Racing price??

brentjohnf said:

edit " sorry i ment Racing Homer Price"

There is a local feed store owner who owns racing homers, he seems to know almost everything about them. He raced for years won many trophies with this blood line and can tell me everything from dusting the floor to reason for different feathers on the bird, he has some distance flyers and some short distance flyers. Really nice guy! He said he’ll sell me 50$ a young bird, Is this good.. I don’t know Thanks Brent

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Well, first of all......can you tell who this person is? Maybe someone here knows him or knows "of" him......
But regardless of that..........there is no way that anyone here or anywhere else for that matter, can tell you that $50 is or is not a good price.
We had an old guy in our combine a few years back. He's quit racing now, but man, when he WAS racing............he was HARD to beat. Local people would pay rediculous prices for his birds (rediculous as far as I'M concerned)....he didn't keep pedigrees.....only race results and he had the results to show. I don't think I've EVER heard any one say how good those high priced birds they bought were for THEM.
I look at it like this. If you can afford to spend, say, $500 on 10 of these birds and only ONE or maybe NONE turn out to be worth a darn, are you ok with that? Buying a pigeon is like a box of chocolates........it may LOOK pretty........may be wrapped up REAL nice.....but you don't REALLY know what you're getting until you "open it up" (fly it or breed from it)........could be the best $500 you ever spend, or...............

brentjohnf said:

edit " sorry i ment Racing Homer Price"

There is a local feed store owner who owns racing homers, he seems to know almost everything about them. He raced for years won many trophies with this blood line and can tell me everything from dusting the floor to reason for different feathers on the bird, he has some distance flyers and some short distance flyers. Really nice guy! He said he’ll sell me 50$ a young bird, Is this good.. I don’t know Thanks Brent

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I had what I thought was a brilliant response to this very similar question, but unless I am losing my mind, the entire thread simply vanished. Did you repost this same question before ?

No one here on this site, reading your post, can really answer your question. It's possible that .50 cents is too much, and a $1000 could be a bargain. In the USA today, a single unproven YB, straight from the breeding loft, or weaning loft, are selling for a few dollars at a farmers market, to $8500 and up at some breeding farms, depending on the bird's pedigree. And even with the bird in my hand, and a close examination, there is no sure way to know for sure, what the value as a racer or breeder will be at some point in the future. And for most people, value is a very relative thing. If you earn a good living, and have been successful in life with investments and such, you might think a $110,000 sports car is a much deserved treat. While some "poor" working guy or gal, who earns a very modest income, and maybe paid less then that for their home, could never see any value in a $110,000 car. The same applies to pigeons, and just about everything else in life.

If you are going to fret over wheather or not you should spend $50 for a pigeon, chances are, it's more then you should spend. Find the amount you can afford, and feel comfortable with, and then go from there.

g0ldenb0y55 said:

Sometimes free birds are just as good as $50 birds. I agree with Warren...plan out a budget and go with it.

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Well....since I am on a roll....there is another angle to this game. Go out and invest say even $500 for a dozen YB's, and even if you are able to win some races, the odds are, you will always end up with "extra" birds, that you are lucky to find a home for....much like being stuck with a feral cat, (like we were) which ends up having a bunch of cute and dear babies.

On the other hand, you could look at your hobby, as a possible 2nd career at some point in the future, and make some good "Investments", and then go out and win some races, well....you may end up with a product which is in demand. Using Mike Ganus as an example, he did not rely on free or "cheap" birds...he made "investments", which at the time, some people laughed at. They don't laugh anymore...they are green with envy. There are some other examples, but I'm not dropping names. (Winner of a certain One Loft Race last year, with a 1/2 Ludo is $160,000 richer) The dirty little secret is, that with the invention of the One Loft Race, one can make a tidy little income, not only from race purses, but from helping other people improve their colony.

Just like you can't make a million in the stock market, with only a $5 investment, you need to devote some serious investment capital, in order to earn those fat dividends. Ask anyone who has made any serious money in pigeon racing, and at some point in time, they have bitten the bullet, and bought some good high priced stock. If, on the other hand, this is a hobby "just for fun" or simply for club or combine competition, then of course, it is possible to spend very little, or even rely on all freebies. It's the old story of "Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained"....unless of course, you are playing just for fun. But, if you have ever sat at a poker table, where the players were playing just for chips, it's not quite the same thing, as playing for chips, which can be turned into real money. Typically, the people who disagree with me, are not the ones who are willing to "Invest" $400 to $600 or more for a single bird's race entry fee, if they themselves have been unwilling to spend that much or more, for a single bird for breeding stock.

Not, saying you should, or should not, consider racing pigeons as an "Investment", I can only say, that my pigeon investments, have done much better, then some of the investments in my 401K and my IRA, or even my apartment buildings, but that is me......

ohiogsp said:

You never know the best stock could be given to you. I have a really good pair that is the best I have right now and they were both gave to me.

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I just said somthing about buying birds in another thread and I mentioned how I didn't have to really buy birds caus I was lucky enough to be given a team of birds that won combine avevrage speed back in 1998 when I was 18. Idk where I'd be with pigeons right now if I was never given those birds. I got them in 1998 after yb season and I won my first race in 1999 it was the first race of the season and I topped the combine of over 145 lofts and 2000 pigeons with 2 pigeons bother and sister. And I lost 3 mins getting the second one in and she still came in second. And I've been winning ever since but like i said without thoses bird who knows what I'd doing right now. Not saying I wouldn't be flying caus I def would caus I have just as much fun coming in last as winning I just like seeing the birds come home.

Thanks people,
Sorry no I have not reposted this thread and was just getting others opinion on buying/getting a 50$ bird off of a champ blood line of birds. I will buy 2 for now to add to my 2 I have already, which were free birds. I only fly for fun now, who knows what will happen in the future. I don’t fine 50$ is pricy for a bird rather fairly cheap, showing all the trophies paper work/time sheets and plaques the parents and other sibling won over the years. I was not asking about is one man’s trash another man’s treasure. Adding to it if the man is true to his work as he appears, the man knows his birds. All his birds go back to 2 pairs he knows 1 has better chance producing long distance and other short distance. I don’t know pigeons well except that, they can fly far distances in short time and there compose works on the earth’s magnetic field, and also at the last few miles fly by sight, and weather wind sun, plays big parts like most other sports. And heath and cleanses is key to a great racer are well any pet.

Brings me to a question, can I take his word for it? do homers breed like he said he breeds his? one pair better at producing short distance flyers one pair better at long distance? I know with hunting dogs you want to match performance breeds top and bottom even if its line breeding, which happen all the time. Is homers the same?