RACING PIGEON POST
Each unit of our 650gr Oxy-B, 125gr Improver or 125AntiFungal & costs about £20 and will treat up to 100 pigeons for 6 months against diseases and give great flying results.
Read our all our health & performance articles at Pigeon Vitality Contact our veterinarian & nutritionist team by letter or email for any query: mail@pigeonvitality.com Pigeon Vitality, Lundekroken 10, 3940 Porsgrunn Norway
Contact our resellers if you want to use these patent protected products: H. Beattie & Son 028 3884 0486; Derek Rooney 019 25 72 13 28; Taylors Choice 01270252530; Abbeyton Lofts 07799640711; B.Leefe & Sons Ltd 01653691411; BJF Feeds 01909770065; MedicAnimal LTD 02030580500; Gem Supplements LTD 01243531259; Cosworth Studs Feeds 01215561497; Boddy & Ridewood 01723585858; Andrew Hitchcock 07595394444; P&J Lofts Friskney 01754820027, Clare’s Pet Products 01507462250, Fletcher's Pigeon Supplies 01246 201436, Graham's Pet Foods Ltd 01480 469823, J.Kelsey & family 079 34369401, Murray & Mills 0113 262 3349, Jaws Claws-Beaks 0121 773 8877.
Pigeon Vitality is looking for more distributors, please contact us
The content (content being images, text, sound and video files, programmes and scripts) of this website is copyright of Racing Pigeon Post and this article is Copyright © 2010 Pigeon Vitality. All rights expressly reserved.
Read our all our health & performance articles at Pigeon Vitality Contact our veterinarian & nutritionist team by letter or email for any query: mail@pigeonvitality.com Pigeon Vitality, Lundekroken 10, 3940 Porsgrunn Norway
Contact our resellers if you want to use these patent protected products: H. Beattie & Son 028 3884 0486; Derek Rooney 019 25 72 13 28; Taylors Choice 01270252530; Abbeyton Lofts 07799640711; B.Leefe & Sons Ltd 01653691411; BJF Feeds 01909770065; MedicAnimal LTD 02030580500; Gem Supplements LTD 01243531259; Cosworth Studs Feeds 01215561497; Boddy & Ridewood 01723585858; Andrew Hitchcock 07595394444; P&J Lofts Friskney 01754820027, Clare’s Pet Products 01507462250, Fletcher's Pigeon Supplies 01246 201436, Graham's Pet Foods Ltd 01480 469823, J.Kelsey & family 079 34369401, Murray & Mills 0113 262 3349, Jaws Claws-Beaks 0121 773 8877.
Pigeon Vitality is looking for more distributors, please contact us
The content (content being images, text, sound and video files, programmes and scripts) of this website is copyright of Racing Pigeon Post and this article is Copyright © 2010 Pigeon Vitality. All rights expressly reserved.
Dyllan Debord, Pigeon Vitality.
Pigeon Vitality visits Taiwan!
For a long time now we had reports from many pigeon racers, from many countries telling us about their great performances achieved. For many of them it was a thank you to us because they were giving our products to their pigeons. Some of the hardest racing pigeon competitions are taking place in Asia, and we felt that it was time for us to give a visit to our users there. Taiwan has some of the hardest races ever. It is the land of the ‘professional pigeon racers’, by this I seriously mean, living for it and from it. It is so serious out there that every imported strains, grains, medicines and supplements are going thru rigorous checks to verify that it is worth being used by the pigeon racers of Taiwan. Anything that does not convince the racers will never been imported again! So following many invitations from our reseller, the pigeons racers and loft race organizers we have decided that November 2010 would be the time to travel to Taiwan and China and take this opportunity to share our passion, understand the sport in this part of the world, and know better the demands of a sport that have turned professional and request high perfection.
But first a little bit of information about the racing pigeon sport in Taiwan:
View Taiwan Race Routes in a larger map
The red line going up shows the qualifications and race distance of the north, the yellow line does the same for the south races.
- Taiwan is the second biggest country in the racing pigeon sport in registered members (between 80 000 and 100 000) behind China;
- More than 80% of the pigeon lofts are placed in urban area on the top of houses and buildings, and more than 1/3 of all racers are full professionals;
- In Taiwan a race is made of qualification rounds (see picture of Taiwan) until the final race;
- The racers from in the south, fly their pigeons in the south routes and the others living in the north will participate in the north races, the 1st prize can be up to 150 000€;
- More than 80% of the pigeon lofts are placed in urban area on the top of houses and buildings, and more than 1/3 of all racers are full professionals;
- In Taiwan a race is made of qualification rounds (see picture of Taiwan) until the final race;
- The racers from in the south, fly their pigeons in the south routes and the others living in the north will participate in the north races, the 1st prize can be up to 150 000€;
- All races are middle distance (500Km-600Km), with releases over the sea, by good weather or storm, only the best will make it to the final;
- Only young birds are racing, and when a race is over, the pigeon racers, must register in the next race new young pigeons;
- Last but not least, to keep the sport to the top and the equity as fair as possible in each race for these racers-gamblers, the young birds that are registered in one race (qualification rounds + final) will be only racing this race! After that, they can be sold, auctioned or used for breeding.
November 10th 2010 Taipei:
Going to Taiwan is long so it was important to know as well some very important things about our sport played there. The pigeon sport begins in about 1950 and became highly popular from the 1980’s until now. Before 1995, Taiwan has land races just like the way it is done in Europe.
From 1995 to 2000, the sea-racing clubs increased, and land-racing clubs decreased dramatically (due to the limited racing distance). From the year 2000 until today, there are almost only sea-racing competitions in Taiwan.
Now there are more than 1 million youngsters per year. With that I made sure I had all the elements to understand and know the Racing Pigeon Sport played in Taiwan, so after a long and tiring plane trip from Norway with a stop in Amsterdam-Holland & Bangkok-Thailand, I arrived 23 hours later in Taipei Int’l airport were Dr. AJ Guo, a notable veterinarian and business partner of Pigeon Vitality in Taiwan has picked me up. We then headed late to a very nice small place to eat and discuss on the planning for the coming days, as my time in Taipei was limited.
Our goal was to visit the most successful racers in the island of Taiwan, and one of the most respectable pigeon store in Taipei. Lucky for me they were all acquaintances and customers of Dr. Guo.
- Only young birds are racing, and when a race is over, the pigeon racers, must register in the next race new young pigeons;
- Last but not least, to keep the sport to the top and the equity as fair as possible in each race for these racers-gamblers, the young birds that are registered in one race (qualification rounds + final) will be only racing this race! After that, they can be sold, auctioned or used for breeding.
November 10th 2010 Taipei:
Going to Taiwan is long so it was important to know as well some very important things about our sport played there. The pigeon sport begins in about 1950 and became highly popular from the 1980’s until now. Before 1995, Taiwan has land races just like the way it is done in Europe.
From 1995 to 2000, the sea-racing clubs increased, and land-racing clubs decreased dramatically (due to the limited racing distance). From the year 2000 until today, there are almost only sea-racing competitions in Taiwan.
Now there are more than 1 million youngsters per year. With that I made sure I had all the elements to understand and know the Racing Pigeon Sport played in Taiwan, so after a long and tiring plane trip from Norway with a stop in Amsterdam-Holland & Bangkok-Thailand, I arrived 23 hours later in Taipei Int’l airport were Dr. AJ Guo, a notable veterinarian and business partner of Pigeon Vitality in Taiwan has picked me up. We then headed late to a very nice small place to eat and discuss on the planning for the coming days, as my time in Taipei was limited.
Our goal was to visit the most successful racers in the island of Taiwan, and one of the most respectable pigeon store in Taipei. Lucky for me they were all acquaintances and customers of Dr. Guo.
A very comfortable room in a great hotel.
First stop, my hotel near the clinic of Dr. Guo, where 2 hours sleep were waiting for me after a long night working on many emails and plans for 2011. I used as well my time to discuss with the man at the reception as his father is a local fancier. So, most of the talk was including the cell phone of the receptionist and his father on the line. He was translating to his father information about pigeons in Europe, strain and general training techniques. It was very pleasant to talk this evening as I got to compare and learn a lot of things about the racing sport in Taiwan.
November 11th 2010 Taipei:
We took off early morning with Dr. Guo and a very good pigeon flyer, Mr. Jacky to a city 30 km west Taipei called Tauyen. There, a man nicknamed ‘Mr. Number 1’, one of the top pigeon flyers in Taiwan for the past years was waiting for us. He would present to us his new big pigeon loft. While on the road to Tauyen, I have never seen so many pigeon lofts on the top of houses or building. These lofts were distinctively recognizable for their shape and color, mostly light blue or light grey! An extravagant amount of pigeon lofts rising from above placed on the top of anything already rising high. Try to count them all and you will never succeed. Pigeon lofts can be seen far away in the horizon and I understand that this small island (160km long) is one of the most populated areas in the pigeon sport per km2. I pay attention at each and every single loft I can have my eyes on, and can see so far that they all look so well maintained. I can only agree that our sport is practiced in Taiwan by top dedicated professionals.
On the road with AJ and Mr. Jacky
Thousands of lofts along the highway!
Then we suddenly stop in Tauyen on a side street, we arrived at Number 1’s loft! His brand new big loft is about 11 meters above the ground with 4 levels and the 2 top levels are made for 2 activities, breeding his champions of the past years, and the second is the living space for his current racers. This is a superb loft, clean as I have rarely seen before. The system used to clean the loft and breeding level is real ingenuity, most probably a piece of art! It is to Mr. Number one a priority, at any time he said: ‘the loft must be clean like new and no particle of dust or dirt is welcome to stay’. The second level from the ground is to keep stocks and accessories, and I am glad to see on a shelf with the very little medication our products Improver & AntiFungal.
We arrived at Mr Number 1's loft!
We are welcomed by Mr. Number 1 and his assistant ‘Mr. Number 2’ on the ground level of their professional loft building. This level was full of trophies and frames with pictures of the top birds Mr. Number 1 had in his career so far. This was an amazing room where we were invited to sit in and have tea! I must describe the long and comfortable couch I was in, I was just very comfortable and the tea was just so good!
(Mr. Jacky looking at Mr. Number 1’s wall of fame! )
The racing seasons in Taiwan are 4: The northern: Spring (Apr.), Summer (Jun.), Autumn (Sep.), and Winter (Dec.). 2 races are organized per week, and the fanciers can choose which season they would like to join. Mr. No. 1 and Jacky, used to join winter and Spring races.
The southern side of Taiwan has 3 seasons: Spring (Mar/Apr.), summer (Jun.), and winter (Oct/Nov) with 1 race per week. (It is extremely hot in Jul and Aug in southern Taiwan).
We brought a gift to Mr. Number 1: another round of Pigeon Vitality’s products (Improver & AntiFungal) plus our great success of 2010 in Europe and America ‘Oxy-B’ we just introduced in the Taiwanese market. The perfect gift for Mr. Number 1, already talking about the positive changes his pigeons had for the past year with our products.
The southern side of Taiwan has 3 seasons: Spring (Mar/Apr.), summer (Jun.), and winter (Oct/Nov) with 1 race per week. (It is extremely hot in Jul and Aug in southern Taiwan).
We brought a gift to Mr. Number 1: another round of Pigeon Vitality’s products (Improver & AntiFungal) plus our great success of 2010 in Europe and America ‘Oxy-B’ we just introduced in the Taiwanese market. The perfect gift for Mr. Number 1, already talking about the positive changes his pigeons had for the past year with our products.
This building is 100% dedicated to his racing pigeons. And Mr. Number 2 even has his living space there, while his boss (Mr. Number 1) has his home few Km away. Once done with the tea we start walking up to visit the rest of the building, the 3rd level has been divided in two parts for the breeding station, one being operational, the second still under construction as it will take on much more birds than the first.
The quality must stay at the top! Between the metallic floor and the top of the 2nd level, a sliding plank is there to ease the cleaning of this specific section of the loft.
The irrigation is made the same on each level to optimize the cleaning process of each floor. Great Job!
The irrigation is made the same on each level to optimize the cleaning process of each floor. Great Job!
The 2nd breeding station being made.
An impeccable loft inside and outside!
On this part, I felt like being in a racing pigeon show, visiting these brand new clean pigeon sections. But these were not new at all, but the fact of being cleaned and treated as many times as possible give 2 major advantages: They last very long, and the pigeons may not catch any diseases there. Again, a great work from Mr. Number 2 to keep this huge loft spotless.
The pigeons still in the race are not retired yet!
I finally got to see and handle the pigeons, to my surprise, even with the current heat in Taiwan for November (28c), the pigeon are very well hydrated and there is no problem perceptible with this (normal) weather condition. Taiwanese flyers do keep many pigeons; they base everything on quality. As for every race done, their pigeons are already retired and it is time to find a new winner!
From the top of Mr. Number 1’s loft you could see numerous lofts all over, all want to copy him, none succeeded. Mr. Number one started racing at 13 years old, he has today 300 quality pigeons and his best record was in 2004. At that time 14000 birds went thru multiple qualifications and pre-race to be finally 20 to come back from the finals, his bird was 1st! Since then he has kept his records up and stabilized his results to earn his name: Mr. Number 1!
Mr. Jackie, me, Mr. Number 1 & Dr. Guo
After this long but wonderful visit, Mr. Number 1 is inviting us to a very good local restaurant to eat delicious local meals, of course with local beer! No matter how much I could eat, the food was still coming until it submerged the table. I am happy to say that I loved it all.
Thank you to Mr. Number 1 for inviting us today!
Thank you to Mr. Number 1 for inviting us today!
What a great meal, delicious!!
On the next day, we are invited to visit another great flyer, Mr. Dale Zen living near Taipei, in Chunghe. Just besides a crowded street, we turned to the right to park, and we walked in a very narrow street. A very animated place, colorful and with a lot of scooters, this island has more scooters than I have ever seen. Dr. Guo tells me that Mr. Zen has a very interesting concept in his loft that he believes, limit the diseases to get in his loft. I got curious all of the sudden and walked faster to get to this man!
November 12th 2010 Taipei:
In Chunghe!!
Up a high apartment building, a man stares at me from the roof; it is Mr. Zen waving at me. I could recognize from there, the shape of his huge loft! We then take the stairs up 4 levels to finally get to the bottom of his huge loft. An impressive structure, on the top of a common apartment complex in a big city. I must say that people here have a lot of respect for pigeon flyers and they always work out something together to make things right.
Mr. Zen early on his loft.
Once up, I can only have admiration for the loft Mr. Zen has, what a beauty! He explains to us that only friends can come inside the loft, and they must leave their shoes out and take the guests shoe on. Mr. Zen is sure that shoes going everywhere are the disease post-man! On the top of his loft I could see very far, until the sea even! At this moment Mr. Zen explain as well that he checks the dropping of the birds everyday to anticipate any potential problem.
On the loft of Mr. Zen
I then get allowed to enter the loft and see that it looks just like Mr. Number 1s loft, a very clean place! Mr. Zen cleans it twice a day in order to keep the birds healthy. Of course he tells us that this is his job, he is a professional pigeon flyer like Mr. Number 1. But he has sometimes free time, so he helps his sister with her restaurant in the city. When the pigeons of Mr. Zen are training from a distance zone, they always round for a long time when they come home, as the training seems easy to them!
A clean loft at all time!
When the time is right, Mr. Zen whistle hard and the pigeons land like one man, they all rush to the feeding room where Mr. Zen will feed them precisely what they should have. He follows a precise food control, program to keep the pigeons light and strong! I could see in the water of the pigeons, the color of Improver and AntiFungal. Mr Zen has been using these products with full satisfaction. He explains me as well that the north of Taiwan makes the pigeons race twice a week, while in the south it is only once.
Here under is a picture of me with Mr. Zen, I was sitting mostly as the height of the loft was too low for me (189cm). He started the sport when he was 12 years old, he is now 30 years in the sport, and he had many success, but one he remember the most was in 2004, the north race were 15000 birds were sent.
Here under is a picture of me with Mr. Zen, I was sitting mostly as the height of the loft was too low for me (189cm). He started the sport when he was 12 years old, he is now 30 years in the sport, and he had many success, but one he remember the most was in 2004, the north race were 15000 birds were sent.
Mr. Zen registered 32 young birds, as it is only about racing young birds in Taiwan. Out of that 32, 28 made it to the final race, a great performance whenyou know that these 15000 pigeons went thru many qualification races and pre-races, and if they are not making it home on time, their careers are over. So to speak, in the final race, his first bird was 16th, and the others were following in a close range. Mr Zen made for this race only, over 30 000€!
When the visit was done, it was time for a late breakfast, so we followed Mr. Zen that was leading the way on his scooter!
Mr. Zen alongside Dyllan Debord
We arrived in a very small place to eat and I had the chance to eat something new and delicious, the breakfast rolls, and more I was eating them, more were coming in reinforcement! The spicy sauce was delicious too!
And the food kept on coming!
We had time as well to discuss about the veterinarian work of Dr. Guo in Taipei, and he told me the checks up done often to new birds coming from Europe, as in the past many of them would have ovaries problems. It is important on arrival to check the pigeons from Europe to make sure they are 100% fit, and this is the task of his clinic! There are about 100 clubs in Taiwan, 100 to handle all 100 000 racers!
When the sea-racing begins, the age of the young birds is not high. The youngsters for racing are average in 6 month(5.5 - 7 month) old. In some clubs, the youngsters are sometimes even in 4 months in their first qualifying race. When the race is finished, they are just 5.5-6 month old. Dr. Guo thinks this is the cruel side of the sport. So as I understand as well, most people flyers in Taiwan use the food-control/hungry-control. Some people even use individual feeding-system, it is unique. Not many people use widowers system like we do in Europe.
On the same last day of my visit in Taiwan, Dr. Guo and I went to one of the most notable pigeon product stores in Taiwan. Mr. Chung is the owner there, and nothing goes out of place in his store! This magnificent store, narrow but so well thought has all the best brands in pigeon products (including ours!) and have a system that allow his customers to select on the gram the type of grain or peas they need in their mix. I must say that the order for the mix is considered as a secret for each flyers coming to place an order to Mr. Chung. On the top of that every grain sold in this store is as clean as the floor of a church on Sunday early morning. But still when an order is prepared, Mr. Chung will do what he does best, he will place the mix into an anti-dust machine, to be processed before being locked in a bag before pick up. A state of art technique! Also some admitted to use darkness system for molting, In fact, by temperature difference it still works in Taiwan.
Just besides the entrance of Mr. Chung store, there is a planning of training time where drivers come to pick up pigeons to release them at the desired distance offshore! AJ explains to me that many boats doing the routes between Taipei and the nearest places north are doing pigeon release for very long now. So each flyer can decide which time their pigeons will be released, at which distance and from which boat. In conclusion the store of Mr. Chung is not only a store, it is a central point for the flyers in the area for pigeon feed, products, medicine and racing transportation. After having a cold coffee with Mr. Chung, we both great him and head to a place to eat lunch, few hours before my flight to Beijing to attend the Langfang Show and the Huaxing International race.
Just besides the entrance of Mr. Chung store, there is a planning of training time where drivers come to pick up pigeons to release them at the desired distance offshore! AJ explains to me that many boats doing the routes between Taipei and the nearest places north are doing pigeon release for very long now. So each flyer can decide which time their pigeons will be released, at which distance and from which boat. In conclusion the store of Mr. Chung is not only a store, it is a central point for the flyers in the area for pigeon feed, products, medicine and racing transportation. After having a cold coffee with Mr. Chung, we both great him and head to a place to eat lunch, few hours before my flight to Beijing to attend the Langfang Show and the Huaxing International race.
A store to learn from!
Dr. AJ Guo and his friend Mr. Chung
The training time & dates are updated daily!
Dr. Guo kept the best for the last, as he took me to a great restaurant, only reserved to members! The food was just top class, believe me! I must say that his was just deserved for both of us after being on the road so many times to see so many places in a short time. I would like to take these few lines to thank Dr. AJ Guo a million times for his kindness and great heart.
A restaurant with attention to details!
I was received like a king, exchanged many gifts, got the best help when my luggage was lost, the best guide and translator when it was needed and never got allowed to pay for anything! These are the signs of a real host, like we do not see in our days anymore. I will never forget this great journey in Taipei and look forward to give you a visit next year!
Special thanks to (in memory order): The racing pigeon flyers of Taiwan for showing that you are a big competition to us Europeans, Dr. Guo’s staff, Mr. Jackie, China Airlines, KLM, Sandefjord Airport, Mr. Number 1, Mr. Number 2, Mr. Zen, Mr. Chung, The cooks of all the places I ate, The staff of the Golden Taipei Hotel, The staff of the Airport of Bangkok, Improver, AntiFungal and Oxy-B to be so good to the racing pigeons that people wanted to invite us from the other side of the world to thank us, My wife Lene for letting me go easily, my son Leo for being a sweetheart and Dr. AJ Guo for his professionalism, kindness and making me feel welcome again in Taiwan.
Special thanks to (in memory order): The racing pigeon flyers of Taiwan for showing that you are a big competition to us Europeans, Dr. Guo’s staff, Mr. Jackie, China Airlines, KLM, Sandefjord Airport, Mr. Number 1, Mr. Number 2, Mr. Zen, Mr. Chung, The cooks of all the places I ate, The staff of the Golden Taipei Hotel, The staff of the Airport of Bangkok, Improver, AntiFungal and Oxy-B to be so good to the racing pigeons that people wanted to invite us from the other side of the world to thank us, My wife Lene for letting me go easily, my son Leo for being a sweetheart and Dr. AJ Guo for his professionalism, kindness and making me feel welcome again in Taiwan.