| Author: Bob Rowland | Title: The 95% Rule Expalined |
| Date: 2004-02-16 18:59:12 | Uploaded by: webmaster |
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For several years I have been making the statement that 95% of all the pigeons we have in our lofts will never make a significant impact and now feel I need to go a little deeper into this theory.
There are those out there telling that their breeding percentages are better than this. If so, then the world should be beating a trail to their door as even the greatest don't have all great pigeons. They may have a higher percentage of good ones when compared to other lofts but just about every pigeon in their loft is available for the right price. Some have a much greater value than the other ones and that is normally because that one is really the best one.
When I make the statement that 95% will never make a significant impact, this does not mean that only 5% of our pigeons will breed a pigeon that will win a prize or two or even a race. The problem is that so many of these pigeons soon dwindle away even though they may have given you a moment where they did shine on a given day. The real test of any pigeon and their worth goes back to the KEY WORDS and those words are SIGNIFICANT IMPACT!!!!
I have a very basic rule in my loft and that is that unless a pigeon can come first to my loft at least once, it has never saved me so even though it may be a steady repeater and a reasonable pool bird, you can never win with that pigeon. IT HAS ALREADY BEEN DEFEATED BY IT'S LOFT MATES.
Let's take this a little further and now we must look at the parents and again if they have never been able to breed you a pigeon that is capable of being the first home to your loft, what have they contributed?? We haven't even gotten into the fact of whether they have bred you a top prize winner or a race winner at this stage. We are just trying to see if they can breed one that is better than your other pigeons. If the answer is NO, then how do you expect them to breed a winner against your competition???
All of us keep too many pigeons that are only adequate racers but never a champion. They come home and even win a prize now and then but never are the very best against your competition. Then we breed from these pigeons and we rarely produce better than what they are. So where do we go from here??
There are lofts that race at a high level and their pigeons do quite well for others also so this is a good start for a place to begin. I suggest you go to them and try to get a late hatch or a pair of eggs from their best pair and use them to attempt to improve your stock.
The better the loft is simply tells us that they have more depth in their quality and they too must remove some pigeons each year or they end up with an abundance of extra pairs. When this happens, the standard of excellence is lowered and soon they will also begin to deteriorate. We must be selective and above all, HONEST WITH OURSELVES as to the strengths and weakness of our pigeons.
There are those out there telling everyone that they produce a big percentage of excellent pigeons from many pairs and common sense will tell you that in that loft, there is an order of excellence from the best pair down to the worst pair. I know of NOBODY with every pair being of equal value and above what others have.
If one is a seller, then the words "World Class" and "Superior Genetic Package", and other such terms become the common language when they are talking. Because this is told enough times and each time someone buys into this belief, then soon they have many telling the greatness story but have a tough time backing this up with results.
There are many very special races where the best in the world go to play to prove their superior pigeons but when the dust settles, there are few that can consistently place near or at the top. Those few are the ones that have a strong pair or stock loft at that time and their results prove their worth.
Each year we all go out searching for new pigeons to improve our loft and I am right there with the rest of us searching for the golden connection. Sadly enough, if your loft is at a higher standard, the new pigeons have a difficult time making an impact. If they do make a big impact then we know that we needed help and our previous level was below the upper levels.
The math gets very simple to do and all the hoopla and stories don't change the facts. The pigeons can either give good results or they can't. Those that can't need to be removed or soon you will continue to breed from them and you will continue to decline.
So here we are back at the percentage level and I prefer to look at which pigeon or pair made or makes the biggest impact in your loft as much as 10 or 15 years or more later. They are the real talent in our loft and the balance of the pigeons were simply a chore in loft cleaning. Removing their droppings and breeding hopefuls that never really make the big impact is a lot of work. Then to complicate this issue, we begin to inbreed them to make them better but I haven't figured out how to do this when their parents and all other relatives never really did the job, REGARDLESS OF WHO TRIES THEM.
I tell everyone to consider what they would do if their loft were on fire and from this they only had time enough to save a pair or two. If this were truly the case, they would instinctively grab the best pigeons because most of us do know which are doing the job for us. Our problem is we keep wishing for results to justify these other pigeons and the efforts we put into them. However, with enough time, we find out that their young just never really hit the high level of excellence.
THE WORST THING WE CAN EVER SAY ABOUT A PIGEON OR A PAIR IS THAT THEY ARE ADEQUATE!! If this is as good as they get and never hit the high levels, there is only one way to go.
All good pigeons come from the good parents but the good parents don't produce all good young ones. We need to sort this out and although there are some people that have a talent for grading pigeons, the final test is still in the results. Sugar coat it whatever way you wish but until they can do it, they are just another pigeon in our loft.
In conclusion:
All of us need to determine if what we have is good enough and if there is hope for the long run with these pigeons we possess. If the pigeons are good enough and yet you can't get results, then a long look in the mirror for the problem is next as ultimately we are the one responsible for what we have.
We determine the pigeons and how we mate them.
We design and build our lofts.
We determine the training program and how we feed them.
Therefore WE ARE RESPONSIBLE and if we are not improving our stock, then which way are we going??
Bob Rowland
SpringHill, FLorida
USA
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