The show season is at a close and the time has come that we must now start to think about what our objectives for the forthcoming season will be. Two key points spring to mind straight away but there are others to consider as well, but the major two are as follows?
How many of this year's youngsters are good enough to go into the breeding loft? One good sign that your stud is going forward is when the youngsters beat your old birds at the shows consistently for the NPA certificate and best of breed. With your stud going forward this way each year it is extremely difficult to get a champion certificate with your old birds. This may sound a little crazy if you are chasing Champions but I know which way I would rather have my breeding standard, objectives and quality go.
How many old birds failed to breed last year and need to be replaced in the programme? This is where you need to keep a record of what birds your youngsters are bred from so that you know what birds to take out of your breeding programme for the next season. Don't get me wrong, we all get attached to our birds and I keep too many old birds myself and still I find myself saying I'll just try one more season with this one maybe paired up with a young hen or cock and in a box on their own, I'll just see if I can get one more good egg out of this old stock bird.
The circle of life is all around us and we still do not take notice of Mother Nature's rule which is the survival of the fittest, and maybe we keep going down the same old route each year in the hope that we have an older pigeon click and produce that one outstanding youngster from that old favourite. Our older birds are fitter with our help rather than if they were fending for themselves in the wild only because we give them the best feed and supplements we can buy, but their breeding life is not that long these days. Our Show Tumbler breeds are an example as any that are over five years old and still breeding consistently are a rarity because the gene pool is getting a little close and fertility is suffering as a result.
