Racing pigeons

[LotusElise]

We were visited at home by a racing pigeon last night. "Pidgeley" was obviously very tired and hungry and seemed very confused - it came in the house twice and had to be taken back outside, then tried to get into my dad's shed as well!

Does anyone know much about racing pigeons? Pidgeley seemed used to being handled and was clearly a bit lost. It had a pink ring on his leg as well as a metal one - could this be any clue as to where it came from?

It would be interesting to know where it might have been going.

[Drew]

Perhaps don't feed them rice? :p :

[Daniel]

We were visited at home by a racing pigeon last night. "Pidgeley" was obviously very tired and hungry and seemed very confused - it came in the house twice and had to be taken back outside, then tried to get into my dad's shed as well!

Does anyone know much about racing pigeons? Pidgeley seemed used to being handled and was clearly a bit lost. It had a pink ring on his leg as well as a metal one - could this be any clue as to where it came from?

It would be interesting to know where it might have been going.
I would put 5p on Hazell knowing a thing or 20 about racing pigeons :)

[Iain]

We had one on our bathroom windowledge the other week. Luckily, my dad works for a company which is run by a bunch of pigeon enthusiasts, so he contacted them, who got in touch with the pigeon association. He was told to put it in a box and took it to his work. They got the number from the ring on it's leg and identified it as coming from Ayrshire and who it belonged to. Doesn't cost you a penny, but costs the person who it belongs to I think! :)

Try this link: http://www.rpra.org/Default.aspx?tabid=100

[LotusElise]

Thanks for the link. I'll get in touch with those people if Pidgeley is still hanging around later.

[Iain]

It's surprising how far off course they can end up. My dad's friend found one in his garden in Scotland and it actually came from Yorkshire. Just happened to be the place in Yorkshire where my Uncle lives and they were both going to be visiting there the next again week! So he took the pigeon back to Whitby, only to get home to Scotland and find it had followed him. :laugh:

[jim mcglinchey]

..shoulda' rung its scrawney neck in retaliation for the shooting of rare birds of prey by hunters in the pay of pigeon fanciers...

[Azumanga Davo]

I would put 5p on Hazell knowing a thing or 20 about racing pigeons :)


It must be friends with Dave McLane...

[LotusElise]

According to my Dad (who gets up earlier than me), Pidgeley somehow managed to sneak into the porch and spent last night roosting in there, making a bit of a mess. It was shooed outside first thing this morning and has since flown away.

[LeonBrooke]

How did you know that its name was Pidgeley? Or did you come up with it yourself?

One of my mum's cousins in the UK is in to racing pigeons. very valuable they are.

You could hold it for ransom and split the cash with me, because it was my idea! :D

[Hazell B]

Thanks for the northern stereotype :mark:

Pigeons are a town thing, nothing to do with country people. Country people shoot and eat, townies breed and race.

But, as it happens, I did work in a pub with a pigeon club. They have thousands of the wretched things in coops on some allotments near the pub. Luckily only some are allowed out to eat crops and swarm all over the fields like winged rats - and get shot at by farmers :s

Once each year a guy called Kenny goes in a culls all the poor racers, the ones that haven't paired up (the partner at home is why they race so fast), the old ones and the sick ones. The club meets and cries like babies and Kenny loads his car with about 300 bodies. Later there's frozen pigeon fillets and things at 50p each. Kenny has a cry too, as it's no fun for him either.

I think they're all nuts.

[LotusElise]

I did have a sneaking suspicion we should have kept Pidgeley. It seemed to like us.
Leon - I made the name up, like I do for any creature that visits the garden more than a couple of times.