What is wrong with YB racing??

What do you think is wrong with YB racing? back in the 1970s every year we had a team of around 40 yb they all went to race 1 and the same birds went every week till the end of the season. 50 miles to around 230 miles in our Amalgamation.
In the 1990s and up to 2007 it was exactly the same, the birds all of them went every week (unless injured or coming back late flown out).
At the end of these seasons there were around 24 to 30 left, (all tryers) they went to 3 or 4   35 or 40 mile trainers every week in between racing.
Whats wrong now? the birds seem like ornaments where we mollycoddle them and keep them at home to look at them. Many fanciers seem frightened to send them in case they lose them.
What do you think the reason for the decline of the birds homing ability is? or does anyone have other theories why there are so many rubbish pigeons with 3rd rate homing ability unless they can follow something else home?
It was just as hard if not harder for the birds back in the day as more birds were going all over the country to different areas.
Our birds as I said went every week to every race and to all the training we could give them, they were forced to night out from 40 miles with late training tosses too and this only made them stronger.

A lot of it is to do with the foriegn birds comming in where a lot of birds are givin batrill which messes bad with them that is one reason another is we keep too many birds now back in my time one couldnt aford to keep to many you had to breed form the best you thought and dispose of anything that looked side ways in other word if in dought take it out you had to then dont forget we only had about 12ft lofts not 100ft like alot has now thats just raceing birds and the hawks are doing a lot of damage not getting the birds but terrefying the birds. I could go on all night this I will say is my opinion

my opinion is badly trained birds, not nesserseraly all of them, but these are causing the rest to mill around, a lot of people dare not train for the hawks?, inferior imported birds along with all the desease they have imported with them ?, and alot of fanciers dont know how to cope with the problems ?, the heat of the recent weather we are getting also dous not help, but most of all the instalation of mobile phone masts cant be good, these radio waves must be interfering with there ability to navigate ?, as since the introduction of the mobile phone (and most of us have one) the pigeon game has been doing a downward spiral ?.    

I agree edgie and you can also add to that solar activity

my opinion is inferior birds lack ov trainin and indiscrimanate breedin gd birds will come gd but hawk is a factor these days but think alot ov people not gt a clue wat there doin and im not bein a t**t with people but fink they need to look closer to home wat there doin and not blamin the birds ?????????????????
            

All good points and I believe they all have some validity, the Hawks are definately a big nuisance as they have massivley increased in numbers and are worrying the pigeons as due to dissapearing hedgerows and them there are diminishing numbers of song birds to sustain them.
The Solar activity has always been there but nowadays along with all the other rubbish that is being pumped into the atmosphere interfering with the magnetic field I am sure that on certain days of increased activity from the sun we have smash races.

Over use of too weak a dose of antibiotics or wide spectrum antibiotics like Baytril has also surely damaged the immune systems of some flocks of birds and made it impossible for them to go to 3 or 4 races in a row never training and 10 or more races in a row.

These birds held together by antibiotics can still race well but a rest pattern is used and needed by the fancier who knows the birds and their limitations.
The problem arises if young from these birds are sold on and end up in a loft where they must race properly they are soon lost or worse still sick infecting the new owners good pigeons.

Fanciers have no excuse for poor management nowadays as there are many books and DVDs as well as the internet out there for them to gain help with animal husbandry but I also agree that many young birds are not prepared properly for the relatively simple tasks they have to face. I have found that it is better to train your YBs sensibly but quite hard before the 1st Yb race and then you can do no more for them.
If you lose them training from 35 or 40  miles before the season begins then you will surely lose them racing them. It is then best not to breed from the parents of these easily lost birds even if they race well themselves or have great pedigrees.

oldstrain wrote:

I agree edgie and you can also add to that solar activity

The K factor were high yesterday and the sun and moon were out its always a funny race when the sun and moon are out.

VanReet Man123 wrote:

oldstrain wrote:

I agree edgie and you can also add to that solar activity

The K factor were high yesterday and the sun and moon were out its always a funny race when the sun and moon are out.

 
yes the same today...early reports are of poor returns and the birds are returning well apart

we got 11 from 15 at present

edgie wrote:

my opinion is badly trained birds, not nesserseraly all of them, but these are causing  the rest to mill around, a lot of people dare not train for the hawks?, inferior imported birds along with all the desease they have imported with them ?, and alot of fanciers dont know how to cope with the problems ?, the heat of the recent weather we are getting also dous not help, but most of all the instalation of mobile phone masts cant be good, these radio waves must be interfering with there ability to navigate ?, as since the introduction of the mobile phone (and most of us have one) the pigeon game has been doing a downward spiral ?.    

I will second that   

oldstrain wrote:

I agree edgie and you can also add to that solar activity

i will second that   

spencerline wrote:

All good points and I believe they all have some validity, the Hawks are definately a big nuisance as they have massivley increased in numbers and are worrying the pigeons as due to dissapearing hedgerows and them there are diminishing numbers of song birds to sustain them.
The Solar activity has always been there but nowadays along with all the other rubbish that is being pumped into the atmosphere interfering with the magnetic field I am sure that on certain days of increased activity from the sun we have smash races.

Over use of too weak a dose of antibiotics or wide spectrum antibiotics like Baytril has also surely damaged the immune systems of some flocks of birds and made it impossible for them to go to 3 or 4 races in a row never training and  10 or more races in a row.

These birds held together by antibiotics can still race well but a rest pattern is used and needed by the fancier who knows the birds and their limitations.
The problem arises if young from these birds are sold on and end up in a loft where they must race properly they are soon lost or worse still sick infecting the new owners good pigeons.

Fanciers have no excuse for poor management nowadays as there are many books and DVDs as well as the internet out there for them to gain help with animal husbandry but I also agree that many young birds are not prepared properly for the relatively simple tasks they have to face. I have found that it is better to train your YBs sensibly but quite hard before the 1st Yb race and then you can do no more for them.
If you lose them training from 35 or 40  miles before the season begins then you will surely lose them racing them. It is then best not to breed from the parents of these easily lost birds even if they race well themselves or have great pedigrees.

spot on Kev