How can we cut costs in pigeon racing?
As you may know pigeon racing costs seem to keep rising and according to a poll I did here with Pigeon Insider members rising costs is one of the main reasons for declining memberships, participation and in the future will be a huge factor for the death of the sport and hobby all together. I think with all of our minds combined we can figure out a way to help lower costs and help make pigeon racing and pigeon keeping in general more enjoyable for everyone, and in the long term help this sport and hobby thrive for the next generation.
So my question for you is…
What are your ideas for cutting costs and lowering expenses in our sport?
Click here to post your thoughts, comments and ideas and together I think we can make a difference. Look forward to reading your comments!
I use the red rose loft plan and was amazed just how cheap it was a 7 x12 loft cost around 350.00 brad is right helping each other out make a world of differnt
better off fanciers sell birds at a more reasonable price for new starters and cut down on number of birds kept you do better and enjoy the sport
Really, it’s easy – but no one wants to comply. When things cost too much, cut back. Just quit flying a mob. You could probably have just as much fun with fewer birds.
Fewer birds and small lofts would also help to promote excitement for our sport among new young members.
I think that Terence hit the nail on the head. It really doesn’t take a mob of birds to have a good race. Even 5 birds per fancier per race is fun. New and prospective members should welcome smaller lofts, less birds to feed, faster genetic improvement throughout the flock, less work around the loft, fewer baskets and the list goes on.You know, training is a major part of racing pigeons. The gregarious instinct within pigeons can be detrimental to good birds. It is more effective and easier to train 1 or 2 dogs than it is to train 10. Treat your birds as individual athletes and go from there.
On training I start to take my birds to work with me when sunrise is between 6 and 615 am. That way I can reduce my cost of training. Training tosses are from the west and we fly south. It does not seem to bother them. Also get a smaller flock I find that a flock of 20 will do. 10 birds for short and ten for long.
On times There are plenty of manual ones on ebay. I bought one last year for $50.00.
The escalating cost to race pigeons seems to appear in two areas. The ever increaseing cost of race equipment, such as electonic clocks, computer chips, and service related maintenance of the equipment. If the availability to purchase such equipment was not controled by several sports related businesses, the open market would bring about more competition among the price for these goods and services. Clubs need to create co-ops to bring these goods and services to club members at affordable prices. The average fancier who is not racing doesn’t own a clock. Since members of racing clubs are the primary purchasers of race equipment, manufacturers can offer discount incentives to clubs when members purchase race equipment? It is the middleman fee that is pushing the cost of equipment and the sport to be sky high.
The cost of shipping is also of mounting concern. In my area, there are many clubs using separate trucks to ship pigeons for various races during the same weekend. The courses may vary in terms of one being more due South, but a course modifiation could result in the release station being the same for each club. This can be of great savings to all flyers willing to ship. As is now the cost is triple with members of different clubs paying shipping fees in two clubs to fly selected races. If these clubs will establish an agreement to pool resources to reduce cost for the betterment of the sport, the sport and not selfishness is the winner. I plan to retire at the end of this year. My availability for involvement in the sport will peak, but I will guard my inocme even more. Unless new and bold action is taken to make the sport more affordable, I may keep my pigeons and get my excitement from watching them return from weekly self-initiated training tosses. Perhaps the AU or IF could review national membership and provide information to combines or clubs to fly similiar courses or races to reduce cost. The competition would be more intense and the quality of a fancier’s family of pigeons tested. It is a win, win for the sport.
While I agree with all the posts shared, I won’t repeat these, however, they seem to be the same concerns today as they were 10, 15 20+ years ago! One concern of mine is the ability, or lack of, to source quality bloodlines. Some of the costs asked for quality, untried offspring is very cost prohibitive to me & would be selfish towards my family. Perhaps pigeon racing will become a “rich man’s” hobby, but at what expense to the loss or retirement of the ‘financially challenged’ pigeon enthusiasts?
Increasing new memberships in clubs should be at the top of every clubs agenda. This in turn would help cut costs, you’ll have a bigger pool to share costs.
I think a big problem in regards to lack of new members is the stygma of pigeons being an inferior bird, ie flying city rats. I was laughed at and mocked when I told my friends that I was pigeon racing. Once the laughing was over the questions began and suddenly this didn’t seem strange to them. The sport as a whole needs to do everything in its power to educate the general public of this bird and sports fine history. I feel having a show like “taking on Tyson” could have been a blessing for this sport, but I think it has been a missed opportunity at least in these parts. The more this sport is publicized in a good and informative manner the better. Using social media should not be overlooked either. I am 30 years old and just getting involved with the sport and I am also 30 years younger than my entire club, more in most cases. I don’t want to be the last of the Mohicans. Thinking out side the box is a must to keep this sport going.
The only way pigeon racing will flourish is to have better prize money which is distributed fairly throughtout the federations based on zones and the prize money payable to members in those zones is related to the number of pigeon entries for the race from that zone. Don’t start talking about reducing costs and making it cheap to race pigeons because this is how and why pigeon racing is declining. Better price money and a fairer distribution of price money. If the price money in horse racing started to fall and the best horses weren’t handicapped few people would race horses and the same applies to pigeon racing.
The main thing that is killing our sport in New Zealand at the moment are poor liberations.
New Zealand often has very changeable weather.Far too many liberations now are occurring where the birds are having to try and get home through 200 to 300 kilometer long cold southerly rain storms or winds.
The old die hard fanciers say so long as it is fine at the liberation point then the birds must go up, this is the attitude that is killing our birds and our sport.
To my mind set letting birds go with really foul weather in thier paths in nothing less than sheer cruelty, these races often become two or three day races.
More often than not it is the fastest birds that meet their demise as they burn out battling wind and rain.
Whereas the slower plodder makes it home on the second or third day and is decried as being a good bird, when all it has simply done has stopped,rested and flown home in fine weather.
So what gets wasted are all the fastest of pigeons,your time,effort and money, and enthusiasm for the sport.
You dont know what happens to the birds no one does : you only think this is happening. I condition/train my birds for this weather and 500 miles on the day is common place in the bad weather. I do and have felt your frustration and I changed my methods to accommadate the birds and the conditions . there is no substitute for smart birds !If you condition them for the race and the foul weather then they will be prepared .
If you would like help with preparation theory reply to this post .
I hear this “Costs are too high”, concerning just about everything, medical care, food, housing, goverment etc. So, on the club level we tried a number of things from holding only 100 mile races, to not needing clocks, you name it, it was tried or considered. What we discovered, is that folks wanted all of those services that people said made things “too high”. The problem was not really that the costs were “too high”, but that a few folks made too little money. If a Jr. member can figure out how to keep and fly pigeons with just the income from a part time paper route, then maybe it’s not that the costs are really that high, but that some participants need to consider what things they want to spend their resouces on, and what are their priorities ? The cost of keeping a few dozen pigeons in one’s back yard…well…it’s like peanuts….the cost of membership dues, shipping costs, etc….in vast majority of cases, less then $10 a week. Compared to joining a country club and playing several rounds of golf a week….well it’s down right cheap. Compared to owning a single race horse…really cheap ! So, I think the costs are very reasonable. If someone finds the costs too high, maybe they should focus more attention on their career and profession instead of a hobby anyway. To attempt to change the whole sport so that the poorest can participate in racing would be a mistake. IMHO.
there should be a friendly bonding between and among the members. Avoid bragging! Members must help with each other particularly in providing jobs. In the Philippines, many are fanciers but they are not in the “Club”. The organizers must do ways to convince others to join the “Club”. Do not make the club as if it is exclusive. Many wants to join but they are afraid or shy.(bml)/:(.) (.)
I fly only young birds the initial set up cost me $600 for the cage $400 for a benzing electronic clock (used) , got birds from club members for free ,and the yearly cost with 30 bird breedig stock $1000 includes feeding training shipping ,memberships , I think it is a really cheap HOBBY , you gonna spend that money on a large dog/year.