Article Published: 13 May 2009


Penny wise Pound foolish

I’ve been involved in the sport of pigeon racing for 40 years and if there is one thing that has always amused me, it is the fancier who spends R1000.00 to purchase four pigeons instead of spending R1000,00 in buying a prolific pigeon which could enhance their breeding program and assist him in producing a family of pigeons winning at all levels of the sport. One only needs to observe top fanciers at an auction and soon the reality will strike home. To them it’s a matter of obtaining the best bird in terms of racing and breeding ability, practising the golden rule by purchasing one or two top birds instead of spending their entire budget on eight mediocre birds. Hence the saying quality is worth more than quantity. There are fanciers that import top performance base families of pigeons at a tremendous cost and birds bred off these birds are on occasion available at a fraction of the original cost. One must just realize that the basic import cost of a pigeon into South Africa can range between R750 – R1030 depending on the exchange rate at the time of importing such pigeons.

First generation pigeons bred off the imported stock differs only in the fact that they will be RSA rung pigeons who carry the same blood as the imported pigeons. We always hear fanciers complaining about other fanciers who are winning and achieving on a regular basis, only to ignore the fact that these fanciers spend money wisely in the search for champion bloodlines with a prolific genetic package to keep them at the forefront. When offering pigeons to fanciers at a fraction of the original cost it sometimes takes two to three breeding seasons to recover the costs laid out in their original purchase. I’m of the opinion that a good bird is worthy of a reasonable price. Why do I say this; top fanciers buy wisely, and if they are not successful in obtaining the bird of their choice, they are wise enough to walk away and not buy an inferior bird just for the sake of a purchase.

One must always be objective in the review of this touchy subject. In conclusion I’m of the opinion that the purchase of a young bird bred direct off the imported birds holds the benefit, that it could be utilized over a longer time span when it comes to the planning, breeding and integration of new blood (genes).

Christopher Derby-Lewis