An Important Note To Racing Pigeons

Generally, racing pigeons occur when there is a group of pigeons gathered in a specific liberation point and then released at the same time. The time of release is then recorded. Depending on the kind of race, the birds should return to their lofts or home and are clocked in. Clocking in is done by the removal of a number rubber band that is commonly attached to their legs and then putting it on a special clock. Therefore, the exact time of arrival is recorded.

Prior to the race, the distance between the starting point and the home has already been measured. The time that the pigeon takes to fly home is converted into yards flown per minute. That is then noted as the bird's speed.

Several years ago before any of the special clocks being utilized now have been invented, the pigeon was taken to the central meeting point to time in. Because of the evolution of the sport, the competing birds are now timed in through the use of the electronic clocks and the uniquely bar coded bands. They don't only serve the purpose of timing it but likewise calculate the pigeon's travel rate.

To sum things up, pigeon race is made up of pigeons that are released by the owners in order to let them fly home. It is not the distance that is measured but the rate on how fast it flies in yards per minute. That then is the basis for determining the winner.

Other important things to note of include the following:

Feeding the Pigeons

Pigeon racing becomes more of an interesting subject to tackle basically because there are different beliefs that come along in terms of feeding the bird. The pigeons require attention as to the kind of food to feed them whether it is seed, fruits, and a combination of both, how much it needs, and the likes. The fliers also tend to provide supplements because they believe these will help improve the bird's competing performance. So basically, every owner has his own principle in caring for the bird and enhancing its ability to compete in a race.

Loft Survey

This term refers to the distance between the race station or liberation point or starting point and the loft or home. The survey enables the pigeon flier to note of the distance flown as based on the time consumed by the bird to fly and then convert it into speed or yards per minute. There are now special commercial companies that a flier can contact to furnish this kind of service.

Timing Clock

This is the device that records the time that the pigeon has arrived home. This is where the special bar coded rubber band on the pigeon's leg is placed for timekeeping.

Training Basket

Also known as carriers, these are the small and portable containers that provide the ease in transporting the pigeons. Many of the training baskets can carry up to 12 pigeons.

There you go with the impression that racing pigeon is really exciting and at the same time being taken seriously by many of its enthusiasts.