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
A lifelong bird watcher and was an audubon member, I got involved with the “Wild Bird Rehab Haven” five years ago taking in sick and injured birds for rehab. The myriad of species and illnesses overwhelmed my personal abilities, so I focused on the “rock dove” (columba livia). The more I learn about the species and its interaction with human kind, the more I appreciate them. I keep 3 lofts and numerous quarantine cages. The rehabbed birds are free to come and go, with about 30 preferring to roost in one of the lofts. The other 30 or so prefer other roosting places. Feeding takes place in the AM and PM. I control the size of of the flock through the use of “Ovocontrol P” which is mixed in with the feed. Ovocontrol renders the eggs infertile.
I don’t think racing them will ever interest me, but it sure is a lot better than raising them to eat…
I was around racing pigeons all my life, my Dad raced pigeons from the age of 8 as did his Father and both his Grandfathers. I think it was inbred into me although I hated them when I was a teenager, I couldnt go on holiday in the Summer, I couldnt have a free reign of the garden with my mates at weekends, my days out consisted of training tosses, pigeon clubs, pigeon shows and corn suppliers. Always said i would not marry a pigeon flyer and I did and got the bug of racing when I was 30, it all came so naturally like a duck to water.
Since young i always loved animals and had a variety of animals to look after because my grant father had a small holding and i had to help feed all the animals.i had a few racing pigeons when i was at school but had to give it up because i studied .Now after many years a friend of mine invited me to his home to watch his pigeons returned after a 180 kilometer race.my first time ever watching a pigeon returned to his loft was what got me hooked again.while searching the horizon with trained eyes my friend shouted there’s one coming home ,luckily for me I also focus on this racing pigeon and the sight of the pigeon closing it’s wings from far out, out classing many a jet plane and the best of aircraft’s and landing on the landing board only a few centimeters big was a sight that will stick with me forever.The sight of the pigeon diving at speed to the landing board is what got me hooked.i started late in 2009 and preparing myself to race next year 2012.
Regards
Timothy
My story is I went to the feed store to pick up some dog food I saw a cage with pigeons in it. Usually this feed store sells chickens, turkeys, ducks, goats etc…for food. So I asked if people really eat these things and the clerk said “sure’. I noticed how nice the birds looked and I thought damn thats a shame.
Anyway this one black pigeon really caught my eye and I noticed how it resembled a crow and I asked my girlfriend if she thought I should save him from being some hillbillies dinner. She said “no we don’t need no more animals”. So we left the feedstore but the image of that pigeon stuck in my mind and I googled it to see what kind of bird it was and it seemed to be a homing pigeon. Well I thought that would be a cool pet for my son after all how can you loose a homing pigeon the birds are like programmed to come home. (Or so I thought obviously not the case)
Saturday morning I get up and call the feesstore and ask if that black pigeon was still there…The sales lady says” Aint nobody bought any pigeons…I don’t know why we have them damn things” I asked the lady to hold on to that black pigeon for me I’m going to jump in the shower aqnd buy him and maybe one more and she said “Fine”.
So I show up at the feedstore at almost 9am and that black pigeon was sold not 15 minutes before I got there and I asked the lady ‘Where did you put the pigeon I asked you to hold for me?” She said “They wanted it so I sold it to them” and I reminded her of her rude attitude on the phone and her telling me “Fine” when I asked her to hold that bird for me and she said “We don’t reserve livestock over the phone” and then I said “Why did you have me waste my gas if that was the case?” and this redneck tells me ” I didn’t make you do anything”.
So this was my start into pigeons…not pretty but true. I was there to buy some homers for my son so I picked out 4 that were ok I guess and told her to sell them to me for $40 bucks seeing as she lied to me about holding the specific bird I had asked for and she said “ok”.
Well the fun does’nt stop there…I asked her to sell me some feed for the birds and all she offers me is some chicken pellets and cracked corn. After that I got really upset and left that dump and bought some wildbird feed from Walmart and went back to google to search proper pigeon diet.
In my searching I found out about the Greater Jacksonville Racing Pigeon Club and called the number and spoke with a gentleman named Pete Petzel (RIP) He told me to come by his place and he would show me how to raise pigeons. And the rest they say is history..he also gave me 2 Gaby Vandenabeele ybs to fly and refused to take any money for them. Really a nice guy that helps anyone he could.
I know my story is long winded and was not a “smooth” entry into the sport so to answer the question what brought me to Pigeon Racing could be summed up for me as “Not wanting to see these beautiful healthy birds killed”
If any culling is done in my loft it is by the training basket…because nobody can tell you if a bird is good without flying it. Thanx for reading and maybe this will help someone else.
Hi Chris,
I think i was born a pigeon fancier. I started with racing pigeons 52 years ago.I was about 7 years old when i got my first pigeons from an insurance salesman who was racing pigeons at the time.I also got some pigeons from my sisters colleague who was the principal at the school where she taught. I use to visiit him over weekends and got keen on racing pigeons.Since then i’ve been involved with racing pigeons. Currently i am still racing and love the sport.
Ghassan
I have not started or even made a consertive attempt to start racing. I think I am insecure and don’t believe I have the right birds although I think I have good birds. Got them from a top fancier from his stock loft’s.Have to give them back in two years time.He took some of in my breeding stock (cocks by his choice) to pair with his stock birds.
In the racing fraternity in South Africa nobody is prepared to held anyone interested in joining this sport.You rearly have to learn by trial and error because evry body will tell you a different story or advise you incorrectly which can be very costly in all respects.
I therefore appreciate all the info I get from your site and am glad I logged onto your site by chance.
Kevin
My first bird was given by my tito after my elementary graduation. A two young black checkered. I kept them, but in the every morning they fly and back before dark. I wonder where they go. So i wrote in a small paper ” saan napunta ang kalapati ko” and place it in the ring. And one day I notice that, theres a answer to my question. my bird flew a few kilometers from our house, and take a rest and back before dark. And he said, please take care my friend. So i decided to wrote again and said keep your friend they really belong to you.
Then I start taking my true friends
My grand father had them up in Harlem back in the 1920’s and 30’s and then my father had Birds on the west side of N Y City back in the 1940’s and 50’s, i use to hang out on the roof as a kid and i found the sport relaxing, my father and brother both raced their homes.
i am not in to racing my homers and i personally think its a crooked sport in this day and age run by wise guys for the must part who juice their birds with steroid’s particularly in these smaller clubs.
Hi there,
I was born in 1993 and my Father had pigeon then and he started racing in 1993 also. so i always enjoyed going to loft visit around to different club members with him since i was a toddler. But him and my mother split up and asked would i take charge in 2006 and i agreed as he planned on building a new loft while i was babysitting you could call it, but he never built another loft so took charge as a pigeon fancier and had my first race in 2007 at the age on 14 and I can imagine waking up any morning and not owning pigeons for rest of my life 😀
Hi when i started with pigeons i was about 6 years off age i liked to see them flying did by pigeons from my school mates.AS for racing i always whanted to try it , Have had ups and downs.I have been flying for 20 years now.
first when i was 11 yrs old i get a pair of street pigeons and i was amazed by their homing ability, since then i keep them and become a hobby in watching them flying on the sky and in college i been involved in racing some of them and right now i have good racers to stay in the pigeon racing.