The Disadvantage of a large Kit
(Internet Published) Jan 2001
The reason why I fly a large kit, is because they are Tumblers, selectively
bred for their ability to perform acrobatics simultaneously as a compact
kit. To see such a large kit of pigeons of 50 plus presents a spectacular
display when they all cascade together. A small kit of 3 - 5 could never
present such a spectacle and in fact the greater number creates mass
excitement which is highly conducive to a more vigorous form of acrobatics.
A large kit tends to fly within sight of the loft and of course, this is
ideal when a fancier wants to be enjoying the performance of his acrobatic
pigeons. If such a kit ranges out of sight there would be nothing to observe
for most of the flying time. With Tipplers there are no acrobatics. They
have been bred for time on the wing. Sometimes they fly very high when the
weather allows, and this is a spectacle, but Tipplers often spend a lot of
time touring a very wide area at not more than 500 feet altitude. In fact,
if a kit of Tipplers does not range away and out of sight during the fly, it
will not do anything like a marathon time. A small kit of 3 -5 encourages
this essential long ranging.
The disadvantage of a large kit is that being so localised, they never
develop their navigational abilities in the way that long-range pigeons do.
In fact a large kit may never see territory which is more than 1,000 feet
away from the loft. All is well until something happens to cause the large
kit to leave the loft area or in excess of 1,000 feet.
Typically, extremely high flying often involves some drifting. A scare by a
Falcon may cause the kit to bolt out of the area. After a very long spell
when the wind has blown from just one direction, a sudden change of wind
direction may cause the kit to fly over territory, which it has not seen for
a long time. This confuses the pigeons and they may drift further away.
Having never really developed their homing instinct they could be lost. Only
the fittest or the luckiest will pick up some kind of magnetic pull and work
their way back home, but such a fly away often results in the loss of a few
pigeons.
Of course, if the drift extends and darkness falls, no one knows what may
happen to even the best of them. Beware then of these long spells of a
fairly consistent wind direction. In England this is always from the South
to West quarter. The danger comes when the winds change to the North and
East quarter very suddenly. According to my records such kits involved in
such a flyaway return in a stressed condition from which it takes a few days
for them to recover.