what strain of pigeons do you have for long distance racing 600 to 730 miles

halcanada wrote:

Well said! Actually we have Marmite in the cupboard. Had it in Queensland were I jumped ship in Rockhampton. Close to Townsville.  Cut cane for a week or three. Brutal but Marmite kept me going! Never seen any pigeons there except doves.Son in law lives in Sydney. Never could understand why he left Canada to go there. Oh well. Win the lotto first place I will head for! Rainy fog bound UK, freezing cold Canada, pigeons race in any conditions regardless.  

Could I suggest     your son in law "Smart man" desired to escape all that snow there you have. I still remember even today, some photo's sent to me years ago by Tom. The snow was up too & over the roofs of the houses etc at the time    & the only way you would find the loft in the back yard was to tunnel to it like a rat.  

halcanada wrote:

Alice Springs to Adelaide. 800 plus. That is some distance! Do not know of any country other than China flying that distance.  

Walk in the park     type thing Halcanada    ???. It's the only race here that I know of at the distance, that has a qualication attached to it etc & that is, that they must be what we call old birds, like 2 year olds & above to compete. Up to 700 miles     were quite happy to put in what we call late breds here "Around 6 months old" & exspect to clock them.

edgie wrote:

i think alott of the old austrailian blood carries the old northropp barker strain, could anyone enlighten  

Sorry Edgie     I've had a seniors moment here I suspect    I'm   (Lost post)  I thought I posted quite a lengthy bit of information to your query here, hours ago. Sadly !!!     I carn't find it etc. As such I will start again   . Yes !!! your more than likely correct with what you say "re the barker's" etc, thou many breeds came out here early in the piece before they closed the borders type of thing, around the time of the 2nd world war & it was a closed shop until the late 80's when they then allowed imports to come in again here. Thou !!!!     there were a few that fell of a boat etc or come in as eggs   in that time. Jurion's, Osman's & the Git's (Which I still have) & also  in particular the Harrisions (Who, I believe was a bit shifty) etc which were hard to beat if you got the good ones at that time. All played a part in what many had here for many years. I even had some Carpontia Deshutter's (Wrong spelling)    when I was young, from a close friend who brought them out here in the 1920's & he was most sucessful with them in his time & they come from the Queens fathers loft or his gate keeper ??? or school teacher on his estate. One of the other   but they all had royal blood in them   for what I was told. One would have to say now down here that they are all yesterday's pigeons sadly & most lofts are filled up now with all the fancy new imports & in my view many of them have had their fingers burnt etc in the money they have paid for them type of thing.
Enough said !!! & I will just hope somehow ??? this lot finds it's way onto the site & the rest   ??? Killer can fill in here etc.

A mr Jones was the Loft man way back then for the King & suggested to Mr Max Foy the Harrison were the best there at that time so he Imported the lot of them 1911 for memory ?; in 1900 Edward the V11 came out Watched my Grandfather & his 3 Brothers at wood Chopping on the Domain in Hobart ;he later sent out birds to South Australia being Delmott & Jurion {Known has the Royals};A Mr Sam Hordern in 1885 imported birds Direct for N Barker a Pom living & Racing in Belgum He also imported birds from J W Logan the JP & Founding father of the English pigeon has we know them; plenty of good birds that came out ;Importations stopped between around 1948 & 1989 ;you name it & its Here ;alot of rich people has spent Fortunes on importing birds ;but if it gets tough the Older Blood shines through;The newer Blood is Faster for sure & has won at the distance has well . cheers

thanks for that lads, in short the old blood is still coming through, both in oz and uk and i have no dought all over the world, as for buying birds from belgium and holland, they are in my view decendents of what the british sent over after the war, as the germans and others had eaten them all ?

Not sure if there are many of the older strains left in Canada. Always seems to be some 'flavour' of the month. Most of mine are Jansen from a friend out west. Reds and mealy's. Oude Vos from Jules Gallez originally. Have checks and blues from Van loons plus other oddballs. I have no complaints. Birds are better than the management!!!!

halcanada wrote:

Not sure if there are many of the older strains left in Canada. Always seems to be some 'flavour' of the month. Most of mine are Jansen from a friend out west. Reds and mealy's. Oude Vos from Jules Gallez originally. Have checks and blues from Van loons plus other oddballs. I have no complaints. Birds are better than the management!!!!

Not that young bloke    Halcanada    is it. That has his picture's in the Jules Gallez books etc.  

No not me!!! The birds came from Tom Makowaki in Alberta when I restarted.
He and Karl Franks host the Alberta Classic discussion site.
I sent 5 yearlings to a 750 miler few years back. They had flown east before. This was from the N west. Hit bad weather. Got 4 home but not in race time.

halcanada wrote:

No not me!!! The birds came from Tom Makowaki in Alberta when I restarted.
He and Karl Franks host the Alberta Classic discussion site.
I sent 5 yearlings to a 750 miler few years back. They had flown east before. This was from the N west. Hit bad weather. Got 4 home but not in race time.

I know it wasn't you Hal        For what I remember     it was your mate Tom's photo etc in the Jules Gallez books, that I read. Along with the original/early photo's of his imports that he received from him back then. He was       one of those hippy types      one would have to say, for what I remember     in those days.  

tom makowski had the red fox janssens ....yeah oz seemed a bit of a hippy type fella   decent enough guy though and very knowledgeable

oldstrain wrote:

tom makowski had the red fox janssens ....yeah oz seemed a bit of a hippy type fella   decent enough guy though and very knowledgeable

Very true O/S     (very knowledgable etc our Tom) & he his a man after my own heart     he likes his salt    .  

Hippy type? Had a hip replacement year ago. Not sure about that, hippy, but was not in Canada back then. Think I was back in west Hartlepool between ships. He retired year or two ago. Was a sheep farmer. What can I say? He never treated me wrong. Bought birds off him he would always put in extras. Very generous person. Belgian banded bird UK banded bird etc,.

halcanada wrote:

Hippy type? Had a hip replacement year ago. Not sure about that, hippy, but was not in Canada back then. Think I was back in west Hartlepool between ships. He retired year or two ago. Was a sheep farmer. What can I say? He never treated me wrong. Bought birds off him he would always put in extras. Very generous person. Belgian banded bird UK banded bird etc,.

I knew that Halcananda    We would call Tom's little flock    "Sheep etc" a pet farm down here    compared to what we have, type of thing.  

Yes! Understand now, Aussie. Hey how did those rabbits we sent you years back for meat work out? everybody eating them? Or did myxamotisis knock them all of? never heard.

halcanada wrote:

Yes! Understand now, Aussie. Hey how did those rabbits we sent you years back for meat work out? everybody eating them? Or did myxamotisis knock them all of? never heard.

The best way to answer your query    is to say, they are on the decline  . Once we had 170 million odd sheep here & now they are down to 70 million etc & I suspect    that's about as many rabbit's also as we have here   .

You can Have Those Foxes Back Has well ?lol

Old strains. Tom's Oude red Jansen family (crossed of course) is doing well. Last week 170 lofts, 1191 mpm, 161 km. won it and seven in first ten. Week before, 166 lofts, 865 mpm 579 km. 1st and 2nd.

I use to race jim biss birds over long distance 500 to 600 miles they were very reliable birds but could never beat jim himself with them he would get maybe 5 birds home on the day from 600 miles I had to wait till the next morning to get mine but I was happy with that.my sprint birds originated from wild town pigeons with no rings I bread from them and the performed very well winning quite a few firsts as young birds I was only 12 then so did not have money to buy birds.

I think a bird navigates its way on with a natural built in compass but when it gets within 150 miles of its loft it uses landmarks to navigate so the birds I raced across the channel I used to train to dover one way and penzance the other way.because depending on the wind direction and strength on the day of the the race you did not no where they were going to hit the English coast.my theory for what its worth training my way wherever they hit the coast they would no where they were and get home faster.

Good point Aberleaf, i think racing pigeons should be trained, to a breakaway point.
Again i feel this is another form of Motivation, what can only help the pigeon on its return.
The lines i would look at for the distance are, Jellema and Wijnands.

amberleaf wrote:

I use to race jim biss birds over long distance 500 to 600 miles they were very reliable birds but could never beat jim himself with them he would get maybe 5 birds home on the day from 600 miles I had to wait till the next morning to get mine but I was happy with that.my sprint birds originated from wild town pigeons with no rings I bread from them and the performed very well winning quite a few firsts as young birds I was only 12 then so did not have money to buy birds.

very interesting amberleaf..............

ive had the dale newcombe birds out to tarbes 649mis on the winning day but they are abit slow trying some brokhamp birds this year fingers crost

amberleaf wrote:

I think a bird navigates its way on with a natural built in compass  but when it gets within 150 miles of its loft it uses landmarks to navigate so the birds I raced across the channel I used to train to dover one way and penzance the other way.because depending on the wind direction and strength on the day of the the race you did not no where they were going to hit the English coast.my theory for what its worth training my way wherever they hit the coast they would no where they were and get home faster.

That's interesting but for me I would have to say you need to train your birds 360* of the compass plus not in all sunny days on hard testing days which get the best out of your pigeons and show there true characteristics

It's a lonely life for a long distance pigeon and if you want to win they have to be able to race on there own and not follow the leader JMO

amberleaf wrote:

I think a bird navigates its way on with a natural built in compass  but when it gets within 150 miles of its loft it uses landmarks to navigate so the birds I raced across the channel I used to train to dover one way and penzance the other way.because depending on the wind direction and strength on the day of the the race you did not no where they were going to hit the English coast.my theory for what its worth training my way wherever they hit the coast they would no where they were and get home faster.

Amberleaf here one for you Bobby Walton of Oldbury top fancier alway been a top national fancier when he was training his national candidates the word was he would take his pigeons to the coast (Southampton) give a fishing trawler his birds to take out to the centre of the channel and liberate each pigeon on there own 30 mins intervals and Bob had some fantastic results national racing with only a few pigeons

Amberleaf how about getting a good team of hens which have proved themselfs at the distance but you have never breed from them wait till they are 3 years old with there first ever youngster remove the cock for a week so when the hens are shipped to the required race they have been doing all the work with the youngsters and it's up to them to get back to the youngster to feed them