Flying high with rolling pigeons
If a bird breaks away from the formation for five minutes or longer, judges deduct points for each minute the bird stays out of the flock.
What was initially a natural defence mechanism against birds of prey, has turned into a fully fledged sport.
“When a bird of prey, such as a hawk, goes for a pigeon, the bird rolls. The hawk cannot change its angle once it goes for the kill. Man then took pigeons and bred them for the purpose of sport,” explained Lieb Swiegers, of the Northern Natal Roller Pigeon Club.
The club’s 12 Young Bird competition commenced last Friday, May 20, and continued on Saturday.
Mr Swiegers said the competition was held to judge the distance pigeons rolled while flying.
“All the birds competing are 2015 babies, and they have to fly together for 30 minutes. Judges then judge the distance the birds roll.”
If a bird breaks away from the formation for five minutes or longer, judges deduct points for each minute the bird stays out of the flock.
Mr Swiegers said a lot of planning and research went into pigeon racing.
“Even the types of food you give the pigeon determines the way they fly. If you give them a lot of mealies and vitamins, they can reach extreme heights. However, if you don’t feed them enough, or give them more ‘heavy foods’, they will fly too low.”
The weather over the weekend was ideal for putting their pigeons to the test.
