How long do you give a pigeon ?

how long do members give a pigeon to see if its any good, some kill ybs at the end of the season because they havnt done enough to earn a perch for next season, some give them up to the yearling stage to show signs of being a decent bird.............then theres some fanciers who wait till they are two year olds to see what they do.

what do members think to this, and at what age do they get rid of a bird that hasnt performed well enough..........

well mine get till there 3yr olds and if they havnt scored out then i guess it be time to get rid of them

ide say if its shown no signs and others in the loft are performing it should be disposed of at the yearling stage how ever distance birds may differ but im no distance flyer but in general a pigeon should show signs of consistancey
and at the same time look at the parents if you breed six y/b from a pair and they turn out to be no good then either change the pairing or get rid of them along with the none tryers jmo

to be honest what with bad liberations and clashing along with birds of prey and twats who put unhealthy birds in the basket or the cheats who use antibiotics and vaccines to enhance performance(thus causing disease) then most lofts will be lucky to have a team to select from at the end of racing jmo

thanks for the opinions so far, would any of you kill or get rid of ybs at the end of the season ? or do you think the yb racing is just a learning process and to part with them as ybs could maybe be wasting birds which could perform as old birds.......?

any thoughts ?

ybs no i wont get rid of any but partly the fact that i dont have obs and need them...but you cannot tell which ones will make decent obs, ive got 1 thats thereabouts everyweek but dont know how it will do next year but will have a chance as a yearling and then go from there, as i feel they are only learning now, as with the stock birds i will note which pairs do well after breeding 6yb and if no good then its time for change as bad birds cost just as much as good ones to feed.

It dont make any difference if a yb have flown or not as long as they trained to show them what to expect as old birds you will find the ones that has not raced will do just as well as the ones that hase raced, but what ever you do dont overcrowd your loft/sheds keep a nice team and you should be allright for next year please dont OVERCROWD your birds

I feel a bird must have passed 3 before its deemed no good for racing or breeding, yougsters are just that and are learning and dull, if you kill youngsters then you are dull...yearlings are unpredictable and there fore cant be trusted only at 3 have they matured and show what they really are.
Going to breeders 2 seasons of rubbish is always enough for me but but but..I know a chap who kept some longer without producing anything good, he almost killed them and thought he would give them 1 more season, they bred a bird that was amazing a crack, and won big. But it was only 1 but just goes to show what do we really know about pigeons..?

Most of my best racers didn't do much as yb's infact some did nothing at all. I do not put a huge amount of faith in yb performances.

right, so would members agree that to kill ybs at the end of the yb season isnt good for the future of the loft........? are they throwing away pigeons which could make the loft/team stronger over the coming years whereby if they got rid the loft could go down hill and never achieve the results it should have done.?

if a yb is totally rubbish its gone,ive never had one that was rubbish as a yb then become a good yearling,these days with darkness ybs you get a better idea if they are any good...i,ve got a massive problem this year,i have 50 plus ybs and i only need maybe 30.....so thats going to be hard to do,but at least i,ll have a good choice

as long as it is consistent

David you put the blog up about youngbirds if you look in this weeks homing on page 100 it tells you a bit about it , it may help you a bit

thanks ginger, i will........i swap the racing pigeon weekly for the bhw with a fancier in the next street so wont get it until saturday. will have a read through it thanks