centralvalleylofts
31 posts
Jan 26, 2006
6:30 PM
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as i read this post the more i see that their not enough mentors in the hobby for the amount of begginers.
if you guys remember that their once was a person you looked up to. from what i see is more of here take these and good luck demeaner. no one has the time anymore and these new guys are the future and if it contenues this way the hobby is doomed and some guys are so secretive about there birds they dont want anyone near them or in their club to beat them with there own birds.
whats your take on this guys?
lets see some input.steve
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nicksiders
378 posts
Jan 26, 2006
7:13 PM
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I think that those who are qualified to be mentors have taken on this task with so many that they now get leary of taking on any more. The constraint of time becomes a factor. There are those others who fit the profile you talked about and they may not be a wise choice to mentor anyone.
The fact is even on this site it seems to take awhile for breeders to step up with advise or at least afirm the advise that has been volunteered by someone else. This is probably the best site to get advise quickly. Other sites are usually much slower in stepping up to include the NBRC site.
Just my 50 cent worth.........
Last Edited by nicksiders on Jan 26, 2006 7:14 PM
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rust never sleeps
8 posts
Jan 26, 2006
8:39 PM
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Good post! my mentors are David Sanchez 40+ years in the hobby and Richard Luna 20+ years both are Great friends. Boy can those two talk rollers,make your ear's bleed.met david in 1996. richard in 1997.and yes there's 50% blood lines run in my family of performers.
Last Edited by rust never sleeps on Jan 26, 2006 8:46 PM
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rollerpigeon
Site Moderator
439 posts
Jan 26, 2006
9:53 PM
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Hey Steve, my opinion is if someone wants a mentor, they should ask the person they want to learn from if they can pick their brain, if the answer is “yes”, then they better watch, listen and apply what they are told. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.
If you read my publication called “How To Breed Better Rollers” (you can order a copy from me or order one through Foys Pigeon Supply) and want to discuss with me what I wrote about breeding better rollers, just call me at 417-935-4751 and I will be happy to share my views on what it takes to have and maintain a kit of top notch rollers.
I was also waiting to announce this, but your post has prompted me to announce that I am also gearing up to start a brand new E-Newsletter called the “Roller Guide” where I will discuss issues relating to rollers using the themes from my publication as well as my thoughts on some discussion threads from the All Roller Talk forum.
If anyone wants to subscribe to my FREE upcoming newsletter, click here and sign-up: The Roller Guide
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FLY ON! Tony Chavarria
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fhtfire
314 posts
Jan 26, 2006
10:08 PM
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Great question! I think that being a good mentor is being there to answer questions and to give advice or help when needed. A good mentor will lead by example. I myself have a couple of mentors or fanciers that I call mentors. Chuck Roe and Scott Campbell are two individuals that have always taken the time to talk birds, help with birds or give advice when needed. Chuck Roe lives about 10 minutes away. I have some of his birds in my loft and he has no problem giving me advice and helping me with some trade secrets over the years. Scott Campbell is another that I can call on the phone or head over to his house to watch birds. Scott has taken the time to drive an hour and a half to help me vaccinate all my birds a couple years back and give me some advice. A good mentor is also someone who takes pride if he gets beat by the very person he has given birds to or given advice. A good mentor sees that person as an extension of themselves...and if on fly day that person beats the mentor..they beat them with there own knowledge, teachings and sometimes birds..LOL!
You also have mentors that are not close by. Like Tony...I have met Tony in person as well as numerous conversations over the phone. I fly Ruby Rollers as well as another strain..or family LOL!! and Tony...who is a good mentor takes the time to discuss other birds in my loft..not just the Ruby Rollers. I also feel that to have a good mentor you have to be a respectful and a serious student!
These are some Mentors that I have met over the years, they have spent countless hours talking birds on the phone or watching my birds fly and giving me some pointers as well as letting you know that you are in the right direction. Nothing makes a student feel good as when a Mentor watches your birds and asks to borrow one of your cocks to put on some of his hens...what a feeling!!!
A good mentor also takes the time to call and see how things are going or ask how the birds are doing.
Mentors also teach you to pay it foreward....that is something that I try to do by giving advice to any facier as well as helping out by getting that person some good birds to start out with. Just my two cents!!
rock and ROLL
Paul Fullerton
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Opinionated Blowhard
3 posts
Jan 26, 2006
11:29 PM
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The roller fancy has many, many men who are happy to assist and mentor a serious beginner. Please note: a SERIOUS beginner. A serious beginner is one who shows the initiative to buy a few pigeon books and learn as much as he can about the fundamentals of pigeon management. Every roller fancier should own Pensom's book. They may also want to consider buying Graham Dexter's book, Dave Kowalski's book, Joe Houghton's book, or others. In addition, every serious beginner should try and secure a copy of Levi's "The Pigeon." New copies can cost plenty from the pigeon supply houses, but used copies show up on ebay all the time for reasonable prices. There are many other introductory books that explain most of the fundamentals.
Mentors are busy training their own kits and managing their own rollers. They're happy to help a serious beginner, but a serious beginner will do his own research before asking elementary questions. On this site we read questions that can be answered with just a quick search on an internet search engine. We read questions like "How long does it take after a pair is mated for the hen to lay eggs?" or "How many days does the pair incubate the eggs before they hatch?" or "Is it normal for a hen getting off the nest in the morning to drop a big smelly dump?" These questions are so fundamental that mentors don't want to bother with them unless they're retired and have few other interests.
I'm not saying these are stupid questions. I'm saying that the men on this and other pigeon lists who answer these questions are showing that they are willing to devote their time answering questions that the serious beginner should be able to research and answer for himself. All the fanciers answering these questions on this and other pigeon groups are mentoring beginners every day.
Last Edited by Opinionated Blowhard on Jan 26, 2006 11:32 PM
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nicksiders
381 posts
Jan 26, 2006
11:41 PM
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Some of the responsibility has to be placed upon the new person as well. He/she has to seek out people and information. I have been in and out of this hobby over 50 years I too have to seek people out to help me with some insight, information and I have found those resources even in my pre-teen years. My first mentor was a man well into his 60's and I was probably 10. It was not his responsibility to teach, it was my responsibility to seek.
Bob Hord who is older then I.....I think he was around when Passenger Pigeons were still flocking (LOL) was also an early day mentor when he was a teenager. I listen intently to Kenny Billings, Don O., Dan O., Scott Campbell, Brian Mc., and anyone else who has something to contribute (even Paul F. LOL)
We just have to make ourselves available to respond to questions.
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biron
3 posts
Jan 27, 2006
4:20 AM
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Could someone tell me the title of the book by Joe Houghton?
Thanks
Mark
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centralvalleylofts
32 posts
Jan 27, 2006
6:47 PM
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i agree that first of all the bigginer should have a certain ambition as to the birds. and before anyone goes out to buy any pigeons they should embark in their own research. as to not waste a persons time. but im not really refering to here about total bigginers.
i am though refering to guys that have the ambition. and the drive but when they are looking for a particular subject that only those in the know that have the experience and knowledge are intimidated buy the pupil
becuse it took them years to find out certain aspects of their particular strain of birds who the student or pupil
now has such as a certain trait or look. to breed from or to search out particulars in their birds. including feeding habits that they will not tell and keep secretly to themselfs. this to me is selfishness and lack of trust.
but dont get me wrong trust!must be earn its not something easaly given anymore. and understood but i am saddened buy a person spending many wasted years without any satisfactory results.
just my two cents. steve
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Opinionated Blowhard
6 posts
Jan 28, 2006
1:16 AM
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Mark: Houghton's book is "A Guide to the Development of Performing Rollers" I think its out of print.
Few good roller men keep their methods secret. Monty Neible told everyone every new trick he tried. Beginners don't need the sophisticated secrets. They just need to know basic management. This information is available everywhere. NBRC bulletin has some of this stuff every issue. Secrets usually work with only one mans family of rollers anyhow.
Last Edited by Opinionated Blowhard on Jan 28, 2006 1:19 AM
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J_Star
208 posts
Jan 28, 2006
11:33 AM
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There is no secret really. Simplicity does it usually. You just need to figure out how to excite your birds. Once you get them excited and to keep that excitement for 20 min, you will get optimal performance. Feed is a major part of their excitment. Best is to try many things and find out what effects them positively. Then you need to find out what you need to do to have them keep the speed of their spin. Keep in mind, once you figure that out, just don't do it all the time so that the birds don't get used to it and lose that excitement. Best is to harness it around competition preperation time.
Each family and each management is different form loft to loft. Therefore, a fancier has to figure out what makes his birds tick and follow up on it.
We all have bumpers sometimes. Those are the ones that bump upon release. Those are the ones that get more excited than the others upon release and cause them to spin prematurely. If you are able to scale back their excitment upon release, they will correct themselves.
Jay
Last Edited by J_Star on Jan 28, 2006 11:40 AM
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Mount Airy Lofts
85 posts
Jan 28, 2006
9:46 PM
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I think in todays world, there are more then ever mentors out there. People just don't realize how many mentors are actually out there because they aren't openning their eyes to the over all big picture.
A mentor to me is some one who is willing to share their knowledge to any caring ear. A mentor to me is some one who is willing to let a bird, he himself would stock. A mentor to me is some one who will all ways fly a kit for me if I asked a day or two in advance. A mentor to me is any true Rollerman.
The internet has connected some many fanciers that any of these could become mentors to any caring ear.
I know there is a fellow here in my neck of the woods that I would consider my mentor. He gave me a birds when he needed them himself just to grain another flier. He gave his knowledge freely. He has taught me that the finer aspect of this hobby isn't flying a good kit but the relationships built having these birds. I have learned alot from him and will pass on what he has taught me to the next fellow.
Flying them in Minnesota - Minnesota Flying Roller Club
Thor
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Mount Airy Lofts
86 posts
Jan 28, 2006
9:56 PM
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Mark,
Joe's book is out of print but recently, he just reprinted or was that re-vised it.
If you want the book, I believe it could be purchased from Joe.
I can give you his email if you want and you can go on from there. Drop me a email khaos_thor@hotmail.com
And I'll give his email to you privately,
Thor
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ChrisG
8 posts
Jul 01, 2006
12:53 PM
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MENTOR? That sounds TOO official. I'm just trying to find someone around Nashville TN that flys rollers, that I can meet and talk to. NO LUCK YET!!!! Guess rollers are an endangered species in TN? How about KY? I'm an ABSOLUTE KNOW NOTHING BEGINNER and yea, I know that there are some good books out there, but somehow actually SEEING and MEETING a roller pigeon flyer, WOULD add a whole new learning dimension!!! ...IF I could fine someone????
CALLING FOR PIGEON PEOPLE...CALLING FOR PIGEON PEOPLE
ANYONE ALIVE OUT THERE???????
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MCCORMICKLOFTS
625 posts
Jul 01, 2006
1:04 PM
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Got to NBRConline.com
Click on the "members"
Look under the state of Tennessee
There you will find a number of good roller men.
Bobby Bradley is not too far north of Nashville.
Brian.
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parlorfancier916
71 posts
Jul 01, 2006
1:46 PM
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true that the roller fancier hobby is decreasing, but I believe we all have mentors on this site. There are mentors such as tony, and nick that answer my questions no matter dumb or hard. I believe, The best place for mentors would be this site, There are those who give advice and share experience with beginners. But there are fewer and fewer mentors locally, what seems to me is that the reason why the rollerfancier hobby is decreasing is because locally there aren't that much people to help and share experiences. So far the mentors I've met were on an online forum..
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Velo99
521 posts
Jul 01, 2006
2:35 PM
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I have three students.
yits
v99
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If they don`t kit,they don`t perform.
It`s a comp thing,understand?
Last Edited by Velo99 on Jul 01, 2006 2:36 PM
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Shia
10 posts
Jul 02, 2006
11:42 AM
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Hey Kenny,
Am I considered as one of your students? I've sure been asking you questions and learning from you. I've already considered you as someone I can learn things from. Thanks for all that you've already done.
Shia
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Major-ret
23 posts
Jul 02, 2006
9:51 PM
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I feel very fortunate to have a mentor = Paul Fulterton. Just knowing that I can go to him with any question and get the help and advice that can put me huge steps ahead is an unbelievable advantage in this hobby. Mentorship is what will keep this sport/hobby alive and thriving. This site is also great for information that it provides to us beginners. Steve
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GREED FOR SPEED LOFT
88 posts
Jul 02, 2006
10:50 PM
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My mentors was and is Bill Fero who has passed, Micheal Curtis, and Bob Maunder, these guys you could have learned and i mean learned every thing from A- Z, from eye sign to body structure , but Bob, you had to put up with your shizz-nick. These guys had a talent or gift that they were blessed with. I took the best of these guys and learned and went forth with the knowledge of these guys, to advocate the spinner.......
R-LUNA
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Velo99
522 posts
Jul 03, 2006
2:58 PM
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Shia,
I do consider you one of my students. By doing so I feel I have a certain responsibility to see that you do well in the hobby. After all a student`s performance is a direct reflection of the teacher.
yits
v99
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If they don`t kit,they don`t perform.
It`s a comp thing,understand?
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