Dacian Busecan

Racing Pigeons - Old Birds Training October 16 2015

Old Birds Training Program

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There are many different ways and techniques to train racing pigeons but the main thing is finding a strategy that will best suit you and your loft.A systematic day-by-day training will give you extremely good results. Bad weather conditions like rain ,heavy wind and extended fog must always be avoided.

These weather conditions are not suitable to train racing pigeons as it can affect their health in a bad way,and you definatelly do not want that for your birds.

The training should take place around 7.30 am -9.30 am when the air is fresh ,with no prior release on that day , no food or water given either.

Once your pigeons have return from the training ,they will find their food and water inside the loft,and this is what you will have to do in every training day.

The effects of this technique is that your pigeons will not spend time outside the loft losing precious time ,they will understand that what they are looking for is inside the loft.

Clear blue sky should be your ideal weather day training .

Check the forecast from the previous day of training ...you don t want to go on a training pigeon trip and when you arrive to the release point to see that the rain is falling down heavily.

Some people make individual release of the pigeons ...one pigeon every 10 minutes or so ...that way the owner makes sure that every bird returns home using his own guidance and not the others team-mates from the group when pigeons are released all at the same time .

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This technique has got good sides and bad sides ,i personally don t apply it ,i think it puts a lot of stress on the bird ,and if you ve got 100 pigeons to train each day than i suggest you take your lunch with you because you will be stuck there for quite a while :)

Ensure that back at the loft the racing pigeons must enter through the trap and somebody is taking notes regarding their arrival time if you do not have an sensor timer clock...if your pigeons does not perform good from one particular release point ,i personally repeat the training 2-3 times until the return is been done in the right time.

Some people train their birds only towards the first race point release ...starting with small distances and gradually increasing them. Personally i train all my pigeons including young birds up to the first day race in all direction ...north south ,east ,west up to minimum 100 km -young birds ,and 150 km older birds ...why ?...because every single race is different .

You will notice that your pigeons will arrive home from all directions and not necesarely from the direction you have released them from.

You can never predict 100% what is going to be on the day race ; a prey bird attack, a big cloud that they need to get around ,hunters who kill flying birds for fun ,all these factors and more others will deviate the pigeons from their initial course ...by training them from all direction from minimum 100 km radius ,you will increase your pigeon`s chances enormously, to find his way home in the shortest time possible ...i hope that does make sense to you :)

When you start your old birds training you will need to think of what system you will race on that particular season and make the homing pigeons training accordingly.

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For example if you choose widowhood for cocks and natural for hens than you will have to train separately the cocks and separately the hens ... you will obviously need to put them on different baskets and release the cocks first ,and then after half an hour or 1 hour the hens it is entirely up to you ...the idea is that you don t want them to meet in any way only in the week of basketing please (see the Racing Systems presentaion)

Here is how i train my old birds 4 weeks before the first race.

Week 1

20km- day 1

25km-day 2

30km- day 3

40km-day 4

45 km-day 5

2 days off relaxing

week2

40km-day 1

70km-day 2

90 km-day 3

100km-day 4

100km-day 5

2 days off

week3

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150 km west-day 1

150km est -day2

150 km north-day3

150 km south-day4

150 km in the race direction -day5

2 days off

week 4 -this is really important presuming that saturday is your first race -(eg :100km) especially for widowhood system .

90 km -day 1

100km-day2 -very close to the releasing point of the day race -(present the hen or the cock to the pigeon you are training-see the widowhood system)

90 km-day 3

100km-day4- exactly like day2

day 5 -pigeons stay inside the loft - it is the basketing day ...

What you ve done especially in week 4 you ve put the pigeon that you will race exactly in the same situation with the day before basketing...you need to see how he / she behaves when returning from training ...obviously his mate will be in his box waiting for him ...keep eye on them ...

As i mentioned this is the program and method i m using to train my homing pigeons BEFORE the first race.As soon as the racing season has started i will train my pigeons daily from 60- 90 km in the last day of training week with relax inside the loft in the day of basketing .

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I also do not present any hens to the cocks during the week (presuming that i will race cocks on the widowhood system )only in the day of basketing.

Training for Long and Marathon distances The Training for the long and marathon distances is different from the speed and middle distance,here your main goal is to keep your pigeons on shape but also with a lot of relaxing inside the loft.

If in the speed and middle distance races you can send the same pigeon to the race every week in the long distance and marathon it is very wise not to, and is scientifically and practically proven along the years that the pigeon who has done your first long distance race to be send on the next long distance race after minimum 10 days .

Regarding the marathon races the minimum time recommended in between the races is 20-25 days .

The training for the long and marathon distances i recomend to be done twice per week let us say tuesday and thursday when you will take your racing pigeons to a distance for up to 70 km, at least that is what i do .Excepting these two days the pigeons will exercise around the loft every morning at six o`clock the hens for 1 hour minimum ,followed by the cocks 1 hour minimum .

Next training session around the loft in the same day will take place at 5 o`clock on the afternoon hens for minimum 1 hour followed by the cocks at 6 o`clock again minimum 1 hour.

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When i say 1 hour it means 1 hour in the air and not flying from the loft on the house and back again ,at the beginning if the pigeons do not respond to the fact that they need to be in the air you can simply use a flag or an extendible stick with a balloon attached or a flag on the end.

Soon your pigeons will get used with this program and they will execute it with pleasure .

Great care is to be taken when performing these round the loft trainings in the way that the widower cocks are training separate from the hens flown on the natural system or other systems you may choose.

Food and water is to be taken out from the loft from the previous night and this way your pigeons will be keen to enter the loft making your job much easier to manage .When pigeons inside the loft, food and water will be provided .After the pigeons were fed they will spend their day relaxing inside the loft .

From this short presentation you learned how you can train your                     pigeons using before and during the racing season. If you would like to learn more in depth about these techniques  please check my other writings here:                  https://www.amazon.com/author/dacianbusecan                   www.pigeonsatoz.com   More from the author

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1). “Racing Pigeons Advanced Techniques ­ The  Ultimate Guide”  ­    Black & White ­ Paperback edition.  2). “ Racing Pigeons Advanced Techniques ­ The Ultimate Guide  Vol.II  Full colored & Black & White  Paperback edition.   3). “Racing Pigeons Advanced Techniques ­ Young Birds Training” ­ Full coloured Paperback edition.   4).“Racing Pigeons Advanced Techniques ­ Young Birds Racing”  ­ Full coloured Paperback edition .   5).“Racing Pigeons Advanced Techniques ­ Old Birds Training and Racing Systems ” ­ Full coloured Paperback edition.  6). “Racing Pigeons Advanced Techniques ­ Breeding and Pairing” ­ Full coloured Paperback edition.  7). “Racing Pigeons Advanced Techniques ­ Feeding Secrets” ­ Full coloured Paperback edition.  8). “Pigeon Racing ­ Deep into Sport ­ Diseases and Treatment “ ­ Full coloured Paperback edition  9).  “Racing Pigeons ­ Natural Remedies”­ Black & white Paperback edition   10). “Over 100 Top Tips in Pigeon Racing”­ Black & white Paperback edition  11). “Pigeon Racing Beginners Guide” ­ Black & white Paperback edition  12).  “Deep into Sport ­ Hand Bird Selection ­ Pigeon Racing” ­ Full colored Paperback Edition  

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