V.

My first question that I put to Snook was why did you choose to get involved with the One Loft project?  The reply was instant ‘’I believe that One Loft racing is a great way of testing pigeons and also if carried out correctly can  generate a lot of good in the pigeon sport and make a nice profit in the bargain  by way of the sale of the remaining birds.’’ That certainly makes good sense to me because by purchasing from the ‘survivors’ anyone looking for new stock is buying proven pigeons. Snook continued by saying that what he had learned from most O L races is that they all make mistakes. ‘’Aga and I intend after recently being handed the job to learn from these errors and offer competitors the very best in One Loft races’’.  I was keen to learn examples of what exactly they were referring too. Alan told me ‘’ Snook has told me that when you two went to the world’s most famous One Loft race the South African Million Dollar Race that though it was a great venue in Sun City the ‘fly in the ointment’ was the feeling of anti-climax when the birds arrived home. We can’t offer such a picturesque location here in Silverdale though at weekends there is plenty of wild life in the village after closing times at weekends’’ he chuckled. How do you intend to improve things on the birds arrival from the races I was interested to learn? ‘’ We know that pigeons like most animals are creatures of habit and so the birds after exercise will be encouraged into the loft with the aid of a few fantails and this we are confident will lead to the first bird to land being the first bird on the clock’’. I must admit that this has always been a ‘bone of contention’ for me as nothing is more frustrating than seeing a bird land then shilly-shally on the roof and get beaten by a later arrival.  ‘’This we believe is due to what is at the end of the day poor management’’. Strong words but anyone who knows the partners is aware that these lads are quick to call ‘a spade a spade’.

Snook at this point was very keen to point out that when he made the amazing offer to build the loft with his labour coming completely free of charge he did so because he felt that it was no good saying you can do better unless you go out and prove it! Alan too bought into the idea and with a ‘little help from my friends’ as the old Beatles hit record goes the lofts have now become a reality and as the many visitors has agreed it is an amazing set up. The one issue that has caused concern amongst visiting fanciers are the wires that are situated behind the loft. Though the danger has been minimised with them having reflectors fitted to them I was keen to listen to the managers thoughts on this matter? The partners were in agreement that the babies will need to be out before they are strong on the wing and so they will soon get used to them prior to the time when they are exercising at full speed. Snook was quick to add that ‘’as the wires are at the back of the loft and quite low down the birds will not be flying at full tilt and so are more likely to see them especially as the reflectors which are very visual actually whistle in the wind. Let’s be honest here there are far bigger dangers to the birds awaiting especially on training flights with  the many high overhead pylon wires and hawk attacks a constant danger’’.

I then asked the lads to go through their overall management of the loft. ‘’Well on arrival the birds will be vaccinated and wing stamped and their identity ETS ring will be registered and fitted. Then they will be put into a section with the other new arrivals and treated on the 5 day Schroeder + Tollisan Combi- cure which is a cure against canker, e-coli and bacterial problems. Only then will they be allowed to mix with the other inmates but even then the youngsters will be on a constant Natural preventative combi-mix.’’ I personally spoke to Vincent Schroeder who I have known for a few years now and he told me that he wouldn’t recommend such a strict regime on a domestic loft, in a large loft full of ‘strangers’ that he felt that  these measures are totally necessary. Alan and Snook believe that good health is the building block to successful racing because without good health the chances of obtain good results is nil.

‘’ The birds will be immediately put on the darkness system for approximately 15-16 hours per day. At 9.00am in the morning the birds will be opened up and allowed into the aviaries to acclimatise to the daylight for a while and then the birds will be released one wing of the loft first then the second wing released as soon as the first batch are airborne this is to minimise the chances of accidents.’’ I then asked how long will these exercise periods last? The reply was ‘’How long is a piece of string? It will last as long as the birds are flying because our belief is that young birds need to either be in the air or in the loft. We don’t want birds sitting about on the loft developing bad habits so as soon as they drop they will be coaxed into the loft with the help of our fannies’’.   What food are you going to use I was keen to glean? This is because I know that there are many different feeding regimes used by equally successful fanciers. Alan replied and said ‘’We will feed them as we have fed our own young birds first of all on Breed and Wean then they will be put onto a mix which is a high carbohydrate and low protein mixture because we find that the birds are more lively on this system. Heavy high protein feeding isn’t for us because birds digest peas etc much slowly than on a lighter feed and so the chances of digestional problems are multiplied. As the work rate increases the fat content will rise and leading up to the final race a reasonable amount of oil rich seeds will be fed. That said we won’t go overboard because we feel that too much fatty food can cause bacterial crop problems’’.

Another view of the loft that the lads has built for the Club

On now to the thorny issue of training what are your plans here?  Snook responded to that question as he is the partnership’s trainer in chief. ‘’ We will commence the training when the birds tell us that they are ready which is when they start running. We will build up in stages on to 40 miles where we intend to take them every other day weather permitting. During this time around the loft exercise will cease with one day training then the next day rest!’’ After a short pause Alan chipped in with ‘’ This may not be the way that some other fanciers tackle their young bird training but it has worked well for us’’.  After plenty of these training flights the inmates will then be fit to tackle the ‘Hot Spot’ races down to the South coast. Then it will be off to the big money final scheduled for Sunday the 10th September from Coutances which is a distance of 277 miles and so will be a stern test for the young athletes. The partners are delighted to know that the One Loft Committee have decided to hold the race the week prior to the MNFC’s final race because it will allow competitors to come over to the lofts and hopefully see their bird home and win a good prize. ‘’We are hoping that there will be a real party atmosphere with a barbeque already arranged and other refreshments planned. Most important thing of all though is that we want plenty of good banter, topped off with a successful race and you can be sure that we will be working our socks off to make it all happen’’.

I couldn’t help but ask my final question which I aimed at Alan which was ‘Do you intend to carry on racing your own birds?’  The first response was a loud laugh then he replied ‘’Yes of course why not there are 24 hours in a day and I’m always up at the crack of dawn anyway and I like to get my team out early while it is quiet and so by 8 o’clock my own birds are finished. Then in the late afternoon when I get back there is still plenty of time to attend to my own pigeons. As we now only really race with the MNFC using the club as a training facility we don’t envisage any real conflict of interests. If there is a need to be at the One Loft late in the day for some reason Snook will always be available’’. Alan then chuckled and quipped ‘’the only thing that will be different now is that I will have a good excuse if my own birds don’t win!’’