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Pigeon racing is the sport of releasing specially trained racing pigeons, which then return to their homes over a carefully measured distance. The time it takes the animal to cover the specified distance is measured and the bird's rate of travel is calculated and compared with all of the other pigeons in the race to determine which animal returned at the highest speed. Pigeon racing requires a specific breed of pigeon bred for the sport, the "Racing Homer". Competing pigeons are specially trained and conditioned for races that vary in distance for approximately to 100 to 1000 km. The winner of a pigeon race is the bird with the highest velocity, measured in ypm or mpm; this calculation demands that the distance be divided into yards, then divide the yards by the number of minutes it took the bird to return. Since races can often be won and lost by seconds, many different timing and measuring devices have been developed. The traditional timing method involves rubber rings being placed into a specially designed clock, whereas a newer development uses RFID tags to record arrival time.

While there is no definite proof, there are compelling reasons to think the sport of racing pigeons may go back at least as far as 220 AD or possibly earlier.[1] The sport achieved a great deal of popularity in Belgium in the mid 19th century. The pigeon fanciers of Belgium were so taken with the hobby that they began to develop pigeons specially cultivated for fast flight and long endurance called Voyageurs.[2] From Belgium the modern version of the sport and the Voyageurs which the Flemish fanciers developed spread to most parts of the world. Once quite popular, the sport has experienced a downturn in participants in some parts of the world in recent years, possibly due to the rising cost of living, aging fanciers, and a severe lack of public interest. One recent development in the sport of pigeon racing is "one loft racing", where birds are raced against each other under the same training regime, in an effort to test the best birds rather than the best trainer.

Clontarf Pigeon Club releasing racing pigeons in Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

Contents
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1 History 2 Racing o 2.1 Traditional timing method o 2.2 Electronic timing method 3 One-loft racing 4 Training 5 Hazards 6 Breeding 7 Controversy 8 By region o 8.1 The Americas 8.1.1 United States 8.1.2 Canada 8.1.3 Brazil o 8.2 Asia o 8.3 Oceania 8.3.1 Australia

8.4 Europe 8.4.1 UK 8.4.2 Belgium 8.4.3 Romania 8.4.4 Turkey o 8.5 Africa 8.5.1 South Africa 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

[edit] History
Pigeons are the oldest domesticated bird. The predecessors of modern day racing pigeons were pigeons bred for their homing ability, primarily to carry messages. "Pigeon Posts" have been established all over the world and while mainly used in the military, some are still in service today. Modern pigeon racing originated in Belgium in the mid 19th century.[3] The sport was aided by several new technologies of the era. The advent of the railroad permitted pigeons to be sent to distant release points quickly and at modest cost. In addition the creation of mass-produced, sophisticated timing clocks brought accurate and secure timing to the sport. These clocks were designed with special compartments where an entry band, removed from the returning race bird was placed. When struck, the clock recorded the time and also placed the band in a compartment that could only be opened by race officials. The importance of homing pigeons in the centuries before electronic communications, such as the telegraph and telephone, is seldom recognized. However the Reuters News Agency, the world's largest information provider, began as a pigeon service carrying closing stock prices between Belgium and Germany, basically between the Western and Eastern terminus of the telegraph in Europe. Also the use of homing pigeons by Financier Nathan Rothschild to gain advance news of Napoleon's unexpected defeat at Waterloo is thought to have led to a fortune being made in the bond market of the day.

[edit] Racing
"It is the sport with a single starting gate and a thousand finish lines."[4] In short, competing birds are taken from their lofts and must race home. The time taken and distance are recorded and the fastest bird is declared the winner. Races are generally between 100 and 1000 km in distance. In the United States flights of up to 1800 kilometres have been recorded.[5] 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.[citation needed]. Hazards can also come from weather conditions on the day of the race. Pigeons can become

grounded and disoriented, and therefore not finish the race. In one instance in Madison, WI in 1941, a family found a pigeon on their property. Since the bird was sporting an identifying leg band, the Wisconsin Conservation Commission was called, who identified the owner as a man from Green Bay, WI.[6] In the early days of racing, paint was used to identify birds for owners. Belgium then developed a 1/8 inch brass leg band, that was sent to racers in America to use.[7] Since then, 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. Sometimes in some leagues there are 2 divisions: one for the young birds (usually yearlings in their first year of competition) and another for older birds.

[edit] Traditional timing method

Inside an older pigeon clock

Some old style pigeon clocks use thimbles. The traditional method of timing racing pigeons involves rubber rings with unique serial numbers and a specially designed pigeon racing clock. The ring is attached around the bird's leg before being sent to race. The serial number is recorded, the clock is set and sealed, and the bird carries the ring home. When the first bird returns, its trainer removes the ring and places it in a slot in the clock. The time that the ring was placed in the clock is recorded as the official time that the competing bird arrived home. From this timestamp an average speed is measured and a winner of the race can be found.

Although serving its purpose, this method has proved somewhat problematic for a few reasons: 1. 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. 2. 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.

[edit] Electronic timing method

The latest development and preferred method for timing racing pigeons is the Electronic Timing System. The bird's arrival is recorded automatically. When using an electronic system, the pigeon fancier doesnt even have to be at the loft to clock the birds as they return.[8] Birds are fitted with a band that has a tiny RFID chip in it which can be read when the bird comes home. At the home loft the electronic scanning records the pigeons arrival. The pad or antenna is placed at the entry point to the loft entrance and as the pigeon crosses it the electronic band is scanned. The clock is attached to the antennas. The serial number of the transponder ring is recorded along with the time of arrival. This is very similar to transponder timing systems used in human races.[9] In February 2008 the members of the Penygraog Homing Society Racing Pigeon Club in Wales won an award to fund a new electronic timing device. The club was able to obtain the device thanks to funding from the All Wales award initiative. Club secretary John Williams said: "The electronic timer certainly makes it a lot easier for us".[10]

[edit] 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 opposed 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. Pigeons are recorded by electronic timing systems scanning the birds as they enter the home loft with winners decided by as little as 100th of a second. The birds are all taken to the same release point and they return to the same home loft, so therefore it is the fastest bird to complete the journey from A to B. One loft racing is now becoming very popular all around the world with fanciers able to compare their bloodlines on an equal basis against the many other pigeons.

[edit] Training
Racing pigeons are housed together in a specially designed dovecote or loft. From about 4 weeks of age until the end of its racing career, the racing loft is the pigeon's home and is where it returns to on race day. After 22 to 28 days in the nest (depending on the owners preference) the young birds are removed and placed in a section of a large loft or in a smaller loft built for the purpose. After a

few days of learning how to locate the water and eating by themselves they are allowed to wander out of the loft and peck around in the garden, while doing this they are constantly observing their surroundings and becoming familiar with them. At about age 6 to 7 weeks the birds will begin taking off, flying in very small circles around their loft and owners house. As their confidence grows they gradually wander farther and farther from home until they are out of sight and can remain so for as much as 2 hours before returning. When a few trainers fly their pigeons in the same area, these flying "Batches" (as flocks of pigeons are called) can number in the thousands. 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. Some fanciers believe their system is the secret to their success and guard these hard learned lessons closely. Most fanciers will explain their basic strategy but some may be reluctant to share the details of their success. One of the most popular systems is widowhood. This system uses the birds desire to reproduce as motivation to try to give the bird a sense of urgency on race day. The use of widowhood is usually 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 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. Due to advancements in technology researchers have been able to use small Global Positioning Systems to track the flight paths that their birds follow. Jan Van Stalle, began using small GPS devices to document the flight patters of high flyers in 2009 and is expecting to publish a full report on the subject in early 2012. Small GPS systems have recently began to hit the consumer market. Companies like PigeonTrack and GEM Supplements currently sell GPS units for novice to advanced race trainers to use to gather data.

[edit] Hazards

The Peregrine Falcon is a major predator of racing pigeons. 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.[11][12] The killing of valuable pigeons by wild predators has led to some pigeon fanciers being suspected of killing birds of prey such as falcons.[13] Another hazard that racing pigeons encounter is flying into objects they sometimes cannot see, mostly when flying at high speeds or in darker weather conditions. The most common obstruction are electricity pylons or TV aerials.[14] Pigeon fanciers will often have one of their pigeons return home with wounds or missing feathers from the belly or flanks region. 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.[15] although no published research has investigated this theory.

[edit] Breeding

A pair of young racing pigeons, 9 days old.

Pigeons are sexually mature at about six months of age. However, fanciers will often wait until the pigeon is at least a few months older before breeding. The first egg is laid and not incubated until the clutch is complete, with eggs being laid every other day. A hen bird will usually only lay two eggs in a clutch. The incubation period is 17 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 1600 km away and flying at speeds in excess of 130 km/h with a tail wind but average 60 km/h on a calm day[citation needed]. Hens are often capable of laying upwards of 12 eggs per year, and squabs usually leave the nest at approximately 34 weeks of age.

[edit] Controversy
A report commissioned by Scottish National Heritage and the Scottish Homing Union found that on average 56% of birds released each season do not make it home. In 1996 more than 34,000 birds were lost in Scotland and 8,000 returned injured.[16] According to the report, birds who aren't considered fast enough and aren't wanted for breeding are "culled" killed by suffocation, drowning, neck-breaking, gassing, or decapitation.[17] Between 2010 and 2012, PETA conducted an investigation into the practices of pigeon racing in the US. It found that there were casualty rates of 60 percent or more among birds during races and training due to weather, predators, electrical lines, and hunters.[citation needed] Races that are particularly fatal are referred to as "smash races." At the 2011 American Racing Pigeon Union Convention, 827 out of the original 2,294 birds survived training flights.