Well I had my first pigeons around the age of 7 yes, that’s right seven and I am a first generation fancier. There were four of them from my cousins as he had to part with them as he and his brother were having rabbits so the pigeon’s had to go. They were kept in the coal shed but soon disappeared one by one, neighbour’s cat and as their flights grew out, they returned to the factory roofs in the town from where they originated.
Later my father built me what resembled a large rabbit hutch type loft, I don’t have a picture, but it resembled the ‘kit box’ type lofts that are used by roller men. I remember the day we went to collect the new inmates from a work college of my fathers. Now to a 9 year old boy, own loft and proper pigeons, even though they had no rings on, I was probably as excited as a kid today would getting home to new game console!
Off to the local pet shop for 7lb of winter mix in a brown paper bag along with my first pigeon book, ‘Pigeon Keeping and Racing’ No 16 in the ‘Ditchfields ‘Little Wonder Book Series’.
The opening paragraph of this little book is still true today ‘There are few hobbies which have proved universally popular than Pigeon racing. For long years it has captured the interest of all classes of society. Doctors, solicitors, men of letters, artists, scientist, artisans, labourers – all have fallen to its irresistible charm. It has appealed to rich as well as to the poor and its successes have been shared by both. The best birds have not all come from the palatial lofts of the millionaire: some have been bred on a roof like tenement, by men whose time and money alike been extremely limited’
Well from this small hutch type loft, I progressed to a mackled together lean to shed made up of scrounged wood, corrugated tins and a couple of old fire guards, I wish I had a photo to show you, but in my mind, I can see it now with its blue and yellow stripes on the front and wooden orange boxes for nest boxes, I thought it was great.
Over the next couple of years I had, fantails and Birmingham Rollers, but it was the thought of racing pigeons that excited me and at 14 I joined the local pigeon club, some fifty years have passed and though I say if myself, I haven’t done that bad with pigeons, they have and are a huge part of my life.
So where are we going with this tapping of the keyboard, well seeing the page ‘Tips from the top’ with the advice from established fanciers, I thought perhaps and from my experiences in the sport may just aid that one person to enjoy his pigeons a little more and hopefully aid them to raise their personal bar in this fascinating hobby.
What I don’t have is the answer to bringing more people into the hobby. There were four young lads the same as me when I joined the pigeon club and seven lads locally of the same age with pigeons of their own, but none of them continued past the age of 15 or 16.
Where will new fanciers come from? I really don’t know. What I do know is in every club we have fanciers of from all backgrounds and professions, a likening to the first paragraph in that little book.
In the pigeon club we have fanciers of all levels and abilities, I put these into five groups; administrators, without them the club just would not exist as it is not every one’s cup of tea. Some race their pigeons and some enjoy having a few pigeons around them and love what they do, if you have a good administrator always be polite and courteous look after them, they are like gold dust!
Now we have the guys who like the short races, and want to win, win, win and usually they do! Then we have those that like the longer races say 350 – 500 miles, these guys are usually members of a specialist club, on the club races they are about but they are mostly aiming at the four or five classic races of the season, the young bird specialist and they are, . All these fanciers set their stall is set out, they work very, very hard and win and are good at what they do, some are exceptional.
Now then I don’t know how to describe the remaining group as they are like the previous ones, they care for their pigeons, some put a lot of effort in and will win the odd prize now and then, but they are there week in week out and great club members.
Collectively we have the members of the pigeon club, and all should respect each other, they all have the same passion and are ‘pigeon fanciers’ and love their hobby, why wouldn’t they it’s a 365 day s a year! What I will say and it’s some-thing that has stuck with me, from when I started climbing the ladder and its simple ‘Win like a looser and loose like a winner’ be gracious in defeat and modest with your successes.
So where is this going? Well, if you are contemplating taking up the sport or maybe not enjoying it as you thought then maybe you just need a reset.
Begin by asking yourself. How much time do I have? How much spare money do I want to spend on my hobby? What space do I want to afford in the garden for my loft?
Which races will interest you, short, middle, long or young birds?
Depending on your answers will determine what your sport will be. One thing for sure you cannot do them all to a small loft and if you only have a couple of hours a day.
When you decide which discipline you want to try, remember when you do start racing in your club you will be a Sunday League team playing in the Premier league so prepare for disappointments. Set a realistic bar first, keeping your loft healthy and getting your pigeon’s home. I do hope that this has given you some thing to think about, until next time, keep your loft clean and tidy, you will feel better when you go into it.
Tin Man