BYRON and MAUREEN (‘MO') WILLIAMS Slidell

Through my new site, which was publicised by "PiPa", I came into contact with many American lofts and because of this I was asked to write a report about American pigeon racing. Because I hadn't encountered their racing in person I found it too difficult. Until I met 'Mo' who was prepared to send me all the information and that is why I have chosen her loft to use as the typical American loft for this report. I have also chosen this loft because it lies near a large place and therefore there are more possibilities, because most lofts in America lie too far away from each to be able to race with a club and they can only participate in the one loft races. But because Slidell is near to New-Orleans they can race with a club. In America the one loft races are the big attraction and enormous sums of money can be won. There are large farms, that only breed pigeons for these races and as a fancier you don't even have to own pigeons to be able to take part, you buy a few pigeons here and there, which you enter for these one loft races. During the weekends that these races are held, people come from everywhere with their campers and caravans and it is one big party with barbecues, television broadcasts, sponsors, music etc. As a fancier, you cannot race with your old pigeons and they are only used for breeding. The testing of your breeding couples rests on the results of these races or the youngsters are trained a lot and depending on these results the breeders are drawn up. Slidell is a small place on the other side of the Bay of New-Orleans in the state of Louisiana and this is where the Williams have placed their magnificent lofts. The lofts are surrounded by Palm trees, hence the name "THE GRAND PALMS PIGEON RESORT" and there is no shortage of space. Through my site I came into contact with Maureen, who calls herself "Mo". She deals with the correspondence and writes interesting and informative articles on her site. Mo only starting concentrating on the pigeons for 100% following the fire and the hurricane "Catharina", and straight away the results improved greatly.

The Story :
Byron has had pigeons since he was young, he has learned the game from his father and like so many other fanciers, with different levels of success, mainly due to work and family life which was to the cost of the attention he could give to his pigeons. With his old sort he achieved great success, such as the Dixie Southern Convention Race, the Mardis Gras Classic, 1st Ace pigeon, Hall of Fame Bird (most famous pigeon), champion loft and pigeon of the year. This with his old sort, the "Busschaerdts" via Charlie Barbiere, pigeons that always performed. But in 2005 the hurricane "Catharina" arrived and Byron lost all but two of his pigeons. Slidell was evacuated and after two weeks he was allowed to return, the devastation was enormous. Two pigeons were flying round, they were late comers from a race before the ramp. They had to start all over again and because Mo felt so sorry for her husband she promised to commit herself for 100% to the pigeons. They bought pigeons here and there and there was a lot of help from neighbouring fanciers who donated pigeons to the disaster area, because of course, Byron wasn't the only one who had lost all his pigeons. Within three months disaster struck again, Mo and Byron had just gone to bed when the neighbours called.
Their new loft was on fire. Because the power supply hadn't been fully restored they had to use gas bottles and one of these bottles had caught fire and exploded, causing all the other bottles to catch fire. Another disaster, all the pigeons were dead and the loft was reduced to ashes. The courage and motivation had left Byron and for him it was the end of the sport. Then something miraculous happened, the report in the local newspaper was spread throughout America and from every corner help was offered, which proves the solidarity between the fanciers and this is our pigeon sport! With the help of his pigeon friends, a beautiful and professional loft was erected and from all over America he was given pigeons from the best breeders. Out of gratitude, Mo placed the whole story on the website and in 2006 the prominent magazine, "Racing-Pigeon-Digest", wrote a whole article and this article is also on the site.

In 2006 they began racing with the youngsters, the results exceeded all expectation and in 2007 they could be called very good. Mo is the loft manager, takes care of the youngsters, the hens and the breeders and also races with them. Her favourite races are the money races for youngsters,(stake $ 20 to $1000 per pigeon), here she has a chance to measure herself against the best lofts in America and the odds are the same for everybody. She also likes the club game and the races for the hens. The pigeons are trained a few times a week from 20 miles, but this year they want to train more.
The administration, buying and selling of pigeons is her responsibility and the performances of the pigeons that have been sold (mostly for the Money races) are recorded and used for publicity, her youngsters are sold to all the States. Byron races with the old cocks in "The Greater New -Orleans Combine", so the whole area of Orleans. The teamwork between man/wife is perfect and the results prove it. Even the children are enthusiastic, that's why they chose the name "Williams Family Loft ". (W.F.L.) Mo does a lot of promotional work, as secretary of the club, she visits schools where she lectures about the pigeons and the game and she invites the scholars and their parents for a guided tour round their lofts, writes about her pigeons for the local newspaper etc etc. Because even here the pigeon sport is aging. They basket in Slidell, the limit is 25 pigeons per loft and the chairman collects the pigeons from all the clubs and leaves for the place of liberation. They clock electronically and the procedure is the same as ours. The races are combined, an A and a B race, e.g. an A race of 300 miles and a B race of 100 miles, with an hour between liberations, (number of pigeons differs from 250 to 800). The youngsters generally have a ten week season with distances between 100 to 350 miles (160 km to 563 km) Old pigeons also have a ten week season and their distances are 200 to 600 miles (320 km - 965 km). Mo and Byrons' favourite distance lies between the 300 - 400 miles. It is also one big party by the Williams when the pigeons return home, family, friends, supporters, everybody visits and stays to sample the traditional Cajun food that Mo (self a Cajun) has made such as Gumbo, crab, smoked shrimps and lobster. Together with the local Blues and Cajun music, sultry warm evenings, a victory, and the party is an overwhelming success.

The pigeons now, are from various lofts (obtained after the fire) and they still have to prove themselves. A few jump out, especially the G.F.L pigeons (Ganus Family Loft), Mike Ganus imports a lot of good pigeons from Europe and buys as many Ace pigeons as he can in America and the youngsters are sold throughout the whole of America with a lot of success. What I noticed was that a lot of lofts in the USA advertise with pedigree pigeons that are already in the history books by us (pure Huyskens v.Riel, pure De Vriends, pure Bricoux, pure Sions and pure Hofkens). Importing a pigeon is expensive because in America they are placed in quarantine.

A few pigeons that are doing really well are:
"HOOT" 07-Wfl-730 1st Ace Pigeon and Champion pigeon of the year, but the Williams Loft also achieved the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th,12th etc. by the Champion pigeons.
" KAREN BLUE" 07-Slidell-500 3rd Ace pigeon with the 2nd, 1st and 3rd prize
"DARLA" 07-Wfl-746 She won the big money in the Money Races "Chandler - Challenge" by ending 1st twice
"AVIATRIX" AU-07-Wfl-727
"FEARLESS" AU-07-Wfl-711 -DC
"ESCALADY" AU-07-Wfl-701-BBWFT

Results
16/9…100 miles A-race 12th, 13th B-races 8th, 10th, 11th, 12th
23/9…100 miles A- race 5th, 6th, 7th B- race 1st ,2nd ,4th ,6th
6/10…200 miles A-race 1st , 2nd ,3rd, 4th ,5th, 6th ,7th, 8th ,9th , 10th B- race 3rd ,4th ,5th , 6th.
20/10..100 miles A-race 1st ,2nd ,3rd, 4th, 5th, 12th ,13th ,14th, 15th . B-race 1st ,10th ,11th ,12th ,13th .
10/11..200 miles A-race 1st ,2nd ,5th , 6th . B-race 1e ,2e, 3e ,4th, 5th .
17/11..350 miles final race 2nd ,3rd ,4th, 5th , 8th .
1e Place in Average Speed
1e Place - Champion Bird of the Year 2e Place (only 4 points behind) - Loft of the Year

Results "MO" and the hens :
A en B races
Week 1- 1st, 6th, 23rd en 24th 200 miles
Week 2 - 7th ,8th ,40th ,41st 200 miles
Week 3 - 14th ,15th ,52nd .64th ,66th ,67th 300 miles
Week 4 - 1st ,16th ,17th 200 miles
Week 5 - 1st ,3rd ,14th , 44th,46th , 300 miles
Week 6 - 6th , 46th 400 miles
Week 7 - 6th, 11th,12th . 200 miles
More than once Mo has performed better than Byron with her hens in the races for old pigeons.

The lofts
With the help and materials from many fanciers they have built a large, professional (American) loft. It is an L-shaped loft, 2.40 m. wide and 14.6 m. long with three compartments. One for the breeders (45 couples), one for the old pigeons and one for the youngsters (approximately 100 pigeons). This year a loft has been added at the back for Mo's hens. The loft has been adjusted to suit the warm climate of the Mississippi Delta, gauze for the top windows and a mechanical ventilator over the floors of the loft (under the wooden grids) and also Plexiglas. During the winters when it is humid, these windows are closed. A good ventilation is the same as by us, often a problem and here it is a matter of looking for the best solution, according to Byron. Many lofts in America have large, fixed continual landing traps, where the pigeons can spend all day if they so wish, just like the aviaries in front of our lofts. The windows are smaller than by us to prevent the loft from becoming too warm. You will often see a loft without a floor, only grids as floor, this is for better ventilation. I'm referring to the lofts in the warmer regions. Byron has also lowered the roof and has placed sliding so that he can control the ventilation and warmth, just like us really. 

The feeding
I don't see much difference, the first two days the pigeons are fed lightly with a special mix and the last few days prior to the basketting they are given a heavier mixture. The feed is supplemented with a sort nibbling seeds, together with broken peanuts. Sometimes vitamins are added to the water and a 1-2-3 mix, which I think is a vitamin disinfectant potion. Medicine is only given if the pigeons are actually sick and it has been prescribed by the vet. Some vaccinations are compulsory, just like here. I hope that I have been able to give you a clear picture of how the pigeon sport is practised in America.