Pigeon Fancier Sparks
Interest At Wesley House
by: Bobby McDonald
Traveling down Church Street in Sulphur Springs, as you pass Wesley House Assisted Living, you may have noticed an odd-shaped, white building, located on the northwest corner of the property, near the street. However, the contents of the building is even more unusual. The building is a pigeon loft or aviary, and houses a family of homing pigeons, owned by Robert H. "Bob" Woodruff, a new resident at the assisted living facility.
This small building, located on the northwest corner of the Wesley House property, on Church Street,
is Bob Woodruff's pigeon loft or aviary, and serves as the home of his homing pigeons.
"I raised homing pigeons as a small boy, while growing-up in the Shreveport, Louisiana, area," declared Woodruff. "Then, about two years ago, from my Reilly Springs home, I got interested in the sport again, as I tried to find something to provide an interesting hobby. When I decided to move to Wesley House, I didn't think the management would let me bring my pigeons and loft to the property, but was pleasantly surprised when they encouraged me in the endeavor."
"We try to allow our residents every opportunity to remain active and enjoy their hobbies, so we thought the pigeon loft would make Mr. Woodruff's transitional move much more pleasant," expressed Minnie Zelle, Wesley House Director. "And, the added advantage has been the interest that has developed with all of the other residents, as they watch Mr. Woodruff exercise his birds daily, in training. Now, everyone is really getting excited about the upcoming races in the autumn!"
These young birds are part of the group that Woodruff will be racing in the upcoming autumn races,
and make their daily flights to return back to the Wesley House property.
Woodruff explains that the "Young Bird" racing season begins in mid-September and lasts through the month of October. The season is designed for birds that have been born in 2006. The birds will be entered in races from 100 up to 300 miles and are timed on their arrival back home, to determine their placing in the race.
"Then, the older birds are raced in the spring months," explained Woodruff. "Their racing season is from mid-March through April and is for birds born the previous year and earlier. Their races will be up to 500 miles! "
This beautiful "cock" is one of Woodruff's favorites and has an unusual marking and color pattern.
Woodruff is a member of the Loft of the Pines Racing Club, located in Hughes Springs, Texas, the closest group to him, here in Northeast Texas, and they are the sponsors of the races that he will be entering. "We're just a group of racing enthusiasts that enjoy racing our birds and seeing who has the best birds," explained Woodruff. "You usually start the season with a minimum of 25 birds and hope that all of them return to your loft, following the races. However, some are almost always lost during the season for a variety of reasons, such as predators, them losing their sense of direction, or other perils in the races."
Small monetary awards are awarded to the owners of the winning birds, but trophies and diplomas are the general prizes most sought by the racers. "We have a futurity class, where each of us enters birds, when they are banded at 5 weeks of age, and the winner is awarded a portion of the fund," inserted Woodruff. "Pigeon racing has been around for a long time and continues to be an interesting sport that can be managed on a very small area of land, such as your back yard or in a small corner of your property."
Woodruff is a member of the Loft of the Pines Pigeon Racing Club, located from Hughes Springs, Texas,
that sponsors area races for his pigeons.
The sport of pigeon racing has a very unique and colorful history. Kings, earls, war generals, and yes, even assisted living residents in Sulphur Springs, have all been followers and participants in the sport. American pigeon racing began almost immediately after the founding of our country and received prominance, when the birds were called "carrier pigeons" and used to deliver messages from one party to another, long before the idea of the "cell phone" was even thought about. History tells us that pigeons were used during the Revolutionary War to deliver war messages between several of the American Generals and the practice continued during the Civil War. The first known Pigeon Racing Club was formed in 1872 and Fred Goldman is considered the "Father" of American Pigeon Racing, when he formed the League of American Homing Pigeons, in 1891, and perfected a clocking device to monitor bird's flight times, called the "Halstead Clock."
This pigeon hen is shown "setting" on her nest, prior to hatching her young, in a breeding operation.
And, these two "squeekers" are about 20 days old as they have almost outgrown their nesting area. The
Homing Pigeon typically lays two eggs per hatch and continues to hatch throughout the breeding season.
It was on March 15, 1918 that two world famous American Homing Pigeons made heroic contributions to the American cause in World War I. "Gunpowder," a black-checked hen, and "Pretty Baby," a black-pied hen, were both used to deliver vital war messages to American Major General Clarence Edwards and resulted in American victory.
Then, on October 18, 1943, it was "G.I. Joe," a blue-checked, splash cock, that brought victory to American troops in World War II, when he flew 22 miles with a message that saved the lives of over 1000 service men and was awarded the British "Dickens Medal of Honor," for his valiant efforts.
Pigeon enthusiasts, like almost any breeder of prized livestock, have preferred bloodlines and pedigrees that can trace back to some of these outstanding racing birds. Noteable families of birds include: the Janssens, the Durkins, the Van de Faes, the Hortogs, the 969's, the Merckx, and the Mexico Janssens, to name only a few. Lineage is closely monitored and crosses between famous lines are used in extensive breeding programs to breed birds with greater flying abilities.
The small wooden building or loft, is equipped with roosts, that the birds
use, once they return from their flights.
Woodruff allowed that the most expensive part of the hobby is the travel time to deliver the birds for the races. "With gasoline at almost $3.00 a gallon and regulations calling for a certified person to take the birds out for a race, the costs can mount," expressed Woodruff. "The way the system works is that usually on a Friday afternoon, prior to a Saturday race, the birds are delivered to the 'carrier' and he travels the designated distance, spends the night, and releases the birds, the next morning. Then, you watch for your bird to return to your own loft and record the arrival."
According to Woodruff, the homing pigeon has a natural instinct to return to the nesting area that he has been reared and trained and will fly back to that destination, once released."The normal heart rate for a pigeon is approximately 200 beats per minute," states Woodruff. "However, during flight in a race, his heart rate will increase to up to 600 beats per minute, as he works his flight pattern back home!"
Woodruff demonstrates the proper way to hold a pigeon and talks about the
particular strength of this young bird, that he will be racing in the autumn races.
"Young birds purchased or raised at a weaning age of approximately 5-6 weeks of age are called 'squeekers,' and are ready to transfer to the loft," continued Woodruff. "You begin training them after they have been in the loft approximately 2 weeks and open the loft door and allow them to fly out, on their own. Soon, they will be flying farther and farther away and returning to the loft for food and water."
Woodruff flies his birds twice daily, as he allows them to travel greater distances each day. He will typically open the door at 7:00 a.m., as he goes to breakfast, and then come back and wait for their return. Then, every afternoon at 6:00 p.m., he opens the door again, for the afternoon flight. "It's great to watch those beautiful birds gracefully fly from the loft and take flight," expressed one of Woodruff's neighbors at Wesley House. "They are absolutely gorgeous and it quickly becomes a habit to make certain that you get up and go watch them every morning!"
According to Zelle, there are approximately 10 residents at Wesley House that make it a habit to watch the birds leave the loft, every day, and then, they anxiously await the return of Woodruff's birds. "It's something spectacular to see the interest that has developed among the residents, with the newest addition of these 'neighbors' at the facility," continued Zelle. "They have got everyone at the facility talking and interested in their training progress. Everyone is looking forward to racing season!"
With an "eye" toward the upcoming racing season, Woodruff shows the
beautiful color pattern on one of his favorite birds, as he proudly talks about the
interest that they have "sparked" among the Wesley House residents.
"Win, lose, or draw, the pigeons have been a great way to bring a 'piece of home' to the new residence at Wesley House," affirms Woodruff. "These little fellows may not ever win a race, but they've definitely 'sparked' an interest for me and all of my neighbors and have served their purpose of adding enthusiam to daily life!"
Wesley House Assisted Living is located at 1044 Church Street and according to Director Minnie Zelle,
the facility strives to bring as much of "home" for each of their residents to the center, in an effort to
maintain quality of life and enthusiasm.
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