When breeding pigeons, I often think that maybe these pigeons will live longer than they do. Nevertheless, the thinking about breeding continues, as the slightest slack and negligence can change the performance of the pigeons.
I know that even though the pigeon population is in good condition at the moment, it will be difficult to make a comeback after the decline due to improper introduction.
I intend to upgrade the performance of this breed by incorporating The Sanjays pigeons and then return them with the pigeons that have flown out of the results.
It is still in the stage of releasing and verifying the release of foreign blood, but some of the pigeons that were originally unknown have begun to show their prominence.
For example, the pigeon that won the Prime Minister's Award was born at the age of two, and the father pigeon was introduced in 1995 "Wright. Tom is the son of his peers, and the hen is the peer of the "White Star" in my shed.
Another phenomenon worth analyzing in this pairing is that the cocks are large and the hens are small, and the small offspring they have been awarded by the Prime Minister, indicating that the use of Sanjays pigeons will also produce different results depending on the mating partner.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > sancchian gold pairing</h1>
I like the Sanjays because it is faster and better than other pigeon breeds.
Another reason is that every pigeon in the series contains the bloodline of "6080" X "8022", and even one of the parents in the next generation is always related to this gold.
I feel that this overlapping inbred lineage is well suited as a cross-blood of this pigeon breed. I don't know much about genetic theory, but I have a hunch that hybridizing with two completely different, excellent bloodlines bred in multiple inbreedings may result in one plus one equals three or four.
Based on this idea, I continued to explore and practice and fortunately achieved the current results, and later asked the visiting Hehejing for advice, and he also said that this is the ideal pigeon breeding mode.
In the past, I have successfully crossed the inbred Opel line with the relatively inbred Theon line.
This discovery of the Sanjays fast pigeon breed was based on 6080 × 8022" and bred over many years.
Through the analysis of the pedigree of this line, I can feel the breeder's full trust in this golden pair, and I am convinced that I will gain something by interbreeding with this line of pigeons.
After the initial attempts in '93-95, I began to use more offspring, the outstanding Sanjays and the pigeons of the breed, which were crossed with the pigeons of the same line, and increased the proportion of runners bred from the Iwata × the Sanjay line to one-third of the total number of pigeons.
The regrouped pigeon team in my loft consists of three main groups: one-third of the pure rock field pigeons. Pigeons of more than a dozen bloodlines, such as Jensen, Rosens and Magic Star, imported through Herbert, account for one-third. Iwata × sanjays account for one-third of the pigeons.
Due to the size and number of pigeons in the loft, I have been wearing different coloured rings on the young birds according to their pedigree since '95, so that I can see at a glance how the pigeons of different pedigrees have returned.
The confirmed results showed that there was no difference in the proportion of pigeons returning home from the Sanjays lineage and other bloodlines.
I also selected the offspring of the Iwata and Sanjays hybrids to breed with pure Sanjays and conducted release tests in 1996 and 1997, and in the spring of '98 there were already two-year-old backcrossers racing, and the results were all very good as expected.
Compared with belgian pigeons, Iwata pigeons are small and weak, and although the proportion and muscle are poor, the gap caused by long-term inbreeding cannot be denied.
In this sense, the Sanjays, Jensen, and various bloodlines introduced through Hubbard greatly improved the size of the Iwata lineage.
Now the whole body and waist of the pigeon are more compact and powerful, and even the "head and face" have changed. But it also made me cry and laugh, because I had hoped to retain at least some of the external features of the Iwata system.
Since most of the pure Iwata breeders are in advanced age, it is necessary to pay attention to the retention of breeds so that they can be returned at any time, and I have sent the top ten pure rock breeders in 1998 to the breeding loft and have made a special private ring for the return pigeons.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the structure of the loft and the homing of the pigeons</h1>
Pigeon-based loft construction
The introduction of the Sanjays breed made my original breeding loft crowded and the old loft was very old.
So I built a new loft in '92. Since the beginning of '93 I have been moving my pigeons into the new loft and I have been separating the males and females, so that the W or semi-W management regulates the spawning of the hens, avoiding the change in the racing schedule that will affect the hens from racing, and the status of the other runners is easier to adjust and maintain.
I think that the construction of the loft should be based on pigeons, and providing a place for pigeons to live in is more important than the luxury of the building itself.
The height of the loft and perch should be based on the ease with which the pigeons are caught. The loft is built very high to frighten the pigeons when catching pigeons, and over time it will affect the affinity between the pigeons and the people.
Let the pigeons feel that there is nowhere to hide them will be stable and honest, on the contrary, the habit of desperately trying to escape will make the pigeons form a grumpy personality.
In summer, there are more south winds, and the loft should be seated north to south in order to form a south-to-north ventilation in the hot season. It is also important to note that the door where the breeder enters the loft should be set from the light to the dark, for example on the same side of the landing platform.
If it is located on the side of the loft, the pigeons will flee to the other side as soon as they enter the loft, which over time will make the pigeons form the habit of hiding when they see people. The position of the door should make it easy for the pigeon to judge the movement of the person after entering the loft, so that the pigeon can stay in the nest with confidence, rather than panicking and always wanting to move to a safer position.
In addition, I have been separating the pigeons for a long time, and the loft is designed according to the requirements of the semi-W system where the male and female are not completely separated and can meet from time to time.
I have been experimenting with the W since the 1960s, often suffering from the fact that the pigeons' estrus is difficult to suppress, and the terrain and climate conditions in Japan are very harsh, and most of the pigeons are lost before they are three years old and have not yet fully adapted to the W system.
My current practice is to separate the male and female from 200 km, and if a hen lays eggs, it will be separated from 150 km.
The juxtaposed hens and males are separated by barbed wire, and the back-to-back perch between the two lofts can be covered with wooden planks, which can be adjusted according to the excitement of the pigeons at different times, so that the pairs of males and females can see or not see each other and are aware of each other's presence at any time.
The separation and egg-hugging methods were used separately in 1998 and I separated all the pigeons until the end of the 700 km race.
The separation of young pigeons and pigeons without mates continues at 1000 km, allowing pairs of pigeons to participate in subsequent races while holding eggs for a number of days.
The egg-hugging method can enhance the pigeon's attachment to the nest and eggs, but it is not advisable to use this method to allow young pigeons to participate in long-distance races, as they may get lost in the way due to the lack of a tendency to return to the nest and cause a misalignment.
The egg-holding method is usually to have pigeons over the age of two hold their eggs for about a week during pigeon collection, and for three- and four-year-olds to hold eggs for seven to twelve days.
Since the pigeons scheduled for the 100 km GN race had been racing the previous year, I suspended and separated them from 500 km onwards, allowing the males and females to cohabit and occupy the nest eighteen days before the GN set- pigeons.
There are often falcons in my neighborhood, so the day before the pigeon collection is not allowed to fly out of the house.
I usually feed the pigeons early in the morning and then have the separated males and females come together for a day and a night together, sometimes on the day of the pigeon market.
In short, I prefer to have the pigeons basketed after eating and drinking and the excitement subsides rather than having the male and females together for a few hours compared to the W system.
The main point of this method is to let the male and female meet occasionally, laying the emotional foundation for the subsequent egg hugging or pre-match reunion.
I don't know if I'm doing it properly, but judging by the results of the competition, it works well. Enabling pigeons to get a good rest in separation and stimulating their desire to return home through the gathering of males and females is also one of the means of improving the return rate.
However, if the target is targeted at the overall champion and it is imperative, other means must be taken to strengthen the stimulation of the pigeons, such as increasing the number of egg holding days or adopting natural management.
The natural system can concentrate five pairs of three- and four-year-old pigeons under strict and meticulous management, holding the first nest of eggs for no more than ten days and ensuring that the pigeons do not gain weight when they collect pigeons.
My loft is in a disadvantageous position and I have to be five or six minutes ahead of the other lofts to win a combined first prize.
This year's first regional N prize was won due to the excellent condition of the pigeon team as a whole, whereas in the past I have always lost to others in races with a gap of just a few seconds, and the first two times I won a combined first prize were half an hour to an hour ahead of the other lofts.
The Japan Sea won me my first comprehensive first prize as a young pigeon on the ninth day of egg holding.
The cocks start biting the hen again after five or six days of egg holding, and there is a certain degree of emaciation but increased food intake, which is the right state to participate in the race.
After that, as the number of egg holding days increases, the weight will also increase rapidly, and if the pigeons do not take careful and meticulous management methods, they will be too fat to compete.
For pigeons holding eggs, it is mandatory to let the male and female fly in place of the house, at which point the pigeons can fly very well, while single pigeons that are stinging or in heat are often bored with flying.
In '79 my GN Queen won a comprehensive GN race, and the other pigeons won a second GN race, a 3rd, 4th and 5th overall CH race, a comprehensive 1st regional N race, etc. The long distance racers that season all raced by egg holding method.
However, the main reason for the good results was the reinforcement of the pigeon team due to the return of 65 pigeons in the 1000 km race in 1978.
Pigeon racing is about success and whether it's a home run or a hit, it has to be backed by a strong team of players.
I think that of the factors that influence the results of long-distance races, the role of human management accounts for only 10%, and the remaining 90% is the strength of the pigeon team.
To be continued...
Wen | Iwata Seizo
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