Until 16 years ago, all of my pigeons were trained to accept being out at
night. For many years, I had no option but to train them like this.
Otherwise I would have not been able to fly at all between October and
March. This was too much to bear, because I really needed to fly each
evening. In those days, I left work at 4:30 PM.
I like to fly my large kit of pigeons twice a day, Sam and 2.30 PM, not less
than 50 and seldom more than 60 in the kit. I fly every pigeon that I have,
in this kit. No droppers, no pigeons kept as prisoners. The only time that
one of my pigeons is detained, is when it is ill, incapacitated by moult
problems or involved in my very brief breeding period.
Whenever one of my pigeons fails to return to my loft and enter my loft by
nightfall, I am very very upset and very worried. I have said with
monotonous regularity that such pigeons are at great risk and the very best
of them and the most experienced specimens may never be seen again.
If you were unlucky enough to be born in England around the mid-1800's, the
best thing that you could do, was to sail to America. The conditions in our
mines and other industries were absolutely appalling.
My statement criticizing the overvaluation of pedigrees and origins is based
on my own opinions and experiences with exchange of letters with U.S.
Tippler men for many many years. Some of these men seemed to know which way
they wanted to go whereas others went from idea to idea like a bee going
from flower to flower yet collecting no "honey".
When a kit of pigeons drifts out of sight, at an altitude of 500 feet or
more, and at the same time is swallowed up in declining daylight, followed
by darkness, only the Almighty knows what such pigeons will do.
They may pitch on some roof top, only a couple of hundred yards away, very
briefly, before striking up again and returning to appear, equally briefly,
o
An old Yorkshire dialect litany says that when something happens to you,
good or bad use it!
For example, if by chance you stumble upon a system that brings regular
success, then you must exploit this system. If however, your experiments or
ideas prove to be disastrous or impracticable, you must use the experience
and avoid the trouble thereafter.
Anything that is left unattended is at very serious risk. It was always so.
Stealing has always been part of human nature. The only difference is, that
in modern times, children are taught, from an early age, that they can do as
they please and that no one is allowed to do very much about it.
