Tony Chavarria
Site Publisher
3630 posts
Aug 26, 2009
9:31 PM
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Here is a new article submitted by Cliff Ball. I want to thank Cliff for taking the time and going through the effort to share his perspective on this topic:
Commitment; That Nasty Word
By Cliff Ball
Put together a string of a few winning scores in the NBRC and World Cup competitions and it is highly likely that a roller fancier will receive the highest compliment of many requests for his birds. And what hobbyist can resist the urge to “try” a bird or two from a fellow hobbyist when he observes the kind of awesome performance that he has been looking for, whether he competes or not?
But it occurs to me that we must be very careful of the decisions we make regarding another family of birds, or a fellow roller-man, after acquiring a pair of his rollers, or even a kit, and trying to evaluate and make comparisons against the performance of our own birds. Flying out squeakers from another family of birds only reveals a snapshot representation of that family, based on a few individual birds. Most roller men raise a number of mediocre birds and culls…probably too many…..and it is important to remember that a competition kit likely represents a commitment; a commitment to a family of rollers. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING
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FLY ON!
Tony Chavarria
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katyroller
517 posts
Aug 26, 2009
9:41 PM
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Cliff,
This was a good read. I do have one burning question though. How long would you suggest a fancier "commit" to a family before determining they are or aren't for him? I ask this because I am looking to start with a new family this fall.
Your Friend,
Tracey
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ezeedad
1040 posts
Aug 27, 2009
11:22 AM
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Great article..!! Cliff, you wrote as only an experienced roller veteran could..!! That article can be of great help to roller breeders. Not only beginners, but those who continually seem to be seeking that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Tony, thanks for posting it..
Paul G
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Ballrollers
GOLD MEMBER
2021 posts
Aug 27, 2009
11:48 AM
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Paul,
I learned the hard way, through my own experience with the mediochre results I obtained with many auction kits from guys that I know have excellent families of rollers and an excellent record in the comps with their birds.....and from working with my own young bird kits....from other guys working with kits of my birds.....and from seeing the quick juddgement passed on many kits of birds around the country by inexperienced fanciers who are expecting miracles and short cuts to the top.
Cliff
Last Edited by on Aug 27, 2009 11:48 AM
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Pha Hall
1 post
Aug 27, 2009
11:55 AM
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Great article, it allows everyone who wants to be a players to know that success in this sport is about compounding effort over a period of time!How much time, well that depends on our experience!!!
Thanks for the article....Pha
P.S. I hope you can publish it!
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Ballrollers
GOLD MEMBER
2022 posts
Aug 27, 2009
12:04 PM
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Tracey,
It's hard to say...it depends on how many birds you are starting with....whether they are a kit of youngsters.....a breeding pair....or several breeding pairs. Flying out a kit of youngsters, even for me with my own birds.....may yield one or two good ones, or a dozen good ones. It varies a lot. Breeding out of any given pair might also produce one good bird out of ten, or half a dozen good ones out of ten...and sometimes those same results are obtained from the same pair in different years! One of the points that I attempted to make in the article is that when purchasing or being given breeders, one is not likely to get click pairs hat are producing high percentages. Those are just too rare and too valuable. And then there is the inexperience we have in handling and managing another's family of rollers that comes into play. So it is hard to attempt to evaluate a family based on what we experience during any given snapshot in time that we handle them.
So to make a long story short, I think it takes at least one season of raising a hundred birds or so, or a couple seasons of raising 50 birds or so, and close communication with the other hobbyist about handling the birds, before we can begin to know what we are dealing with. If we have seen the benefactor's birds in the air and know what they are capable of, which should always be the case, then the failure to produce good performance in the air is more than likely, the failure on the part of individual pigeons, or the failure of our management of the family of birds...not on the part of the family as a whole. I would tend to judge other families based on visiting the lofts of men who have spent several years with them and seeing whether they are producing rollers that meet your standards for performance. Then you will have a better idea. But then again....it could be this particular fanciers lack of skills with the family that are coming into play, as I said. So I hope you can see that it is not as easy as one might think to evaluate another family of rollers.
Cliff
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J_Star
2122 posts
Aug 27, 2009
12:20 PM
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In my many years in this hobby...I've talked to so many and visited the lofts of so many...My conclusion is and still is "Quality thru Quantity".
Jay
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katyroller
518 posts
Aug 27, 2009
12:40 PM
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Cliff,
Thanks, for the reply. I understand what you and the others are saying. I must admit that I have had other families in the past and after getting rid of them, had to admit that I probably didn't give them a fair chance to prove themselves.
The one good thing I did learn, do not bad mouth someone elses birds!
Your Friend,
Tracey
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Ballrollers
GOLD MEMBER
2023 posts
Aug 27, 2009
12:49 PM
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Tracey,
The only things that a bad experience with a few rollers gives us the right to bad mouth, are the individual pigeons that we worked with.....
Cliff
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