I race all my pigeons on the natural system. Young birds are trained privately, yearlings get some more training and then are sent to France for 2 or 3 races with the combine to 300 miles. As two year olds I assess each individual pigeon to see if I think they have finished their physical development and if so then and only then are they ready to race the long distance.
The emphasis is very much that birds are individuals and by not racing them with any expectation until they are 2 years old I get plenty of oppurtunity to assess each pigeons peak nest condition, this is the art of the natural fancier to discover if each individual prefers a certain nest position, eggs, youngsters, both! This coupled with a natural environment and limiting exposure to stress alllows me to get the maximum performance from my small race team.
Below is Indy only two hours after being timed to win the most prestigous long distance race in England, flying 571 miles in extreme conditions with the English channel to cross at the end, to race like this they must love their home!