# fast maturing young birds



## bloodlines_365 (Jan 15, 2008)

anyone whats the fast maturing young birds... or fast maturing blood that good for 300 to 400 miles... (to all the young birds specialist) thanks!!!


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## fastpitch dad (Nov 21, 2007)

I don't think there are a lot of 400 mile young bird races. Somebody will come along and be more informative.


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## learning (May 19, 2006)

Not to be a personal advertising campaign, but one of the reasons I chose Warren Smith's birds was because of just that. One of the selection criteria that he has used over the years is selecting the birds that created fast maturing youngsters that would excel at the 300-400 mile distance as young birds. This was important to him because he wanted to excel at these distances for the one loft events he participates in.

I have had only one season with the progeny of his stock but one thing I noticed was that they would be there in the 100 and 200 mile events but once we hit 250 plus, they really seemed to hit their stride. He is a very honorable and straightforward person and he certainly did right by me. I would recomend him to anyone. I do know that he has a limited availability as he is not a "pigeon merchant" like some, but I would certainly recommend that you give him a call or e-mail.

Hope this helps

Dan


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## whitesnmore (Sep 9, 2004)

I have had luck with Warren's birds as well. We also have a line of Houbens that flew 79 miles at 10 weeks old then flew a 200 at 11 weeks and the last race of 300 at 12 weeks. There are probably many more who will come along with their own personal lines that mature fast. I personally think it is in the breeder more than the specific bloodline.


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## ohiogsp (Feb 24, 2006)

We fly a 320 here and since I am on the long end it is 340 to me. That is pretty long for yb's (i think anyway). I had 2 day birds and they were both in the top 10. I was very happy since this was my first year flying. I got my breeders that produced these for free but there is definatly a difference in that type of bird. Mine were stassart/haveneth.


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## bloodlines_365 (Jan 15, 2008)

learning said:


> Not to be a personal advertising campaign, but one of the reasons I chose Warren Smith's birds was because of just that. One of the selection criteria that he has used over the years is selecting the birds that created fast maturing youngsters that would excel at the 300-400 mile distance as young birds. This was important to him because he wanted to excel at these distances for the one loft events he participates in.
> 
> I have had only one season with the progeny of his stock but one thing I noticed was that they would be there in the 100 and 200 mile events but once we hit 250 plus, they really seemed to hit their stride. He is a very honorable and straightforward person and he certainly did right by me. I would recomend him to anyone. I do know that he has a limited availability as he is not a "pigeon merchant" like some, but I would certainly recommend that you give him a call or e-mail.
> 
> ...


i think because of the ludo classeen blood cross with speed birds... thats why they excel at a distance specially those headwinds and hot humid or cloudy conditions....but theresome a few outthere to be mention... liike elton dingas vercamen janseen...thus anybody fly with this line....


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## hillfamilyloft (Jun 22, 2005)

Many of the young birds today mature quite fast. I would look at who is winning the one loft races and choose those birds. Many of the second and third round birds do just as well as the first. Most of the fanciers in the US fly young birds. I would find the local guy that wins the Young bird races and trust that those birds mature fast. If they are winning they are maturing quickly enough. Personally I would look for young bird winners before I looked for fast maturing birds. If they win you will find what you are looking for as far as maturity is concerned. 

Randy


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## Alamo (Nov 22, 2008)

OHIOGSP,You have two great long distance strains there...My dad had Haveniths,and they were awsome at the distance..And for YB`s,they did really well in hard races with a headwind...I wouldn`t put alot of dollars on them in a fast 350 YB race..Because the middle distance strains alot of YB flyers have, do much better in the fast races...Ofcourse there are a few exceptions allways out there...I have some Stassart blood crossed in my Janssen pigeons...I allways wanted to make sure if the race was a hard one,I got returns in race time...I don`t allways have the high speeds like most of the sprint & middle distance birds give..But I`m working on that now..I have a great middle distance hen in the stock loft,and she gave me two excellent flying YB`s in 2008..Looking forward to seeing if these two birds can do even better in OB`s this year..Alamo


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## ohiogsp (Feb 24, 2006)

Alamo said:


> OHIOGSP,You have two great long distance strains there...My dad had Haveniths,and they were awsome at the distance..And for YB`s,they did really well in hard races with a headwind...I wouldn`t put alot of dollars on them in a fast 350 YB race..Because the middle distance strains alot of YB flyers have, do much better in the fast races...Ofcourse there are a few exceptions allways out there...I have some Stassart blood crossed in my Janssen pigeons...I allways wanted to make sure if the race was a hard one,I got returns in race time...I don`t allways have the high speeds like most of the sprint & middle distance birds give..But I`m working on that now..I have a great middle distance hen in the stock loft,and she gave me two excellent flying YB`s in 2008..Looking forward to seeing if these two birds can do even better in OB`s this year..Alamo



Wow, glad to hear others have these old strains. They are great birds and I pretty much owe my whole season last year to these birds.


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## SmithFamilyLoft (Nov 22, 2004)

bloodlines_365 said:


> anyone whats the fast maturing young birds... or fast maturing blood that good for 300 to 400 miles... (to all the young birds specialist) thanks!!!


 I don't pretend to be an "Expert" on the subject. But, I think that over time, a colony of birds will end up producing what the fancier is focusing on. As an example, when I was a kid, my mentor and I were much more interested in producing birds which could do well in our Combine's 500 and 600 mile races. 

Back in those days, we viewed YB races as simply "training tosses" and not much in the way of performance was expected. Even as a yearling, the bird was viewed as just starting his/her racing career. I am convinced that many of our racing champs back in those days did not hit their peak untill they were about three years old, and then they were raced for many more years then I think birds are today. My mentor also had very active breeders well past the ten year old mark. I can remember many birds which I admired, that were years older then I was. Bottom line, they were very much different in terms of what I attempt to breed today. 

As a YB specialist, if the pigeon does not show me what he is made of during the YB season, he never makes it into my breeding loft. As a result, over time, only the faster maturing birds are being retained. Now, having said all that, I also believe, that pigeons, like people, are individuals, and not every bird out of a pair are going to mature at the same rate. If that turns out to be the case, and the slower maturing bird has his/her performance impacted by this, then he ends up not earning a nest bowl in the breeding loft. 

So, for all practical purposes, forget the strain "name", and simply select birds which have done well as a YB in racing, as opposed to pigeons which only produced the results when they were yearlings or older. By all this I mean, YB races can not be considered "training tosses", they must be considered the actual test itself. And if one is to also fly OB's, my thinking is that the YB's which did not do so well as YB's can be raced, but even if they turn out to be great winners as OB's, they should spend their careers as racers, and not breeders. Only the OB's which did well as YB's and OB's should be considered for the breeding loft.

In conclusion, the definition of "fast maturing" may mean different things to different people. If the pigeon is able to win a 350 mile race as a YB, then by my definition, he has matured fast enough !


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## Bluecheckard (Jun 23, 2008)

*very well said and thanks for sharing....*



SmithFamilyLoft said:


> I don't pretend to be an "Expert" on the subject. But, I think that over time, a colony of birds will end up producing what the fancier is focusing on. As an example, when I was a kid, my mentor and I were much more interested in producing birds which could do well in our Combine's 500 and 600 mile races.
> 
> Back in those days, we viewed YB races as simply "training tosses" and not much in the way of performance was expected. Even as a yearling, the bird was viewed as just starting his/her racing career. I am convinced that many of our racing champs back in those days did not hit their peak untill they were about three years old, and then they were raced for many more years then I think birds are today. My mentor also had very active breeders well past the ten year old mark. I can remember many birds which I admired, that were years older then I was. Bottom line, they were very much different in terms of what I attempt to breed today.
> 
> ...




amen to that!!!!


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## chiggerbait (Jun 26, 2008)

I have been out of the birds for nearly 40 yrs. but plan on rejoining 'the game' soon. A lot has changed seems, to be all for the better. I have been reading alot of posts on various forums and indiviual websites and something came to my attention about hard flown yb's didn't perform very well as yearlings. Has anyone had any experience with this and if so did the bird perform as a 2 or 3 year old?
Chigger


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## Bezz (Dec 12, 2008)

Hi 

My experience is the opposit.
The birds that exelled as young birds even flew better as a yearling.
They showed theyre stuff from race 1 til the last race of the season.

Bezz


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## SmithFamilyLoft (Nov 22, 2004)

Bezz said:


> Hi
> 
> My experience is the opposit.
> The birds that exelled as young birds even flew better as a yearling.
> ...



I am inclined to agree with you. Great YB's should also make great yearlings !! Locally, I have had our birds flown by local fanciers as OB's...only to become 500 mile champs. I am sure that "good" YB's don't stop being good simply because they have matured even more. I just personally have not had the opportunity to prove that.


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