TWO WAY PIGEONS (Page 1/3)

By JOSEPH KARPOWICH
1816 Radcliff Avenue
Bronx, NY 10462

Stanley Gozdzialski asked me to write an article on two way pigeons. I was never assigned to this task but I felt interested because I felt that I could put any information I learned on two way pigeons to use after I got out of the service. In fact, I felt that it was so interesting that my company commander gave me the same assignment. However, after coming back from the island of Hawaii to Fort Shafter I was'assigned to the best loft in company area.

We raced our birds from the longest point on the island from which I won many races. This was all done on Sunday after completing all our normal work with the birds. I had two birds which I think Stan would remember 9241 Blue Ch. H who had 21 firsts and a black Ch C 733 which was always within the first three positions. We would put up $5.00 per loft. The birds were never liberated in one group but single tossed. Each bird was timed when he was released and timed again at the company area.

I was also assigned to help Howard Vander-Bloomen to train the night flying pigeons. Howard was a whiz with the night flying birds.

What is meant by two way birds is that they are trained to fly to and from two separate locations. They have a regular loft which I will call loft #1, where they only have water to drink, and a place to rest overnight. Then we had a portable avairy which I'll call loft #2 where they were fed only, with no water at any time. When the birds are released from loft #2 they will fly back to loft #1 and have their drink of water and rest.

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Special thanks to Glenn B. Barlow of Fruit Heights, Utah for making this article available. Reprinted from the December 1977 issue of The Pocket Pigeon.