Extreme long distance pigeons
After the last race, all hens on one loft in small trays
A couple of days after the last race from Perpignan, all hens' nests are broken down. Pigeons are separated by gender. By means of a small insert piece, every nesttray is divided into three little trays.
The yearling hens, that competed on Bourges II (that same weekend) join them a few days later. As soon as the young hens are showing mating behaviour, they get put on that loft as well.
It doesn't get any easier than that: young birds, yearlings and old hens, all together on one loft.
Widowers start their first of two nests a week after Perpignan
The old widowers get coupled a week after Perpignan. The yearlings that competed on Bourges II get a nesttray and hen for the very first time.
They are allowed to brood twice for 10 days. The eggs from the best ones are put with feeding couples.
Around the 22nd of september, the genders are separated, which remains until spring time on the 15th of april.
Free resistance + free oxigen cure on top
At homecoming from their last race, both cocks and hens exclusively get elektrolytes in their drinking water, nothing else. After that, the drinking pots get refilled, but not scrubbed or cleaned. All pigeons get to go from loft to aviary and back. Everything in favour of building resistance. Also, cocks and hens fly out every other day, rain or shine. During the moult, with open loft. Once the moult is over, as obligatory exercise. This flying out in turns continues until coupling for the new season, which means I can start training pretty much immediately.
Breeding from april till the end of september
The new season starts with the coupling of nesthens on the first of april. Eggs from the ones with the most promise get put with feeding couples. The widowers get together on the 15th of april and after 10 days of brooding, they go on widowhood. Again, eggs from the best ones are put with feeding couples.Training happens in big strides, because by half may they are in Vierzon (450km). The breeders from father Hubert are available to me from half april onwards. Once again feeding couples are used as to get as much young birds from a chosen few (usually 10 talents) as possible.
Building resistance and training...performance is for after all that
All rounds of young birds are put together on one loft. They don't see a single travel basket, nor any kind of medicine in their first year of life. Sick young ones stay on the loft and 'infect' the others. It occurs that one or two don't survive, but that's just life. By the end of the season, genders are separated. Idem dito with the yearlings. Vaccination against paramyxo and pox, but no other medicine. Genders remain separated and join a race every other week. Cocks one week, hens the other.
They only train a couple of times per week and come home pretty badly all season. There are next to no losses, but more than half of them sleep outside at least once. The last race of the yearlings is the national Bourges II (450km). All that comes home gets to stay and will be tested as a two year old.
As a two year old, it's all or nothing
From two years onwards, hens race on nest, coupled to (breed)cocks. Immediately after coupling on the first of april, training starts. After homecoming by the end of brooding, the nests are brokend down.​ That way they go on their first nest till 200-300km, on their second to Bourges I national (450km), on their third to Argenton national (520km) and on their fourth and final nest - with a young as little as possible - to Narbonne international (890km). No prize there equals end of career in 99% of cases. The two year old widowers continue one day long distance races and join their older loftmates racing an international, on the same weekend. They don't necessarily have to target first prize, but if they do not display an ounce of class, it's end of story here as well.
I try to avoid having two year old widowers stay out overnight as much as possible. I would rather tame the thoroughbreds and loosen the reins at the right time. I don't see a lot of teenagers participate in the "Tour de France" or run a marathon either.
The extreme long distance races and only those
As a three year old, they have to be ready, both hens and cocks. No more excuses. Nesthens go to Pau and Narbonne or Agen and Perpignan. Widowers go to St-Vincent and Perpignan or Agen and Perpignan. Meanwhile, a testloft nestcocks is getting trained for Barcelona and Perpignan. Only Marseille left to complete the international program.
But learn how to walk first... then run.The ultimate goal is to basket 10 to 15 pigeons for each international race. Nothing more beautiful than waiting out such a well trained team of extreme long distance pigeons.
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The emotions that went along with winning the 2nd national Agen and the first international Perpignan - in my second season of extreme long distance - were so overwhelming that it made me even more sure of those races being my thing.