NOW that the racing season has come to an end at Amanzimtoti Racing Pigeon Club, preparation for the next years racing gets underway.
“We now enter the breeding season where we take our stock birds and those which have performed well in racing and pair them up to produce what we all hope are superior performers that will give us the success we look for,” said the club’s chairperson, Doug Fry.
Before breeding, the birds are given a rest, while they are treated with various medications to ensure they are in peak condition. The pairing birds are then carefully selected and placed in a breeding pen.
It generally takes 10 days before the hen lays her two eggs, which both the hen and the cock incubate for 18 days. The hen sits at night and the cock during the day from about 09:00 to 16:00.
The eggs hatch on the 18th day and are fed pigeon milk by both the hen and the cock for the first few days before gradually going onto more solid food. The chicks leave the nest after about 28 days when they can eat and fly.
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The chicks then get vaccinated against various diseases and begin loft orientation, which is letting the chicks out to fly and teach them to return to the loft after exercise. Birds of prey are a major concern at this time, as these young birds are vulnerable in the air.
According to Doug, from February, there is a moult where all the birds, young and old, shed their feathers and grow new ones. By April they look beautiful and start to exercise readily. Training for the next season begins with the first race around the first Saturday in June.
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