Tuesday 17 September 2013

Share Syndicate Update!

Pleased to report our sole entry made it back from Ypres, Belgium (265 miles). I had a phone call from Terry to confirm our bird did infact make it back from the Somerset One Loft Race 2013. He came 5 days later but pleased he made it back. From the original entry of 900, only 240 made it to the final and only 80 of those were good enough to return from the final. I am pleased our entry was amongst them. So just to let you all know we had one!

Thursday 12 September 2013

Rasbull Share Syndicate 2013

The final of the Somerset One Loft Race 2013 took place on Sunday 8th September. Sadly our entry failed to time in with just 74 of the 240 birds arriving back home from the race. This concludes the Share Syndicate for 2013 but please see my post prior to this for information regarding the 2014 Rasbull Share Syndicate. In the loft my own birds are resting and moulting and they will not race again this year. I will update if anything much happens but it is all very quiet at the moment.

Sunday 8 September 2013

Updates!

The Final race in the Pigeon Pixels One Loft Race 2013 on the 6th September from 190 miles and our entry finished 3rd Open! We are very pleased with this result. There were 54 birds in the competition at the start so to finish 3rd was very good! We collected the pools for the 2nd week running and collected another £70! The pigeon is bred from 'Rasbull Semtex' and her brother is competing today in the final of the Somerset One Loft Race!
We have just one entry left in the Rasbull Share Syndicate and as mentioned above it is a brother to the bird pictured above. Hopefully the extra distance will help as '10124' has not produced very much to date. Saying that the intake was over 900 birds and only 240 have made the final. So we will be keeping our fingers crossed that he can produce a good performance.

Our entries in the Welsh Classic Challenge have not excelled this year but we still have two in the loft to go on and race as yearlings. These two are bred from 'Rasbull Bullet' and hopefully will go on to better things in the future.

Our entry in the Irish Classic Challenge endured a hard race in the National when Eamon failed to clock out any of the 4 entries he sent. Sadly none have returned and our entry has been lost.

We will be disclosing details for the Rasbull Share Syndicate 2014 in the next few days so stay tuned! I will update late with how '10124' got on in the final from Ypres in Belgium (265 miles) later this evening! Good luck to our shareholders in this bird!

Thursday 29 August 2013

Rasbull Share Syndicate and news update

The 4th Hotspot took place on the 23rd August and our birds once again failed to produce. It has been the story of the season regarding the One Loft Entries. '10124' finished a disappointing 194th out of the 297 entries but about 90 in total failed to return. Amongst them was '10122'. The birds have been marked today 29/8/13 and there are 234 in the loft in total. Sadly '10122' is not on the list. I can only apologise for the poor display from this years birds in the Somerset One Loft race that I entered. I should have waited until the correct pairings were ready and sent their youngsters down instead but I tried 2 pairs that I wouldn't normally have sent. It is my mistakes and one I will not repeat again. Having said that, we still have one in the final and with over 700 birds lost up to this stage at least we have one in the race! I am not holding out much hope for him in the final though and all focus will now be on next years entries. I can assure you I will be reverting back to my tried and trusted breeders to produce the birds that hopefully will compete a lot better than this years entries have done.
In the Pigeon Pixels One Loft Race Hotspot 5 from 176 miles, our entry finished 8th out of the 30 in the race and ended up winning the £50 pools. He seems to be getting better each week so with just 2 weeks left hopefully he has found some form!
The bird in the Irish Classic Challenge raced in the same race and would have finished 14th. He is going with the Irish National this week to Talbenny, so hopefully he will come well from there!
We had '10125' in the Welsh Classic Challenge last week flying from Chale in the Isle of White and he finished 8th in the loft out of the 28 that were sent. The WSR fed had a stinker of a race so very pleased to see him amonsgt the returns. Later in the week Ant Williams posted that '10126' who was another entry in the Welsh Classic Challenge had returned from the first race of the young bird season that saw huge losses. This is the nestmate to '10125' and hopefully will now go on to produce some excellent performances.
My own birds have been put in the aviary and left to continue with the moult. I am doubtful they will be raced again this season. We have a good number for next year and have topped them up with 6 latebreds out of the birds that will produce the entries for next years share syndicate.

Thursday 22 August 2013

Been a while!

Its been a while since I last updated!

Firstly we did send 18 birds to Epsom for the 141 miles race on the 17th July. Despite my optimism we had a stinker. It would be fair to say this was the worst race we have had since returning to the sport. The birds were really slow and came all day in ones. We finished with 13 out of the 18 over the weekend. The last one home was badly injured but should hopefully recover. We had one reported yesterday in Stroud but a phone call this morning saying the bird died during the night from its injuries. The birds have been kept in since the race and I am as yet undecided what to do with them now as they are moulting very badly.

The Pigeon Pixels One Loft held our 4th Hotspot but our two entries were poor this week with '10135' finishing in 25th position out of the 30 entries. '10141' failed to arrive home. Hopefully he can find his way back throughout the week.

The Welsh Classic Challange raced and '10125' did return to the loft but was very late. Hopefully this has done him the world of good and he can now start improving now his fitness is returning.

So enough of that (very depressing weekend indeed!)

This week we will not be sending our own birds as they will be resting and recovering from the race last weekend.

The Somerset One Loft Race are holding their 4th Hotspot from Folkestone tomorrow and we have 2 entries showing on the basket list. '10124' and '10122' are still in there battling away. Hopefully they can produce a good performance tomorrow against the remaining 297 entries.

The Welsh Classic entry '10125' is going to be sent to Chale for this weeks race and hopefully he can produce a better result than last week now he has a race under his belt!

The Pigeon Pixels One Loft Race are racing from 176 miles in the 5th Hotspot and hopefully our entry '10135' can pull his socks up a bit this weekend!

The Irish Classic Challenge entry '10936' would have finished 15th last week if in the Pigeon Pixels One Loft Race and will be rested this week before going to the first of the Irish Nationals next week from Talbenny.


Tuesday 13 August 2013

Rasbull Share Syndicate - 3rd Hotspot

Its been a quiet week with the birds as I have been in Majorca and only arrived back on Friday evening. The birds have been confined to the loft in that time. I did manage to take 21 of them to 28 miles yesterday and all arrived home safe and sound. I will take them again this afternoon. They are racing from 130 miles on Saturday and I am fully expecting a good performance despite the rest in the loft for over a week!

Our new star of the loft 'Rasbull Aquaflight' has now arrived and she has settled in very well. The 2nd Open - Yearling Final of the Somerset One Loft has gone into the breeding loft where hopefully she will breed some very useful youngsters for next years events!

The Somerset One Loft race held their 3rd Hotspot on the 12th August from 122 miles and we had the two Rasbull Syndicate birds in the marked list of 409 birds. The result shows a very difficult race with just 204 birds home on the night! Thankfully both the syndicate birds arrived back if even if somewhat off the pace of the leaders. '10124' finished 156th and '10122' finished 197th but with over 200 still missing I am very pleased they both returned and will live to fight another day!

In the Pigeon Pixels One Loft Race our 2 entries were off the pace this week but again will fight to live another day. Our Irish Classic Pigeon in the same race did fair better finishing 8th. They will all race from 156 miles now on Saturday in the 4th Hotspot.

In the Welsh Classic Challenge our '10125' rested this week after returning late last week when half the team were lost in a dreadful race. He should great heart to return home and after a decent rest will be interesting to see how he performs this coming week.

Will keep you posted on events as they happen! 

Thursday 1 August 2013

Hotspot 2 - Somerset One Loft Race

Rasbull Share Syndicate update:- '10124' was 244th in the 2nd Hotspot today. '10122' has not timed in as yet! 439 birds were sent and 95 yet to arrive back. '10124' had a good look around and I must admit I am quite pleased with that. I find the birds that do well in the early races are often the birds that struggle come the final races! Hopefully this will be good for us! '10122' however is a different kettle of fish! He is just not cutting it at the moment and needs to pull his socks up thats for sure. I would rather have a bit of extra flying but he is going to be fit enough to fly Australia with all the extra miles he is getting under his wing!

Wednesday 31 July 2013

Rasbull Share Syndicate

The 2nd Hotspot takes place tomorrow from 85 miles in the Somerset One Loft Race. I am pleased to report we have both '10122' and '10124' in the marked list! We were missing '10124' from a bad training toss they had in midweek. 439 birds have been sent this week, which is 123 birds down on the 1st Hotspot. The 1st Hotspot winner is also not on the marked list! Keeping the birds in the race through the early Hotspots is the key to success. There really is no point peaking too early and the birds I have sent down this year dont have the zip and speed of the birds the last 2 occasions but hopefully this will allow for a better final race should they make it! Good luck.

The Pigeon Pixels One Loft Race hold our 2nd Hotspot on Saturday also. The distance is again 103 miles and hopefully our 3 birds in the race will do well.

We also have the Welsh Classic Challenge. Unfortunately half the birds were lost in a massive smash for the Welsh South Road Fed, but we did have a gallant bird return the following morning to live to fight another day. Well that day starts on Saturday and hopefully he can do well!

Saturday 27 July 2013

3rd, 4th and 5th Club Newbury!

The young birds were trained every day in the lead up to the race from 34 miles. After going twice Monday they went Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with rest on Friday. They performed very well throughout the week and we got all the injured birds back in the basket. We did drop 1 injured bird returning and also 1 race bird - no idea how we dropped him! We sent 18 to this weeks race from Newbury 97 miles. (17 from the previous weeks race and 1 recovered injured bird) We clocked 9.17am, 9.21am and 9.21am to claim 3rd, 4th and 5th club from 134 birds! I am very happy with this performance as once again we did not have the wind to help us. The South winds can only be a matter of time!! We currently have 17 from 18 birds and are missing the bird that was 1st for us last week!
The Pigeon Pixels One Loft Race had our first Hotspot today from 103 miles, and 3 of our birds were in the line up. Our two in the Pixels OLR were 10th, 11th in the Open (30 birds).The other bird is a Irish Classic Challenge bird and also timed in.
The Welsh Classic Challenge also had their first race today and they had a bad one! We had 4 in the line up but as we speak none have been timed in. They are sitting at 29 from 75. Rain has pulled in this afternoon and I doubt many will make it home tonight so could be a nightout! I will update as I hear the returns but hopefully out 4 can make it!

Friday 26 July 2013

New Star - 'Rasbull Aquaflight'

Can't believe my luck! Have been following the Somerset One Loft Auction and one pigeon stood out for me by a mile.

She is a Hermans Ceusters x Ad Schaerlaeckans pigeon

Grandfather on both sides was Breakaway Boy - 1st Open BBC National Vire 2010
Grandmother was Somerset Dawn - 1st Open Somerset One Loft Race, 310 miles in 2010 beating 2nd pigeon by 1hr and 39 minutes!

She has flown Belgium 3 times in her short racing career and has produced the following results:-

52nd Open Young Bird Final, Somerset One Loft Race 2012, 265 miles, 549 birds
18th Open Yearling Race 2nd Hotspot,  Somerset One Loft Race 2013, 265 miles, 113 birds
2nd Open Yearling Race Final, Somerset One Loft Race 2013 - 389 miles, 79 birds (Beaten by 37 seconds winning £6,450 and clear of the 3rd bird by 27 minutes!)

So I have a double Granddaughter of BBC National Vire 2010 and also a Granddaughter to 1st Open Somerset One Loft Race 2010. She has flown Belgium 3 times and was herself 2nd Open Yealing Race, 389 miles winning £6,450! Here is the link to the Breeders website and this pigeon is from his 'Ace Pair' http://heritagepigeonlofts.com/page6.htm

Over the moon is not the word!

Monday 22 July 2013

Work Again!

The birds were trained twice today - both times from 38 miles! The first toss I sent the 17 race birds from Saturday and 2 birds recovering from injury so having their first toss in a good few weeks. The second toss I put in another having his first toss since being injured. In all 22 birds were sent and we are missing just 1 at nightfall. I am fully expecting him to make his way back home tomorrow. I am hoping to take the birds again training tomorrow from the same place but this will depend on the weather.
In the Somerset One Loft race '10122' arrived safe and sound and clocked in 429th position. There are still around 100 birds adrift tonight. Maybe a few more will work in tomorrow.

Somerset 1st Hotspot

The 1st Hotspot has taken place this morning and our bird WHU13N 10124 finished 222nd from the 562 birds entered. They have been well split up. WHU13N 10122 has not timed yet on the first published result showing 308 pigeons.
I am not to sure what to think with this years birds. In the past they have bombed home in training only to perform quite poorly in the Final race. So I am hoping this years birds are saving more for the final race. It seems to be the birds that produce in the early races are the ones that struggle come the final. Hopefuly if they can stay around the middle of the pack and get some extra fitness from arriving a little behind they will be in better stead come the final. I am very disappointed we lost two prior to the 1st Hotspot but that is life. Maybe '10121' can still arrive back as he was only lost in the toss prior to the 1st Hotspot. I was looking at the chap who won today. He entered 30 in to the race at the start, had 27 after the flyaway and got 15 to the 1st Hotspot so he has dropped quite a few like the rest of us.
I think I have made a mistake with this years pairings. The birds that have produced the goods for me in the past 2 years I have not sent down youngsters from them. I will certainly use these results to ensure the best possible pairings go next year. My timings were out for this year and I split the pair that had produced to see if they could further improve. 'Rasbull Trish' has laid 12 eggs this year and not one have been full! I have now changed her back to the old pairing of 'Rasbull Mr Perfect' and she is currently sitting two eggs that are due to hatch any day. I have reduced the stock birds to a bear minimum and they will be under close scrutiny over this season with their off spring in the Somerset One Loft race, Pigeon Pixels One Loft Race and the Welsh Classic Challenge.

Sunday 21 July 2013

Pleased!

The birds came quite well yesterday from Swindon (2). They liberated at 9.00 and I expected them at 10.30 and sure enough I clocked at 10.30.25! Hows that for calculating the velocity!!
I finished with 17 from 22 so down 5 of which 2 I am very surprised have failed to come. At the club I was 6 minutes behind the winner and 1 minute behind 4th place. I am very pleased with that as the wind failed to suit I think this was always going to limit us but they performed well.
After last weeks rest they will now be back to work this week with daily trainers from 28-34 miles. I am hoping the wind changes for next week with a bit of South in it. If it is then I think they will go very close! I will update if anything happens in the week.
Tomorrow is the first Hotspot in the Somerset One Loft Race and we have 2 birds marked and entered in the Gold Ring. Hopefully they will produce a good performance for the Rasbull Syndicate share holders. Good luck to us and everyone else for tomorrows race!

Friday 19 July 2013

22 gone tonight!

This week has been very hot so I have decided to give the birds a complete rest to reserve energy and recoup after their extensive training programme to date. They have had the bath in front of them for the past 4 days and have been allowed to lounge around in the loft. They have only been out for 10 minutes and trapped quickly due to the heat and being too hungry.
I have sent 22 tonight to the race from Swindon tomorrow (76 miles). The birds are looking and handling very nice and I fully expect a good race tomorrow. I have treated them for lice this week and apart from that they have had complete rest. I will update tomorrow with news on how they get on!
The 1st Hotspot takes place in the Somerset One Loft Race on Monday as we have at least 2 birds in the race and possible 3. (N10121 was not recorded on todays trainer from 40 miles but I feel he will be showing when the basket list is placed on the site). I hope they perform well in the Hotspots.

Tuesday 16 July 2013

So much to catch up on!!

Wow, seems like ages ago since I updated here! Infact it has only been 10 days but so, so much has been happening!

Firstly we have given the birds a hammering in training:-

30th June - 9 miles
1st July - 9 miles
1st July - 9 miles - immediately after the 1st toss
4th July - 18 miles
4th July - 18 miles - immediately after the 1st toss
5th July - 18 miles
5th July - 18 miles - immediately after the 1st toss
6th July - 28 miles - 2pm
6th July - 28 miles - 6pm
7th July - 34 miles
8th July - 34 miles
9th July - 61 miles
12th July - 18 miles
14th July - 76 miles - 1st Race
15th July - 44 miles

As you can see the birds have been trained very hard this year. They went to Shirenewton twice since the last time I updated and all came very well. Then I decided to do something that I have never done before and cross the Severn Bridge and liberate in England. I went to Hullavington (83 miles by road and 61 miles line of flight) It is the first race point in the Federation I was in last year! I let 58 go and on return only had 2 back! By nightfall I had 13! The following day they returned all day up to 7.30pm. We had 30 so down 18! They had a days rest after this and then went to 18 miles for a short one.
I basketed 30 for the first race of the season from Swindon (76 miles) and they raced on Sunday 14th. I was expecting them at 9.00-9.15am and clocked 9.14, 9.15, 9.15, 9.16! I ended up being 5th and 6th Club from 90 birds. Just two minutes separated the top 6 positions so I was very pleased with this. I had 25 out of 30 on the day so dropped 5 which have no arrived as yet.
I then finished work on Monday and found another bird that was lost 6 days ago from Hulavington in the garden. He had been hawked. Within 5 minutes I had a phone call from a vet in Portishead (North Somerset on the other side of the Severn Bridge) which to me shows the 58 birds from Hullavington were hit prior to entering Wales. I went to collect the bird who had also been hawked. I decided to take the 25 birds that had returned from the previous days race with me for further experience of crossing the Bristol Channel. I let all 25 go and they cleared very well. On return home I was down 4 which were the later ones from the race. I also noticed another bird in the loft from Hullavington so I ended up with 3 on the day after having nothing for 4 days! Sadly today the one collected from the vets was dead in the loft when I got home from work. He didnt look that well and must have been more injured that first thought.
I have rested the birds today as they are completely worn out and have spent the day in the bath and lounging in the sun. I will see how they are tomorrow before deciding whether to train again or another day rest. We are racing again this week from the same race point - Swindon. I have quite a few on the injury list and out of the 29 we have in the loft only 22 are fit and healthy and in a position to race.
In the Somerset One Loft Race we still have 2 birds in the loft and hopefully the 3rd will turn up. They had bad training toss yesterday from 30 miles with around 210 still yet to get home! In the Welsh Classic Challenge we still have all 4 birdsand they are looking to go to 22 miles tomorrow. In the Pigeon Pixels One Loft Race we have 3 out of the 4 still in the loft and these have been to 50 miles. I will keep you updated on all topics as they happen!  I will update soon - good luck to all!

Saturday 6 July 2013

Increasing the distance

We have had another youngster return this morning that we were missing from the double trainer two days ago. He is injured though but will recover. We are now back up to 53 young birds and 2 old cocks. We have another who is injured on his neck and I suspect he did it trapping on return from yesterday. Quite a nasty injury. The injured bay is slowly creeping up and I suspect 5 birds will not go to todays double trainer from 28 miles. I will check over all birds prior to basketing and update here later tonight.

Friday 5 July 2013

Twice again today!

We ended up dropping 2 in yesterdays double trainer. We went again this afternoon in exactly the same way. One toss straight after the other - both at 18 miles. 100% returns in both trainers today and we captured the 2nd toss on camera with the birds hitting the trap like rockets. I think if I hadt of been stepping out of the loft at that moment the birds would have hit the landing board direct. We will now step them up to 28 miles starting tomorrow. The video of the birds arriving is here:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYrshARwXZE

Thursday 4 July 2013

Training regime increasing!

The two teams are now in full training mode. They went to 12 miles on Wednesday and came very well. Today they have been increased to 18 miles and went twice. I had a ring check and confirmed we had 54 young birds in the loft plus the 2 old race cocks. All were basketed up and 10 minutes after their return they were basketed again and taken to the same place. We are missing 3 from the both tosses with 53 birds in the loft as I write this. Hopefully the remaining 3 will return by tomorrow. They have had a good feed tonight and they will be taken again tomorrow afternoon, again to the 18 mile point. Depending on time, they might infact go twice again tomorrow. If I am happy after that they will be stepped up to 28 miles. We have 9 days until the 1st race so we are going to have to give them a hammering as I want them out to at least 40 miles prior to the 1st race. I am even hoping to take them to the first point (76 miles) but this will depend on how they come in the coming week. At the moment they are answering all the questions I am asking of them.

Sunday 30 June 2013

Time to get a move on!

The 2 old birds raced yesterday from Maidstone (176 miles) but were off the pace which surprised me. I was quite disappointed with them to be honest. Oh well, at least the young bird season is nearly upon us!
With that in mind I have decided to start training both my first and second team together. They are not flying as well as I would have liked around the loft but that is more to do with the stop start weather we are having. How long is that going to continue though? So I have decided regardless of that I need to start pushing them on a bit now. I basketed 59 tonight and decided to go straight to 9 miles. I am missing 6 at present with the other 53 arriving togther, which is a bit odd but now is not the time to moddy coddle them and on they must go. I will go again tomorrow to the same place and then we will look at twice a day training and pushing them on at a fair pace. The first race they could enter would be this Saturday as its an any age race in the fed, but I dont think they will be ready for this. It would be lambs to the slaughter. The first young bird race is on the 13th July so 2 weeks of intense training to come and we will see where we are at come that race!

Sunday 23 June 2013

Rain stopping play!

This weather is ridiculous! It has been raining here in Brecon for the past 4 days so the birds have barely been out of the loft let alone in the basket. It is a real problem at the moment but I guess it is affecting everyone and just us. On the plus side we have now got both teams grouping very well and flying out together. Hopefully when the nicer weather arrives we can then push the two teams on quite quickly.
I have been reading on the Somerset One Loft race website and see 3 of our 4 entries are still in the loft. It is always a bit of lottery to see which birds come through the settling, breaking in, flyway and illness periods when going to the loft. We have fared ok, but shame the 4th bird has gone. I spoke with Terry (Loft Manager) and he said he thinks the missing bird was one of 60 odd birds he lost when they had a flyway a few weeks back. We have 3 of the 4 entries still in the Pigeon Pixels One Loft Race and I believe all 4 entries still in the Welsh Classic Challenge. I will update on all these races as and when I get news. All information regarding the last two events can be found on www.pigeonpixels.co.uk

Saturday 15 June 2013

Pleased & Change of Plan

I sent the two old cocks to Newbury (97 miles) and they raced this morning. The wind was supposed to be South Westerly but infact turned out to be more Westerly than anything which didnt help us. However, I was very pleased with the two cocks. They returned home about 2 and half minutes after the club winner and I had clocked the two of them within 6 minutes. This will have done them very good and I now plan to send them t Maidstone (147 miles) in 2 weeks time.
The club announced a change to the race programme last night and they have now put in a Swindon race where any age birds can enter. I am very pleased about this as my youngsters will now be aimed towards this race which is 2 weeks earlier than first planned. They are progressing nicely and should be ready in plenty of time for this race.
I gave the youngsters a training toss from 18 miles yesterday. I libbed them in small groups of 4, 3 and 2's. I rushed the 2nd lib and the first two teams joined together. I continued to lib the rest with plenty of time between them. On return home I was missing 12 birds and the entire 8 that had merged together. The others returned in singles up until 9.30pm On going to bed I was missing just 4. 2 of these were on the loft this morning but as it stands we are still missing 2 from the toss as we speak. Hopefully if not injured or dead they will return later today or tomorrow.
We have given the birds another trainer today again from 18 miles. I sent the 2 race birds to this as well despite racing this morning. They need to claw back that 2 and half minutes!! All home and now have had a good feed and can relax until tomorrow. 

Thursday 13 June 2013

Progressing nicely!

The training is going very, very well at present. We have now had 10 training tosses over the last 13 days. 7 of those have been at 12 miles with the birds liberated in groups of 3 and 4. They are beating me back everytime and are doing great. We will look to increase the distance in the next week or so. We will probably now go directly to 27 miles which is a big jump for them but one I am confident they will take in their stride.
I have decided I will not rush the 2nd team to make them catch the first race. I have instead decided to take my time with them. The first race is on the 20th July (5 weeks away). They have just started grouping at the moment and I would like them to have at least a month flying around the loft and ranging before they see the basket. So that would leave just 1 week to train them so realistically without rushing them they aren't going to be ready. I am now looking at the first comeback of the young bird season on the 30th August which allows me so much more time to get them where I want them to be prior to racing.
We are planning on sending our 2 old cocks to this weeks club race from Newbury (97 miles) and they have been training the last 13 days with the youngsters and are looking sharp. I am hoping they perform well in this race. I have just fed their racing mix and hopefully they will perform well on Saturday.

Sunday 9 June 2013

Training has started!

We have been busy training the birds the last 9 days! They have had 7 tosses in total to date. On the 1st June we went to 6 miles and let all 33 go together. We had 32 return in a group. 2nd & 3rd June we took them 9 miles and libbed them all together and all home. On the 4th June we took them to 12 miles and let them go in groups of 6. We had them all home from there. On the 5th we went to the same place and let 5 groups of 6 go but this time at least 2 of the groups we attacked! We had 6 return the following day but ended up dropping 6 in total. We gave them a rest on 6th June and 7th June. 8th June they returned to the 12 miles spot and all home but this time in groups of 4. This evening they went to the same spot again and were liberated in groups of 3 and 4 and pleased to say all home. We have 2 in the injury bay, one with a sliced throat directly under his beak! The other a hawk attack around the loft and these two are recovering well. In total we have 26 young birds in the first team. So 7 tosses in we have dropped 7 youngsters which I am quite happy with at this time. They arrived very promptly tonight and that is pleasing.
My 2nd team now has 39 birds in total and these were out this afternoon and joined the first team for a fly around the loft. They are just starting to group and another 3 or 4 days out flying and I sure they will be grouping very nicely. In total then we have 65 birds which is a very nice number. Hopefully I can push the 2nd team on quite quickly. The first race is just over 5 weeks away so plenty of time to get them ready. I am not too concerned if the 2nd team dont catch the first couple of races but they will be ready sooner or later for the coming season.

Thursday 30 May 2013

Count up!

I have counted up the birds in the loft and we currently have 33 in the 1st team who are starting to range (disappeared for 3 hours the other day.) They are flying the skies out and are really looking the business. I am very pleased with this team. I have 35 in the 2nd team and they have been out twice around the loft. They are fairly strong so they will be grouping in the next couple of times out I would imagine.
I have had a bit of young bird sickness in the loft again this year and I think the 2nd team are going to go down with it very soon. 1 being sick on the perch and looking hunched up. This is part and parcel of modern day pigeon racing though and very quickly dealt with when you know how to treat and the signs to look out for. I am fairly certain we will have them back to full health in the next week or so. They will then go out daily and once flying for an 1hr and 30 mins we will look to begin training. I am planning on the middle of June to begin training although the 1st team could go now and I am sure they would come very nicely. I will basket train the 1st team this week so they are aware of the basket and confident and settled once in there. I have just 4 young birds left in the stock loft and these will be another 7 to 10 days for these to be weaned off. So in total I will have 72 young birds to begin training with if all come through this bout of young bird sickness. I am more than pleased they have developed it now rather than in the middle of the training or racing. Its out of the way then and once dealt with we can really give them some work and hopefully have a great season.

Thursday 23 May 2013

Moving on nicely

We did send our 2 Old Birds to Ramsgate on the 11th May,  but they were off the pace. I put this down to the fact we only have 2 so to make the effort for just 2 is hardly worth it. So I have decided enough is enough for the Old Bird season. However, I am pleased we have them both and they will now now be trained with the young birds.
The young birds are coming along very nicely indeed. We will have 2 teams of around 40 this season and the 1st team our flying out for 1hr 30mins each afternoon and trapping very well. (I have put a video on the site's homepage.)
As you know we had a dreadful breeding season what with losing half the parents in one training toss earlier in the year. We have been inundated with offers for young birds via Pigeon Pixels website members. I would like to thank all who have offered birds to myself for the coming season.
The 1st team consists of some quality pigeons from Shaun Hughes of Sunderland as well as birds I have purchased from various sources in the Uk.
We have half the 2nd team in the loft and the other half will be delivered this week. I picked up 19 from Lyndon Rowland on Sunday and I really enjoyed meeting this fancier from Tamworth. The birds are mainly Van Loons and are in excellent condition. The other 20 are in transit from Ireland and these are coming from the Eamon Wright of Shortcut Lofts. Again a very good fancier and I am looking forward of taking delivery of this batch.
I will be getting the 2nd team in the air as soon as possible and then we will be looking to start training around the middle of June with a bit of luck.
We have 4 birds in the Somerset One Loft Race under the name Rasbull-lofts.co.uk, 4 in the Welsh Region Classic Challenge and 3 in the Pigeon Pixels One Loft Race based in Ireland and 1 in the Irish Region Classic Challenge. I will keep you updated on the progress of these youngsters that are representing Rasbull Lofts throughout the season!

Friday 10 May 2013

Taking Shape

Everything in the loft is now taking shape slowly. I have been informed the 40 youngsters that will form Team 2 will be ready for delivery in the next 2 weeks. I will be glad when all the birds are finally in the loft and have been broken in and out flying. I have moved Team 1 from the aviary section to the racing section. They are all flying out really well and doing around 60 minutes exercise daily at present. This has now freed up the avairy section ready for Team 2 when they arrive. I have the 2 old birds now in with Team 1 and they are flying very well and hopefully will be sent to Ramsgate (200 miles) tomorrow afternoon in preparation for the first of the channel races from Fourgeres in a couple of weeks. Again I am not too interested in the old birds this year and just sending them for the big races later in the season to fill time until the real fun begins with the young bird racing! The weather is terrible at the moment with rain, hence basketing for Ramsgate being put back to Saturday for a Sunday race.

Thursday 2 May 2013

Now for the Youngsters!

I have now passed my driving test and therefore I will now be concentrating 100% on the coming young bird season. I have decided to scrap the Old Bird season this year and will just send our 2 experienced Old Birds to the longer races this year.
The young birds will be split into 2 teams and hopefully we will have around 80 birds in total and therefore each team will have 40 birds. I have the first team out grouping and flying for between 45 minutes and 90 minutes which is very pleasing. The other team have not yet arrived in the loft but hopefully within the next 2-3 weeks will all be settled into place.
The young birds we have at present are currently in the Aviary section but I will now move these across to the Old bird racing section so that the 2 Old birds can exercise with them. They will be that much older than the 2nd team so therefore can pick a box etc in the nestbox kitted out section.
I intend to loft fly the 1st team for the next 2-3 weeks daily and then hopefully will start with the basket work.
This year we have birds bred by ourselves in various lofts around the country. 4 have gone to the Somerset One Loft race, 4 have gone to B.Williams and Son for the Pigeon Pixels Welsh Region Classic Challenge and 4 have gone to Eamon Wright in Ireland for the Pigeon Pixels One Loft Race and Irish Region Classic Challenge. We will keep all informed on their progress throughout the season and hopefully they will do the loft proud.
I am intending to send the 2 Old birds to a race now in the next 2-3 weeks but they need to get fit first around the loft. The two did race the other week from Newbury 97 miles but returned off the pace. Now they are going to start exercising with the youngsters I hope they will soon come into form. I am looking at the channel races for these two birds though and all the inland races will soley be used for training. 

Tuesday 2 April 2013

A huge blow!

We suffered a massive blow in our first training toss last week. I decided to basket 36 birds in total and take them on their first toss of the season. The weather was cold but dry and sunny. A hawk strike yet again did for us and we ended up with birds returning just prior to getting dusk! We ended up losing 17 birds and that can only dbe described as a disaster! Training is becoming more and more of a problem for us here, with the valley the birds come up littered with hawks. From the same location last season, I had one reported in Western Super Mare and my brother had one reported in Wrexham!! It goes to show that the birds just flap there wings, put their head down and just keep going when a hawk does attack. This has resulted in a ruined breeding season as out of 18 pairs I have just 2 that are fully intact!
With this in mind I have reduced the Rasbull Share Syndicate entries to 4 instead of the planned 9. I have informed all shareholders and refunded the shareholders the relevant monies due to the reduction in birds being sent.
I have updated the shareholder page with the new share syndicate members and also I have allocated the birds to the relevant syndicates and attached a picture of the bird that will represent the syndicate members. I am still obligated to other events this season and this week will sit down and work out what I can send to represent the loft given the disaster we have just suffered and the result it has had on the breeding season. Once I have decided what I will be doing I will update. Our club racing is due to start in 2 weeks time but the temperature is still around 5 degrees and outside my window the Brecon Beacons are completely covered with snow...its April for goodness sake!!!!!

Sunday 17 March 2013

Breeding update

Breeding still remains slow at present. I have now paired another 3 pairs up in the main racing section and that has now freed up the main young bird section for the new young birds this year. We have 5 pairs of stock birds at present and 1 stock cock paired to a racing hen. One of our main breeding hens has laid 3 rounds and all have been blank so far which is very frustrating. She has been paired with a new cock and they will have one more chance together or I will be splitting that pair.
We have sent our first 4 bird to the Somerset One Loft Race this year. I met up with Terry in Aberdare yesterday and passed the birds onto him. I will have another 5 ready now in the next 2 weeks and these will be sent down to him to complete our team of 9 for this years race. Once all 9 have been sent to Terry, I will do a draw on Pigeon Pixels to see which pigeon is allocated to which Share Syndicate. This way I believe is the fairest way to allocate the share pigeons.
Racing is due to start on the 12 April but with us having snow yesterday and it being bitterly cold, my main concentration will be on breeding at the moment. When the weather picks up a bit and becomes a bit warmer I will give the birds a couple of short training tosses. Nearly all 36 race birds are untrained, unraced yearlings so I am going to have to take things very slowly with them this season. That suits me though as with having a limited number of stock pairs this year I am more than happy to allow them to feel settled when sitting on youngsters. We have 9 youngsters weaned off at present which I purchased from Aberdare yesterday and all have taken a perch. They were purchased from Concorde Lofts aka Jimmy Richards. I am very happy with them and hopefully a few of my own bred birds will be keeping them company shortly in the young bird section. 

Sunday 3 February 2013

Breeding & One Loft Syndicates

Breeding has been quite slow this year. I separated the birds after they paired initially to help reduce the risk of fighting and smashed eggs. I then repaired them around the 15th January and the when due to be laying we hit a very cold snap in the weather. This sopped the birds laying for a week or so but the last few night has seen the birds back into breeding mode and we currently have 24 eggs in the loft with more due over the next couple of nights.

Lots has been happening and I can confirm as of this season we will be flying from Abergavenny Kings club! I think this will give us a great boost in terms of being able to regularly compete for the club and federation positions. Abergavenny are in the same sort of boat as myself where they need the wind in the right direction as they are the furthest north club in the federation but with our birds amonsgt their birds it bodes well for us this season. For the past two seasons we didnt have the pull of these birds and this is why we struggled to get any club results. When I used to fly years ago in partnership with my dad we joined the Abergavenny club and only had 4 races with them but in that short time we did win one!! So the future is looking good!

I can't wait now to get the Somerset One Loft birds bred, weaned off and sent to the loft ready for the summer's event. All shares have been sold and that is fantastic. Anyone interested in following the birds progress can do so by clicking on the One Loft section on this website.

I have been following the Million Dollar Pigeon race in South Africa the past few days and my ambition and desire to enter this event is glowing brighter than ever. I have been enquiring into the cost of sending a team of 3 birds and at present it would cost £660 to enter each bird, £160 to ship the 3 birds to South Africa so in total we are looking at £2,140 to get the team to South Africa. I would like to have shareholders in with me on this venture but would like no more than 12 - 4 shareholders per bird. This works out at £180 a share! If anyone reading this is interested please email me at Rasbull@hotmail.co.uk. After my 3 shares in each of the three birds there are only 9 shares available in this event. The Million Dollar Race is where is the best in world race and where the best prize money is on offer! Thank you for reading.