Training directions

Has anyone trained North but raced South, I’m a delivery driver and I travel North every day, so I can take my birds with me, but I’m thinking of joining a South Road club for young bird racing.
Training South for me would be hard, also I’d have to go across the Dartford crossing if I wanted to train South.

not me steve I have raced birds north and turned them south but not trained in the opposite direction in the same season ,good luck steve

I would in your position, save a fortune on diesel. But I'd still get some tosses on the line of flight when possible. Something sticks in my mind I read years ago, fancier trained from all points of compass, wherever his job took him the pigeons went. He felt he taught his pigeons to get home no problem but not to race home, they just plodded back on raceday, probably lost motivation?

Boosey wrote:

Has anyone trained North but raced South, I’m a delivery driver and I travel North every day, so I can take my birds with me, but I’m thinking of joining a South Road club for young bird racing.
Training South for me would be hard, also  I’d have to go across the Dartford crossing if I wanted to train South.

Stop worrying Boosey etc just do whats most convenient for your life style as such Birds if good enough will soon get the picture there I suggest. Now True story "hand on bible" I'm about to start training in the next few weeks here & we race north for the coming season & guess what every toss my birds will have here before the start of the season will be down south, because its the easiest factor for me .

Never bothered training very much at all having open hole in all weathers, jumped pigeons from the North to South many times, a pigeon knows it's way home from any point it is up to the fancier to give the pigeon the desire and means to do so.

Can see the reason for training when pigeons are fastened up 80% of the time perhaps being the reason for so many losses, or at least part of the problem.


A pigeon on open hole and fed in the right manner all the time will be more reliable than feeding up and down methods and a load of aids to success etc;

Just think how your digestive system would be and how you would feel when dealing with any animal if you were subjected to many systems used by the win at any cost brigade. common sense is a thing of the past in our sport and the consequences are plain to see.


Regards.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Boosey wrote:

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Many reasons why pigeons are lost etc Boosey Tossing off line, from my perspective & experience should not be taken as a reason on average for good pigeons to be lost. In a positive sense your some what blessed, that you can toss with your work situation there. Many I suggest may/could be some what peeved that such good fortune has falling your way with your training scenario there .

Each to their own. If these are old birds why train? They know the way.

Only ever train in one direction. Some train both ways but it's costs enough as it is to train as well as everything else lol

peel bros wrote:

Only ever train in one direction. Some train both ways but it's costs enough as it is to train as well as everything else lol

True Ray the training factor sadly for some can be more expensive than the racing factor at times I suggest. Petrol being what it is on average & one at times has to look at other ways like Boosey here. Now the Beep, Beep man yesterday used up a tank of petrol as such with a toss along with his toss partner. Partner finished up OK thou Beep Beep man had wished he had left the petrol in his tank, for another day when the wind is up their a**e & not a dead set head wind like he incounted with his toss there where things were really grim at night fall, sadly.

Training. Their are many reasons for it. With old birds the purpose is to keep them fit. Two widowhood fliers come to mind. One lets his out daily, hour flight etc,. Other trains every other day. End result in the races? Both win equally. If the birds do not excersise for some fanciers a flag is used. One is not instilling a sense of direction in old birds. They know the way. Birds, natural or otherwise, will not do a good fly around if treats or young or eggs are in the loft. Now an open loft scenario can be challenging. I always think they do not get enough excersise. But if they are feeling good they are out and up and away. Then back then repeat. Phases of fitness. Nowadys I leave well enough alone. Old birds, no training, flagging etc,. Have beat both the widowhood fliers previously mentioned. With unraced yearlings. Trained 20 miles quite a few times. Not too often, must admit. It is a depends situation. If one feels good training then do it. However, I do understand that in a close area, allotments etc, it would be an advantage as to trapping.
More presicion. Weather here has not been good for training young birds yet. Very windy. Would have been tail winds. This morning they were up and gone. Way up over the wind turbines and headed for the lake. Lost site as they headed West. Headwind. Strong. 45 minutes later came from the North. High circle and most gone again, East. Few later bred ones came down. They are on basically full feed. Cheap stuff. All are, young and old.. They must know the area 30 miles around. So will start them at the 20 mile and keep them there. No point training farther. Always interesting and fliers get surprised at times. Name of the game.

halcanada wrote:

Training. Their are many reasons for it. With old birds the purpose is to keep them fit. Two widowhood fliers come to mind. One lets his out daily, hour flight etc,. Other trains every other day.  End result in the races? Both win equally. If the birds do not excersise for some fanciers a flag is used. One is not instilling a sense of direction in old birds. They know the way. Birds, natural or otherwise, will not do a good fly around if treats or young or eggs are in the loft. Now an open loft scenario can be challenging. I always think they do not get enough excersise. But if they are feeling good they are out and up and away. Then back then repeat. Phases of fitness. Nowadys I leave well enough alone. Old birds, no training, flagging etc,. Have beat both the widowhood fliers previously mentioned. With unraced yearlings. Trained 20 miles quite a few times. Not too often, must admit. It is a depends situation. If one feels good training then do it. However, I do understand that in a close area, allotments etc, it would be an advantage as to trapping.
More presicion. Weather here has not been good for training young birds yet. Very windy. Would have been tail winds. This morning they were up and gone. Way up over the wind turbines and headed for the lake. Lost site as they headed West. Headwind. Strong. 45 minutes later came from the North. High circle and most gone again, East. Few later bred ones came down. They are on basically full feed. Cheap stuff. All are, young and old.. They must know the area 30 miles around. So will start them at the 20 mile and keep them there. No point training farther. Always interesting and fliers get surprised at times. Name of the game.

Mistake many people make Hal I suggest reading your first part etc is buying toss toss toss type pigeons & then expect to get the same results just free flying them around the roof or buying widow hood types who fly free & then train the guts out of them as such. Makes hard work at times with them I suggest, when the money factor concerned I'm     just replaces the brain factor required unfortunately .

I think the best way to consider matters is from actual experience and not theory.

When I decided that I could no longer do my share of the work at club level and other factors I decided to have a go at the MNFC races and joined the club.

I had bred 16 young birds but never trained them nor ever been in a basket.

The Filey club invited me to join them to give the birds some experience of liberations.


I had every possible help from the members.

I put eight of the 16 yearlings into the first race and got them all back in good time, i put the other eight into the second race and the same.

No training no basket training, just complete open hole.

It then became too much for me to get to marking etc; so I did not send until the first water race in which I sent four birds, two were clocked in good time and their rubbers are still in the STB I did not bother going to have them confirmed as it was a trip too far, another returned a bit later in the day and the other was missing at the time I gave them all away, so far as I am aware.


Regards.

Also when I train I want my birds getting used to line of flight , getting out that basket and straight home , not milling about and in my eyes I don't keep changing training points because of this but again we are all different and that's what makes this great sport GREAT

peel bros wrote:

Also when I train I want my birds getting used to line of flight , getting out that basket and straight home , not milling about and in my eyes I don't keep changing training points because of this but again we are all different and that's what makes this great sport GREAT

Never would knock your way Ray best always to keep on the right side of a Geordie etc . Different strokes thou at times, for different folks as such which possibly ?????? all helps keep the wheel turning over with our sport I suggest .

I think ybs do need some sort of training, even if its to get them used to being in the basket, drinking , and coming out of the basket and heading home..........

David, I feel we tend to underestimate our feathered friends, I never ever basket trained any pigeon, on the odd occasion I trained, which was more for my pleasure than training the pigeons, they were put straight into the basket.






Natural instinct will take over both when released or when water or food is involved.

I bred canaries for over 40 years in a open aviary the water was, as was the food. over 6ft in the air, to keep it away from possible contamination and the furry menaces.


I bred many every year without any of the health problems that all the experts with clinical conditions were having, when I pointed this out to the experts they said I had just been lucky, not bad good luck for over 40 years with the canaries and over 75 with the pigeons.

Had I been having all the problems the clinical experts were having I would have taken notice of them but???


Regards,?

David wrote:

I think ybs do need some sort of training, even if its to get them used to being in the basket, drinking , and coming out of the basket and heading home..........

I tend to agree David but it's the degree one goes about it I have always had concerns about etc. The flog them to death young bird specialist types as such I tend to pity sadly & more so their birds unfortunately for what they have to endure there. Basket work is just education from my perspective & how many times thou as an example must one hit ones thumb with ones hammer before the message is received that perhaps there is just maybe a better way   .

our best yearling this year only raced 100 miles as a baby we had to stop him as he had a small hole in his crop it looked like a piece of wire had punctured it ...so ybs don't need to be raced all the way to the end but I do basket train more for my piece of mind than anything else and 8 tosses is enough for me 2 at 5 miles 3 at 10 miles and 3 at 20 miles ,I like them to have a good idea of the line home jmo atb

I think y s need training and at least 4 races..we have never had a bird win that never got raced as a yb that I can remember. But then again wins are hard to come by anyway

In this sport you will find more contradictions than in any other, one person can win using one method and another entirely the opposite , as long as you enjoy the sport and get out of it the enjoyment you want why worry about what anyone else does?.


My outlook from day one was to make sure that both I and the pigeons enjoyed ourselves. no henious tricks or fastening up for 90% of their lives etc;

As natural as possible and I have been rewarded a million fold in enjoyment and pleasure.


I would not keep pigeons in the manner many do today, but it takes all soprts.


Regards.

My 5 young birds have stopped tanging so I gave them their first toss yesterday straight to 15 miles, all home ok, no idea how long they took but they was all Home when I popped home for lunch,
Taking them 21 miles today.

Good for you!