Spencerline, new member.....

Hi I have just found this site online and I thought I would join as it is interesting.
I have recently moved to Algarve, Portugal and my friend here who has a lot of pigeons (500), has been taken quite ill so I have been looking after the birds for him for the last 3 months.

The season here begins on Feb 2nd 2011 so it is almost on us, I started the YBs at 5 miles twice then 10 miles Three times and the the club here said they were taking the birds around 60 km for a toss (around 35 miles) so i sent a team of 120 birds altogether 45 were ybs.

I do not yet speak good Portuguese and not many of the local fanciers speak much English so it is not east to comunicate with each other, I had to laugh when after the birds had left I was told that the training sheet was wrong and they were actually going 111 Km around 68 miles.

On the Saturday morning after the release it began to rain really heavy too to make things worse , this was 5 days ago and 6 young birds are still missing, not an ideal start to the season but I was lucky to get away with it so lightly.

The birds that have returned (albeit a lot of them next day) are buzzing now and flying for fun, I am going to show them a big reservoir around 70 miles away a couple of times as it is on the flight path from most races and a good landmark then I will single up the Ybs at 10 miles then train at 30 miles 3 times a week from then on.

sounds like youve had pigeons before

Hi Ian yes I had birds in Blackpool in the 70s then again for 6 years before I came here in the Algarve.

welcome spencerline, interesting to hear about how other countries fanciers do things....

Thanks David, I am just finding out myself how things are done here, the fanciers here are very well organized everyone has been on electric timing for years, they do not really race Ybs in the Algarve but the Ybs I have are Ybs bred in June but rung with 2010 rings.

The first race is around 170 miles and that is as short as they go,(no sprints).
When training the birds you have to show them valleys as we have the Monqiche mountains so you have to take them at least 70 miles or so but the club helps with the training.

I brought some Roland Janssens with me from the UK purchased from Louella lofts and next year I will try out some yearlings, my first pair of ybs from them were born on New years day. Although they are known as super sprinters I have high hopes for them, lol

Welcome to the site mate

are the roland janssens grizzles/white grizzles...?

Hi David yes I purchased a son of Red Bingo he is predominatly white with a little red speckle and a daughter from the parents of Red Bingo as one pair and Michael Massarella gave me a very generous gift of a Grandson of Super kweeker 12 and a Granddaughter that turned out another male, lol from Jonge Gryze 39.

Obviously it does not guarentee they will be a success in the stud loft but the apple doesnt fall far from the tree as they say and the birds have superb feather and muscle tone.

sounds like youve got some top class birds there

spencerline wrote:

Thanks David, I am just finding out myself how things are done here, the fanciers here are very well organized everyone has been on electric timing for years, they do not really race Ybs in the Algarve but the Ybs I have are Ybs bred in June but rung with 2010 rings.

The first race is around 170 miles and that is as short as they go,(no sprints).
When training the birds you have to show them valleys as we have the Monqiche mountains so you have to take them at least 70 miles or so but the club helps with the training.

I brought some Roland Janssens with me from the UK purchased from Louella lofts and next year I will try out some yearlings, my first pair of ybs from them were born on New years day. Although they are known as super sprinters I have high hopes for them, lol

Looks like your going to make them sit up when you get started

spencerline wrote:

Hi David yes I purchased a son of Red Bingo he is predominatly white with a little red speckle and a daughter from the parents of Red Bingo as one pair and Michael Massarella gave me a very generous gift of a Grandson of Super kweeker 12 and a Granddaughter that turned out another male, lol from Jonge Gryze 39.

Obviously it does not guarentee they will be a success in the stud loft but the apple doesnt fall far from the tree as they say and the birds have superb feather and muscle tone.

Yes you have the right materials there mate

Time will tell but as I say I am very hopeful,Antonio Dias the fancier whos loft and birds I am looking after, has some very good distance birds, the base family of his birds is a very old breed called Bostyns, a guy called Pol Bostyn used to do exceptionally well from Pau and other long races a good few years back with his own breed the Bostyns.

Antonio has had great succes with these birds winning many prizes , I hope I can do his birds Justice this season.

If you look that bred is still winning to this day in other countries mate

If you go on to the PIPA website you can read articals about different fanciers and he is on there mate

Don Webb wrote:

If you go on to the PIPA website you can read articals about different fanciers and he is on there mate

Thanks Don, I will check him out I know that his birds got a bad case of Paratyphoid and that he let the illness run its course and that the birds that survived (when they began to breed again) showed a resistance to Paratyphoid.

I have vaccinated the Ybs here for Paramoxy and Paratyphoid as well so am hoping that it will be one less thing to worry about.

Alex wrote:

Welcome to the site mate

Thanks Alex and Hi to everyone else on the website, Kev

spencerline wrote:

Don Webb wrote:

If you go on to the PIPA website you can read articals about different fanciers and he is on there mate

Thanks Don, I will check him out I know that his birds got a bad case of Paratyphoid and that he let the illness run its course and that the birds that survived (when they began to breed again) showed a resistance to Paratyphoid.

I have vaccinated the Ybs here for Paramoxy and Paratyphoid as well so am hoping that it will be one less thing to worry about.

The strongest will always survive and be your best pigeons at the end of the day

Hello welcome to the site, get stuck in youll soon get the jist of our humour..lol