Pigeons

Tom Lock, veteran South African champion, did for the pigeon racing fraternity what Mohammed Ali accomplished for boxing and Gary Player did for golf.

The twelfth Sun City Million-dollar Pigeon Race will take place on 2 February 2008.

When I first took an interest in pigeon racing in 1968, the number of wealthy pigeon fanciers on South African soil could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Never before in the history of South African pigeon racing have as many birds been lost in training as now. Since May this year, large numbers of racing pigeons have failed to return from training flights and race events.

Last week I wrote about the champion stock of Bradbury Lofts, and this week's article focuses on their racing methods.

Buks Bradbury was practically born in the pigeon lofts of his father Peter, but only took up the sport later in life.

The husband and wife team of Joe and Belinda Strydom auctioned off most of their precious racing pigeons in Edenvale on 27 May.

Cyril Leibach is a distinguished SA pigeon fancier who takes pleasure in racing pigeons from an orderly loft complex in the garden of his Boksburg residence.

The end of may and first week of June marked the ­beginning of the 2007 racing pigeon season. Issue date 15 June 2007

Besides competitions and various tasks that absorb many hours of the pigeon ­fancier's week, there are incidents that lure us into a state of pigeon ­hypnotism. One of these is the breeding cycle.

What makes teenagers, adult men and women so interested in the world of racing pigeons?

To maintain the high quality of a superior gene pool, most pigeon breeders follow a breeding plan using line breeding or inbreeding from the foundation pigeons.

Farmer's Weekly recently spoke with Gert Roodt, chairperson of the Overberg Racing Pigeon Union, who was very proud of his region's achievements.

Tommy van Zyl is a self-employed building contractor who first engaged his passion for racing pigeons from a neat garden loft in the backyard of his Uitenhage home in the autumn of 1983.
Issue Date: 30 March 2007

In all sports there are leaders and followers. There is nothing demeaning about being a follower, as long your attitude is right - and you commit to make the affairs of the pigeon club run efficiently.
Issue date:23 March 2007

Unless you are a beneficiary in a top pigeon fancier's will, the only way you will lay your hands on a prime stock pigeon is to buy it at the dispersal auction.
Issue Date 16 March 2007

The 11th Sun City Million Dollar Pigeon Race had contestants on the edges of their seats on 3 February. The winners are in high spirits, and the fanciers who didn't score are back at the drawing board. The common consensus worldwide is that the winning birds are those which possess the “correct” gene package for the circumstances of the race - and then hit peak form on the day.
Issue Date: 9 March 2007

Kevin Winter is a self-taught health researcher and pigeon analyst. He has tested the health of more than 44 000 pigeons in his own laboratory in Sunderland in the UK over the last five years. Issue Date: 23 February 2007