Darkening System Pre and Post Race Season
Adding Light
Two weeks before the first race, I make another change and put the birds on sixteen hours of light. The birds wake to a natural sunrise, but I turn lights on in the coop with a timer and then shut them off at 10:00 p.m. with the timer. This is the easiest part of the system, since the timer can take care of the lights without any interference from me.
Adding the extra lights, lengthens the day for the birds and tricks them into believing that it is still summer time. Consequently, the birds do not begin to prepare for winter as they do on the natural system. They don’t need to, since they have already gone through the body moult.
I leave the birds together for the first race and then separate them into hens and cocks on the evening after the first race. I continue to train the birds several times a week, but I have to switch to afternoon training tosses. Having the birds in two groups requires that someone be at home who can close the front to the hen loft and open the front to the cock loft so that the birds don’t end up in the same pen.
By this time, school has started so I train as soon as I get home from work and my kids help me out by switching the loft fronts for me. It is difficult, but I can usually work two tosses in each week and still manage to get to several soccer games and practices with my kids.
The Race Season
Once separated, the hens and cocks get let out at separate times to fly around the loft. If I don’t take them on a training toss, I let them out to fly around the loft. Most days they will take off and fly for up to an hour before returning to the loft to eat. I still feed just once a day after they have flown or been trained. I don’t let the birds fly on Friday or do training tosses on that day.
I again get to spend a lot of time with the birds as they eat and drink. I continue to clean the lofts almost every day. For me it is easier to do it regularly and clean up just a little than to let it all build up and have to really work to get it clean. It pays off so much in the better health of the birds.
On Friday afternoon, I let the hens and cocks get together for about an hour before I crate them to go to the club. I make sure the birds eat and drink before I crate them. I adjust the feed depending on what the conditions for the race are supposed to be. If it is going to be a harder race, I feed more heavily. For an easier race, I feed less.
Making sure the birds get the right feed at the right time during the race week is a skill you have to learn. Every race is different. The weather, the temperature, the wind, all make a difference on the condition of the birds when they return to the loft. How I feed the birds, has a big effect on how the birds recover from a race and how they prepare for the next one. Just like an athlete has to be careful with his diet, I have to prepare my flying athletes to be ready to do their best.
Usually I start with light food immediately after a race and then increase the amount of protein on Monday through Wednesday. Peas and corn have a lot of protein in them which helps to build muscle, but it won’t help to feed it on Friday right before a race. By then, it does not have time to digest properly. On Thursday and Friday, I feed less protein and more carbohydrates. This provides the energy the pigeons need for the race.
I try to handle the birds as little as possible on race day. I don’t want to stress them in any way. Since the birds at this age don’t have a permanent mate, I don’t worry so much about which birds stay or go, like I do with the old birds. I try to send those that look and feel the best. If the bird is stressed for any reason or not in good condition, I will leave it home. I always have plenty of birds.
When the birds arrive home from the race, I allow both sexes to mix within the entire loft. They are like teenagers strutting their stuff. They haven’t settled down with a permanent mate. They all seem to play the field and flirt with many different birds. I allow them to stay together for several hours, then separate all of the birds again. Those that arrive home early, get the most benefit from this experience. If they come home late, they miss out.
Using the Darkening System, I get great results on the returns. On many of the races over the past years, I have had ten to twelve birds on the first drop. I rarely get a single bird on the first drop.
After the Season
At the end of the race season, I return the birds to a natural day and night. I keep the birds separated by sex, since I don’t want them to begin mating. This would cause additional stress on the birds and put them at risk of getting sick.
The birds will begin the moult really fast as their day has suddenly gone from a long summer day of sixteen hours to a shorter autumn day of about twelve hours or less. The birds will moult the body feathers again and they will moult the wing flights. A few birds will have already begun the wing moult, but most of mine have not started this yet.
The birds seem to just fall apart at this time, but they get through it rather quickly. Again, I try to keep the loft really clean during this time to prevent the birds from getting sick. There is considerable dust with the huge loss of feathers, so at the very least I sweep the loft every day.
I return the birds to the 22 percent turkey grower pellets for this time while they are moulting. It seems to help them get through the moult easier. They have the extra protein available that they need to grow the new feathers, but in a form that is much easier to digest than peas and corn. I always give the birds plenty of grit as well.
Darkening System Pre and Post Race Season By Craig Goode
I hope you enjoyed the last few emails explaining the darkening system, I just wanted to send you a follow up article on the darkening system. In this article it answers some questions that you may have regarding the darkening system.
The Darkening System
First when we say darkening your loft
You can use anything to cover your loft windows with whatever is convenient and at your disposal: curtain material, wood, or a piece of tin.
I personally cut up a thin sheet of plywood. I run it in a grove so I can slide it in front of my windows inside my loft to darken the room. It also comes in handy later to darken the loft to catch your birds for training, as they are more calm when being caught.
How dark should it be?
Like a night with no moonlight. Try not to have light coming through little peek holes in your loft. I would say just try and keep it as dark as you can.
Ventilation for darkening a loft is very important
Any ventilation is fine as long as daylight does not come through it. You can also use power vents if desired. Power vents may be a better choice in warmer climates.
When do I darken the loft?
I would say to your convenience. Keep in mind your birds can only have eight hours of daylight per day. For example: from 8 AM to 4 PM; maybe 9 AM to 5 PM; or 10 AM to 6 PM. Whatever is convenient for you.
How old should my young birds be for the darkening system?
At the age of thirty five days. However, some people start them on twenty eight days old, while others wait until they are fifty days old. We found they will start to drop their primary flights if you decide to go beyond the 35 days, but as soon as you put them in the dark, they will stop dropping their primary flights.
Dropping body feathers
You will notice body feathers in your loft after two weeks of beginning the darkening system. The birds will go through their body moult which will take about nine to ten weeks. They should not drop their primary flights.
When do I feed birds that are in the dark?
That will be up to you. I always try and feed them a little before I let them out for their morning exercise, and one hour before I darken the loft. It’s amazing how they find their way around in the dark in the loft, even to go for a drink.
How long should they be in the dark?
Twelve weeks, but longer if you like.
Exercise for your birds
Exercise your birds as you like.
Caution in training your young birds that just come out of the dark, or still in the dark – It didn’t seem to make a difference in training. We all found extreme care must be taken here. Where dealing here with young birds that have feathers like old birds, but in their mind they are still young birds. They panic very easily and are capable of flying great distances before realizing they are lost. In our club we found to have fewer loses if we trained in the morning only. Take extreme care, start slowly, don’t push them up the road too fast. They seem to lack confidence. Sometimes later in training I have taken a couple of yearlings along to help build up their self-esteem until they become sure of themselves. I train three times a week right up to the end of the racing season .
The first week in August
The daylight hours are getting shorter, now we start to increase daylight hours in the loft by turning on the electricity which is set on a timer to create fourteen hours of daylight in the loft. This is to delay the body moult .
Now, the lights are turned off halfway through September. Within ten days after shutting off the lights they will start their complete body moult. They sometimes drop their last flights in the winter months but that is not a concern. I have found out that my young birds moult out faster in their own original young bird loft better than trying to move them too soon to a yearling loft.
Feeding after the race season when they have started their moult
It is very important to feed them good quality grains two times a day till they are through their moult. Give them lots of rest, and limit the amount of exercise during this period.
The Darkening System By Roland Paret
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Glenn West
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