whats the best way to train for channel races

hi lads my yb training is going well there doing 30 mile a day and an hour exercise in the evening most days, our first race is on Sunday from thurles its about 70 mile or so. my problem is im to far in land to get my birds before the rest of the pack i am about 12 mile from the club and other members but i only get a fly over of two mile as the crow flies from most race points so the land races are no good for me, so ive decided to concentrate on channel races, i have done ok with old birds on the channel. for the life of me i cant put my finger on how i trained for it well i trained for the land races and the birds done all land races, and then one came good for me from two channel races, lads if yous have any particular way to train for the channel could yous enlighten me please as this is where i want to concentrate on thanks in advance
joe

hi joe, ive no knowleage to pass on to you regarding channel racing, but I would emagine you would train them as you have been doing, and use the inland races as experience as the distance gets further for the channel races........

hopefully some of our more experienced members will advise..

good luck for this weekend   

cheers David best of luck to yourself aswell mate, i have an idea on the feed etc and i have been using land races as training i just thought there might be a pacific way to train for the water, ive been told to bring the bird or birds up along the coast and release them on there own, i was just looking for some of the lads on heres knowledge if any mate..

Joe. I doubt very much if there is a way to give them an edge on racing over water. There are no secrets, I believe. Just train them hard, but within reason of course then send them. The cream rises to the top. JMO.

joe, this is a good video for feeding, but I`m sure you will have probably seen it.........

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJJCBuZPou0

Hi Hal ye that's what I done this year and the result was I lost most but found One champion pigeon out of the bunch, I was looking for a way to spare some Birds but as you said there's no way of preparing them and the cream and all that, question would you send them across the water or wait until there yearlings and give them a try?

Joe. That is a 'depends' question. Locations vary. Circumstances are different for everyone. It depends on what you want to achieve personally. Breed a lot, push them all or just breed off your performers. Performers are better to breed off. They have been there and done that. Pedigrees, eye sign are indicators for many fanciers. Problem is, 4 good ones out of a 100 is a good average. I am not knocking eye sign or pedigrees. Far from it. But each to their own. Not all winners breed winners. But percentage wise they are the best bet.
As for holding them back to the yearling stage, before crossing water, to me seems reasonable. A yearling (all else being equal, feeding etc,) is smarter than a young bird obviously. More motivated, stronger. Others may disagree but that is what this forum is for. Opinions. Apologise if I ruffled any ones feathers. However, if one is looking for glory with young birds then breed many and if lucky will reap the rewards. I must add that good young birds usually make good old birds most of the time. But again, do what you think is best. You are the caretaker of the birds. You get stressed out your birds will also.

Cheers for the reply Hal it's something for me to think about mate Im not getting stressed I just wanted to see how many people were thinking like me as I to reckon it's better to hold back on the water as yb and send as yearlings, I was just looking to hear any of the other lads opinions ie has anyone been successful on the water with yb

joe wheelo wrote:

hi lads my yb training is going well there doing 30 mile a day and an hour exercise in the evening most days, our first race is on Sunday from thurles its about 70 mile or so. my problem is im to far in land to get my birds before the rest of the pack i am about 12 mile from the club and other members but i only get a fly over of two mile as the crow flies from most race points so the land races are no good for me, so ive decided to concentrate on channel races, i have done ok with old birds on the channel. for the life of me i cant put my finger on how i trained for it well i  trained for the land races and the birds done all land races, and then one came good for me from two channel races, lads if yous have any particular way to train for the channel could yous enlighten me please as this is where i want to concentrate on thanks in advance
joe

No easy answer unfortunately Joe, re your request etc I certainly would find those in your local area that have found success over the water & become good friends    with them. I suspect, they will tell you they come in all shapes & sizes etc but the one thing they will all have is a big heart   to bring them home at the end.

joe wheelo wrote:

Cheers for the reply Hal it's something for me to think about mate Im not getting stressed I just wanted to see how many people were thinking like me as I to reckon it's better to hold back on the water as yb and send as yearlings, I was just looking to hear any of the other lads opinions ie has anyone been successful on the water with yb

I would have to say yes Joe        but my little stretch of water is some what differant to yours  (Chalk & cheese) I suspect, so what suits one does not necessarily suit another flyer in another area/climate. If at the end of the day one strives to get your birds as keen as mustard etc it will help no end    along with a bit of luck thrown in along the way. We have a saying here that good pigeons will fly through a brick wall etc when fit to get home & that's just what they have to do at times when facing water of any length, which is in there way    

joe wheelo wrote:

hi lads my yb training is going well there doing 30 mile a day and an hour exercise in the evening most days, our first race is on Sunday from thurles its about 70 mile or so. my problem is im to far in land to get my birds before the rest of the pack i am about 12 mile from the club and other members but i only get a fly over of two mile as the crow flies from most race points so the land races are no good for me, so ive decided to concentrate on channel races, i have done ok with old birds on the channel. for the life of me i cant put my finger on how i trained for it well i  trained for the land races and the birds done all land races, and then one came good for me from two channel races, lads if yous have any particular way to train for the channel could yous enlighten me please as this is where i want to concentrate on thanks in advance
joe

best thing to do joe is do what your doing, its working so why change it, use the land races for training tosses, dont matter if they are late or go too far out of there way, they are still having to fly and get fit, hard work and more hard work , a love for home, and motovation, the rest will take care of itself, good luck hope this helps  

edgie wrote:

joe wheelo wrote:

hi lads my yb training is going well there doing 30 mile a day and an hour exercise in the evening most days, our first race is on Sunday from thurles its about 70 mile or so. my problem is im to far in land to get my birds before the rest of the pack i am about 12 mile from the club and other members but i only get a fly over of two mile as the crow flies from most race points so the land races are no good for me, so ive decided to concentrate on channel races, i have done ok with old birds on the channel. for the life of me i cant put my finger on how i trained for it well i  trained for the land races and the birds done all land races, and then one came good for me from two channel races, lads if yous have any particular way to train for the channel could yous enlighten me please as this is where i want to concentrate on thanks in advance
joe

best thing to  do joe is do what your doing, its working so why change it, use the land races for training tosses, dont matter if they are late or go too far out of there way, they are still having to fly and get fit, hard work and more hard work , a love for home, and motovation, the rest will take care of itself, good luck hope this helps  

The only thing I would say is distance pigeons have to be able to break away from the pack and fly on there own and be individuals
In order to obtain this is to train them from all directions and make them use there brain you will soon sort out the wheat from the shaft
I have known long distance men train north east south and west but always train in the opposite direction the wind is blowing so the birds are made to work hard this helps get them fit and hardens them up also
JMO mate

Cheers for the comments lads all good points I train in all directions anyway, I always thought it was good for them again this was just down to time and money, if it's a nice day I'd put them in the car no matter where I'm going, I like that tip about making them fly against the wind. Cheers lads and best of luck the weekend.

hi joe, i can only tell you what i do i live about 20 miles from the devon and dorset coast line so its ideal for me to train them from the coast line where you think the birds might cross on the home leg. if i don,t take them i got a mate at work who goes fishing on the coast line where the birds cross so its ideal really once they have that line then you can then train them all directions , i once took all my NFC birds i was sending to a race a few years ago to north devon on a training chuck about 40 miles they took all day to come but it made them think . good luck .

[quote="joe wheelo"]hi lads my yb training is going well there doing 30 mile a day and an hour exercise in the evening most days, our first race is on Sunday from thurles its about 70 mile or so. my problem is im to far in land to get my birds before the rest of the pack i am about 12 mile from the club and other members but i only get a fly over of two mile as the crow flies from most race points so the land races are no good for me, so ive decided to concentrate on channel races, i have done ok with old birds on the channel. for the life of me i cant put my finger on how i trained for it well i  trained for the land races and the birds done all land races, and then one came good for me from two channel races, lads if yous have any particular way to train for the channel could yous enlighten me please as this is where i want to concentrate on thanks in advance
joe[/quote

 Hi Joe,From where you live mate is a different ballgame to the majority of us boys.....channel racing is kids stuff down our way..even out 600miles +as long as you give them plenty of grub and fitness you will get most of them...your type of racing is the best anyone could ever find if you tried BICC/BBC Barcelona,glory for all time mate...just to get one back.....makes little difference how you train,feed or all the other crap you hear..racing that type of distance its ..ALL PIGEON..nothing else matters Joe..go for it mate  
                          From the Heart

feck me grizz you think its easy to get birds to fly 600 miles do you then tell me your secret cos me and 100s more flyers would like to know tell that to all the NFC and bicc and bbc members who never saw a pigeon from barca and tarbes put up your results from these type of races so i can see how you do cos i can tell you it ain,t easy .

Whoa! Think you misunderstood the context of the post by Grizz. He is right. If the pigeon has the strength and motivation to do it then it will.
All pigeon. But not easy, depends on location! Some fly in other countries 800 some miles. Many get home. Others have a hard time in other countries getting a 500 on the day. It will never be equal to all. But, the best bird on the day wins, regardless.
Best way for birds to cross water is to send them to the other side.

i don,t think im miss understanding him ,have you ever flown pigeons over the english channel cos i can tell you its not easy yes you can get them in good time and have a good race the next time you send them you will never see them again or be days or weeks late the weather can change in a instant mid channel . but don,t tell me you have just got to send them to get them back its doesn,t work like that .

we sent 3 to saints 3 to niort all prizes winners and all flown the channle before yet we havent got any home at all either we didnt prepare them right or they aint good enough for that distance or should i say there not the type of birds for 500 plus

it aint a walk in the park, you need a differant animal  

Kev yes. Over 50 plus years ago. Aussies fly over water, many more miles longer than the Channel. Puerto Rica birds fly over 200 miles of ocean I believe. What I am saying is this. Usually once over the water, or twice, the birds should be tuned in to what is expected of them. If one does not want to lose a bird then do not send it period. Quite a few of these pigeons do it once then never again. On the other hand, some birds will do it time after time. The weather any were is unpredictable usually. So as always from any race point losses will occur. I have seen birds crossing the Channel landing on the ship I was on in heavy fog. Many of them. Yet when reading the results weeks later, some birds obviously did not land and flew on. Above the fog? Probably, not sure. Have seen mine here drop through the lake fog (lake Erie is mile south of me) and be in good time. Not the pedigree of the birds, or the training. Who trains in fog anyway? The better smarter pigeons can figure it out. If I was back in the UK flying the Channel would try and train them to go through the Chunnel!

kev d wrote:

feck  me grizz  you think its easy to get birds to fly 600 miles do you then tell me your secret cos me and 100s more flyers would like to know tell that to all the NFC and bicc and bbc  members who never saw a pigeon from barca and tarbes put up your results from these type of races so i can see how you do cos i can tell you it ain,t easy .

 We have never had a problem getting birdsDAX AGEN MARMANDE PAU TARBES SAN SEBASTIAN even out to Barcelona way past 700 miles mate..probable i look at birds different than many boys...400miles for us nothing more than training..putting your faith in prizewinners at those short distances put you into so much hurt ...seems to me lads like yourself who have problems should admite to themselves somethings wrong...why not let the birds show you next year Kev. youll be suprised what they can do without "help" from you...it shocks me that you boys get so many problems over the pond..somethings wrong somewhere..do you train to much?race to much?its all stress to them mate.
 
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Grizz. I do not know your location. Doe's not matter. 600 miles is 600 miles. At that distance tricks and treats may not work. The quality of the bird shines through. Some have it many do not. Same here in Canada and probably the rest of the world. Short and mid distance races are the most popular. 300 miles and races over quickly. 400 miles many do not participate. 500 miles even less. 600 miles has now been discontinued. Had day birds from there, occasionally. The majority want the race over in 5 or 6 hours. Cannot see why with ETS. They do not have to be there to clock. But shorter races any one can win, so bragging rights in the club. But people need to feel important. Human nature. Personally I would rather have a top ten from 500 or better than winning a few 1 or 2 hundred miler. But again, if one cannot get the birds to fly 500 consistently, or over water, then get better birds. Sorry to be blunt, JMO. But each to their own.

GRIZZLECOCK wrote:

kev d wrote:

feck  me grizz  you think its easy to get birds to fly 600 miles do you then tell me your secret cos me and 100s more flyers would like to know tell that to all the NFC and bicc and bbc  members who never saw a pigeon from barca and tarbes put up your results from these type of races so i can see how you do cos i can tell you it ain,t easy .

 We have never had a problem getting birdsDAX AGEN MARMANDE PAU TARBES SAN SEBASTIAN even out to Barcelona way past 700 miles mate..probable i look at birds different than many boys...400miles for us nothing more than training..putting your faith in prizewinners at those short distances put you into so much hurt ...seems to me lads like yourself who have problems should admite to themselves somethings wrong...why not let the birds show you next year Kev. youll be suprised what they can do without "help" from you...it shocks me that you boys get so many problems over the pond..somethings wrong somewhere..do you train to much?race to much?its all stress to them mate.
 
I

well i rekon you are around 30 to 40 mile from south coast, you may get your birds from across the channel, but they dont have to face the tough terrain like the birds north of you, i think you talk a load of shit and so do many more ? so the least we answer your stupidity, the sooner you will go away , and hopefully see sence ? bye  

to quote
We have never had a problem getting birdsDAX AGEN MARMANDE PAU TARBES SAN SEBASTIAN even out to Barcelona way past 700 miles

maybe you can show us some results as you make it look so easy
and add some details of how you get theses birds to come from so far
and before you say you need quality pigeons ide just like to say that many top uk pigeon men still not had birds from tarbes barca or pau yet these are house hold names who been at the top for years