(10/02/2010) Special Loft Youngsters

Special Loft Youngsters

When the youngsters are weaned, around the 20th to 25th of January, the cocks are placed in a separate widowers loft, in as far as this is possible and in as far as the cocks can already be determined.

The preference is 60 or 70 cocks, but there is only room for 48. It is then about a loft where there are 48 widowers boxes. As the youngsters get older, and after a strict supervision, the hidden hens are removed, whilst the cocks that were first thought to be hens, also have to change lofts.
Their first introduction to the open air comes a few days after weaning. They remain in the trap for a few days, and then a few days later they all fly from the loft to the roof. Once they start flying around, they are allowed outside all day.
At the end of March, beginning of April the old widowers are ready for their first trainings race. The young cocks are then 3 months old and they are trained together with the old cocks. And seeing that the Vanhee’s live close to the border, they train their pigeons from different directions up to a distance of 15 to 20 km.
After these short trainings races the young cocks, together with the old widowers, race twice from Clermont, 160 km. Once they have raced these French trainings races, they start showing signs of pairing. They are then fed well for a few days and they are each given a widowers box, if they haven’t already chosen a nest box themselves.
On the 15th of May for the first team of youngsters and on the 15th of June for the second team of youngsters, placed in 2 separate lofts, the old hens come and keep them company. Old hens that are used to this loft and still know their nest box from the previous year.
They remain in the nest box couple for couple until they are well paired. When the nest boxes are opened they sometimes fight or change boxes, but the carer keeps an eye on everything. Hens are locked in their reserved place in the nest box and once the youngster knows his living quarters they are given every freedom in the loft and outside, so that they can express their feelings for their hen as much as they want.

The emphasis is placed, that it is certainly advisable to pair old hens of two years and older with younger cocks. The nest Chase is cut short because older hens already have eggs in the nest after 8 or 9 days of pairing. During the pairing period until the laying these pigeons are given plenty of breeding mixture in the feeding bowl, and also a bit of food and enough grit in the nest box.
During the brooding period they young cocks don’t take part in any competitions. They are fed twice a day: in the morning a soup spoonful depurative per pigeon and in the evening a soup spoonful of breeding mixture per pigeon. This food is enough so that the young cocks don’t become too fat by not racing. During the breeding they are let out twice a day, always at the moment that the hen has taken her place in the nest.
Towards the end of the brooding period the young cocks are once again trained up to 160 km. And when they have a chick in the nest of about 14 days old they have to be ready for the first competition, in other words their first race from Dourdan of 260 km.