56 OUT OF THE OVERALLS
Many farmers eat, sleep and breathe cows, but, for Andrew McAuley alongside running the Parkshaw herd, his other passion is breeding racing pigeons.
Many farmers eat, sleep and breathe cows, but, for Andrew McAuley alongside running the Parkshaw herd, his other passion is breeding racing pigeons.
Stemming from a hobby that started in 1990 with brother Robin, Andrew has enjoyed numerous successes with racing pigeons over the years through the Coleraine Premier Club. “This sport, like every other is competitive and to be
successful it takes a lot of time and dedication,” explains Andrew. “Training starts with youngsters between three and four months old. Initially they are taken three miles from home and released, this is repeated three or four times a day until the birds arrive home before you.” Training continues and increases in distance until they reach 50 miles, once they are flying 50 miles they
are flown two or three times a week between 40 and 50 miles to keep fitness up for competitions. As well as distance flying they are also let out for one hour in the morning and an hour in the evening for exercise.
Older birds are flown using the widowhood system, the cocks are only allowed to see the hen for 10 minutes a week. They then spend up to five minutes with the hen they are loaded in to baskets for the race. This method is meant to encourage them to race faster knowing their partner is waiting on them. Andrew’s best achievement was when he had the first pigeon home out of 28,536
birds sent 171 miles to Kilkenny with the added success of being one of the longest flyers in the Northern Ireland Association. In recent years racing has moved in to the electronic era with all birds microchipped and electronic timing recording their finish when they reach an electronic pad on their return. “Having the electronic timing system means I don’t need to be at home for the birds returning, so it wouldn’t matter if it was during milking when I am in the parlour.”
There are four generations of McAuleys at Parkshaw: James, Harry, Robert and Andrew.
The past three years have seen Andrew turn his focus to breeding pigeons as a stud under the name of Causeway Loft, with only one competition entered each year, the North Coast Classic One Loft Race. This comprises five hot spot races and a final race. It costs £125 a bird or £500 for six birds to enter and in 2015 more than 700 birds were entered and housed in the loft in Coleraine.
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