A fifth component might be the elusive element of LUCK.

It is my understanding that many fanciers in Australia and New Zealand and perhaps other countries, often or usually race on the celibacy system or on modifications of that system. Certainly, when I worked in New Zealand several years ago, I found that, in most lofts, the sexes were separated and raced that way. Obviously, with the importation of many of the European families into a number of countries, some fanciers are also trying the widowhood system.

Now, if you accept the foregoing four points, it becomes evident that only the natural and widowhood systems can meet all four criteria mentioned previously, whereas the celibacy system likely falls down in the important area of motivation. Certainly, widowhood is one of the very important systems for demonstrating the great value of motivation in pigeon racing. I believe very much that a high level of motivation can overcome some of the deficiencies of feeding and conditioning, and that superb conditioning can overcome some of the deficiencies of poor motivation. Given these opinions, I believe that celibate pigeons, while not necessarily well motivated, are likely very well conditioned for the most part.

Based on the foregoing thoughts, I felt that some exploration of the natural system with its great motivational components might be in order for the consideration of fanciers for whom widowhood may not be a viable choice. Also, many modern day fanciers who might be interested in considering the natural system likely haven't had the opportunity to own or read Major Andrew Neilson Hutton's classical work entitled "Pigeon Racing.

Win with Olympic" which explores the natural system in great detail. Many senior members of the sport likely have some working knowledge of this important book. For these reasons, I thought it might be useful to summarize for the benefit of newer fanciers interested in the natural system, some of Hutton's very practical thoughts on racing, including key information on the most ideal nest conditions with which to achieve top prizes. His information on the most ideal nest positions for racing may surprise quite a number of fanciers, given the dogma of traditional beliefs (which certainly abound here in Canada) about how to race on the natural system.

I have to admit that this book has been the most influential one I have read to date on the natural system, and of course I have been tremendously impressed with the logic and simplicity of Hutton's views, so much so that when I put his methods into practice, my results on race day became very much improved indeed.

To determine the facts about the best times in the breeding cycle to send birds racing -- with the greatest chances of success -- Hutton studied races from 60 to 400 miles over a number of years. Between 600 and 1000 pigeons from the yearling stage on were included in this study. There was no artificial selection except that hens about to lay were not sent racing. Racing conditions in the breeding cycle were divided this way: 1) Driving cocks, 2) Sitting on eggs, 3) Hatching 4) Feeding youngsters. There were also occasional birds outside of these categories, eg, mating and spare.

To be accurate in his analyses, he divided the incubation period as follows: Sitting: 1 to 6 days; 7 to 12 days; and 13 days on. Hatching: covering the natural hatching period, and also birds sitting 16 days or more, and under which a small youngster had been slipped prior to basketing. Feeding youngsters: this category was divided into three groups - those feeding 2 to 9 days; 10 to 16 days, and 17 days onward. Driving: here Hutton admits his failure to note the number of days cocks were driving on shipping day, or if they had big youngsters in the nest. Mating: this group included birds that had recently abandoned their eggs and were mating again, also fresh matings, etc..

After all the data were collected, Hutton checked and cross checked his results and obtained the following answers which refer to the first bird to the loft:

1) HATCHING topped the list as it produced the first bird to the loft out of every seven sent in this condition.

2) FEEDING A YOUNGSTER 2 to 9 days old was second, as it produced the first bird home out of nine sent in this condition.

3) DRIVING came in third place, producing the first bird home out of eleven sent in this condition.

4) SITTING - birds sitting one to six days and seven to twelve days were equal, producing the first bird to the loft out of every 18 sent in that condition.

5) SPARE BIRDS (similar to birds on the celibacy system?) produced the first bird to the loft out of 25 sent in that condition; MATING produced the first bird home out of 30 sent in that condition; SITTING ON EGGS OVER 13 DAYS produced the first bird home out of 72 sent in that condition; FEEDING YOUNGSTERS OVER 13 DAYS OLD - nil result. (Note: this doesn't include cocks that are feeding big youngsters and also starting to drive or at least, to look at their hens.)

For some fanciers, these findings will be highly surprising and will upset their previously held views on the best nest conditions for racing successfully. Others will be adamantly opposed to these carefully researched facts and will shake their heads in total disbelief. However, I know from years of personal experience that they are valid, solid conclusions, and if given a chance, these facts can prove a definite boon to anyone racing on the natural system -- they do work. I would urge anyone interested in the natural system to embrace these facts and use them to advantage on race day.

What these facts mean in effect is that the fancier must plan ahead to set up the birds in the nest condition that has been determined from past experience to be their favorite, in terms of results on race day. For example, if a fancier knows that his great 600 mile hen races to the forefront when she is sent racing on chipping eggs, here is what to do.

If the date of shipping for the 600 is known, he must count back 19 days from that date to determine the date on which she must lay her first egg of that cycle. If he also knows that this hen invariably lays in eight days, he must count back a further eight days and clear out her nest of whatever she is going at that time to allow her to begin the next laying cycle. For other favorite nest conditions and driving, a similar count back is done to have the bird in that particular nest condition on the day of shipping - note, not on the day of the race.

A good pigeon will always be there or thereabouts, according to Hutton, but on the day it shines, some urge or anxiety is present, urging it on; it is obvious that a small youngster produces this anxiety to a high degree. Driving gives good results but because of the shortness of the driving period, a driving cock may be found in this condition only once a season. The three conditions of Hatching, Feeding a Youngster up to 9 days of age, and Driving, produce a top performance on the average of one out of every nine birds sent in these conditions.

This amounts to exactly double or 100% better than the next best condition, which is Sitting on Eggs from one to twelve days (sitting produces one winner out of every 18 sent in that condition). His results indicated that in the first six days of incubation, cocks were better racers than hens, that from seven to 10 days, the sexes were about equal, and that up to 12 days hens began to improve.

Hutton believed that it is the change to a new condition that creates the anxiety and urge, and that the conditions giving the best results are those of the shortest duration. For example, hatching covers two days, driving three to four days, and a small youngster needs close attention up to nine days of age when soft feeding is finished. The sitting period lasts a lot longer, and results decline after the twelfth day. The lack of results when birds are feeding youngsters over 10 days old, he believes may just be the result of the strain and work involved.

In a complete cycle of a mated pair of birds, Hutton noted two good periods and two bad periods. The first good one starts when the cock is driving and continues for him up to five days on eggs. From this point, the sexes are approximately equal up to sitting 10 days when the cocks begin to deteriorate, whereas the hens do well up to the 12th day. The second good period and the best begins with hatching and continues until the youngsters are nine days old, after which the edge is definitely off until the beginning of the next cycle when the cock begins to pay attention to the hen.

Hutton summarizes his findings by noting points to look for among potential winners, in the following order:
1) among birds with hatching eggs,
2) among birds feeding a youngster up to nine days of age,
3) among driving cocks,
4) among birds sitting on eggs up to 12 days.

He found that second prize winners worked out much the same way, but when it came to 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th, feeding up to nine days topped the list with one prize winner in every 24 sent in that condition.

When he looked at races from 500-600 miles, Hutton found that, despite the definite selection that occurs for these races, the foregoing findings undergo very little change, except that driving cocks weren't sent to these races. On the basis of this study, Hutton concluded the anxiety or urge that results in the extra effort on race day rises to a peak of intensity during the conditions that last the shortest, ie, hatching and driving. Because these periods are so short, it is often more difficult to catch a bird in the right condition on a particular day. The answer in part lies in setting up birds to be in a certain nesting condition on shipping day.

Even though a bird might be in the right nesting condition, this alone doesn't guarantee success, Hutton notes. What is important is that all of the signs of fitness and the presence of an anxiety must be there as well - which means the development of keen observation by the fancier, and the correct interpretation of these observations.

A few of the pointers he mentions to look for are:
1) a bird sitting longer than usual on the nest;
2) a bird that refuses to stay out of the loft for exercise;
3) a bird that watches and guards its nest box very closely;
4) tightening of the feathers and brightening of the eye almost to the "unwinking" stage;
5) clean, bright, warm feet and trembling wing tips;
6) a crisp manner in the loft.

In the minds of a number of fanciers both in the past and even today, the "safest" condition in which to send a bird racing was on 8-10 day eggs. There continues to be an open taboo against shipping a bird that is hatching or feeding a small youngster, on the grounds that the soft food accumulating in the crop while the bird is being shipped will sour (tsk!) and throw the bird off form. This is truly an old wives' tale and is really such complete nonsense as to be laughable.

In fact, the soft food in the crop simply supplies nutrient to the bird and is digested in the same way that it would be in the youngster to which it was supposed to be fed. One writer even indicated that "It stands to reason that when milk is being produced by any animal, the entire system is thrown out of balance." This is just more nonsense perpetuated by the uninformed among us. Milk production in any animal is a normal event and the system must be in good balance to continue this vital process.

Just disregard the nonsense view that the system is thrown off by milk production! Incidentally, although a recent writer indicated that soft food appears in the crop just before hatching, the facts are that production begins much, much earlier, and is first visible to the naked eye at about eight days of incubation, building in amount from that time toward hatching.

In my experience, if you want a greater chance of success on race day, especially when the distance is long, just prepare and send a top racing hen that is hatching or feeding a small youngster. Why a hen? Well, if you look at the normal daily cycle in birds on the natural system, you will note that toward evening or in the early morning, a hen is anxious to be sitting the nest, whereas a cock is much less interested in the nest at these times.

So there are two major chances to score with such a hen, one in the evening of the first day of racing, and once again the next morning (if the bird has had a tough race and isn't able to arrive home on the day) - because of her normal anxiety to be on the nest by evening and in the morning. This isn't to say that cocks won't score well at these same times, but the biological urge to be home and on the nest at these times is much greater in the hen than in the cock.

It can pay great dividends to take advantage of this fact when you are making plans for individual birds for key races in the season. On a number of occasions, when flying from 560 miles, I have waited expectantly for a favorite hen to appear out of the gloom at the end of a long day when the sun has gone down and night is descending. What a thrill it is to see this silhouette of a pigeon appear against the fading light, or to hear the fluttering of wings as a weary traveller drops on the loft with only the light from nearby street lamps for illumination!

Often for me this bird has been a hen sent hatching or feeding a small youngster - despite repeated warnings from other (uninformed) fanciers that sending a bird to a long race in this nest condition is courting failure. Well, in this situation, he who laughs last laughs best!

For those fanciers who want to explore a method of racing different from the celibacy system, I can't think of better methods than those of the natural system (other than widowhood which isn't necessarily for everyone). I believe that it could, in the words of a former well known Belgian fancier, "give them a crack of the whip" (as widowhood definitely does) because of its great motivational aspects that the keen fancier can work to his benefit on race day.

I would also suggest that it could also make competitors on the purely celibate system, sit up and take notice on race day. I would also make the point that, in my own experience, the natural system provides a wonderful method for teaching all of us, but particularly beginners in the sport, about the biology of pigeons, including the very important components of behavior and behavioral changes that we can use to our advantage on race day. It is a great teacher about racing pigeons and pigeon racing, believe me.