Flying High in 4-H
Pigeon Racing Bring Smiles, Math and Engineering to Whatcom County Youth
By Betsy Fradd, WSU Extension 4-H
“Pigeons will do just about anything for a Spanish peanut,” according to Thomas Strand, a 14-year-old bird aficionado. The nuts, along with a very nutrient-rich diet including garlic and hemp oil, are part of the precision and care that goes into racing the dozens of pigeons in the 4-H Thunderbirds club. Now in its third year, Whatcom County club members are learning that racing pigeons involves math, science, engineering and patience.
Club co-leader Jerry Guilmette, along with his wife, Evelyn, mentor the youth, ages 8 – 16, as they raise the birds to prepare for races locally and as far away as Cottage Grove, Oregon. “Kids learn to calculate how fast the birds are travelling from the time of release until the bird returns. Electronic leg bands monitor distance and youth learn to determine the yards per minute a pigeon flies,” said Guilmette whose great grandfather competed in pigeon racing on the East Coast.
Young birds up to a year old are donated to club members and kept in a loft on the Guilmette’s property. Initially, youth learn how to care for the birds, proper nutrition, and how to train the pigeons to fly variable distances. The next year youth build lofts at their homes and, in November, breed birds for a pigeon team for racing season July through early September. Prime racing years for the birds are up to four years old.
For Thomas, pigeon racing and care is his passion. “I chart information on each bird – when they hatch, when eggs are laid and when they return home from a race,” said Thomas who selects up to 20 pigeons per race. “We wait in our loft so when the bird comes home we can feed it or catch it if it doesn’t come in right away. Every once in a while there is a non-conformist and I have to go out with a net and catch it.”
Some pigeons, however, don’t come home. Natural predators including falcons and hawks take their toll as well as the environment. Birds use the magnetic field of the earth and the sun to navigate their homing instincts which can be impaired by cell towers and radar. Last year the club began with 100 birds and finished the season with 30.
Having the fastest bird isn’t the goal. “When the kids care for the birds, treat them for ailments and keep them on a good diet then they know they’ve accomplished something,” said Guillmette. “They don’t have to win a race. They are just happy to see them return.”
See video of the pigeons and club members:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe6fbgpD9fo
Whatcom County 4-H
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/4-h/4-h_youth.htm
Posted March 2012
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