Reproductia

Breeding
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larger image BREED FROM LEADERS
Like people, most of our racing pigeons become followers instead of leaders and independent thinkers. It is a very dangerous and fatal mistake for a fancier, and his breeding program for success in the Taiwan style of racing, to place these followers in a breeding loft.

Followers are the birds that lack the mental ability to find their own way home. They follow a group of birds ,and if they are lucky enough to select the right group, they home safely for that race. If they follow the leaders of that race, they may very well score in the high prizes. What about the next race? Can these followers be lucky again and have a good performance next week? Will these types of birds be able to be lucky 7 weeks in a row to complete a race series? We know that they have the physical ability to race with the leaders and to perform and succeed in one race. But can they find their own way home?

These followers are bred and created in certain parts of the world because of the style of racing and land conditions they must fly over in short races. The birds fly in a so called "bowling alley": Large numbers of birds, close together on narrow courses or valleys following each other. These birds do not have to think or navigate home. They just stay straight, and the fastest ones win the prizes. They cannot get lost because there is only one way to fly, and the distances are short (50-100 MILES). Speed is the only quality that they must possess to win. These followers can build very impressive race results against thousands of birds in a race season, especially when they fly 2 races a week at 50 miles.

It is easy to breed this type of bird. We breed speed to speed, and with strict selection standards, we can produce the desired physical qualities needed to breed champions for this style of racing. In their own country these birds are of great value and have made their owners famous and rich.
However, the honest truth is that they are of "NO VALUE" to the Taiwan fancier and his breeding program. A champion pigeon in Taiwan must think and navigate for himself for several hours to home safely. He must possess the individual thinking skills of a leader not a follower. The real truth is that these mental capabilities are more important than the physical qualities many fanciers look for in their breeders or birds to purchase. Without the correct mental skills, no pigeon can ever be a leader. Even if it has all the physical qualities to be a champion racer, without the compass, homing instinct and navigation skills the bird is worthless. "ALL BRAWN AND NO BRAIN DOES NOT MAKE A CHAMPION RACER OR BREEDER IN TAIWAN".

The difference between followers and leaders is not in the physical qualities of the birds, but the mental ability to "home", and thus repeat week after week, a necessary qualification in Taiwan racing.

Champion lofts seem to produce champions on a regular bases in their own countries. WHY? The legendary and famous fanciers past and present all have one thing in common: They purchased and developed a family of birds that would fit their area and style of racing. They selected their breeders for these desired results, and with some knowledge and a little luck, have become famous in their own countries and many others around the world.

It is no secret Taiwan fanciers need tough, intelligent birds with the distance qualities, such as endurance, to be competitive in a race series, and have the chance to win the large prizes. That is why I continue to recommend a family of birds with successful bloodlines and years of success with these traits as your best chance of success. We must find the best birds with these qualities and breed them together. The chance of producing the birds we desire is greater by breeding the same qualities we seek together. That is why a family of birds is important, because it has been proven and selected for years to produce the same superior qualities we look to establish in our own birds.
Breeding two families with the same qualities is OK, but breeding two families with different qualities together is not! The "MASTERS" ALWAYS BRED SPEED TO SPEED AND DISTANCE TO DISTANCE. TOUGHNESS AT ANY SPEED AND DISTANCE IS ALSO IMPORTANT, AND ANY BREEDING LOFT MUST CONSIDER THEM.

That is why we need more than one race to determine a bird's mental toughness, and we need races at distances of 300 miles or longer to see if we have leader or follower qualities. To breed from a bird, or its bloodlines, that is a one time winner of a large prize in a big race with a large number of birds at less than 250 miles is a big mistake. "ANY BIRD CAN GET LUCKY ONCE". We want proof of several races at longer distances before we breed from such a bird or its bloodlines. A good example is the race record of AU-88-JBM-1038 "MULLIGAN'S PLACE. EXAMPLE #1 AU REGISTERED CHAMPION #0737: COMPETED IN 4 ONE BIRD DERBIES AND 2 THREE BIRD DERBIES 5 TIMES AT 487 MILES; SEVERAL TOUGH RACES AS A YEARLING AND SPEEDS RANGING FROM 1110 YPM TO 1578 YPM. DEFINITELY A LEADER.

Breeding is a numbers game. If we find a bird and his ancestries are full of leaders and champions, the chances greatly improve the possibility that its children will possess these same qualities. You always have a better chance of success to breed from a bird with an outstanding performance pedigree and family, rather than a champion bird from a poor background with no other champions in his family.

You can tell right away if a breeder can pass these leadership and intelligences traits to its children by single tossing their young during training tosses. These single tosses force the bird to think on its own, and not to rely on other birds to follow home. This is the first step to bring out the independence, confidence and leadership qualities the bird needs to navigate successfully during a race. When we train at short distances such as 5, 10 or 20 miles, you can make these single tosses 2 or 3 times in a day. The true leaders will navigate and home safely, the followers will not.
Beside excellent health, single tossing your birds is the best way to create and teach mental maturity, intelligence and to evaluate your breeders. If young are lost frequently from certain breeders in these single tosses, cull the breeder. It is of no value to you.

Many times the trainer or breeder spends all his time to develop and search for the physical qualities in his birds he feels are important, and he overlooks or neglects the most important traits of intelligence, confidence and independent thinking that the birds need to lead and navigate for themselves.

In other articles, I REFER TO PERFORMANCE PEDIGREES TO BE OF GREAT VALUE TO THE BREEDER. Every pigeon has a pedigree; father, mother and grandparents. Look for these leadership qualities in the first 3 generations. (REMEMBER A PEDIGREE IS ONLY AS ACCURATE AND HONEST AS THE FANCIER THAT PROVIDES IT.) ALWAYS REQUIRE PROOF BEFORE YOUR MAKE ANY PURCHASE