Crescatoria de Porumbei

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larger image What to Look for in a Loft Before You Buy Birds
Taiwan Fanciers import thousands of birds every year, hoping to find the right birds to handle the difficult and challenging style of the country’s young bird racing. The selection process varies for each buyer or fancier. Some use eye sign, body type, race records, special strains, pedigrees and ancestry to determine which birds to buy. The rivalry and competition among fanciers is great. What type of pigeon will it take to win the glory, fame and large prizes that every owner seeks? Each fancier has many different ideas and theories about what qualities he needs in his pigeons to gain the fame and fortune.

I have always believed you should select the correct loft / seller first and then which birds to buy. The fancier should look for certain requirements or results from a loft first. If the loft has everything he is looking for, then he should look at the selection of birds the loft has for sale. Here is a 10 point check list that each loft should have before you consider buying birds to import for the unique, tough style of racing in Taiwan:

Look for a performance loft that has several years of success with young bird racing in its own country.

Since there is only young bird racing, and some races series start with birds as young as 100 days old, the Taiwan fancier must have birds and bloodlines that possess strong, early growth and development. These birds must have shown a history of successful young bird racing in the past. The loft we seek must have a family of birds that it has bred for years. Generation after generation of young bird winners is the key. We believe in the simple principle of genetics, “Heredity is handed down from one generation to the next”. Genetics also has proven “LIKES BREED LIKES”.

Look for a loft that flies the “NATURAL SYSYEM”.

Taiwan requires birds to possess not only early physical maturity, but more important, the mental ability to race and home successfully at a young age of 3 months. They must fly on natural ability and self-motivation at this age. This mental maturity and intelligence is overlooked many times, and not even considered by many fanciers when buying birds. Birds flown on the “natural system” develop their own intelligence, orientation, navigation ability, motivation, determination, desire and heart. Lofts that consistently breed generation after generation from pigeons that possess these internal qualities intensify and fix these characteristics in their birds, so they will reproduce themselves in their youngsters year after year.

Look for a loft that flies over a tough racecourse, where the conditions change during the race, the speeds vary and the races are hard and tough.

When a loft flies a tough racecourse with strong head winds, cross winds, high humidity and extreme temperatures, with occasional fog and rain, where the birds must navigate over water and mountains, its birds must have the ability to orient themselves and to maintain the right course. If this loft has been successful on this type course for several years, then its pigeons have no trouble finding the most direct and easiest routes home, and they are able to adjust to different types of weather conditions, similar to those in Taiwan.

Look for a loft that flies young bird races at distances of 100-350 miles successfully.

A family of birds that races successfully at various new race stations at early ages shows that it is smart, intelligent and physically capable of handling any new situations. It is more important to know the various speeds and distances of the races than it is to place the emphasis on the position that the bird finished or the number of birds it competed against. The bird’s ability to handle different types of weather conditions and its endurance ability to fly speeds necessary to compete with the leaders of the race shows the type of versatility needed to win in Taiwan. The chance of producing the birds we desire is greater by breeding the same qualities together. That is why a family of birds is important, because it has been proven and selected for years to produce the same results.

Look for a loft that has a difficult loft location and still wins repeatedly, a loft that is off the line of flight.

Birds that think and navigate for themselves over a large body of water, with no land markers for help, have intelligence, orientation, navigation ability, self motivation, determination, desire, courage and heart. Each bird must be an individual thinker, not a follower. When a loft has a difficult location off the line of direct flight, the birds must be intelligent and have the compass, homing instinct, navigation skills and confidence to fly by themselves or alone for long distances. If a pigeon cannot home individually, how can you expect it to win? In many countries, birds fly in so-called “bowling alleys”. All of the birds stay close together on a narrow course or valley and just follow each other. These birds do not navigate home, but just stay straight. The fastest ones win. They cannot get lost because there is only one way to fly home. The course is over a flat terrain, and speed is the only quality that they possess. These types of birds (bowling alley birds) are of no use to the Taiwan fancier. Not all birds have the ability to adjust to various conditions and speeds during a race. Many are suited and bred for just one type of race and cannot handle changing conditions over the racecourse. These birds are easily lost.

Look for a loft that repeatedly wins “NATIONAL AWARDS IN YOUNG BIRD RACING” in its own country every year.

For birds to win ACE PIGEON, HALL OF FAME or CHAMPION BIRD they must fly several races in a young bird race season and win several diplomas at different distances. Birds that have flown various distances at wide ranges of speeds and won, show the birds ability to handle different types of weather conditions and their endurance ability to fly week after week. When lofts win these awards every year it shows that they have birds that have a strong history of successful young bird racing, generation after generation of young bird results in tough hard races at distances of 100-350 miles. Lofts that win the big money races, futurities and large numbers of diplomas every year can show you the results. We do not have to spend large sums of money to buy the CHAMPIONS of the loft, because many times the champion is not as good a breeder as its brother, sister, cousin, grandchildren, etc. Over the years we have raced or bred over 50 champions, many were great breeders, but many were not. However, their brothers, sisters or other close relatives were great breeders. That is why we want the bloodlines of the fancier’s loft, with great success generation after generation. You never know what pair will produce the champion this year, because they all have the potential and the bloodlines to breed success.

Look for a loft that breeds a small number of young birds to race every year and wins.

Lofts with an excellent family of birds only need 30-50 ybs every year to fly. Loses are few, and their birds are very dependable on race day. Their birds do not quit when conditions get tough. These birds will be able to stay in flight for several hours non-stop, possibly as long as 10 plus hours. They think clearly and make the correct decisions when tired and fatigued. These types of birds possess vigor, strength, stamina and the endurance to fly a series of races in a short period of time. They need the fierce competitiveness of a great athlete to endure such mental and physical conditions week after week. A loft that breeds birds for “ QUALITY over QUANTITY” has a family of birds with success. We are not looking for a loft that raises 100-300 young birds every year, with the hopes of getting one or two good pigeons in their lofts. The loft that breeds large numbers of birds is breeding “just feathers” and “numbers”, with no special breeding program or family.

Look for a loft that has a reputation for birds that possess excellent health and one that DOES NOT USE ANY “PERFORMANCE ENHANCEING DRUGS, LEGAL or ILLEGAL in its country, to help the birds’ performance.

When selecting quality pigeons, always select for “GOOD HEALTH”. There can be no sound foundation without it. Healthy pigeons produce healthy young that will race well. It is a known fact that Performance Enhancing Drugs in racing pigeons will cause the following side effects and health problems:

PREMATURE STERILITY, LACK OF ADEQUATE FEATHERING, IMMUNE SYSTEM BREAK DOWN, SUDDEN DEATH, SHORTENING OF THE LIFE EXPECTANCY OF THE BIRD BY SEVERAL YEARS, LOSS OF EFFECTIVE BREEDING POTENTIAL AND DAMAGE TO THE LIVER AND KIDNEYS.

With the use of drugs, we know that the bird did not accomplish these records with his own ability. The buyer expects the birds he buys to produce sound healthy birds. This breeding potential and the expectations to produce strong racing stock for the buyer will never happen because of the performance enhancing drugs the loft has used, past and present. “BUYER BEWARE” is important advice to all buyers. To spend thousands of dollars and countless hours on birds that have no potential to produce quality offspring, and that weaken your breeding program for years, is foolish. Know your seller. Understand his style of racing, and what is legal and illegal in his country. Investigate how the bird achieved its race record and under what conditions. YOU MUST FEEL THE FANCIER IS HONEST, FREE FROM SUSPICION AND DOES NOT USE PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUGS TO ACHIEVE HIS RESULTS BEFORE YOU BUY HIS BIRDS. If you buy from a fancier that uses performances enhancing drugs, you are going to be very disappointed in the birds you breed and have many drug related side effects.

Look for a loft that has an excellent reputation in the sport and is known for selling good birds.

We want an honest fancier with an excellent reputation and good race results for at least 7-10 years. These race results and special accomplishments should be recent. We want a fancier that has a history of selling good quality birds from the bloodlines that are winning for him today and in the past. We want to buy the bloodlines of the family of birds he has bred for years. Generation after generation of winners is the key. The names and strains of the birds are really not important, just the best birds and the desired results. The best performance lofts never worry about the name of the family or strains of the birds, they breed for results from the best birds. It is very important to always go to the original fancier or source for your birds. He has a good and honest reputation. The integrity of his good name and his birds is always more important than the money. You cannot buy an honest reputation you must earn it. It is very important to a loft and its owners / sellers to keep their good name.

Look for a loft that gives you personal attention.

A racing pigeon loft that treats its clients with patience and is willing to share his training, feeding, medication programs and racing expertise will give you the best service and great advice for the buying and selection of birds to meet your needs. You should receive this special attention from all involved with the loft and never be pressured into buying the birds or made to feel uncomfortable during negotiations. Seek out a loft that takes pride in being a true ambassador for the sport, one that always has made itself available to all who may need assistance, information, advice and that shares its experience and good birds.

Be patient and find the loft that meets all of the above requirements before you invest your money. Keep your mind clear and buy on information and results, not emotion and fancy advertisements. This will ensure you the best opportunity for success.