A FAVOUR for a mate led to a lifelong passion for Shane Donnan.
Mr Donnan lives out of Beverford where he breeds racing pigeons, a hobby that has become a lifestyle.
He’s a member of the Mallee Pigeon Racing Combine, and flies about seven of his 200 odd birds every week.
An electronic tag on the birds’ legs monitors their progress, recording their return to the loft.
In each breeders’ loft is a plate that the birds cross, sending a signal to the database and recording the duration of their flight.
From the time of hatching, Mr Donnan reckoned he spent up to six months training each bird to race.
He said breeders used the birds’ feed to train them to cross the plate from one section of the loft to another, thereby allowing the leg tag to do its job.
“They’re trained internally before you let them out [of the loft],” Mr Donnan said.
“Then you let them out into a cage to get used to the environment. Once they’re used to it you let them out and get them to fly by themselves.”
Mr Donnan said “time and management” was the key to success in pigeon racing.
“The more time you’re able to put into it the better they will perform,” he said.
For more on this story, grab a copy of Wednesday’s Guardian (August 26).
