This weeks discussion of the week is…
What do you think the current state of pigeon racing is?
For example do you think pigeon racing is growing or dying, express your views and share with others your opinions on the current state of pigeon racing by posting a comment in the box below.
Click here to post your thoughts on the current state of pigeon racing.
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Hi, good day to all, im from Manila Philippines, just for a thought, pigeon racing here in the Philippines are still growing, and to think of it, most of kids loves pigeon racing or breeding here.
What the fanciers can do is to coach those newly in the field, assist them and train them for better better towards to racing.
I just started again to breed , and join a club for the next game.
Ilove pigeons so much, most of the time that i dont have work were spending it with my birds.
It was a really great past time.
with todays technology, computers etc. there is just a lot of things for young people to get involved in (not including other sports) i feel this is one reason we have a hard time getting new and younger flyers. too many kids i feel are micro waved to the video games and television.
that is for sure that is the reason the kids only get 2 hrs. of tv a day and 3 hrs of games per week each . yes im very different from most people but that’s the way they learn to read and entrain them selves in other ways
My Experience is that yes the pigeon game is shrinking but I contribute this to the high costs envolved. I dont think it is more expensive than for instance golf but the pigeon fanciers and the golfers used to be from a different class of people now the pigeon sport due to high costs is moving into the same class of person hence the shrinking but I think it will level out at some point and when it becomes the same symbol status as for instance golf it will start growing again. With top birds selling at 250,000.00 Euro it seems to excel even horseracing. However the sport and the result must become instant results on the internet so as to attract punters and gamblers from outside the sport Then it will start growing again. We are in the process of developing a GPRS Timer that will do just that named the Konic GPRS timer check it on our website http://www.windycorner.co.za click on Konic
what you got to be kidding me with this higher class b.s. Iv golfed my entire life and I golfed with doctors and lawyers and sales men and no one and i mean no one is better than another just the choices they make in life . its snobs like you that is giving the pigeon game a bad name and also the game of gulf and yes i still gulf
I also think that in some countries, including Australia where i live, the program seems to lean very much toward long distance racing. With the modern lifestyle leaving so little free time, I think the old thing of a fancier waiting patiently for hours for a brave pigeon to finally battle it’s way home is history.
I think sprint racing, with the need for smaller teams of birds, less training, and freeing up more family time at weekends is the way of the future. Agreed, those of us who are not so young can use our time as we wish, but if the sport is to recruit younger people in enough numbers to ensure the sport survives, it must become less demanding of time, more economical and more family friendly.
Im a beginner i race 1 yrabout 10 yr back had to quit for lung problem now i have bone camcer. but trying to start again so i have somrthing to get me out of the house. at present i have7 pair just enongh to start over with.need a hole lot of help
First i think that the public should be educated about the Racing, the Showing of the Various Breeds and the Performing of Rollers and Tumblers and a very good avenue to educating and informing would be for the IF, AU and the other organizations getting together and get with Animal Planet to start a series all about pigeons. There would be so many people and especially the younger generation to see there is more to just playing Video Games and they could learn Responsability and what its like to Compete.I would still have my Racers if it wasn’t for my health. To all of you fanciers out there have a good Breeding, Racing and Showing season this 2012 year, Good Luck to all!!
here is my thoughts i must agree with JIMMY DAVIS post im trying my best to get into the sport and feel intimidated by all these big guns so to speak (someone who has a lot of money and birds) i only have a few birds and on a fixed income i cant get any info on the local club ( reading pa. pigeon club ) and when i do find some one to ask questions i get Verge answers so there for im all ready thinking about getting out of the sport before i can really start so that’s the long and short of it IF ME AND MY GRAND KIDS DONT START HAVING FUN WITH THIS SPORT SOON I WILL GIVE IT UP AND THATS HOW ALOT OF BEGINERS FEEL
It would be nice to see you win a race with your limited number of birds. I and my son are in the same situation with only a few breeding pairs and some eggs coming up clear and a pair not wanting to lay. I figure that if I can get the few birds trained correctly to come home, come in quickly and fly with a big desire to come home, stay healthy and have a few left after YB racing – then this YB season (this year) I’ve done enough. I’ll be not only teaching the birds but also teaching myself (with the advice of others). Training myself to do what needs to be done is more important to me as a beginner.
I feel your pain and understand about the limited budget.
I found several people in the club I joined in January that are very helpful. This club had only a few members last year but now has a few more with this year as another club 30 miles away folded.
The club president for that last 30 years and the race secretary are good honest people willing to help – and a few others also invited me to their lofts and are willing to give me some birds but I don’t have room for them. I’ve asked a few basic questions like – what kind of feed and water schedule do you follow, what type of birds do you have, how long have you done this, how do you know if the bird is healthy, what are you looking at when you pull the wing out, what kind of medications should I give on a regular basis and what others should be given periodically.
They all have wanted to help… as a new flier it is – for me, a matter of putting away my fear of asking questions and being as honest and friendly as possible.
One final thought to help you have fun with the grand kids — maybe racing is too much to do for us… maybe raising Rolling pigeons would be more fun and interesting. I really love watching them tumble through the air on some of the youtube videos I’ve watched. I even seen some that roll across the lawn – very funny and I’m sure fun for young kids too.
that might just be the answer rollers … they come back to the loft as well .so i will look into rollers instead of homers may be that will hold me and the grand kids interest ..but will old birds come back or just fly back to where i get them from ..or do i have to divide my small loft to hold old pair . and the next question is if i cant let the old ones out to fly is that good for them and why wont they come back to there young . see to many questions hopefully i will get some answers and im sure sooner or latter i will
From what I have seen on YouTube.com, rollers do come back to whereever they are released but ask those that know for sure. There are specific ROLLER CLUBS throughout the US that should be able to help. Also, I think I had seen were there are ROLLER COMPITIIONS – judge would come out to your loft and watch your birds fly.
Not having them yet… (but maybe one day because they are so facinating and much less time consuming then what is involved in Racing Pigeons) I am not sure how to ‘settle’ them. I did see a youtube clip where the person was trying to settle older Young Racing Pigeons (that had never been released) that were already VERY Strong on their wings and could easily be spooked and fly off to lands unknown. He did this by dunking and completly soaking the bird (except the head) in a bucket of warm soapy water for about a minute or two to remove all feather dust/oil – it looked like a wet wash rag after he pulled it out. The bird was then set out on the flight deck with those already settled and the hour it took to dry apparently allowed it to become familiar with the loft and area, not spook and less likely to fly off.
I also watched a video clip where a guy had rollers and took them to a park, released them, called them back to him. They landed on his arm and also sat on his car. This seemed to indicate that the birds he had were very tame and could be released anywhere and called back to him.
You may want to spend several weeks watching youtube videos on “Pigeons” or “Rolling Pigeons” or “Bermingham Rollers” as key search words. I learned a lot from YouTube in a very short period of time. If you save the good videos to your Favorites – then you could also show them to your grandkids for their enjoyment too. I wish you the best in this short life. Richard
Jason,
Hello I hope that you dont leave on account of the guys with all the $ and birds I beat them twenty + years ago with good stock that were mostly unknowns the best advice I have is less is more with the birds and you have an advantage on those guys with big numbers. some time : sounds like that is what you and your grand kids need. Remember that most of the time those guys dont know what is right or left ,anyways in other words they make it up as they go and it is mostly luck !
I remember losing my favorite birds on account of listening to the so called big timers (guns), there are just so many ways to do things and no two ways that make anyone more successful than another there are trends but they come and go as well. TRY the IF (international federation)OR AU OR ARPU (american racing pigeon union) on the web. Get a hold of the AU they have a program for new flyers;Birds etc. GOOD LUCK .
thank you i will look up those web sites
i am 15 years and my club secretary wont give me any prizes or cards when i win but when ever the “old boys win” which is everyone in my club, they get money and cards!
So sorry to hear this. Sounds like your club secretary is not too bright of a person to not tell you why you do not receive $ or cards – maybe you should ask for a good explaination for this at a club meeting where every club member will hear your voice. Could the ‘money’ you see transfering possibly be from ‘pools’ that you are not involved with due to your age? The cards… well that doesn’t seem right. Bring this out in a club meeting and see what is said.
I`ll write my thoughts again as someting went wrong with my pc.
I belive that pigeon racing is in the decline because of a number of reasons. Fanciers should stop leaving in the past and realise that if we dont make radical changes sooner than later wewill not have a sport. we should every way possible to make the sport more attractive to young people and non fanciers.
Why dosn`t Combines, Feds, and clubs get together and form some sort of a league, with promotion and relegation. This way the `big guns` will be flying against each other and leagues 2 and 3 look to improve. Get someone at the top level of our sport to promote pigeon racing in schools. There are plenty of old schools about with roof top playgrounds empty.
Get the schools to compete againsed eachother.
Too many of the `old school` wont change, our world is changing fast and our sport must change every way possible to attract new people into our sport.
i feel the same way
give right advice,good pigeon,to all beginner in pigeon sport..
No matter who one speaks to around the world, all agree that the sport is dying and becoming too expensive. I think people understand that the very best in birds are expensive and out of reach of most, but consistant flying with above avarage birds (not the best birds)can still give heaps of fun and top club positions. The real key is that it is all of our responsibilitiy to foster yongsters, not with the best birds, but with the know-how. Also we are to assist youngsters with road training, programmes (health and training) etc. I believe this is the biggest reason the sport is dying. I have been racing now for 20 years and would have stopped in year 2 0r 3, if i was not assisted.
I agree with you Eddie. The young people that are given a chance to see and understand the sport of racing are the key to the continuance of this hobby. I stopped as a teen after 4 or 5 years because the neighbor that originally started me off was too into winning and failed to actively involve me in the club activities. I actually received a 1st place 300 mile YB race trophy months after whatever award banquet was held (and even now I’m assuming there was a banquet). I did not even know that my bird had won until they gave me the trophy. All this to say… those in the club should be persistant and almost at times seemingly too involved in following up with young fanciers – if you even have any in your club these days.
Here in the uk the sport is dying ,there are no young people in the sport and the clubs in the uk are getting smaller every year.The clubs that are small will not get together and make bigger clubs .We have people that dominate the sport with there numbers that they send each week to races and the small flyers who dont get a look in with short number of birds they can send,this is also killing the sport here in the uk .We have a lot of problems with hawks killing many birds whitch the RPRA dont seem to care about.The cost of corn and products in this country also.I could go on and on about the sport here in the uk with problems.
being a young fancier it seems pigeon racing is dying because many older fanciers are unkeen upon newcomers to the sport in threat of being beaten.
i think pigeon racing in South Africa is dying. 2 reasons for that.
1. the costs involved.
2. the politics in the clubs
yes in the usa too cost
Let people know that this is a sport and a hobby that is challenging, fun, and open to people of all ages , all walks of life, and is economically feasable to just about anyone. Many people do not know that the sport of pigeon racing even exists. If somehow this door could be opened I believe pigeon racing would grow by leaps and bounds. But the word has got to get to the mass of people.
I am almost with you on this idea Jolley.I disagree on letting the masses know, I think the sport would be ruined. I think the greedy and unkind people will find away to tax us and shut us down. Many road blocks will pop up. Most states already have an ordinance that prohibits pigeons. If anything that the masses need to know is that a ordinance against pigeons need to be lifted. We pigeon folks should be the ones to impose the laws. I like that idea, In House Pigeon Police. Then once the freedom is there, then we Happy go Lucky pigeon folks can spread the pigeon LOVE! If you agree or disagree let me know. PEACE
hi chris
I think clubs might be dying out, as each year they lose a member to illness and other reasons.
There were two clubs were I live, now we have join together leaving just one club. we have already lost three members. The price of things don’t help and we have to get our birds 30 miles to get them on a transporter, which is not cheap with the price of fuel these days. I my self fly in my club and the national and am wondering now how long I and keep flying in two clubs. As things have change for me personalty.
the racing pigeon sport its starting to get very very expensive here in south africa ecspecially the food
Hi if we keep less pigeons ,say you start with 75 racing pigeons you keep about 40 good ones,immediatly you half your food bill.
When using more natural products for medicine you also saves alot.When tossing your pigeons,i do 2 x 70km and 1x 95km per week and that is enough for my pigeons.
When the number off pigeons you keep rises so will your bill.
Rgds Robbie
Hi,Chris I read some of the comments and as they said I also believe that this sport is for the rich.you need a lot of money or else you don’t have fun during races.To be successful in this sport you have to keep the loft up to date cause here in Malta this sport is getting very popular
regards;
Franco
The sport is, unfortunately,not going well anywhere, apart from Asia, as far as I can tell. Here in Australia it is facing problems, The falcon population has gone through the roof in some areas, with huge losses in the early races especially. Because of the climate, which is very hot indeed in the summer months there are no young and old bird programs as such, the birds are raced from winter time, when the days are short and the birds are not in form, into late spring, when the temperatures start to increase. Typically flyers here raise big numbers of young birds, 150 – 200 being not uncommon. It is also not uncommon for almost all of them to be lost by season’s end. At which point they breed another loft full and repeat the proccess. This makes racing here very expensive, feeding that many stock pigeons and racers is itself a hefty amount, and race fees are high and getting higher. Small wonder few young people can be bothered with the cost and effort of racing pigeons, when there is so little visible reward. As we older flyers leave the sport, I think it will get harder to recruit new fanciers.
I have know idea about the sport, since I am just starting into pigeons. But I can say this from what I know so far( which is very little). Flying and racing pigeons should NOT cost as much as it does. some of the prices to get a ream going is outrageous. And I think it pushes a lot of ppl to the sidelines, just because some ppl can not afford to place teams into these races.
People always ruin things when money gets involved, and pigeon racing is no different. I think spending more then myself, and many others make in years on a Pigeons is just crazy. but thats what makes the world go around I guess. I believe the sport would explode if it wasnt so damn expensive to get involved in..
Terry, You have hit the nail right on the head.I agree with you. as I have stated in one of my replies GREED will kill this fun sport.
This yaer will be my 3r season in the spor that I love so much but like others say is getting to spense and money dont came easy..
I think that the sport of pigeon racing has many problems here in the usa. most of the problems come from the fanciers. most will not take care of new or youth flyers. free lofting and not keeping thier lofts clean and in good condition. next we have the city laws that are anti pigeon most of all is our lack of advertisement many people have never herd about our sport and know nothing about it. if we do nothing our sport will die i also think that pigeon merchants are not helping our sport birds are getting more and more expensive putting them out of the every day flyers hands. with the loss of every flyer cost go up putting more pressure on clubs to shorten schedules and stations our club when i started we flew 100 to 600 miles we had 1 -400 2 -500 and 1 -600 mile races now we are lucky to fly 1 500 and no 600 and most of all are the people in clubs that do nothing to help their clubs and cause problems. then thier are the ones who are poor sports about losing races. and always wanting race schudule changes to suit them and not what is best for there clubs and most of all thier birds
I believe that the sport of racing pigeons is definately dying. I flew with the GA club in Atlanta Georgia for five years.and ..I and stopped because I spent $2,500/year to fly my old bird team. Two years later I migrated to Mexico to retire and continue flying.Much to my surprize it costs the same to fly down hear. I am about to fly my old bird team for the last time. I am leaving the sport because it is simply too expensive and I am tired of getting laughed at by the local flyers.
I live in cental Wisconsin and see the sport loosing far more than we are gaining. We built a portable loft on wheels for paraids and fairs handing out pamphets with no results. We also paid for advertising on placemates in area restarants and no calls. Mike Tysons show seemed to get some attention but no new members for us. I think we need more natinal adertising to let people know it is a great back yard hoppy or sport. All sports cost money but this one you can enjoy everyday. Sorry to say but the sport in Wisconsin is dying.More awareness to the publick is needed to creat interest. Maybe billboards where lots of drivers can get the idea.
Bill Lind
Our club use to have 35 Pigioen Fanciers but we are down to 12. It is now very expensive. The young ones are only interested in computer games. It takes adiffrent breed of people that are willing to spend so many hours days and years just to breed a winner. Not every one has the time or the will to lose so many races before win one. Everybody want to be a winner. Imediately.
im sorry that your club id dying off that might be due to the fact that the members are dying .i would love to be in a club but when you cant get any answers from the club eather by e-mail or phone or any thing so in a way its kind of the clubs own fault . now that may not be the case in your club so i mean no disrespect in any way im just saying what problem im having
i think that our sport is dying because few if any youngsters are encouraged to start,today unlike our and our forefathers time,there are so much things for our youngsters to do without all the hassle there is in our beautiful game. and thers the other snag, it gets expensive every week,another thing is the money that’s being spend
to buy good??pigeons ,manytimes novices spend a lot of money for a pedigree, I think that as already proven in our time that pigeon racing kept a lot of us out of the horrible things that were there as they are now,it should be promoted to youngsters as a good idea to start from an early age,
I aggree with you
my husband got me interested in pigeon racing.i feel that in our club we are being dictated to by the convoyers they collect our birds at 6.00pm if they are not ready he moans like hell. At the end of the day i feel that people who work are not considered only the old timers who are retired or dont work can get to the club for the time. The RPRA are always banging on about the younger generations getting involved in the sport but it is made difficult to participate if you work. for some reason our secretary does not seem to want to broach this subject with the convoyer but at the end of the day we are paying for a service. if the collection is this early next year we wont be racing which is a shame because i really enough it.
Hi, im 40yrs of age, and the youngest flyer in are club, which has around 17 members for the 2012 racing season. This club used to have 50 strong members when i started 20 yrs ago. So quite a lot of members gone and no youngsters coming in. My son was interested from 13 yrs of age but has now turned 18 and has’nt bothered with pigeons for the last year, hes more into work in the day and xbox 360 evening or going out with his friends on the night. Also agree with other comments, very hard for young fanciers with expense etc…its a rapidly declining sport, has ive seen no young fanciers come into are club in the last 20 yrs. Alot of fanciers in the last few yrs giving up to the ever present peregrine falcon attacks, on there birds, so have called it a day. This will be one of the reasons the sport will decline, too, unless solutions are found.
I do not. Believe it is a DYING sport but. It is a difficult sport to get into,,,yes many do not know about it, and yes the common pigeon has a very poor reputation. But the biggest obstacle to getting started is a loft and birds,,,,I mean mr Ganus just quoted me $550 for a chick,,,,comeon,,,I am brand new to this sport and have already spent over $2000 and I just built my loft and got a few unbanked birds that’ll likely fly away,,,,,but hey I can hope.
The clubs need to be more visible, and make it easier for others to get involved, or it will be a dead sport
This is a DYING sport here in the Chicago Illinois USA area and I imagine elsewhere in the USA. Most “NORMAL” people (I’d say about 98% of the US population) does not even know Pigeon Racing exists or that people like to keep pigeons as a hobby. Their mindset is that Pigeons hand around bridges and buildings, carry disease and should be exterminated. The Industry needs to do MAJOR Public Relations work to inform the public of this sport. I am just getting back into the sport after 40 years and do you know how many times I have heard about Pigeon Racing in those years??? – NOT ONCE! And loving the birds and sport you can bet that my ears were perked to hear anything about Pigeons. The only things I heard, usually when discussing the common pigeons around the work buildings, was that “pigeons are very dirty birds” & “they stink, who would want to keep them?” & “your kidding, people actually race pigeons?” & “they are the ‘rats’ of the air aren’t they?” & your going love this one… “Flying Rats”.
… So what has been happening in this hobby in all the years that I have been away? It seems very little – other than going with outrageously expensive electronic clocks and foot bands. Where are the clean coupes, the clean nest box designs, clean watering systems and the like? Am I missing something? – probably since I just really began to intently look at this hobby intently only a week ago. So maybe I’m being too hard on this industry but I doubt it after 40 years of hearing NOTHING in the world about pigeon racing. Oh, wait a second… I did hear (just yesterday) that Mike Tyson had a reality show where it talked about his racing pigeons. The only way I heard this was because my neighbor asked me and my son what we were building (a new Beginners Loft) and so I explained a bit about the hobby and he shared about the reality show… Where are the documentaries on how pigeons were used in the war? I can find very little on Netflix.
What have the Pigeon Unions done to educate people? Obviously very little.
I agree, when I show pictures of my birds to people, they say,,,those are pigeons?
Here by us the pigeon sports is going down because every thing here is very expensive and the young kids is not interested in the sports. The medicine is also expensive and you can not even talk about the travelling to tos the birds.
I think at the moment pigeon sport is declining. The costs involved in racing is getting out of hand. Clubs don’t do enough to advertise the sport, try to get sponsors, help youngsters getting involved. People the youngsters that getting involved is the future of pigeon racing.
I also feel that the sport is becoming to exspensive for the “man on the street” and although it has become more of a business than is relaxing past-time.
with YB SALES like the we will be holding on the 3rd of FEB 2012 where every
member sponcers at least 1 younster (± 500 members) 60% of all money made will be
Used to help pay our ever increasing transport cost.
I think the sport is in decline bcause it is becoming 2 xpensive 4 the fanciers.Many youngsters r interested in the sport but finance is a problem.We have 2 help those who have a love 4 the sport but can’t afford it.Clubs can subsidise juniors 2 encourage them 2 fly.Some of the juniors say that they would like 2 fly more than the 7 races they may fly in the start of the season cause they want 2 know what they must do the rest of the season & they have put in everything into breeding youngsters 2 race & these can only compete in these 7 races.I don’t know what other clubs do & would b interested 2 c comment on how they go about helping the juniors.
ben türkiye, manisadan yazıyorum manisada 6 dernek var 250 yarışçımız var organizasyon tek bir yerde gerçeklestiriliyor ama henüz federasyonumuz yok çalışmalar sürüyor …..yeni genç yarışçılar sürekli artıyor
In South Africa, the sport seems to showing a decline in members due to fact that prices for food, medication, racing fees and petrol are on a constant rise year on year. In addition, we seem to remain in the primitive ages as technology is not used efficiently to drive cost down and make things more affordable and to be less time consuming for the fanciers e.g. ringouts can be managed per club or union for board races at union locations, but instead fanciers are expected to drive almost 50 kilometers to attend a board ringout whereas internet and software can be used to manage the process with a higher degree of efficiency. In addition, the cost of good birds tend to be overpriced considering that not all youngsters bred from great birds turn out to be winners, so introducing new fanciers considering that losing is a given in teh sport esp in initial years(if you not educated or gifted), becomes a challenge in growing the sport.
In England Ithink the sport is dying out. When reading club reports there are only 3 or 4
members sending to races. Many people will say the number of clubs has grown thus
leaving members spread over them and reducing individual club members. I started racing pigeons in 1969 and my club had 35 flying membes, this was far from the biggest club as some had 60 and 70 flying members.At clock reading on a Saturday night after the race it often took more than 2 hours to publish a result. Today in my present club we have 13 flying members and are one of the lucky clubs. I am 57 years of age and there are only 3 members younger than me. When I was young there were no x box, computer games, or for many years even a TV. The younger generation don’t want to get involved in anything they think would be hard work. This is not a criticism of the present generation, for who knows if I had the same options maybe I would not be involved in the sport today.
Unfortunately I don’t have a solution to the decline of the sport in England, but the one thing I do know is that the older members of my club will give all the support, help and encouragement to any youngster or novice.
I’m delighted to hear that the sport is flourishing in other countrys,but sincerely hope that the fanciers don’t all grow old together as this will put them in the same position as us.
Depends on were one lives. Country I mean. Reading a lot of the previous comments I agree it is very expensive. Many are older fliers. Sometimes the cash is not there.
Younger folks have X boxes etc to play with. Easier to spend time on that than cleaning out birds.
Not the sport itself that discourages younger members the workload etc, it is the club members themselves. Not many help a new flier. Every club even with 5 members has the ego mentality. Who the hell cares who wins in a 5 member club? The birds count in the Fed or Combine. Heck some clubs have a small radius to make sure they do not get beat. Bunch of crap. I am the longest end in my club. Hour overfly from the shortest distance member. 50 mile drive to the club and back. I do not complain but gas is getting expensive. As for buying off proven generations of winners for a hefty price does not make sense. Most of these winners are from a different country anyway. Sport of pigeon racing is about holding even.Canada anyway. The future? Fewer clubs more one loft races. Bread and butter clubs, the small ones will disapear.Or amalmagate.Just my opinion.
Its a great sport that has become cut-throat business by the small % of people with deep pockets who basically corner the prizes and have driven the costs way up for the little guys to compete. The playing field is no longer level where the price of buying a good breeding stock has become unaffordable. There is very little mentoring done by those who have profited from this business. They just want moneyed partners. Unless AU and other associations discuss this unfortunate trend and take steps to encourage the small guys and other newcomers, this will become a sport only for the rich much like horse racing.
I agree with most of the comments, the membership is declining rapidly, the are very few young people entering the sport and even if they want too, the costs are beyond a lot of people.
I think it is a dear hobby, although most hobbies you have to have deep pockets.
One of the most important things are Clubs/Federation/Combines/Amalgamations have to get together to help bring down the cost of transportings birds to races, it is not economical for transporters to go half empty to liberation sites, members should put the past in the past and go forward to look at saving our wonderfull sport.
I think the governing bodies should take the lead on this matter, because if we do not it will only get worse and we will not have a hobby.
I also commend those that are trying to resolve the raptor issue, this is another major factor which is affecting us all.
I think pigeon racing here in the Philippines is growing , there are more clubs now than before and the prizes for each club is getting bigger and bigger every year.
pigeon racing is becoming very expencive. the hawk problem in england is getting worse and members are leaving the sport.i dont care what anybody says if you live in the right area you will win most of the races,if these people lived in a less favourable area they would not be so succesfull.but having said that pigeon racing is a great sport.
The pigeon sport will grow when fanciers learn to give more honour to the pigeons that do well than to their owner/trainer. The sport has been, and to a large extent still is, in the process of moving from a purely amateur hobby to a rich man’s professional sport/business. Only once the process has run its course will we be able to see how we can grow it. However, at present the best we can do is to move the accent from the owner to the bird itself thus inspiring new (younger) fanciers to want to breed a legendary pigeon instead of wanting to emulate successful fanciers who, mostly, are self seeking unsociable misfits.
well i new to the sport and i beginning to believe its more of a business than a sport I’m not sure if I’m going to continue as far as doing the whole club thing there are 4 of us that started at the same time and we all think the same way so we might just go back to the root of the sport and do it for fun not the money.
the way the sport is going the person that has the most money wins to me that’s no fun
I think that it is important for pigeon fanciers and clubs to help the younger generations by support and assisting them to form part of the sport. This will help our sport of pigeon racing to grow in the future…
Hi Chris:
I have been out of pigeons for many years and most likely not qualified or informed enough as to its popularity. I raced pigeons in Dublin for many years with some success. Competition was strong and I raced in two clubs. In Northern Ireland I believe the sport is still very popular. I live in Ontario but go home from time to time and I have seen a big decline in the hobby in the Republic of Ireland. I guess it has become very money driven. The cost of buying good stock to start up and a well secure and healthy loft can be costly. Its a year round and I wont use the word job but dedication that you must commit in order to achieve those red cards.I still believe its a great and rewarding sport when birds home from long distances and you are in the first six in your club and even better when open race positions come your way.
Regards Hugh.
Unfortunately I think the sport of pigeon racing is dying. I speak from my observations in the northeast. Every club I have contact with is heavily stocked with an aged membership with few or any young fliers. It seems clubs get smaller every year with a number of clubs having disappeared entirely. I guess there are a number of reasons for the decline. Cost probably is the biggest factor and I don’t believe the appeal of a hobby that requires so much time and effort on a year round basis is there anymore. Pigeon racing is complicated and a rookie flyer is likely to get discouraged and quit after getting pounded week in and week out. Pigeon racing has a lot of competition with an ever increasing number of leisure time pursuits. In order for a new flyer to be successful he or she needs top quality birds, a dedicated mentor to help guide the new flyer from mistakes, reasonably favorable location within the club or combine and needs to be highly motivated.
I think its groing,I’ve been to 1 of our local clubs recently and there were a lot of boys racing with or without their fathers,I also know of quite a few other young racers
Hi Jakobus
I’m reading your comment now and just want to find out where are you about because you say there is a lot off young people who fly in your club.
Thanks
Tienie ( South Africa in KZN.)
hi whats toyr name please my name is ahmed iam forum maroccan of the city el jadida the site web pipa012.skyrock.com watch the photo the pigeons voyageur