Norm
Milner
Rockhampton
Racing Pigeon
When we visited Norm his shop was a hive of activity,
he runs a very successful butcher shop in Rockhampton and was introduced into
pigeons at an early age, he has raced for the past 35 years and has not missed
a season.
We had a chance to have some lunch and visit his lofts
after a quick trip up the highway from Bundaberg that morning. The Rocky club
has a strong competition with 22 members. Norm had a very neat set-up and a
very nice kit of pigeons! He has the Balf’s, ABC and
some old
He uses a standard breeding mix while rearing
youngsters and in the racing season uses a mix made of 4 wheat, 2 peas & 2 maize with a splash of small grains. He will use more
wheat at the start of the week and vary the maize from Wednesday ‘til basketing
night. Norm will feed twice a day with ˝ oz per bird in the morning and then
give the birds what ever they want in the afternoon
He will work his birds around the loft each morning
and likes them to work hard for 20 minutes and never over 1 hour. Weaning is
done at 3 ˝ weeks of age as he like the birds to settle quickly. When the
racing season is coming around his first 5 tosses are up to 4 kms and he will
stretch out from there. He likes to have at least 6 tosses before the first
race and once racing he will give them short runs from 20 – 30 kms twice per
week. He works the birds together and doesn’t single toss his birds, he also
trains alone as it is more convenient, and after seeing how busy Norm is with
his shop you can understand why.
Norm prefers the young birds over the old birds, he
thinks they are better for racing and he prefers the hens over the cocks as he
says they are easier to control. Norm selects his race team by observation, he
likes birds which are first to the water and first to the perch, he also likes
clean body skin. With this observation of the birds
behaviour he has had more success. If he has a special event he may give the
birds an extra training run if he feels it is needed and this will be late in
the evening. Norm has a fly-in set-up with a Unikon
electronic timing system, the electronic system is a great for a busy working
man! He separates his hens and cocks for racing and one of his main hens is the
“Kempsey Hen”, she has won the single bird from Bundaberg, 3rd in
the Breeders Plate from Kempsey, she has been the only bird home in race time
as well.
Norm uses some medication which will be Turbosule and Emtryl, which he
will use early in the week He also uses Apple Cider Vinegar to help clean the
gut and Garlic for the well being of his birds to assist their natural
immunity. The weather conditions in Rocky sees very high humidity and other
factors with effecting racing is the mountains and river, the birds will tend
to follow the river and he can be at a disadvantage if they do this.
Norm in-breeds to produce future stock birds and
out-crosses for his race team. The breeding season in Rockhampton for Norm is
from September through to December. He likes to take 3 rounds and finish before
it gets too hot!
Norm’s suggestion for the novice flyer is to Look,
Learn and Listen! Experienced fanciers should assist with all the help the
novice needs and also they must give the newcomer good birds to start with.
Norm say’s it all takes hard work and we all like to have harmony in your club.
We thank Norm for his time and hospitality, it was
much appreciated, Duncan and myself had a great time
with the visit and also thank the Rockhampton Racing Pigeon Club for their time
given to us to discuss various pigeon related topics.
Loft report by