Ystalyfera & dsrfc annual show!
This show took place on the 27th of December 2014 (sorry for the delay) I would like to congratulate Mr B.T Rocke on winning best in show and best old bird being 1st & second hens handling and 1st & 3rd cocks handling, so a little bit about Brian, Brian has a small L shaped loft at the bottom of his garden in trebannos south Wales with the famous name of silver Wings which is printed above the door quite clearly so everyone can see Brian keeps a small team of around 30 old birds and 45 young Birds these mainly being Jan aardens which I must say are of great quality as Brian does not shy away from spending a few pound you mainly see Brian in the result from around 200 miles up he enjoys the distance.
Pictured below is Mr Brian Rocke holding the two winning birds and also Morgan lewis the author.
This show took place on the 27th of December 2014 (sorry for the delay) I would like to congratulate Mr B.T Rocke on winning best in show and best old bird being 1st & second hens handling and 1st & 3rd cocks handling, so a little bit about Brian, Brian has a small L shaped loft at the bottom of his garden in trebannos south Wales with the famous name of silver Wings which is printed above the door quite clearly so everyone can see Brian keeps a small team of around 30 old birds and 45 young Birds these mainly being Jan aardens which I must say are of great quality as Brian does not shy away from spending a few pound you mainly see Brian in the result from around 200 miles up he enjoys the distance.
Pictured below is Mr Brian Rocke holding the two winning birds and also Morgan lewis the author.
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J & P Webber
Welsh South Rd Notes
Mr Mrs J & P Webber, Abbertillery, Best R P R A overall performance O/b 2014
Q1, Name of your bird
Solo 13
Q2 Any performances before this season
As a young bird she flew the whole programme including three channel races using the darkness method. As a yearling she again flew the whole programme winning 32nd WSRNFC Nort-Sur-Edre (304 mls) made a mistake in Saints and returned early next morning no worse for wear.
2014: Flew the whole programme up to Nort-Sur-Edre, winning : 12th fed Littlehampton 128ml 4,178b, 7th fed and 7th WSRNFC Nort-Sur-Edre 304ml 2087b,
1st WSRNFC Bergerac 502mls 245b only bird into Wales on the night 15 ½ hrs on the wing and beating the 2nd pigeon in the National by 2 ½ hrs also won WSRNFC gold cup for best performance and an RPRA award for best overall performance welsh region by an old bird 2014
Q3 Breed of bird.
The breeding technique is always to breed through winners or breeders of winners and this hen is no exception as her mother was 1st national Lillers beating 8087b and came from a prolific breeding pair known as Mouse x Show cock, mouse won 1st national Crieff and the show cock came from a long line of winning Houben pigeons.
The sire of the hen was brought in from George Carteus and as always bred through Georges good winners. It’s also worth noting that this year’s winner Solo 13 has already bred two young birds this year (2014) that have won £1250 between them in the local breeder / buyer from Carentan winning 12th & 34th WSRNFC in a real tough race.
Q4 What system was it flown on
All the birds are flown on the natural system but the sexes are separated for a couple of weeks to prepare them for their designated races although some may be left on the so called roundabout if they respond positively to that system. Solo13 was sent sitting 10 days for Bergerac as we know this family respond really well on the nest.
Q5 When was it paired up
Both stock and race Birds are paired up on the middle to end of February weather permitting
Q6 Your system of getting birds into racing condition,[ training, feeding, racing,]
All the birds are locked up through the winter months because of the diabolical raptor problem we release them a couple of weeks before we pair but only under supervision so the weather plays a big part for both the birds and our selves. We gradually ease them into doing 1hr morning and evening over the course of the next few weeks and give a couple of training flights once we think they are fit enough. These days training is kept to the minimum due to the hawk problem.
Once the birds are paired they are fed in their boxes morning and evening using a light feed in the morning and heavier feed for the evening, most of our feed is usually sourced straight from the farm and peanuts are used to encourage tameness. We use vitamins twice a week and garlic is always present in the water, droppings are sent to the vet for analysis and medication only given on their recommendation.
We try to race the birds most weeks up to 250ml after which we select for different specialist races and introduce a hopper of beans in preparation for the longer races. If the birds are rested the1hr morn and evening still ensue.
Our motto has always been they won’t win anything sat on a perch.
Phil Fishlock
Mr Mrs J & P Webber, Abbertillery, Best R P R A overall performance O/b 2014
Q1, Name of your bird
Solo 13
Q2 Any performances before this season
As a young bird she flew the whole programme including three channel races using the darkness method. As a yearling she again flew the whole programme winning 32nd WSRNFC Nort-Sur-Edre (304 mls) made a mistake in Saints and returned early next morning no worse for wear.
2014: Flew the whole programme up to Nort-Sur-Edre, winning : 12th fed Littlehampton 128ml 4,178b, 7th fed and 7th WSRNFC Nort-Sur-Edre 304ml 2087b,
1st WSRNFC Bergerac 502mls 245b only bird into Wales on the night 15 ½ hrs on the wing and beating the 2nd pigeon in the National by 2 ½ hrs also won WSRNFC gold cup for best performance and an RPRA award for best overall performance welsh region by an old bird 2014
Q3 Breed of bird.
The breeding technique is always to breed through winners or breeders of winners and this hen is no exception as her mother was 1st national Lillers beating 8087b and came from a prolific breeding pair known as Mouse x Show cock, mouse won 1st national Crieff and the show cock came from a long line of winning Houben pigeons.
The sire of the hen was brought in from George Carteus and as always bred through Georges good winners. It’s also worth noting that this year’s winner Solo 13 has already bred two young birds this year (2014) that have won £1250 between them in the local breeder / buyer from Carentan winning 12th & 34th WSRNFC in a real tough race.
Q4 What system was it flown on
All the birds are flown on the natural system but the sexes are separated for a couple of weeks to prepare them for their designated races although some may be left on the so called roundabout if they respond positively to that system. Solo13 was sent sitting 10 days for Bergerac as we know this family respond really well on the nest.
Q5 When was it paired up
Both stock and race Birds are paired up on the middle to end of February weather permitting
Q6 Your system of getting birds into racing condition,[ training, feeding, racing,]
All the birds are locked up through the winter months because of the diabolical raptor problem we release them a couple of weeks before we pair but only under supervision so the weather plays a big part for both the birds and our selves. We gradually ease them into doing 1hr morning and evening over the course of the next few weeks and give a couple of training flights once we think they are fit enough. These days training is kept to the minimum due to the hawk problem.
Once the birds are paired they are fed in their boxes morning and evening using a light feed in the morning and heavier feed for the evening, most of our feed is usually sourced straight from the farm and peanuts are used to encourage tameness. We use vitamins twice a week and garlic is always present in the water, droppings are sent to the vet for analysis and medication only given on their recommendation.
We try to race the birds most weeks up to 250ml after which we select for different specialist races and introduce a hopper of beans in preparation for the longer races. If the birds are rested the1hr morn and evening still ensue.
Our motto has always been they won’t win anything sat on a perch.
Phil Fishlock