[Sex Drive]
(Internet Published) Sept 2000
Traditionally, young pigeons are produced in England early in the year.
Some fanciers just about manage to get bands on the legs of the young ones,
on the day that their issue of new year's bands arrive from the unions,
about the 8th of January. This is a bad time of year. We have only 8 hours
of daylight in the days and nights can be very cold. The frequent gales seem
to be able to get into every place and wind chill often kills early
live-stock of many kinds. However, one way or another, there is usually a
crop of youngsters, well before spring (March 21st).
Most fanciers have electric lighting in the lofts and a few have central
heating. The advantages are that such early young ones are virtually adults
by the time the young bird contests begin. July with Tipplers. July or early
August with racing pigeons. The sexual maturity of racing pigeons,--even at
the age of 5 months of age can be exploited. The sex drive, of course being
the most important incentive for racing pigeons to race home.
Some fanciers even go to the extremes and have such advanced young cocks
mated to old hens either on the natural system or the widowerhood system in
order to more fully exploit the sex drive and cause greater incentive to
race home. The disadvantage is that such early young ones are well into the
molt in July to September and are likely to be rather sore.
Nevertheless the advantages outweigh this disadvantages (according to some).
These men are sometimes experts and will check the wings of all candidates
to assess the degree of soreness caused by primary feather growth because
such feather growth does not cause significant soreness on every day.
A freshly budding feather is of the scarlet and will cause discomfort for a
few days before the feather bursts through. No self respecting racing man
would send a pigeon to a long race in this condition.
With tipplers, the sexual maturity is the biggest problem of all and men go
to a lot of trouble to keep it down. Individual isolated cells for each
tippler that is intended for contests ore indeed any attempts at marathon
times. Such cells, sometimes kept in total darkness do hold down the sex
drive and retard the molt. Nevertheless one sees the vast difference between
racing and tippler methods. Sex is nothing but a nuisance to Tipplermen but
an essential to the Racing Pigeon men, mostly.
Some Tipplermen cannot cope with the problem and so concentrate upon young
birds which are either devoid of sex problems or at least are more easy to
control, regarding that problem. The disadvantage is in America Tipplermen
must resort to Autumn and winter flying where marathon times are impossible.
To do 18:05 plus the fly would have to be May to July where temperatures are
too high on most days. Such pigeons cannot be trained adequately unless
there is some "chance" cooler period. In Britain, it is only be remote
chance that we get 90 degrees F even in June and this obviously is a vast
advantage.