Building consistency part 3 of 6

So, now that we understand the basic principles of Pretzel breeding we can begin. The best proven racers you have may not be good producers. It is best of they come from a consistent family. A consistent family would be made up of birds that win on a regular basis and carry many common genes in the flock. You can rely on pigeons like these far more than any other. You can make them consistent yourself but it takes time.
Try to get as far up the ladder as you can when starting buy obtaining good stock. This way it takes you less time to reach the upper rungs.
Mate the champions together in every possible combination that you can. In other words, mate every champion hen to every champion cock that you own.
Fly the youngsters in competition if possible to really test them. They should be flown out to at least 400 miles as youngsters to really test them, 300 miles being the minimum.
Keep records of every pigeon that does well and who it is out of. Give a check mark to each individual parent that produced a winner. Don’t worry about the pairs just yet, just look at each individual parent to see how many good ones they produced with each mate.
I would look for pigeons that compete in the top 20% most of the time.
It won’t be long until you can clearly see which cocks and hens are your best producers. You may find a nick pair in the group also. This is a pair that produces several good ones when mated together but not as much mated to others.
A truly top producer will produce good ones with all mates providing they are of some quality. These are the best pigeons for our purposes and to be valued the highest.
In several years you will have a family of pigeons surrounding the best producers and you will learn what is missing from the equation. Don’t bring in lots of pigeons until you know what you need to complete the flock, at least during the building phase. It may be toughness or it may be speed.
Some pigeons come home like they were shot out of cannon. Others come home at a slower pace. Some are good for the distance and some are good for sprint racing. I personally like all around pigeons that do well from 150-450 miles.

part 4 to follow