| This edition of Pigeon Ponderings is brought to you by the Arizona Pigeon Club in cooperation with Gary Miller. Gary has been raising, racing & showing pigeons for many years. He's always ready to help others in the fancy / sport and his advice is sought and appreciated by many. Gary is currently the Show Secretary for the Arizona Pigeon Club. We want to express our appreciation to Gary for his contribution to our web pages. |
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You can bet that with every successful pigeon fancier, be they show, race, or utility there is an extensive amount of records kept. It is necessary to keep good records of each pair's production and their young. It is necessary if birds are to be improved on in successive generations. Wendell Levi's book "The Pigeon" states that, "breeding pigeons without records is like trying to steer a ship without a rudder." "It will get somewhere, but where, the owner does not know." Record keeping can be done in many ways and is usually the simplest form the fancier can compose. Some fanciers will use 3x5 note cards for each pair, some will use a ledger book designating a half or whole page to a pair of breeders. There are also loft record books available at most pigeon supply outlets. With today's technology one also can use computers and there are several programs available that are very user friendly, just follow the steps given. It doesn't matter at what level a pigeon fancier you are. Record keeping is a must, not just writing down a bird's number but by being as thorough as possible. Use the complete number and description of the bird, as an example: Fantail NPA99AC452 B.C. Hen. The reason you should be so complete is in the event of another year you may have the same series of numbers, and without the banding year you just show the number 452, then you're right back to square one and you wonder which 452 is the bird that raised that terrific bird that won the Blue Check class. A pedigree is a form of record keeping where you can track the background of a bird or family of birds and can see how closely related some birds are. It's a tool in breeding. It helps you select what your pairings are going to be. A good pedigree will have, besides a listing of parents, and grandparents, and great grandparents, comments that pertain to each bird as a performer or a breeder. Some fanciers will not purchase birds unless a pedigree is supplied with the bird. For this, buyer beware, as the pedigree is only as good as the person who fills it out. Pedigrees don't win shows or win races. It's just a tool to help guide you to breeding better birds. |
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Gary Miller. |
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External Parasites - Layne Gardner Are Pigeons Right For You? - Gary Miller |