GRIST MILL FOR THE NOVICE

 

Overcrowding

 

By John Marles, Sylvan Lofts

 

 

 

   

 

     A few years ago I had the opportunity to travel across North America and visit many of the top lofts that I had read about. I visited over one hundred lofts throughout the States and Canada. This particular dialogue is taken from one of those visits. The content I feel will provide some meaningful dialogue for novice fanciers to ponder. After you have read the following anecdote try to determine for yourself whether this is a legitimate argument or just an excuse. 

 

     I was visiting with a very good fancier when a few of his local friends dropped over. It wasn't long before the conversation turned to race results and the following discussion took place. We'll call him 'Ralph' in this article.

 

     I could quickly tell that Ralph was a very intelligent man and I listened very intently as he spoke. It seemed from the conversation that his results were very poor and I was eager to find out why.

 

Ralph- If it wasn't for my loft location my results would definitely be more visible.

 

John-   Where are you located with respect to the other members of the Combine or your own club?

 

Ralph- I'm located on the long end, but the land juts to the north and our birds must turn in order for them to get home. Yet, we are measured across the water. It is very difficult for our club to compete.

 

     He assured me that he had been racing for many years and that he had some of the finest quality of birds from the area. I asked if it was possible to visit with him and hopefully meet some of his club competitors. This was not a problem so the next day I went to see him.

 

    He had a very small lot with a very beautiful home on it. As soon as I walked into his backyard I felt I knew one of his biggest deterrents of form that was lack of ultra-violet rays (sun) on the loft. Unfortunately, the house kept the loft in almost total shade that morning and I was there for hours.

 

John- Is the loft always this cool in the morning?

 

Ralph- It warms up in the afternoon.

 

     The birds as you well imagined were all humped up and there was very little movement of the inmates. The total lack of form was very evident. The faeces (droppings) that should have been well formed and dry were loose and very wet. When we discussed the lack of sun on the loft, Ralph didn't seem to feel that it was a major factor and dismissed it very quickly. It was at that time that I didn't even pursue the possibilities of either relocating the loft or putting plexi-glass in the roof.

 

    Next, we were off to see another loft in the immediate area and again the lot was very small. The biggest difference here was that the fancier, Peter, had taken advantage of any sun he could get. His loft was located to capture as much sun light as possible. He had just finished placing a large piece of plexi-glass in the roof that I personally thought might make the loft too hot during the summer. After we discussed the point , Peter assured me that he had the means to block off as much as he wanted if it got too hot. When we looked at Peter's results which were far superior to Ralph's and in talking with Peter I had the feeling that he was continually trying to improve his results by reviewing his birds, methods, loft design, training and breeding. I then checked the results of Peter in the large Combine that he flew in and found that he was also    scoring there from the shortest race to the 600 mile station.

 

 

 

Roger- I let my young birds out the other morning and they just disappeared. I only got eight back last night.

 

John- Well, tell me some more information? How many young birds did you have? Do you still have the same loft?

 

Roger- I had about 80 or 90 youngsters in the loft, but they have lots of room in the loft. They looked really healthy. I just don't understand it.

 

John- If I remember correctly your loft is approximately five feet by twelve. You must have added some perches in the loft since I was there before. Also, I remember you having only about 30 young birds in the loft when I visited a couple of years ago.

 

Roger- Well, I added some perches and I'm also trying some new imports so I decided to take some more youngsters from them to see if they are any good. I also added a big aviary so they have lots of room and I'm sure the air is good.

 

John- If you decide to race with your eight young birds you will probably have one of your BEST seasons ever.

 

Roger- How can you say this?  I don't have enough pigeons to race!

One bad race and I'll be out. I don't want to go down the road only training a few birds.

 

Well, Roger eventually got back six more youngsters giving him a total of fourteen youngsters to race. He then decided that he would partake in the first few races just to see how he would do. You've probably already guessed that he did extremely well. He actually finished the year with his personal best results ever. I can recall visiting him during the season and the condition of these youngsters was excellent. They actually glowed with health. In the hand, they were buoyant and gave the impression of being swollen. An inspection of the mouth revealed a beautiful shade of pink. Yes it was very difficult to beat these birds that year. So, you ask was there a lesson to be learned from all of this???   Well, the next year in June '90, I had the occasion of dropping over to see Roger and look at his new crop of youngsters. You were right again; he had eighty youngsters again in the same loft as last year. Were they healthy? In a word NO! A quick glance around the loft and all the inmates were huddled in an overcrowded aviary. The birds were fluffed up and their beaks revealed wattles that were definitely not right.

 

Roger- Well. How do you like this year’s new crop? I'm going to do better this year than I did last year. Just look at those youngsters..... Well?

 

John- Would you please allow me to handle a few youngsters?

 

Roger- Certainly!

 

Upon inspection, I could quickly tell that the feathering was definitely poor. It was dry and there was very little evidence in the loft of any down feathers. The body on the birds that I inspected was also very poor lacking that swollen muscle feeling. All birds that I handled were scaly underneath and the skin was a blue colour. Then I took a close look at the wattles. They were off colour and directly under the nostrils the beak had a rather wet look to it. He allowed me to check the birds' mouths and I found that the colour was off (very red) and that there were strings of mucous extending from the top of the mouth to the bottom. The birds had just taken a bath and most looked soaking wet. The water had actually penetrated their body feathers, tail and flight feathers. One look at the bath pan and there was no bloom on top of the water. He had a real problem.

 

John- I believe that the birds are not as healthy as last year’s group. In fact many have respiratory problems.

 

Roger- That's nothing. I have something from Holland that will cure that in a hurry.

 

John- What antibiotic is this?

 

He was very reluctant to tell me, but after a while he showed me a bottle of Baytril. I explained that Baytril has been used for many years, but it would not turn these birds around. I explained that the SOURCE of the problem was the same as last years, that of over crowding. He didn't think so. He used the Baytril on the pigeons and after the first few races he was back paying me another visit. He could not understand why he was doing so poorly in the races. That year was one of his worst.

 

During the winter I get asked to judge at many different shows around the Toronto area. It was at one of these shows that I saw Roger again. I asked him how his birds were doing and he told me that he was looking forward to this next year. I asked him how many youngsters he was going to breed. I was astonished when he told me that he bought one hundred bands and that he intended on racing eighty. He quickly added that he was going to increase the ventilation in his young bird loft and that everything would be all right. .......         What do you think?  

 

 

Roger's story is not an isolated one. Over the years I have had many people call and ask to purchase pigeons. Quite often when I ask them how many they have and the size of the loft etc. I am amazed.

 

My advice for novice flyers and those experienced fanciers who want to improve is to purchase or borrow a copy of the book entitled the "Elite". Pay close attention to how many birds are housed and the detail of the lofts by those people who are at the top of this sport. 

 

As always if I can be of any help just call me at 416-267-0895.