• Please introduce yourself and tell us how you got started in the sport
Esteban Hernández Acosta and his son Samuel are fanciers from Gran Canaria (Canary Island-Spain) that started in the sport both very young. Now Esteban is 60 years old and Samuel is 23.
Both take part daily in the managemente of his lofts call “H&Q Lofts”.

• Give the readers the basic results that you have achieved as a partnership
In the past season 2002 we have 15 prizes from 25 possibles; 20º classified in the “VIII International One Loft Race Lanzarote Island” (1008 pigeons)

• Amongst those results what are the real highlights.
First classified in the race from Madera Island (Portugal) in the year 2000 (545 km. over the Atlantic Ocean). 3º in long distance 2000. Unique loft from Gran Canaria classified two consecutive years in the “International One Loft Race Lanzarote Island”.
You can see the rest of results on www.hqlofts.es.mn

How do you race your pigeons and how many.
We raced every season with approximately 100 pigeons (yearlings and olds). 12 old in widowhood and the rest in single.

• What are your lofts made of and how big are they.
Ours lofts are in the garden, one loft for the 12 widows, two lofts for the breeding and four lofts for the rest; all over a surface of 200 m2. The loft of widowhood is made in wood and the others with bricks.

• Do you attach any importance to having a tiled roof on a loft, if so are there any benefits.
Ours lofts are covered with roof tiled, this is very important for to maintain a good clime and ventilation, the fronts are always open and besides the roof has some ventilation chimneis.

• How many stock birds do you keep and do you breed off your race team also how many pigeons do you think that you need to breed off any individual stock pair each year to see if they are quality producers.
We have 25 pairs for breeding and aproximately we bred 125 youngters. We think that to see if one pair are quality producers is necesary that each four youngter bred three can to pass the selection.

• When do you pair your pigeons and why then.
Ours widows are mated at the beginning of January, they rear two youngs. The rest are mated at the beginning of February.All this because the races start on March.

• Do you move the hens with the young birds.
When de youngs of our widows are 15 days old the females and one young are moved to a separate loft. The males feed the other until they are 22 days old.

• Young bird sickness is a problem, have you had this in your loft and if so what have you treated them with.
Normaly we haven’t sikness with the young birds but if it is necesary when the droppings don’t look normal they are treated.

• Do you race your young birds, if so how many races, if not why, do you think they are better off in the longer events if they are only raced lightly.
The young birds not racing, only 15/16 training flights until 90 km in the island. When they are yearlings they race over the sea with the old birds. The total races for season are 36 from diferent islands. We think that the young birds raced lightly are better in the longer events.

• What criteria do you set down for the pigeons you winter with your thoughts on the following seasons racing and breeding.
For the following seasons racing our pigeons must to classify the past season some time in the top. For the breeding must be the first.

• Do you have any grills fitted in the floor or in the boxes, are there any advantages to using them.
We have grills in the floor because is very important that the pigeons are not in contact with the droppings.

• Do you attach any importance to grits and minerals or can the pigeons get what they want they are out of the loft.
Ours pigeons have permanently grits and minerals to prevent they get out of the lofts.

• Do you use any floor dressing or do you clean the pigeons out daily.
In spite of to have grills in the floor, we clean the lofts daily in the boxes and over the grills.

• Do you like to have plenty of room for the pigeons.
We like that the birds have a confortable space with ventilation and without humidity.

• How do you feed the cocks and what do you feed them on, a branded mix or do you buy separate corns and mix your own
We feed our birds with mistures from the known marks imported from Belgium.

• Do you measure the amount that you give to each pigeon, or are they fed according to the individual pigeon.
The widows are feed individually twice a day one table spoon in the moorning and other in the evening. The rest get your food once a day in a communal feeding, in the evening a cup every ten birds.

• Whenever I have visited a loft fanciers always look at the pigeons eye. Do you consider that the eye has any importance in (a) the breeding, (b) distance races (c) sprint races. (d) the pigeons health. Or do you steer clear of the subject and if so why.
We consider that the pigeons eye has very importance in the pigeons health; shining eyes are symtoms of good health for us. However I respect the eye theory and I try to mate pairs with good eyes.

• Do you use any preventative medication. If a pigeon goes ill do you try to put it right or does the bird have to go.
When the pigeons come back home get a cure again trichomenes and ornithose during 24 hours.
The breeding pairs get treatement three times in a year. Equally all birds are vaccinate again paramyxo and parathifus. When a bird fall ill is separate and treated again the illness. Regularly we analyse the droopings and the craw of our birds.

• How many weeks do you think a pigeon can maintain it’s form on the widowhood system for both cocks and hens.
We think that the widows can to keep a good condition during four months approximately.

• Do you treat pigeons differently with their preparation if they are to go to the bigger races whether National, Classic, Specialist club or open.
Depending the distances and class of race and the weather forecasting, we prepare our teams specifically.

• Do you think a pigeon has the capabilities of racing both short and long distance races. Also what
distance can a pigeon actually still “RACE” as opposed to homing from any race point.
We think that a good pigeon has the capacity of racing in anyone distance. Much of our birds are defeat so in short distance as in long.
The maximun distance for we is 960 km.

• What proportion of you pigeons get better on subsequent trips to the long distance races and what do you call distance.
In the long distance we send a 30 % approximately.

• Which is the more difficult, establishing a team of sprinter’s or distance pigeons and why.
For us is more difficult to stablish a team of sprinter’s because here in Canary Islands there are more spring races and a bigger number of pigeons participating.

• What families of pigeons do you keep.
The last years our loft is composed principaly for pigeons with blood Janssen, Meulemans and Van de Wegen.

• How do you go about bringing in a new family and what do you look for.
For to bring a new family we lok for pigeons with a good constitution and blood of champions.

• When you bring in that new family do you think that they need time to acclimatise, if so how long.
We think that is not necessary time to aclimatise.

• Do you think that fanciers change for the sake of changing or do you think a loft can breed a winning team out and lose track of the winners.
We believe that every year we must to introduce some birds for to ameliorate the one’s own but without to lose the blood or our winnings.

• When looking for new pigeons do you look for a particular family, one for specialist races or club races or just be name.
Generally we look for some particular family with good results and that we know can be cross with our pigeons family.

• Some fanciers go out and purchase good quality winning pigeons but never appear to make the grade, why do you consider that this happens.
To buy rewardings pigeons not always signify to breed champions son, because not always on find out the cross suitables.

• Do you race your pigeons every week or do you prefer to condition them for a specific race.
Our pigeons are prepared for the competition each two weeks, according to the ordered calendar.

• Is there any specific condition that your pigeons perform best at, or any particular time of the year.
By experience we know that our birds can compete under different weather conditions (warmt, wind) during the months from February to July.

• In your view do you think that a loft needs different pigeons for different distances.
We think that is not necessary to have diferents pigeons, but certainly diferent preparations.

• Is there anything that you have not won in the sport that you would like to achieve.
Our near objetive is may to compete on the International One Loft Races, so in Europe as the rest of the world

• Do you read many magazines/Articles, if so which type of article do you find interesting and why.
We have subscriptions to diferent magazines si nationals as internationals, and we are permanent readers from many articles and books in Spanish, English, French and Portuguese, because is very interesting to know the diferent options and aspects of this sport.

• When it comes to breeding do you line-breed or use a first cross or just pair winners to winners.
We cross normaly winners male with breeding females that have demostrated to be good breeders.

• Do you breed off the top widowhood cocks after the racing has finished, do you breed late bred youngsters and what do you think of those later bred youngsters.
Our widows cock breed at the end of the season two young, some of the have finished racing with his fathers.

• Do you use the darkness system for the young birds, if so for how long and do you think it affects them later in life.
We don’t use the darkness system with our youngters, only the widows loft is darkness from 13,00 to 19,00 during the widowhood time.

• Do you use any form of heating system in any of your lofts. Do you think it would be advantages for the birds.
We don’t use any heating system in our lofts. Her the temperatures are goods all the year.

• Do you attach any real importance to the pigeons wing i.e back wing, end four flights and do you look at the wing to see if they have cast before a race. Any other comments on the wing.
We like pigeons with moderate wings in according with the body, and with good differenciated feathers. Is not very important for us if they have cast before a race.

• Is there anything that you do not like about the sport, something that you feel needs changing for the good of the sport.
Here in Canary Islands is necessary to change something for the good of the sport, principaly the transport and the competitions in according with the European rules.

• What advice do you have for a young fancier ?
At the young fanciers we recommend patience, to look for good pigeons, to have good lofts and a good method.