david a little bit of info ivejust found if you have a spare few seconds have a look
The body of the racing pigeon like that of other birds, is covered and protected by thousands of small feathers and large feathers of the wings and tail. These larger feathers enable the bird to ride on the air, to rise and hill, to turn and twist, and to brake or accelerate at will. Indeed, so essential are the wing and tail feathers to the bird’s ability to fly efficiently, and so necessary are the small body feathers to maintain body temperature, that nature has arranged that they be renewed each year. This annual renewal of a bird’s plumage is known as ‘the moult’. The moult is a perfectly natural phenomenon and should give no cause for worry. Doubtless many a novice has been anxious and, on seeing his birds with large, hare patches on the head and neck, has wondered whether his pigeons would ever be fit to race again, but has later found that the feathers have regrown, and that his birds have only changed for the better in their new plumage.
The moult is actually taking place during the greater part of the year. In nine months out of the twelve, the adult pigeon is always in the process of replacing two or more feathers. It normally commences about the end of April, with the casting of the two first primaries (one in each wing). The primaries are the outside ten flights (as indicated in the (drawing), and the first of these (the inner most) is ‘thrown’ when the second round of eggs have been incubated about 9 or 10 days. If the birds have not been mated until the end of March, the casting of these feathers will be delayed until May.
The order of moulting of primary wing feathers.
This holding-back of the moult can be a distinct advantage, especially in the case of’ birds required for races taking place after the middle of July. But, as the racers do not reach peak form until after these first primaries are out, the novice has been advised earlier in this book to pair his birds 8-9 weeks before racing begins.
The two replacement flights take about four weeks to grow and when they are nearly regrown, the second pair of primaries (the second flights from the inside) are cast. This is during the incubation of the third round of eggs, again when the birds are sitting 9 or 10 days. At this period in the nesting cycle no great demands are being made on the pigeon, such as are made when it is laying, driving, or feeding youngsters.
Often if a big youngster is being fed, the throwing of the next flight will be delayed but, once the squeaker has been weaned, the parent birds are quite likely to throw two flights in each wing at the same dine. Consequently the Old Birds are racing during the time they ale growing the first, second, third and possibly the fourth primaries.
In my opinion, too much emphasis is laid by some writers on the importance of ensuring that a bird has a ‘full wing’ when it is sent to a long race. These fanciers evidently believe that a pigeon with a flight just out, or only partly grown, is at a disadvantage. Yet these same fanciers, without hesitation, would send a Young Bird with half its tail missing, and growing two large flights.
If one flight is fully grown (meaning that the pigeon has a full wing), then the next is probably ready to fall, and the fact that this next flight is in the process of being thrown, is likely to be a bigger disadvantage to the bird than a missing flight or one only part grown. It can be compared to chewing with a tooth, which is not secure being both ineffective and pain full.
The best wing condition is with the new primaries half-grown. Then the wing is nearly complete, and there is no danger of another flight falling whilst the bird is in transit to the race point, or on its way home. But, as has already been said, too much importance need not be attached to this question. On the contrary, it is the bird with the full wing, which may be suspect for, if it is not moulting the primaries as it should, this may be due to imperfect health.
Should a pigeon have a night away from home (due to not homing on the day of the race), then the pair of primaries which it is growing will betray the fact by carrying what is known as a ‘fret-mark’. This appeal’s because the growing feathers have been deprived of nourishment for a time, and therefore have not grown perfectly. It takes the form of a line, which is deficient in colour, across the webbing of the feather, and the width of this line varies according to the length of time the bird is without food. In extreme cases, the feather can be undersized and of very inferior quality.
These fret-marks are even observed in a bird winch has flown in a hard race and homed on the day. The fact that the bird has missed one feed, and all its energies have been expended in flying rather than being passed to the growing feathers, is sufficient to cause a fret-mark.
Therefore, when handling a pigeon, we can determine by the presence or absence, of fret-marks whether it has ‘spent any time out’, and if so, after a little experience, we can estimate how long.
By noting which primary is fretted, and whereabouts on the flight, we can establish in which month of the racing season the bird was away. The lower down the flight the fretmark appears, the later it has been caused. If the first flight is marked, it indicates that the bird failed to return on the day from a race held during May. Should the second flight be marked, that would indicate the month of June, and the third flight would indicate early July.
The primaries, then, are in cast order - the innermost first. And once the fifth flight has been thrown (usually early August - but depending on when the birds were mated), the cover feathers, secondaries and tail feathers begin to fall and he birds start to moult freely. It must be stressed here, however, that some pigeons (and indeed some families of pigeons) moult more quickly than others, and cocks seem to cast a flight more frequently than do hens.
The secondaries are usually dropped in rather a haphazard order. Often two pairs (two in each wing) are cast at the same tune. The first to fall are the pair nearest the body together with the pair nearest the primaries. The next to be moulted are the secondaries adjacent to the first four, again two pairs in each wing. Old Birds may moult all the secondaries, but Young Birds do not moult more than three pairs in each wing - often two pairs – leaving four or more secondaries unmoulted.
The order of moulting of tail feathers.
The tail feathers are cast two at a time (see sketch), but the second and sometimes third pair are often thrown such a short time after the first pair that it is not unusual during the moult to see pigeons with as few as six tail feathers.
Many fanciers seem to think that once the racing season is over, they can relax, and that, providing them birds receive he minimum attention necessary to keep them alive, all will be well. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Although the moult is a perfectly natural occurrence, pigeons, unless they receive regular and sufficient food during the mouths of August to December, will not be able to grow perfect new feathers; and will be unlikely to perform well in the following season’s races.
These are the months in which the birds are renewing the thousands of feathers, which cover their bodies, and also the twelve tail feathers (or retrices), and the long primaries. Just as the first three flights can be fret-marked through temporary absence of nourishment, so too the other countless feathers can be similarly affected should the birds not be sufficiently well cared for. The cocks and hens can be allowed to remain together whilst they moult, as they are much easier to manage than if the sexes are separated, and are happier and more contented. They soon lose interest in breeding, and seem to concentrate on the task of renewing their plumage.
The same mixture of grains should be fed, and a small quantity of linseed, given two or three times a week after the evening feed, is a valuable addition to the diet.
Of course, the corn must be of top quality, and the pigeons should be given as much as they can eat at the evening feed. Avoid the mistake of thinking that once the racing season is over, any sort of inferior grain will suffice. It won’t.
The birds should be given access to the bath whenever they wish, every day if possible. But the water must always be clean, as pigeons sample their bath water, and it should not be allowed to remain standing day after day. Incidentally, a tablespoonful of common salt in the water will remove any feather lice.
No forced exercise should be given - the birds being permitted to come and go as they please. Particular care must be taken during this period of the moult to remove, each day, the hundreds of loose feathers which abound the loft, otherwise they will find their way in to the drinking water, and may be swallowed by the birds, with a possible detrimental effect on their health.
Try to not ice each of your pigeons every day to ensure that all is well with the birds. Be especially on the lookout for any cases of One-Eyed Cold, which must be immediately isolated. Avoid handling the birds unless absolutely necessary and, if a fancier friend should visit sour loft to see your pigeons, then politely explain to him that you would prefer him not to touch them whilst they are moulting.
As the end of October approaches, the number of feathers lying on the floor becomes noticeably less each morning. The birds begin to look clean and tidy again in their new plumage. The end flights are usually fully grown by about the end of November or early December and, when the tenth primaries have been renewed, the moult is complete.
The birds will now require considerably less food. They are not growing any more feathers, and are spending a greater part of every twenty-four hours roosting on their perches because the days are short. During these winter months they may be fed once a day at lunchtime.
During February, the Old Birds cast the small downy feathers, which protect them from the cold in winter. These will be noticed hanging on the perches and on the walls of the loft. The yearlings do not seem to cast these feathers until June, which may explain why many yearlings do not come into peak form until the second half of the racing season.
Young Birds cast their first primaries at the age of about seven weeks, and they continue to moult throughout the summer and early autumn. They usually complete it at about seven months. First-round youngsters are through the moult by the end of October but as early as the end of September are looking very smart in their new dress. This is in complete contrast to the Old Birds, who are then in the middle of the body moult.
Late-bred youngsters will often continue to moult throughout the winter and care must be taken to ensure that they receive plenty to eat. It is rather strange that, of a nest pair of late-breds hatched, say, at the end of August, one of the pair may moult six or seven primaries, whereas the other may not moult a single one. This does not appear to have any significance, and does not mean that one is either better or worse than the other.
Whereas Old Birds are only growing one pair of short primaries at the time when they are being raced, young birds are racing and growing countless body-feathers, probably several tail feathers and two large primaries, all at the same time.
Those Young Birds, which are particularly bare round the head and neck or have a gap in the tail, should not be raced until the feathers have re-grown. The absence of the tail feathers does not seem to prevent their flying satisfactorily; it is really a matter of not demanding too much of birds which are growing so many feathers, as the quality of the feathers will suffer in consequence.
At this point it may be interesting to consider what should be the ideal shape of the wing. The showmen prefer the wing to be even when opened. But what shape should the pigeon’s wing be, to enable it to fly faster, and for longer periods than its competitors. Let us compare the wing of a pheasant with that of a swift. The pheasant’s wing has long secondaries, and the wing of a swift has very short secondaries, but the primaries are long. The seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth primaries are progressively longer in direct contrast to those of the pheasant. The pheasant is able to rise vertically out of a wood, but is only able to fly comparatively slowly and form short distances at a time. The swift can fly at tremendous speeds, and for very long periods, without apparent effort, but cannot rise from the ground.
The secondaries form what we call the ‘passive wing’, which is responsible for keeping the bird in the air. This part of the wing has a similar function to that of an aeroplane. When an aeroplane takes off, flaps are extended at the trailing edge of the wing, which increase the wing area, thus giving more lift. When the plane lands, flaps are again extended and lowered, and these both slow the aircraft down, and give it the extra lift, which is required at slow speeds.
The correct way to examine the wing of a pigeon while the other hand opens the wing.
Therefore a bird with long secondaries, like the pheasant, finds it easier to take off, but cannot be so fast in the air as a bird with short secondaries. The pigeon with particularly short secondaries has a distinct step from the secondaries to the first primary due to the fact that its secondary feathers are short. It is often a good racer as it is able to fly faster than the pigeons with longer secondaries against which it is competing. If it is able to pass on this quality to its progeny, it is frequently a good producer also, and is therefore a very valuable bird to retain for breeding purposes. This step is fairly common in cocks, but is very infrequently found in hens. And it is rather interesting to note that my four best stock hens over a period of ten years have all had a distinct step of about three eighths of an inch (10mm).
The outside four primaries are those winch are mainly responsible for pushing the bird through the air. They force the air downwards and backwards, and so cause the pigeon to move forward. Therefore they must be long, so as to move the maximum amount of air through the greatest possible distance. They must also be strong and resilient. They operate in flight rather like a Venetian blind opening to allow the air to pass through on the upstroke, and closing on the down stroke. These four flights are vital to the racing pigeon and, if it is to be able to give of its best, they must be free from defects and fret marks, whereas a fret-mark on one of the first three flights does not materially affect the flying ability of the bird.
The foregoing few paragraphs have only dealt briefly with this most interesting of subjects but if the reader feels inclined to study the mechanism of flight and wing action further, this chapter will have served a useful purpose, for I am convinced that of the thousands of fanciers who open and inspect the wings of pigeons, there are very few who really know what they are looking for.
Used with permisson.
RPRA.
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The N.E.H.U race from Melton Mowbray 21/4/2012 was won by Peel bros of South Shields, they took 1st club 1st fed, also taking 2nd and 4th club and 15 of the 25 birds clocked in the club......well done Peel brothers.
