Raul Carreiro / 26 Mar 2011 10:36

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Tippler Subject Category: 

Hi All, I trust you all to be in good health and spirit! I wish to
contribute a few words on the subject of the often times forgotten
importance of the other half of the success or failure in any form of
pigeons, be it flying or show birds. One can acquire the best of breeding
stock from the top fanciers around the world, but without common sense know
how and the ability to properly breed, train and select the best prospects
in flying or recognize the proper type in show birds that resemble the
closest to the Ideal according to a breeds show standard, all the money and
time you have spent on your birds will only bring heartache and mediocre
results at best!
Many times long ago LOL, in my younger teenage days, I would fill up my
loft with a jigsaw puzzle of breeds and take any ones free birds thinking I
could breed the next champion!! Little did I know these "free" birds were
nothing but culls that the unscrupulous breeder was more than happy to get
rid of by passing them on to the unwary novice such as myself back in those
good old days! But you know, these were lessons that should in time help
the novice recognize that their is a wrong and right way of being successful
in pigeons. One lesson I learned was not be like these unscrupulous
breeders who pass on culls and sick birds to the unwary novice! Whether you
sell or gift your birds, only part with birds that you yourself would want
in your loft! Imagine how many young and not so young novices have given up
on raising pigeons because unscrupulous breeders who think of nothing but
monetary gain or are more than happy to gift you his culls. You must also be
wary of gifting or selling birds to unscrupulous persons who know nothing
about the proper care, housing and well being of birds! I once gave a few
pairs of top class young Birmingham rollers from birds that I imported at a
considerable expense to a novice, only to visit him weeks later to find the
birds housed in a dog crate full of wet droppings and fed on nothing but
chicken pellets and water that looked like green Koolade! Maybe because the
birds were free he thought they were of little value! Little did he know
they were from the best proofen breeding pairs I had!!
Back to the importance of the roll of the novice keeper. Even if you acquire
the best stock available, without the knowledge required to get out the
best from your birds as far as performance wise you will only set your self
up for failure!
A novice must absorb all the information he can read or talk to the
experienced flier or breeder he has acquired his birds from. You must then
reflect on your new found knowledge and tweak it to what will work for you.
Not all country's have the same weather conditions conducive to long time
flying so you will have to adjust what you have learned to suit your flying
conditions. Experiment with different feeds and training techniques, but
take your time and do it right. Most important is to always exercise
patience!! I still find myself struggling at times with this part LOL!
When training your young birds you will realize that you are also training
yourself. As the young birds develop you develop! Remember they are young
birds, be consistent if not the birds will become inconsistent.
Feeding is one key to success in tippler flying. Proper feeding will give
you the control. Toooo much, to little or not the right feed and you will
lose control. Feeding is a two edged sword. The birds will let you know when
the feed is right with fly time and performance. Your 1st couple of years as
a novice should be years spent learning every aspect of flying tipplers.
Dont believe you will break any records in your 1st years. The Fanciers who
have these records are not wet behind the ears like you LOL!! Finding a
mentor is a good way to help you develop the know how faster. Your mentor
will help you in not making the same mistakes that they have made and save
you a lot of frustration. You will have to listen to them wisely, they have
been there done that!
These are but a few thing a novice must learn, as there are many others to
learn in this hobby!

Take care,
Raul.


Submitted by Raul Carreiro on 3/26/2011 10:03:36 AM