Secret #1: Cull Heavy
When cutting back, forget all about names, strains, cost, etc. There are two kinds of pigeons: GOOD ONES AND BAD ONES. “Bad” pigeons cost us more money than “Good” pigeons! We spend a lot of money on feed, supplies, medicine and training; as well as time on poor birds only to be paid back with disappointment and heavy financial loss.
Only birds that have shown potential should be kept for future racing or breeding. This means pigeons that are consistently racing or producing birds in the top 10% of your race schedule. Therefore, forget about giving a pair “one more chance”, and finding an excuse for that “special cock or that expensive hen.” Secret number one “Cull Them.”
Secret #1: Cull Heavy By Bob Prisco
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Keep good records I was culling one time and did away with this hen. Later to find out that she was the mother to my bird of the year, the following year after I culled her
bad luck. I like to add late hatchs to my breeding program, I have had some outstanding breeders this way. They are brother and sisters to my winners. but I cull the late hatchs very hard with body confirmation.
you must do the above to improve your flying and to win races, you must go through your records every 3 years. and cull out the duds.
Yours in the sport TREV
Agreed in part. Culling is an important tool in the fancier’s modus operandi. Birds that are below set standards are a waste of time and feed. However, some caution is necessary here. Well bred yearlings should not be culled. Too often a youngster or yearling may not do well but can develop at two years to become a champion. Birds older than a year that constantly fail to be high on the race results sheet should be culled. Some fanciers get a kick out seeing their birds return after a long hard race even when they are often late and well off the pace behind the leaders. These “also fliers” should be culled. True fanciers are interested in birds that “race” not birds that just “home.” These “homers” irrespective of bloodline should be culled. They should not be bred from.
culling must be done i have had many flyers tell me that i am to hard on my birds but i want to breed winners if a pair does not produce something great i will be changed but a bird must produce a top flyer in 2 yrs or it is out of my stock pen i do let the basket tell the story it must be done no matter what you paid for the bird i will kill them and not sale them to someone else as my name and reputation is important to me
you must not be from the states the reason im making that asume is you said you kill your birds if it were here in the U.S.A Peta would be all over you . (if they knew it )
in fact that is one of the reasons Peta is against racing it don’t matter to me i rather see you ring them than to starve them so please don’t kill the messenger
i dont think it is that easy plenty of duds breed good birds u hear of people breeding great birds from strays so what is a stray it is a bird thats not up to the task on the day ,it may have been hurt or not kept in good health and of course becomes a stray.
This is where breeding comes first before racing u find the breeders before u throw them away that is why the pedgree is the most important criteria when selecting birds to start with.u dont have to race them first they are not always ur best flyers
Geoff
It sounds so simple, and yet so few fanciers actually do it. The average fancier only does an average job at selecting.
hi
i do agree, let the basket do the culling also breed off your best preforming pigeons like Winners to Winners and you can not go Wrong Thats what i do and my preformances the last 2 Years has Excelled. Also i bring in a cross to try also
Also the loss off young birds is because off not enough Education You must Do a lot off That
The theory I use along with the basket is the race report. The 10% and 20%. A bird must be repeater to keep it’s perch. Now if your not in that group of 10 or 20 percent you need to keep records of your first arrivals and build on that. From there,get with a system, always keep a healthy inviorment. Ask the question how can I improve my loft. When the opportunity rises add some proven birds. Set goals make those first steps achievable and build on that. Keep the best ones, sell the good ones, cull the bad ones. Keep it fun and exciting, any opportunit that comes along to promote our sport don’t hesitate jump on it.
i completely agree let the basket do the culling for you that way you might not feel to bad i for one dont feel bad if during training the bird does not come back and all the others do while they all get the same food and training then see ya baby dont waste my time that mite sound harsh but at the end of the day we want a bird that wiil home and trap the way its suppose to be .
Hi,
It is all to well to say let the basket do the sorting out,but by this we do not mean if they are no good the basket will lose them,it is no good returning home week after week if,not only just to be your last bird but, if that bird has never homed early enough for you to time it in.
I do not think any true fancier culls just for the sake of culling,but if you want to reach the top and have a loft of performance pigeons then we must sort the wheat from the chaff.
I beleive that the main cause of young bird losses is mainly down to breeding to many young birds from inferior stock and racers of no worth..
Hi
This is true , the basket will tell the story. This is crush to go on culling birds , but sometimes it is the wright thing to do. We must ask ourself if it is worth keeping birds that does not perform.
Something different to this. I need to find the owners of birds in the following places: Belg , Aust , Dutch. Please provide me with websites to go to.
Thanks
South Africa
he , everyone there. I am totally convinced witht he culling serials.But towards the same i also agree that chanches are always there of missing a good champion,who is developing homself slowly.I myself have organised some poor pigeons ,who laterly were the Outbreak always in flying.Sometime’s we don’t even know about the coins in our own pockets.
But everything should be practised and i agree that culling plays a major important role in management-against to which some good pigeons lost – - – we have to bear that my friends .
Always -
Raj
India
Hi there, good eavening to all. It’s my first comment and just to say that cuulig is necessary but not allways fair. It is true that some lines of pigeons “gro up” slower than others, but some are even slower, in 2007 i had the 3 most faster pigeons in my Club all femalles, and you no what the best was 4 year’s old, the second best was 2 year’s old and the third best was 3. Before this they all had made a few points but nothing that good, let’s say that there is a big possibility that in a other lot they would have been culled. What i am triying to say is that thing’s arent allway’s 1 or 100, sometimes the gold is somewhear beetween, you just have to be capable of identifiying it, you have to no your bird’s, your strain. Another thing verry important is the weather, some year’s it rains o lot, others it’s sunny, others it’s foggy, this also conditions the performance of your team, somtimes in your favor, some times not, and finally thear is luck, sometimes the hawk help’s you out by taking ore injuring a few of your best and thear goes your season, beacouse we all no that good bird’s we all have a few, then we have some bird’s that win a good price every now and then and then we have some that we keep on giving them chances beacouse thear brother’s and sister’s are good, but they just dont have it, that’s wy i dont believe in “Golden Couples”, usually they only talk about this good son or daghter, but they forget about all the others that they lost or culled. Let’s say the took 12 children out of a pair, one is good and the oyher wins a good price every now and then, right a way they name it the “Golden Couple”, this makes me laugh, but this is another subject. So remember culling unfortunalty is necessary, but let’s not go crazy.
how many chances will you give to a bird its called fair chance?2?3?4?or 5?
It`s my husband that trains and races the pigeons, I do help out as much as I can, when training I stay and let them in, if the little devils go in!!!! he is training them to go the through trap at the moment, but they got used to going open door, they are getting better, but today I was trying to watch England playing and would they all go in NO!!!!!!! but I am not in favor of culling!!! I think all birds should have a fair chance!!!!!!! I agree with Jeff.!
This does makes scene
“this is why it is very important to let your basket do your culling.”
Before culling your birds at the end of the season, one has to take into consideration of what your family of birds are, most distance birds mature slower then speed birds, many families don’t show their true potential into half way into their second year of flying.
This is why it is very important to let your basket do your culling.
Hey Jeff,
Very true about letting the basket do the culling for you. In fact that was actually secret #5 as well.
=> http://pigeonracingpigeons.com/2010/06/13/secret-5-let-the-basket-and-races-cull-for-you/
yes & no, But sometimes it needs done. If you do not cull the dead weight, thats what you will have the most of before you know it. Keep your team small, that way you will have less culling to do,not to mention knowing your family of birds better, and hopefully better performance. As well as enjoyment.