Racing Pigeon Pictorial International – June 2018

Kim flew in partnership with his
good friend Robert Quirk. Kim
told me that one of his earliest
mentors/motivators in the sport
was the late, great David (Dai)
Evans of Penpedairheol, Cascade.

The partnership of Davies &
Coombs was formed in 1993 and
they moved to their present
location in 1999 and began
racing in earnest in 2003. In the
years since settling at the
present site they have built an
extremely impressive range of
lofts set around a lawned area
and surrounded by trees. You
would think it an idyllic setting
if it wasn’t for the ever present
birds of prey which include
sparrowhawk, goshawk and
peregrine falcons. As the
partners said to me “We breed
around 120 youngsters each year

• 80 for ourselves and 40 to feed
  the local birds of prey”. Readers
  of this article who race their
  pigeons in other areas of the UK
  might well think it an
  exaggeration – I can assure you
  it is not, such is the level of
  predation by BOP in the South
  Wales Valleys.

THE LOFTS
The main racing loft is a two
storey structure measuring 24 ft
long by 12 ft deep. The top
sections house the Widowhood
cocks and hens, whilst the
bottom section houses the main
stock loft along with a kitchen
area. The stock section is fitted
out with just twelve extra large

(4ftx3ftx2ft) nest boxes and has

an aviary running along the

front. This has a concrete floor

which is cleaned twice daily

throughout the year.

Next to the main racing loft is

the 55ftx12ft young bird loft

and this too is fitted out with an

aviary that runs the full length

of the loft front.

The youngsters roost in large

boxes that have grid floors

incorporated for ease of

management but this loft, as

with all the other lofts, is

cleaned from top to bottom

twice each day so the impression

is one of extreme cleanliness

with excellent ventilation and

without a hint of dampness or

“smell of pigeon”.

Finally, we come to the second

stock loft and this too is a

substantial structure measuring

some 30ftx12ft and purchased

from Clydesdale Lofts. Once

again an aviary has been added

to the loft front and metal grids

cover the concrete floor with an

18 inch gap beneath to allow

the droppings to fall clear. This is

cleaned out every weekend

throughout the year.

The two stock lofts have

accommodation for 40 pairs of

stock but only 28 pairs are

allowed to rear, the other twelve

pairs are used as feeders. All

A view inside the YB loft. Boxes in the YB loft.