Control I

Jack Prescott
(Internet Published) Oct 2000

Before we can start to use any working animals or working pigeons, we must be able to control them. They must be trained and disciplined before they are actually put to work. All to often men put their pigeons to work before they are properly trained, in the hopes that they will train as they work. This makes about as much sense as taking a learner driver into heavy traffic in the city during his first three lessons and turning him loose to drive on his own, or to throw a child into the river to teach him how to swim.

I am here to write about Tipplers and they are probably the most difficult of livestock to train. At an early age and even in their first attempt at flying around the loft area they are notoriously liable to go completely out of control - Totally ignoring the Droppers and their frustrated and very worried owners. From a very early age, contest intended Tipplers should be closely involved with the Droppers and should spend a lot of time with them on the loft top and just flapping about the general yard area with careful supervision and protection from their owner. During the early stages the Tipplers and the Droppers are one unit, all of them to be very familiar with each other. It is a fact, that young pigeons are intensely gregarious, so we must exploit their gregariousness from a very early age. As they grow a little older, they gradually loose their intense gregariousness and become more individualistic. At first they are like sheep that will follow each other even into the slaughterhouse. Young Tipplers will loose each other because not one of them has yet the ability to make a decisive and confident move towards home, or the Droppers.

This initial training from a very early age (About 24 days) will ensure that these trainees are fully imprinted on the Droppers and the loft area. It is no use throwing Droppers at Tipplers that are not fully imprinted upon such Droppers. You might just as well throw your hat at them because they will not respond.

However, it all takes time, a lot of dedication and an awful lot of patience. But these early training ordeals are soon over and then we can relax and keep a more casual watch with more confidence.

I think that all good Tipplermen will be able to tell you of their experiences when young trainees have bolted into the distance during their first attempt to fly around. In absolute despair, such men have declared such trainees to be certainly lost and yet such men have almost been reduced to tears of relief when such "certainly lost ones" have returned to prove that the work has been a success.

These first lessons should not involve dark flying as I think that would be asking too much.

[Internet Published Oct 2000 at http://www.tipplers.com/jack/]