 A champion Racing pigeon. Pigeon racing is a sport involving the racing of specially trained Racing pigeons. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ...
A carrier pigeon is a breed of pigeon (specifically a domesticated Rock Dove, Columba livia) that has wattles, a nearly vertical stature, and that may once have been used to carry messages. ...
History
Pigeons have been domesticated for thousands of years. The predecessors of modern day Racing pigeons were pigeons bred for their homing ability, primarily to carry messages. "Pigeon Posts" have been establish all over the world and while mainly used in the military, some are still in service today. Pigeon redirects here. ...
Domesticated animals, plants, and other organisms are those whose collective behavior, life cycle, or physiology has been altered as a result of their breeding and living conditions being under human control for multiple generations. ...
Pigeons with messages attached. ...
Modern pigeon racing originated in Belgium in the early 19th century[1]. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Racing In short, competing birds are taken from their lofts and must race home. The time taken and distance are recorded and the fastest bird (distance/time) is declared the winner.
Provided it survives the many hazards associated with racing, a single pigeon could compete from about 6 months of age and still be in competition at over ten years of age. Such feats are uncommon, however, and the average racing career rarely exceeds three years.
To compete in a race, it must wear a permanent, unique numbered ring or band that is placed on its leg at about 5 days of age. For a race to be conducted, the competing pigeons must be entered into the race, usually at the organisation's clubhouse, and taken away from their home to be released at a predetermined time and location. The distance between the bird's home loft and the racepoint is carefully measured by GPS and the time taken by the bird to return is measured using one of the two acceptable timing methods. Over fifty GPS satellites such as this NAVSTAR have been launched since 1978. ...
Traditional timing method The traditional method of timing racing pigeons involves a rubber ring with a unique serial number being placed on the birds leg before being sent to race. The serial number is recorded and the bird carries the ring home. When the first bird returns, its trainer removes the ring and places it in a specially designed clock. The time that the ring was placed in the clock and that is recorded as the official time that the competing bird arrived home. A Pigeon Racing Clock is a clock specifically designed for the sport of Pigeon Racing. ...
Although serving its purpose, this method has proved somewhat problematic for a few reasons:
- The pigeon's "official time" is not the actual time it arrived, it is the time the ring was removed, placed in the clock and recorded, which could be many vital seconds later.
- Exceptional pigeons may arrive home first on multiple occasions, knowing it is going to have the ring removed speedily, which may be uncomfortable, the pigeon could be reluctant to enter the loft for the trainer.
The level of intelligence in birds, as a scientific inquiry, has not been as thoroughly researched as similar questions regarding primates and other mammals. ...
Electronic timing method -
The latest development and preferred method for timing racing pigeons is having the bird carry a RFID chip which instantly records the time when the pigeon arrives from the race. An Electric Timing System is a system used in Pigeon racing. ...
An EPC RFID tag used for Wal-Mart Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. ...
Training Racing pigeons are housed together in a specially designed loft. From about 5 weeks of age until the end of its racing career, the racing loft it the pigeons home and this is where it returns to on race day.
A loft, in the sense of the word meaning attic. ...
 A kit of racing pigeons loft flying. Young pigeons are trained progressively for at least six months before being allowed to compete in a race event. A racing pigeon's initial training involves familiarising it with the loft and its surroundings and training it to use the various features of its home (entry point, ect.). It is also this critical time that the birds learn commands, such as entering the loft when the trainer whistles.
Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ...
After a few weeks of initial training and 'homing in', the young birds are allowed outside for the first time. This is usually before they can fly strongly so as to prevent an overzealous pigeon from flying away before it can find its way back home. As the birds grow older, they become stronger and smarter and are therefore allowed to fly further and further away from their home loft. When a few trainers fly their pigeons in the same area, these loft flying kits (as flocks of pigeons are called) can number in the thousands. This 'loft flying' familiarises the birds with their home area and builds fitness. It does not, however, help them much in relation to finding their home from long distances away, a fundamental of pigeon racing. As confident flyers, the young pigeons are taken on progressively longer 'training tosses', driven a distance away from their home and released. This is like the format of a real race, however on a much smaller scale and it is usually not timed in the same way as a race. This practice of loft flying and tossing continues throughout a pigeon's career.
Training methods are as varied as the pigeons themselves. Lots of fanciers believe their system is the secret to their success and gaurd these hard learned lessons closely, most will tell you of their basic strategy but few will share the details of their success. One of the most popular systems is widowhood. This system uses motivation to try to give the bird a sense of urgency on race day. The use of widowhood is usally begun by first allowing the racer to raise a baby in their nest box. After the baby is weaned the hen is removed and often times the nestbox is closed off, from then on the only time these birds are allowed to see their mate or enter the nest box is upon returning from training or a race. This conditioning is one of the key elements in a lot of racing programs.
Hazards As pigeon racing takes place over great distances in the sky, instead of on a racetrack, there are many hazards that could befall a pigeon during racing as well as training. The main hazard encountered by racing pigeons is predation by birds of prey[2]. The killing of valuable pigeons by wild predators has led some pigeon fanciers to kill birds of prey[3]. Alternative use: Race track Racetrack is a pencil and paper game, nominally for two players. ...
Orders Accipitriformes Cathartidae Pandionidae Accipitridae Sagittariidae Falconiformes Falconidae A bird of prey or raptor is a bird that hunts its food, especially one that preys on mammals or other birds. ...
It is thought that racing pigeons rely on the Earth's magnetic field to find their way home. Some evidence has surfaced indicating that mobile phone towers may be interrupting the birds navigation[4]. No published research has investigated this theory however. The magnetosphere shields the surface of the Earth from the charged particles of the solar wind. ...
Breeding
 A pair of young racing pigeons, 9 days old. Pigeons can breed at about 6 months of age. The hen lays two eggs that are incubated by both parents for 18 days. Pigeon breeders are careful in selecting birds to pair together so as to continue improving the breed and gain a competitive edge. It is this selective breeding that has given rise to the racing pigeons of today, capable of finding their way home from over 1600km away and fly at speeds in excess of 130km/h. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 599 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Pigeon racing Metadata This file contains...
Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 599 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Pigeon racing Metadata This file contains...
It has been suggested that Backyard breeder be merged into this article or section. ...
KM, Km, or km may stand for: Khmer language (ISO 639 alpha-2, km) Kilometre Kinemantra Meditation Knowledge management KM programming language KM Culture, Korean Movie Maker. ...
Kilometre per hour (American spelling: kilometer per hour) is a unit of both speed (scalar) and velocity (vector). ...
Pigeon racing by region
Pigeon racing in Asia Pigeon racing is becoming increasingly popular in parts of Asia, where millions of dollars are bet on the races, just like horse racing. ===Pigeon racing in Oceania=== Alternate uses: Dollar (disambiguation) The dollar is the name of the official currency in several countries, dependencies and other regions (see list below). ...
Horse-racing is an equestrian sporting activity which has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times were an early example, as was the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. ...
Australia The largest Racing Organisation in Australia is the Central Cumberland Federation.
In Australia, velocities are recorded in metres per minute.
Pigeon racing in Europe
UK The first regular races in Great Britain in 1881[5].
Pigeon racing in the USA The sport was introduced into the United States about 1875, although regular racing did not begin until 1878[6].
Pigeon racing in Africa South Africa is the home of the richest One-Loft Race in the world, the Sun City Million Dollar Pigeon Race[7].
One-Loft Racing One-Loft Racing is the process of training birds bred by many different breeders in the same loft, under the same trainer and in the same conditions (as apposed to trainer against trainer in their own lofts and usually with their own birds). It is thought to be the fairest method of proving which bloodline or breeder is best and usually provides the highest amount of prize money.
Notable people and pigeons The Janssen Brothers are a very successful, famous pigeon flying family from Arendonk, Belgium. Descendants of their pigeons can be found racing all around the world. The Janssen Brothers (Louis, Charel, Arjaan and Sjef) are a famous and very successful Pigeon racing family from Arendonk, Belgium. ...
Arendonk is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. ...
See Also Pigeons have featured in numerous experiments in comparative psychology, including experiments concerned with animal cognition, and as a result we have considerable knowledge of pigeon intelligence. ...
In a famous article in 1995, Watanabe, Sakamoto and Wakita described an experiment which showed that pigeons can be trained to discriminate between paintings by Picasso and Monet. ...
There are at least four main types of competitive pigeon sport: Pigeon racing Tumbling Mumbling Tippler Though not quite a sport, fancy breeds of pigeons are also bred to standards and judged in a competitive fashion. ...
Fancy pigeons (or sometimes exotic pigeons) are domesticated varieties of the Rock Pigeon (Columba livia). ...
Homing pigeon The homing pigeon is a variety of domesticated Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) that has been selectively bred to be able to find its way home over extremely long distances. ...
A carrier pigeon is a breed of pigeon (specifically a domesticated Rock Dove, Columba livia) that has wattles, a nearly vertical stature, and that may once have been used to carry messages. ...
Pigeons have played an important role in wars for a long time. ...
Cher Ami (French for Dear Friend [male]) was a famous homing pigeon who was owned and flown by the U.S. Army Signal Corps in France during World War I. He helped save the Lost Battalion of the 77th Division in the battle of the Argonne, October 1918. ...
Notes - ^ Pigeon Racing - Early History
- ^ Birds of Prey and Racing Pigeons
- ^ Pigeon racers suspected in falcon killings
- ^ Mobile phone mast blamed for vanishing pigeons
- ^ 1911encyclopedia.org
- ^ 1911encyclopedia.org
- ^ SCMDPR Homepage
External links - American Racing Pigeon Union - With links to over 60 other related organizations
- Independent Pigeon Race Results - UK Pigeon Racing website
- Furapi - The Future of Racing Pigeon Sport - Everything about Pigeon Sport in Europe
- Royal Pigeon Racing Association - UK Pigeon Racing governing body
- Pigeonbasics.com - Pigeon Racing the Basics! - Information on pigeon racing, and how to get involved.
- Pigeon Paradise
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