The Racing Pigeons Encyclopedia » Reviews

Secrets of Champions II – Racing Pigeons DVD

Webmaster — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 18:11:57 +0000

Following his best-selling “Secrets of Champions”, Jim Jenner helps you learn more from some of the pigeon sports most consistent winners. Filmed in Belgium, Holland, Ireland and England this DVD features Dutch Champion Ad Schaerlaeckens, Irish Champions Ronnie Williamson & Gregg Brothers, English Champions Frank Tasker & Geoff Kirkland & More.

They talk about their breeding systems and how they select their feeds. But that is only part of what you’ll learn from these experts. You’ll also hear how they use natural substances to keep their birds in top shape. Get ready to enjoy a relaxing and informative two hours with some of the smartest, most successful and down-to-earth experts in the pigeon racing game.

Here are some of the things I really liked in this material:
- the guys really use cheap stuff, they aren’t after expensive secret solutions. Just the cheap good old stuff. Grit rocks! And grit is better fresh than thrown in the loft for a week or more; Ad Schaerlaeckens says that grit is too cheap and this is why there isn’t much advertising for grit in the pigeon magazines – that’s damn true!
- there’s no better and cheaper cure for respiratory problems than fresh air;
- pigeons need greens. Why do we always forget?!
- honey for pigeons is recommended by all the fanciers in this documentary;
- it is better to buy birds from areas where many fanciers race a few birds than where a few fanciers race many birds;
- racers must choose their own mates for a maximum motivation (very good point!!);
- the more you do for the birds, the less they do for you :)) Fantastic one! Although it might sound strange, it’s SO true;
- luck is BIG in the pigeon sport, so free mating isn’t actually a bad idea;
- the sport is not about better medicines, better methods like most fanciers believe – it is about better birds.

Ad said a great story about a rich guy that bought a lot of expensive pigeons and then made the couples by the prices paid: the most expensive hen with the most expensive cock, and so on. The remaining two, the cheapest birds, one present from his cousin and one from a local fancier gave him one of the best pigeons in the history. Ha!

Definitely a must have DVD.

“The pigeon game” – Documentary about the racing pigeon sport in New York

Webmaster — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 07:16:20 +0000

THE FILM
For the past two years I have been documenting the men and women who continue to race homing pigeons in New York City. It’s a tradition that’s been passed down from generation to generation in the city for over a century. But every year, the community grows smaller and it’s likely that pigeon racing will disappear completely in the coming years.

Dear Pigeon Flier-

My documentary-in-the making The Pigeon Game has come along way since last winter, and now has a unique opportunity to screen a twenty minute cut as part of NYC’s Tenement Museum’s “Tenement Talks” series on Tuesday, August 24th. This is a critical chance to attract new interest and finishing funds to edit this film and get it ready for exhibition in winter 2011.

In order to make this new cut, I need your help and I’ve launched a Kickstarter fundraising campaign to get it:

http://www.kickstarter.com/e/Rtr1q/projects/62597611/the-pigeon-game-20-minute-cut

If you are unfamiliar with Kickstarter, it’s a website that makes donating to projects you support fun and easy. It also sets up some stakes -in this case, I have 40 days to raise $10,000. If I don’t raise this amount by July 31st, all the donations are canceled. So please, consider donating!

To get you really motivated, The Pigeon Game’s partners and supporters have donated some amazing thank you gifts. There’s something for everyone, so please have a look, see what you fancy and make a donation at whatever level you can.

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,
Annie Heringer
Director/Producer, The Pigeon Game
www.thepigeongame.com

To support this project please click here.

Book review: The Best of Ad Schaerlaeckens

Webmaster — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 15:42:10 +0000

I loved this book. There’s a lot of good stuff in it and it definitely should be in your pigeon library. As we got used already, Ad comes with intriguing stuff on the pigeon racing sport and everything has a bit of fun which makes the lecture a real pleasure.

I couldn’t find the Table of Contents online when I was trying to buy the book so, here it is, you might want to know this first:

The Best of Ad Schaerlaeckens – Table of Contents
1. The Schaerlaeckens files
2. The press
3. Review of 2007
4. The long hot summer
5. The English patient
6. What you should know
7. Double widowhood
8. The road not taken
9. Some do nots
10. Electrolytes
11. Trapping
12. The sound of hollow barrels
13. Pedigrees don’t fly
14. Clip rings are a blessing
15. A growing problem
16. Smart or not?
17. That’s the way it goes
18. Questions and answers
19. Conditioning
20. Dusarduyn
21. Don’t mess around
22. Young bird disease
23. Klak again
24. Let’s get visual
25. The story of the twins
26. Useful or useless?
27. Wrong choice
28. Breeders do exist
29. Interview with a Taiwanese Champion, Mr. Lai
30. Country boy in the big city
31. Can sprint birds handle longer distances?
32. All you need is luck
33. A winner need not be the best
34. Requirements
35. Save money
36. Belgian’s fastest in 2006
37. Direct and pure
38. How come?
39. Through Western eyes
40. The truth may hurt
41. No results
42. Water
- Pigeon terms for starters

For me, the sweetest chapter was the one about Dusarduyn and his advices. Here’s a short extract:
1. Keep things simple.
2. Do not try to run before you walk.
3. Forget about names and strains. There are 2 kinds of pigeons – good and bad. :)
4. Do not keep many birds and enjoy an expensive soup now and then. Dusarduyn saldom raced more than six birds. (WOW)
5. Regularity is important. Many methods are good, one method is bad: to change it again and again.
6. If you race long distance, give the birds two years to mature.
7. Never enter a good “one day bird” in a two days race.
8. You cannot ignore medicines and the vets like in the past.
9. If you only keep good birds, you aren’t afraid of free mating. Luck is the king of our sport. (I LOVED THIS POINT).
10. The loft is very important for the condition of the birds.

You can order the book from the guys at Syndicate Lofts here.

Ruby Blue

Webmaster — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:47:22 +0000

Jack (Bob Hoskins) faces a time of loss and depression after his wife dies. A ray of sunshine appears in his life with his new neighbor, Florrie, a little girl that wants to learn about Jack’s racing pigeons. When she moves next door, she discovers Jack’s neglected racing pigeons and by visiting his loft often, she renews his own love for the birds. The pigeons also become fascinating for a young guy with an uncertain future on the streets.

The movie is not about racing pigeons in fact, but reveals how they can bring people together and even change lives.

Where pigeons go to die

Webmaster — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 17:44:19 +0000

I saw this movie when I was a kid and it went straight to my heart. It’s a masterpiece for us, the fanciers. It’s about discovering the pigeon hobby at an early age, it’s about life. Why don’t we have such movies nowadays? The current technology could produce wonderful movies about racing pigeons, and nope, I don’t talk about documentaries, but movies for the general audience. Everybody says that this hobby is going to die, but we don’t do anything about that. Is it all about money? Is it all about pigeon auctions, about champion pigeons sold for thousands, are these the things we felt in love with when we were kids? I don’t think so. It’s pretty sad actually.

There was a movie recently about hamsters or guinea pigs, and guess what? The kids allover the world started to get these rodents as pets. Enough said.

Here’s a piece of this great movie, “Where pigeons go to die“: