I.F. INTERVIEW REPORT FOR 2004CHAMPION FLYERS

By Paul Walsh

Len Yarish, Justus Pa

Len Yarish from Justus Pa. Flying with the LLC Combine and the Scranton Pigeon Club

1st I.F. Champion Loft 26 to 75 Lofts 2004 Young Bird series
3rd I.F. Hall of Fame bird 5 to 25 Lofts

1) Tell us a little about yourself.
I flew my first race in 1945 Young Bird season. My first birds were commons, stray birds & other flyers culls.

2) Do you think your position is a good one as far as combine races are concerned? How big is the combine? Club?
I think that my location would be better if I was on the East side. We fly from the southwest & I am out of the valley across the ridge at about 10,000 feet. The wind is mostly from the northwest.

3) Do you have an original family of pigeons?
Originally my birds of today are down from Ganus, Hakemer, Campbell Strange, Frank McLaughlin & Flandria loft of Canada.

4) What type of birds do you now fly? Big, medium, small strain?
The birds are mostly medium in size and are Janssen super '73 and Caosart straight & crossed.

5) Can you give us a little history on your champion bird? Champion loft?
Pedigree? Example: Races entered. Races & diplomas won & level bird competed at.
Champion IF2004SCR5212 is of cross over Super 73 & Janssen, who was shipped
to 4 races; 2-150 and 1-270 stations; 1-200, winning two 1sts & one 6th combine. I
messed up on 1 race as I had 3 birds on the drop but we only have a 2-bird clock rule & 5212 was the 3rd bird clocked. Otherwise, he would have had a higher point score. As it was, he was named 3rd IF Hall of Fame.
My loft has been very consistent in the past 15 years. It is always in contention for average speed in the concourse. Last year we were given Honorable mention in the Racing Pigeon Digest for Champion Loft and IF 2nd.

6) Story on parents, brother, sister that breed or flew well for you?
5212 was bred from a new mating. His sire was from my #1 pair who have produced five 1st place winners and three grandchildren who have won and also one granddaughter who won two consecutive 2nds. His dame has bred some good
ones. One is a bird that won for Mr Manny Parada of Long Island, NY.

7) Do you race imports?
No, I do not race imports but I do race descendants of imports.

8) How big is your old bird team? How big is your young bird team?
My old bird team usually has about 35 to 40 birds.
My young bird team usually has about 40 to 50 birds.

9a) Do you use a system? For young birds? Old birds? Whichever applies.
Dark? Widowhood? Etc.
Explain your system day by day from preparing for the first training toss to the last race. How many hours of light per day do your birds get? From what time to what time is light used? When do you go on natural light? How do your birds molt as old birds if you were on a young bird system. How do you feel about people, who compete with you, using different systems?
Explain how you would prepare a team of birds to go into a 300 mile fut. race. Please do a Sunday to Sunday preparation schedule. Explain how you would prepare a team of birds for shipping to a 400 mile O.B. race. Please do a day by day preparation Sunday to Sunday.
In 2004, I tried the dark system and it was very successful. I started the season with 42 birds and i only lost 9 over a 10 race season. The beauty of it was the multiple clocking. There was never less than 5 birds on the drop. On the first race, I had 11 birds hit the board at once. Old birds I fly the sexes separated. Young birds I start training 4 weeks before the first race, going many short tosses. When I reach the 25 mile training stop, I go three times a week, two times 40 miles and on Wednesday I go to 80 miles, weather permitting. I never train in bad weather. If I am going to lose a bird, I would prefer to lose it when it counts, on a race. I use this system both old & young birds. I am waiting to see about the molt being this is my first experience with the dark system. It is my personal feeling that everybody has the option to use the system
9b) Do you cut flights, pull tail feathers? Do you have your birds finished with body molt when races start or are you a natural flyer? If so, when do you start to breed?
No, I do not cut or pull. I let nature take its course. It has never been proven to me that these things were the sole reason why a bird wins. Perfect health is what a fancier has to strive for. Observation is the key. You have to watch the birds. They will show signs when they are top form. I usually put my birds together on Presidents Day. Some pairs a little earlier should I want to send young for a special race.

10) Do you fly to the perch? Do you fly widowhood? Separated sexes or just hens? If you fly natural or widowhood, please explain your method in both old birds & young birds.
I think that I covered this subject already.

11) Describe your loft? Is there airflow in the loft? Fans, etc?
My old bird loft is 24 feet long with a hip roof. There are three compartments,
One 9-foot section for cocks & one 9-foot section for hens & a 6-foot section for a feed room. The loft exterior walls-back wall is closed solid; sides & front are closed 2 feet around the top & 2 feet around the bottom with a door in the center of the front and 1x2 wire around the rest. Both gables are open for free moving air across the top.

12) Describe how you feed. Hopper or individual seed? In the nest box or on the floor? After a flight around the loft, or is it when they return from training? Is there a set time in the morning or in the evening? Which mixture do you use?
The birds are fed in feeders on the floor. I like to feed when the birds arrive home from training but when flying around the home they are fed at a certain time, otherwise they soon learn feed is waiting and they want to come down cutting exercise time. I accomplish this by locking them out. I use local feed from K&B Feeds. This is a 15% protein mix, which seems to work very well for me. During the off-season, I use a winter mix once a day. As long as the grain is clean & dry, this is my biggest concern.

13) How do you train your birds? Single toss in a flock or on the training truck? Do you time your birds from training & if so, give us an example. How often do you train & what distances?
I train my birds myself. In our area we do not have the luxury of a training truck. Most of the time I have three training crates and liberate one crate at a time. This way, if anything goes wrong, it is only one crate involved. By the way, I should mention that there is a 10-minute delay between crates. When they are right, this is more than enough time. Sometimes I will time them just to gage their form.

14) Do you have any regular training schedules to take the birds down the road or do you loft fly regularly? Explain what you do. Explain the reason why you do certain things.
I take them about 10 times to my 25-mile stop and after that it is Tuesday-40 miles; Wednesday-80 miles; and then back to 40 miles. I do this training right through the season up until the last race. Rain or strong winds dictate if the birds will be trained on a given day.

15) Is there any kind of health program that you follow regularly? If so, explain it to us. How do you medicate & for what reason?
I am not a vet so therefore I do not have any specific health program other than ProBiotic three times a week & brewers yeast on the feed on Tuesday & Thursday.

16) How often do you race your champion bird? How about the rest of the team?
My champ 5212 was raced for four weeks in a row. After that, he seemed to have lost something & after the performance he gave, I was not taking any chances. The rest of the team is sent when I think that they are ready. Should a bird return late by 2 hours, he is canceled for the next week.

17) Do you believe in bird entry limits? Do you believe in clocking limits? How do you select your breeding pairs? Do you have any advice for new flyers? Have you any advice for advanced flyers?
I like limits, clocking & shipping. I think that this is the fairest for all members; otherwise the members who are a little better off financially can dominate the races. This in itself can lead to some members becoming disgusted & leave the sport. With the climate in the sport, we all know what we need every member that we can get & keep. My breeders are selected by pedigree & performance. My advice to new flyers would be to keep the birds as healthy as you can; observe your birds daily; & be patient. Do not expect too much too soon. As far as my advice for advanced flyers, I do not think that I am qualified & I will leave that to someone else.

18) Is there a flyer, breeder or book that has helped you become a better pigeon flyer? Do you have any kinds of goals in the sport? Compose a list of awards you have received, club, combine & national if any.
There are so many good books available that I would not be able to single one out. I will say this, you should read everything you can, and you never know when you will find something.
I am always trying to be the best that I can. It makes me glow all over when someone infers that I am a good, honest & fair pigeon man.
Some of the awards that I have won are:
Help a beginner plaque, #5 zone for Mr. Corey Farrell;
I have many concourse trophies;
Overall average speed trophy;
IF President Cup;
Honorable mention 2003 IF & Racing Pigeon Digest;
2004 Season Champion Loft;
3 IF Hall of Fames.
At this time, I would like you to know that I did not do this alone. My wife,
Josephine, "Jo", was the one who made it all possible. She helped me with all the grunt work, made sacrifices & supplied the support during my 60 years in the sport.

19) If you had the opportunity to change something in the pigeon game, what would it be?
As far as change goes, I think that the most important change would be if the National organization would put more emphasis on educating the general public about our sport. It is very surprising to me how little the public is aware of our pastime. I have spoken to so many people about racing pigeons and they are so surprised that something like this is going on & they know nothing of it.

20) If you have a list of good books or videotapes, please recommend some.
From my point of view, all pigeon books are good and worth reading.

In closing, I would like to dedicate my champion season to the memory of my good friend, Dr. Anthony Tylenda DDS, who passed away in July 2004.
After 60 years of continuous flying birds, I think about retirement more seriously every day.