In going along with the pigeon racing promotion theme in this weeks discussion of the week we would like to know,
How did you get involved in pigeon racing or pigeon keeping in general?
You see, if we could figure out what got you interested in pigeon racing or pigeons in general for that matter we might be able to duplicate that to get more people interested in the sport and hobby. What worked for you should work for others right?. You already know my story you can read it here (About Me), I didn’t know anything about pigeons but when I realized how interesting and amazing they were I was hooked.
So go ahead and post your comments I’m looking forward to reading them! and see what we can do to help promote this great hobby of ours.
Discussion of the week, How did you get involved with pigeons?
The Leading Online Pigeon Racing and Racing Pigeons Magazine – The Pigeon Insider
I got started in Pigeons when I was 8yrs of age and raised a pair of squabs that had fallen out of thier nest in a palm tree in Downey California. I actually got into the sport when I was living in Bellflower California and started buying birds and ended up getting a stray big blue dark checker into my loft and found the owner who lived about a dozen blocks away from me, and he let me keep him and gave me a young hen to mate with him later on. I named the bird King Henery and he was my best friend and flew along side me to get to where I was going and would stay there till I left for home again unless it had gotten dark and he would go home while the light was enough for him to make the flight. The gentleman that gave me this bird got me started in the racing end of pigeons at that time and I fell in love with it and have always had the racers and the rollers that I love.
My father kept and raced pigeons in Scotland.He raced them on the south route,and especially liked the channel races from Spain and France.My mother was from New Zealand,but over in Scotland working as a Midwife in one of the hospitals.Dad and mum got married and moved to England where my brother and I were born.We all moved to New Zealand when I was about 6 months old.Dad built a loft in the back yard and joined the local club where he was given birds from the other fanciers.I can remember I was about 4-5 years old and would go down to the loft and sit on the steps outside and wait for dad to come out,so we could watch the birds flying, together.Dad gave the birds away because our house was surrounded by neighbours that had cats,and had endless troubles with them hunting his birds.When dad was in his 70’s and I was about 30,I suggested we get some pigeons and race them as a hobby that we could share together.Dad passed on his knowledge of pigeon racing to me.Unfortunately dad passed away at the age of 75.I kept the birds,but moved north to Whangarei,Which is NZ’s most northern pigeon racing club.We race our young birds in the north island on the south route to a distance of 420kms and then old birds race the south route but go all the way to the bottom of the south island to Invercargill,a distance of 1450kms.The racing can be very tough on the birds with only the best surviving the season,because of the weather extremes.In the north we get the warmer weather but can get high winds,and in the south the weather can become bitterly cold.The birds race up along the southern alps,which are always covered in snow to the top of the south island,then they have to cross the Cook Straight which is a channel of sea between the two islands.Very high winds drive through this channel from the Tasman Ocean and through to the Pacific Ocean.It is not uncommon for batches of birds to get drowned in bad weather,beacause in the high winds the birds try to fly low,which makes them vulnerable to the high waves which can pluck a whole batch out of the sky.In these distance races,nobody has the advantage because of loft position.The birds go through all weather conditions,and face winds from all directions,so the birds that win the races are truly the best.When my birds win,I feel very proud of them,and am always amazed by what this little creature can achieve.
I found a foot with a band from a pigeon in my backyard. It says
Kristian and Brenden Backyard Bangers, Brooklyn, New York
I can’t seem to locate them on the web to tell them about their pigeon. Anyone know of them so I can contact them?
I first became interested in birds as a boy at school, although not correct there was a heavy interest in collecting birds eggs amongst my peers. We regularly went bird nesting looking for nests. One or two of my friends kept pigeons, either racing or fancy breeds and I visited there houses to look at their lofts. Then I found out that there were birds that you could keep and race to your loft, I was very interested in this and got my first birds at the age of about 11. The film Kes was also a big inspiration for the keeping of birds. I have not kept racing pigeons all my life for various reasons, but have always been interested in birds and have always kept one eye on the sky to spot any bird flying over. I keep racing pigeons now and have won many prizes but it is not just the racing that excites me, the breeding season, although hard work is exciting too. But the biggest attraction is to just watch them fly and to see them enjoying themselves flying through the air!
I am a wildlife rehabilitator, licensed through the state and the federal government allowing me to keep in captivity and rehab injured and orphaned wildlife. I often get in racing pigeons who have lost their way, are injured or in need of safe haven until they’re up and running again. However, mostly what I receive at my facility are ferals, injured or orphaned. In the past, once I got them tuned up, I have always placed them but suddenly my placement opportunities dried up. So, it was either put up a loft or stop accepting them. I decided to put up a loft.
Anyway, I’m now hopelessly in love with my charges and new hobby…;)
Nice to see another rehabber on this forum. A lot of work, but it is a labor of love…Cheers, Colin
my brother is a pegeon fancier and he train his pegeon very well and nobody can beat him in a race when he wistle the birds even in the air they all fly to their
loft and later on i was hooked and became a pegeon fancier now i have 7 pair of breeder and hoping in a futue i will get the grand champion title.
Quite some time ago, I was coming home from school. As I pulled into the driveway, one of my mother’s cats proudly presented me with a white with liver colored patches homer. At first glance, I thought the bird was surely dead. But as I had a closer look, the bird moved and looked up at me with panicked eyes. I managed to praise the cat, stroke her, work my way to her mouth and get her to release the bird. I jumped back into the car and took it straight away to our treasured vet (who could resurrect roadkill.) The vet said the bird’s wing had been injured but other than this it was in fine condition and the cat hadn’t punctured the bird in any way. I then took the bird back home where my brother got a carpenter friend of his to come to the house and build a VERY large enclosure in my bedroom. The bird was quite content to spend the winter in a nice warm enclosure being given all sorts of special attention. One of the things I noticed was that the bird was banded and had a message capsule on its left leg. Over the winter I tracked the numbers through the various clubs and registries. I finally got a phone call from one of my inquiries stating that the bird was indeed registered with them and that his home loft was 40 miles due south of me. With the spring came the urge for my guest to be on the wing once again. I took him back to the vet who cleared him for take off. I put a note in his capsule and ushered him outside. It was a warm sunshiny day with a blue sky and puffy white clouds above. I released the bird and watched him draw lazy circles in the sky above my head. Then, suddenly, like a lightening bolt, the bird shot south like Peter Pan heading for the second star to the right. It was an exhilarating experience! I never forgot that bird and I doubt I ever will. Later, I decided to have birds of my own and thus began my loft. No mistake. I love each and every one of my kids. They are the wind beneath my wings. 🙂
After a life time of enjoying birds in general at 54years of age I have finally decided to get into pidgeons. My loft is in the design stages and I have been going around the district talking to anyone who would talk to me about pidgeons. I cant believe how helpful everyone has been, how passionate, interesting and informative. My grandparents nieghbour had pidgeons when I was a child and I remember visiting there to see the birds. I have always had caged birds but often felt sorry for them trapped in their cages most of the time so pidgeons seem a natural progression for me. Being able to release them, race them and breed them is exciting and new and I wonder why I never thought of keeping pidgeons before. I have done alot of study on the net and didnt realize how big pidgeon racing is overseas. I dont think alot of people know how exciting pidgeons are or what these amazing litle birds are capable of. Im certainly looking forward to getting my loft built and getting my birds and beginning a wonderful new hobby that provides excitement, lots to learn, something for the whole family to get involved in and some lovely people to socialize with.
i got involed thought my grandad when i was 13 but at 14 my mum and dad got rid of my shed and birds know im 22 and i got a new shed and 3 birds 😀 so im starting off and iv also started a forum up for people to tlk about pigeons ect so if anyones intested in joining it i would be greatful 😛 im looking forward to racing next year 😀
http://ukpigeonracing.co.uk/
It all started when i was a kid, A friend of the family started looking after me n my sister when i was bout 10 years old hed kept pigeons in the back yard and i would just look on why he liked them so much! He kept the serbian highflyers that hed smuggled from overseas ive fallen inlove with the birds ever since now ive taken over at 28 years of age, he dosnt keep pigeons no more! I just got into racing pigeons last year breeding for a bloke that started racing so that he could concentrate on the tossing and training of the birds while i concentrate on breeding healthy fat squeekers for him, dnt know what it is i just love keeping pigeons enjoy breeding them then whatcing them return from a race its amazing how they come back, i think im hooked on racing pigeons now though i will forever keep the highflyers but i might start racing one day for myself i just dnt know looks like alot of hard work with tossing and time mmmmmm maybe one day!