Stock or lack of it is the main question most novice breeders have to answer, do you take what's on offer or try a different way? It is very rare that you get the chance to buy the best so more than likely you get turned away because of a lack of good stock, well 'buyer beware' means exactly that so keep your hands in your pocket until you have a working breeding plan.
Nobody gets into running a business without a plan, pigeon breeding must be viewed as yours and planned if you wish to have the best chance of breeding the best of breed.
Good hard currency has a profound impact on buying stock, those who think buying a bird for £100 is a bad thing, please read another article. Let's rewind a little and say you have bought a pair for a modest £40 because that's what you could afford at the time, try looking long term and do not buy the £40 pair and save that money plus the feed bills they would have swallowed up. Take time to know the standard of the breed you wish to keep and get your eye in, know that breed standard 100% before you seek the next step.
The next step is looking for a cornerstone foundation stud cock, if none is available a hen will do but it just takes one extra year.
Two related stud cocks are best so forget colour at this point as you are going for the right type first, colour comes later but try to keep away from almonds, indigo and dilutes. Getting two related stud cocks becomes number one priority and cost should not come into it, good breeding stock is essential. Spend good money (£1000) on two top drawer stud cocks and buy 12 hens. It is simply thinking better, hands up who thinks I am crazy expecting a new fancier to pay that sort of money. Well if you do then you're the crazy one because I would pair my stud cocks to about six hens each, results could be a maximum of 288 youngsters in one breeding season.
Remember a few duff pairs will eat that in three years and blunt your enthusiasm, the key element is being the best of the best so have the best from the start.
An explanation of redeemed costs of say 40 youngsters sold at £25 each pays for my investment, plus the costs of my army of 60 pairs of feeders = 288 youngsters now that’s breeding into a better plan. The stock will not cost one penny, 'teach a man to fish and he feeds himself for life', simply it's about having better tools for the job. Selling your surplus not only funds the plan but gives you competitors, birds in numbers and sadly it is the lack of good healthy stock that kills off enthusiasm, so reverse the trend. Parallel breeding partners and line breeding will be covered later in Februaiy. Some will fail to find what I am saying as a way forward, excuses like, my lofts not big enough or where am to get 60 pairs of feeders from.
Read the rest of this article in the January 2009 issue of Feathered World
