Well folk, here we are well in to April and at last the weather, though still very wet, is at least in the range of temperatures, being a little kinder to us southeners, another couple of weeks of this and I might have to start thinking of pairing up a couple of the 'special' pairs. As with the last season I again do not intend breeding from the majority of the birds this year. Having never been interested in being a 'seller' and with more and more fanciers appearing to be cutting down, I see little or no point in raising dozens just to bin them if they do not quite match up to my expectations or I decide not to move them on.
In my opinion passing on faulted birds to newcomers or inexperienced fanciers without pointing out the faults is not being a good guy, it is being a crook. Last year I finished up with just eight youngsters and if after my end of year selections I can match that figure I will be more than happy. Almost as important as getting a few of the birds put together was to be getting a new lick of paint on the lofts themselves. The harsh winter weather certainly took its toll on some of the older timbers and the 50ft Perspex covered aviary will need re-roofing, but due to unforeseen circumstances that has now all been put on hold. In tandem with life in and on the pigeon loft our large garden, unfortunately, doesn't look after itself too well either. Scraping and sieving, painting and fixing, followed by digging, weeding and planting, it's a great life being a pigeon fancier isn't it.
My beloved 'other half' is certainly going to earn her corn over the next few months, it means though that in line with all the industrial unrest that is prevalent at the moment I'll probably have to increase her pocket money to as high as ten bob a week and cut her hours to just 18 a day.
As is about par for the course at this time of the year any newsworthy information from around the Fancy, apart from the silly, unsavoury and not entirely unpredictable murmurs of a minor skirmish within a breed club, has been somewhat scarce, but on the positive side it has now been confirmed that the increasingly popular Blackpool Show of the Year will be held over the weekend of 22 - 23 January and the National Young Bird show is on 6 November. There are of course many exciting and worthwhile summer shows for you to both attend and to exhibit. I have never been an active supporter of these events, purely on the grounds that my birds are usually still in breeding mode, I do however enjoy getting to some of them as a spectator and they really do need the support of you and if at all possible, your birds if they are to grab the attention of the passing viewers. They are important for the Fancy as shop windows to the general public. I don't think that we will ever gain too many new fanciers from them but at the very least it could sow the seeds for future convertees and they do tend to keep the more livestock aware members of the public on our side. There are of course also many splendid club-run events organised all around the country, so support your 'local' by getting yourself involved in these events.
Read the rest of this article in the April 2010 issue of Feathered World
