THE LAST OF THE WINTER TRAINING

by John Clements

My final training toss of my winter ‘late-breds’ went a bit askew. I intended to take them west down the M56 to the Daresbury turn off then on to Norton Priory where they have been before but because of road works and endless diversions I was thrown off track, but not before I had tossed three in a lay by and another three further on. The upshot of the whole enterprise was I missed the turning for Norton Priory and had to continue for miles on the ‘Daresbury Express Way’. Of course, once you get on these Express Roads  there is little chance of turning back and I ended up with a tour around Runcorn and what seemed an endless journey through housing estates complete with sleeping policemen that shook up both the car and the pigeons. I decided to release what remained of the pigeons as a group on a school playing field near to a small shopping centre.

I ended up lost in a place called Pheonix Park which seemed to go on for ages with a 20 mph restriction but hardly any traffic and not a sign that would direct me back onto the M56. Eventually I asked some men in day glow jackets clearing autumn leaves they pointed me in the right direction so eventually, after a long haul, I finally got back on course.

When I got back home the pigeons had already arrived and had eaten up. This is the end of my ‘Winter Training’ schedule. It has turned out to be a successful exercise and I have learnt a lot from it. It has taught me how others think because there have been many phone calls asking me about it.

All will eventually be revealed in three years’ time when the destiny of these ‘late-breds’ is Tarbes with the National Flying Club. So if ever you see me timing in 2014 birds you will know these were the ‘late-breds’ that were trained during the winter months of 2014.

These, because of my racing system of sending to Tarbes on the first youngster of the year, are the only youngsters I have. There is a further dimension to this winter training. Next year in 2015 these ‘late-breds’ will have their first nest and their first experience of mating and rearing youngsters. I do not intend to basket them or train them during 2015 so they will enjoy a trouble-free year of bonding to the loft and their instinct of breeding, sitting and rearing being an undisturbed untroubled experience. The following year they will have to start racing and doing what they are paid to do. I expect some to go to National races of up to 450 miles.

I fully expect the bonding year of rearing coupled with the winter training in the year of their birth to have a beneficial effect that improves their minds as well as their bodies. I am in the business of reinforcing their pigeon personality so that they eventually feel confident enough to fly alone for a hundred miles or so. Flying alone goes against the flock nature of the pigeon but it is an absolute necessary requirement for 700 mile pigeons into Stockport. This is entirely the opposite to the requirement for sprint pigeons.

Sprint pigeons to be successful have to fly in a flock for a pigeon flock travels faster than a single bird. It helps if the flock is heading to the same loft. If that is the case then the loft is likely to have many birds in the top ten of the Federation. The essence of successful sprint racing is to get pigeons to fly in a flock directly to their home loft. To do this pigeons have to become tramline-conditioned birds that break from the race point as soon as they are released.

Creating a fast flock system wins short races and my system of making the birds become individuals is part of pigeon thinking. A choice of the type of racing has to be made and that choice must be based on the kind of specialised training that is likely to bear fruit but bear in mind it is unlikely that the two can be set up in the same loft or in the same environment because they are opposite ways of thinking. Fast flock birds are best as yearlings while individual flying birds mature much later. We have to imagine how the pigeon thinks and also how we as fanciers think and above all we have to make up our minds which path to follow then go for it wholeheartedly.

Jim Emerton writes: I used to practice this attempt to prove the parents and find a good one. It gets you and the birds out in nature, gives purpose, and motivates the dull days of winter. I like all my birds to fly and navigate under variable light and weather conditions, and it hardens condition and hones instincts. I am a great believer in the idea that the racing potential is intrinsic to the bird and brought out by the environment in which it lives, and skillful management by the fancier. However in my long career, I never got a July or later hatched bird to go beyond Pau at 735 miles. Little Darkie as a May hatched yb did fly Sartilly at 362 miles on the day in September. Much will depend on how you define a latebred and the distance tossed. Now John Clements is game indeed, with high motivation and I wish him well in his hardcore racing aspirations. Nic and me have a policy of latebreds for stock and do not race them, yet send yearlings to plus 500 miles to test their innate potential.

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Elimar - December 2014