作者：Derick Streak 译：李博
It is a fact in South Africa that we breed to many youngsters during the breeding season. It must also be said that we breed from a lot of mediocre pigeons, hoping that a winner might pop out of the eggs. We ring every baby that hatches and we think twice before we kill the weak ones. Once these babies are weaned, it becomes very difficult to select the stronger ones for racing purposes.
当初在南非参赛时，每个育种季我们都会做育出大量幼鸽。我们使用了很多平庸的种鸽，并且希望在它们的鸽蛋中“蹦”出一个冠军来。我们给孵化出的幼鸽都挂了足环，每淘汰一羽幼鸽都要思前想后，十分困难。最后导致了所有的幼鸽都非常羸弱，很难找到一羽符合参赛标准的幼鸽。
It is in this process that many fanciers make a mistake by not being able to select the youngsters. They are therefore faced with an over populated moulting season. This overpopulation is extremely bad and guarantees a disastrous racing season. The loft never reaches form to allow pigeons to perform at their maximum potential. Therefore selection of the old birds and young birds is necessary before we enter the off season which stretches from 1 December to 31 May in South Africa.类似的错误很多鸽友都会犯。因此，到了换羽季节（这篇文章提到的换羽都是指体羽的更换，而非主翼羽，鸽友称大条），他们鸽舍的密度就会超标。随之而来的，即是一个糟糕透顶的赛绩。高密度鸽舍扼杀了鸽子发挥出它们最大潜力的可能。因此，在南非每年的12月1日到来年的5月31日这段时间，是我们挑选种鸽和淘汰幼鸽的时间。
Let us look at some important points in our selection process that will enable you to reduce the numbers in your loft.
为了降低鸽舍的密度，我们需要对鸽子进行挑选。下面是挑选鸽子的要点：
1. Old birds must be selected via the results of the previous racing season. Any pigeon or strain of pigeons that is known to be a short to middle distance pigeons must not be given a second chance. It is however important to know that true long distance bloodlines like Jan Aarden, Delbar, Van der Wegen, Stickelbaut etc. do need time to develop and must be raced for the second and the third year to reflect their true long distance potential. Do not give pigeons whose results are a flash in the pan a second chance. Our future must be built on solid racing results for your loft to last in the future.
1、种鸽必须经过赛绩的筛选。中短距离的鸽子仅凭它当年的赛绩即可做出选择，长距离的鸽子（如杨阿腾、迪尔巴、万德维根、Stickelbaut等）的潜能可能在它两到三岁时才表现出来，所以它们需要更多的机会。中短距离的鸽子不要给它下一个赛季的机会，赛鸽的未来是建立在种鸽良好赛绩的基础之上的。
2. Selecting the youngsters is very important and must be done before the moulting season commences. The weight of a pigeon is very important. A heavy pigeon can not hold the pace in pigeon racing and will quickly drop out. Therefore weight is my first point of selecting young birds. Heavy youngsters are mostly found amongst the young cock birds and the big roomy hens. Try especially to eliminate the hens that have got a large heavy bone structure and retain the roomy hen that owns a large muscle structure. Big cocks with a big bone structure must be eliminated.
2、一定要在换羽季节到来之前淘汰掉不合格的幼鸽。体重是赛鸽的一项重要指标。在比赛中，一羽超重的鸽子保持平衡很困难，因此会很快失格。所以，体重是挑选赛鸽的第一个标准。超重的鸽子多见于雄鸽和一些体型宽松的雌鸽。淘汰掉骨架过大的鸽子，无论雌雄。留下肌肉饱满的雌鸽。
3. My second point that I am very fussy about, is the closure of the vent bones at the back. Cock birds must have a "tight ass" between the rear of the breast bone and the two vent bones. A cock with an open vent must not be allowed in the breeding or in the race loft. Hens can be given a little more grace as a "tight ass" vent is not my utmost choice with them. A hen with an open vent must however not be allowed to survive. I like a normal closed vent with my hens.We must remember that in the end of the day they are ladies that lay the eggs. An important point to remember is that the growth period of the bone structure is completed only once the tenth flight has fully grown during the moulting season.Should you doubt the developments of any pigeon‘s vent bones, time must be given until the bone structure have developed fully. You should however not doubt all your vents as you will then still sit with an over populated loft during the moulting season.
3、我个人对鸽子耻骨的选择十分苛刻。雄鸽胸骨末端与耻骨的衔接必须紧密。宽松耻骨的鸽子不可能出现在我的鸽舍之中。雌鸽的标准放宽，但也一定要在正常值得范围之内。我同样不喜欢耻骨过于松的雌鸽。（译者观点：耻骨的松紧与赛鸽的训练强度有关）我们要记录种雌生第二个蛋的时间，要让幼鸽的骨骼发育充分。幼鸽的骨骼在第十根主翼羽换好后停止发育。在幼鸽的骨骼发育完全之前，不要做出淘汰的决定。但如果在第十跟主翼羽换好后，它的耻骨依旧很松，就一定要淘汰了。
4. I do not like a pigeon with a crooked breastbone as the percentage of pigeons with this defect that became good racers are very low. Eliminate them.
4、我不喜欢龙骨畸形的鸽子，因为它们成为好鸽子的概率不高。淘汰它们。
5. A good pigeon carries a good feathering. The question now arises as to what is good feathering. Take a box full of wheat straw and a box full of pillow feathers. Now stick your hands in the box full of straw, close your eyes and memorize the feeling. Do the same with the box full of feathers. Now you know what the difference is between good soft feathering and a bad pigeon. Only the youngsters with good soft feathering must be kept.
5、一羽好鸽子一定要有好的羽毛。那么问题来了，什么样的羽毛才是好的羽毛呢？找两个箱子，一个装麦秸，一个装枕絮，闭上眼睛触摸它们记住它们给你的触感。这时你就知道什么样的羽毛才是好鸽子的羽毛了。好鸽子的羽毛一定要柔软。
6. Open the mouths of the youngsters and inspect the breathing hole on the tongue of the pigeon. If the opening is big and round, such a pigeon do not have a good respiratory system and should be culled. Retain all birds where the hole is medium to small in a narrow keyhole shape.
6、打开它们的嘴甲检查位于舌根部的喉咙（气门）。如果它的喉咙又大又圆，那么这羽鸽子就不具备一个好的呼吸系统。保留那些喉咙窄小的鸽子。（译者观点：性格急躁的鸽子在上手时过于紧张而呼吸急促，也会呈现出大喉口）
7. The following point, I believe is very important. Should you see pigeons in your loft that does not look like athletes or display behaviors that are inferior to the rest of the group, such a pigeon must be killed. Look especially for youngsters that refuse to go up in the air. Also youngsters that are always hungry and over eat. A youngster that always looks sick must also go to heaven. I believe in that, I must like all my pigeons to be able to give good attention to them, therefore the unlikable pigeons must not be part of the loft.
7、我认为下面的这一点也很重要。鸽子在鸽舍中的表现（巢态）不像一羽赛鸽的状态或者它不能很好的休息（亲和力不好、易受惊扰），这样的鸽子也是要淘汰的。拒绝家飞的鸽子，总表现的很饿或是贪食的鸽子，看上去病怏怏的鸽子都是要送去见上帝的。我认为，鸽主要充分的观察你的鸽子，这样才有机会剔除掉不好的。
8. To determine how many pigeons must be in a pigeon loft, the following calculation must be used: The length of the loft (say ten meters) times the depth of the loft (say two meters) times the height of the ceiling of the loft (say 1,8 meters) gives us how many cubic meters the loft consist off (30 cubic meters). The maximum of two pigeons per cubic meter must be allowed (60 pigeons).
You must allow 60 pigeons in this loft and more than that will bless you with stress, disease, a bad moult and pigeons that battle to reach form. Not only that, but you will find that you spend much more money on medicine bottles and tossing to try to get this overpopulated loft on form. And you want to tell me that our sport is expensive. Work according to the numbers that your loft allow and increase your quality and not your quantity of mediocre pigeons.
8、为了给大家说明鸽舍密度的问题，请看下面的计算过程：鸽舍长度（设为10米）宽度（设为2米）高度（设为1.8米），那么它的实际空间在30多立方米。每立方米最多养两羽赛鸽，那么这个鸽舍最多可以养60多羽赛鸽。
如果超过60羽，那么只能为你祈祷了。鸽子的压力、疾病、糟糕的羽质、打架等问题就会随之而来。除此之外，你还会在药物上花费更多，你会告诉我这项运动的成本很高。根据以上这些来提高你鸽子的质量，而非增加平庸鸽子的数量。 |
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拜读了，值得借鉴！
