IF Champion Loft

26 -75 lofts
Caruso/Sadowsk 2000 Young Birds

I.F. INTERVIEW REPORT FOR CHAMPION FLYERS

By Paul Walsh

1.  Tell us a little about yourself?

My name is Dominick Caruso and I'm 53 years old.  I started racing pigeons in 1976, in the Hicksville club, flying the west course with the Suffolk Nassau Combine.  In 1977 a newclub was formed by George Riker, Ray Brower and Bernie Yokell called the Mid Island Club.  I was a charter member of that club and we flew the southwest course with the Brooklyn Concourse.  I flew with both of these clubs until 1995, at which time I joined the Lindenhurst Club, I've been flying partners with Mark Sadowski for the past year.

My name is Mark Sadowski, I have had Homing Pigeons all my life, but only became interested in racing them since 1988.  I had a lot of people who helped me get started and began racing the Mid Island Belmont Club, the Brooklyn Concourse.  Many fanciers The one person who helped me the most is my current partner and one of the top flyers on Long Island, Dominick Caruso.  We formed a great partnership because of our mutual interest in the sport and the pigeons themselves.  Dominick is not only my partner but a great friend.  Dominick has a lifetime of knowledge about both the sport and the birds, he is a true competitor and it is an honor to be partners in the sport.

2.  Do you think your position is a good one as far as combine races are concerned? how big is the combine? club?

In the Suffolk Nassau Combine I feel that I'm in a good location, especially when we have south in the wind on race day.  Our Combine has about 120 members and the Lindenhurst Club has about 50 members.

3.  Do you have an original family of pigeons?

My family of birds are basically Huysken Van Riels from Joe Politi, Vander Espt from the late Pat Murphy and Swollens from Jim Aquaviva.  My latest additions are Janssens, Ludo's and Hofkens from Scott Dale, (D&M Loft).

4.  What type of birds do you now fly? big, medium, small, strain.

My birds are mostly medium size and fit nicely in your hands.  I feel a medium size bird is easier to get into condition than a large bird.

5.  Can you give us a little history on your Champion bird? Champion Loft?

The 2000 young bird season was by far the best season I ever had.  Our combine flew 9 races and we won Special, Club and overall average speed.  Our best race was from the 300-mile station and it started snowing about a half-hour before the birds arrived.  We got real lucky because our birds came one after another, winning 1st, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th position in the club, 249 birds entered. What I'm most proud of is the results obtained in the Futurity races.  Our most outstanding results was in the 300 mile East Meadow Futurity Race.  There was rain on and off along the race course and at 6:58 PM and in the dark, 3 birds hit the landing board.  It turned out that these were the only day birds in the race.  This will probably be the most memorable occasion I will ever have racing pigeons.

The following Saturday we were 1st and 2nd place in the Suffolk Nassau Futurity.  In the Lindenhurst band race we were 3rd and 6th place.  In the NSBR we were 8th place and had 8 birds in the money.  In the last Futurity Race, the I.T.F. we got 3 birds on the drop and wound up 4th, 5th and 6th place.  The birds that accomplished these results were an assortment from the flyers listed in question 3.

6.  Do you race imports?

No, I don't race imports and presently don't own imports, although I do have grandchildren off imports in the breeding and flying loft.

7.  How big is your old bird team? How big is your young bird team?

I keep a rather large old bird team, approximately 60 birds.  Our combine has a 25 bird-shipping limit, so I try to keep twice the limit.  The reason for such a large amount is that I ship 25 birds to each race and if a race is a hard one I have a fresh team ready to go the following week.  My young bird team consist of approximately 90 to 100 birds.  We ship the 5 Futurity races on Long Island so I feel we need a large young bird team.

8.  Do you use a system for young birds?  

Over the years that I've been racing pigeons, I probably tried just about every system to some degree.  This past young bird season, I flew the birds on the light system.  Basically the youngsters are weaned at 24 days old and put on 20 hours of light.  The lights go on at sunrise and go off  20 hours later.  You have to keep adjusting the timer as sunrise gets earlier, but the 20 hours of light always starts at sunrise.  I continue this until June 21st, the longest day of the year.  then the birds are on normal daylight hours for the remainder of the season.

9.  Do you cut flights, pull tail feathers, do you have your birds finished with the body molt when races start?

I don't cut or pull flights but I do pull the tail feathers according to the John Sampson tape.  The birds complete their body molt before the races start on this system.

10.  Do you fly to the perch? Do you fly widowhood or natural?

My old bird team is flown on the natural system.  The old birds raise one young bird before the races start and for the remainder of the season they are flown to eggs only.  My young birds are also flown mated, to the nest on eggs.  

11.  Describe your loft. Is there airflow in the loft, fans?

My loft is an old one, built in 1978.  It is 20 feet long and 7 feet wide, with 4X4 Aviary across the front.  Old and young bird racing is done out of this loft.  I have a heating element in the floor, which I use on damp, rainy days.  Mark does the breeding at his home and there are two lofts there that house about 30 pairs of breeders.  One is 12X7, and the other is 8X7 with a large aviary on it.  

12.  Describe how you feed?

Our breeders are fed Mariman Ultra Breeding Mix, we use hoppers and  feeders full of feed.  We also put small cups in each nest box when the babies are about 2 weeks old.  It doesn't take long before the babies start picking at the feed in these cups.  We also use a lot of whole peanuts, we go through at least two 50-pound bags of peanuts during the breeding season.  Peanuts are expensive but well worth the expense.  The race birds, old and young, are fed on a curve.  Light mix, the beginning of the week and a heavier mix at the end of the week.

13.  How do you train your birds?  Single toss, in a flock or on a training truck?

We train our old and young birds ourselves, out to 50 miles.  After that, the birds go on Sally's Back Training Truck.  We like to give our birds a 70 to 80 mile truck toss on Wednesday or Thursday, the rest of the week the birds are tossed 20 to 25 miles, 5 to 10 at a time.  

14.  Do you loft fly your birds on a regular basis?

I like to loft fly my birds for two reasons, the first it saves me a lot of aggravation driving in traffic to give them exercise.  The second reason is to see what kind of condition the birds are in.  I've had a few flyers comment on how good my birds loft fly.  When my birds are in good condition, they spread out and race each other at tree top heights.  When I see them acting that way, I feel real confident that I will have good results on race day.  

15.  Is there any kind of health program that you follow regularly?

Yes, we follow the Joe Rotondo Health Program.  We use more up to date medications, but we treat our breeders, old birds and young birds according to his program.  Joe Rotondo On Racing Pigeons is one book that all pigeon flyers should have in their library.  This book came out a few years after I 
started racing and this book had it all.  I feel back then, Joe Rotondo was way ahead of his time.  He passed away in 1980, a big loss to the pigeon sport.

16.  How often do you race your champion bird, how about the rest of the team?

I ship my birds to races when I feel they are in good condition only.  I go by the previous week's race and how long and how hard the race was.  If a bird flew 6-7 hours on a 300-mile race, I will ship it back the following week, however if the race took longer than that the birds would get a week off.  As I said earlier, I keep a large team so there are always other birds that can be shipped to the following weeks race.

17.  Do you believe in bird entry limits, clocking limits?

Our combine has a 25-bird entry limit, which I think is fair to all flyers.  No matter how many clubs you belong to in the Suffolk Nassau Combine, the maximum amount of birds you can ship is 25 birds.  I don't believe in clocking limits.

18.  Compose a list of awards you have received, club, combine and national awards.

Over the years I have won numerous races. One of my most proudest accomplishments is winning the East Meadow Futurity Race for the 6th time.  1991 was also a very good year for me, winning overall average speed in the Suffolk Nassau Combine in the old bird race series as well as the young bird race series.  I also came in 3rd runner up, Grand All American Champion, for the young and old bird series Racing Pigeon Bulletin Award.  The clubs and combine that I fly in have been giving out a pigeon clock (timer) for the winner of overall average speed.  I'm proud to say that this years average speed wins has brought my total of clocks won to 16.  
 
19.  If you had the opportunity to change something in the pigeon game, what would it be?

Well, the opportunity has come to me and all the Suffolk Nassau Combine members in this pigeon game and that something is Electronic Clocking.  Thanks to the effort of our combine leaders, Rich Smith and Eric Hall, the Benzing Atis Clock will be used starting this old bird season.  

20.  If you have a list of good books or videos, please recommend some.

I already mentioned the Joe Rotund On Racing Pigeon book.  Another excellent book that is more up to date on health issues is "A Veterinary Approach to Pigeon Health" by Dr. David Marx, D.V.M.  Some of the video tapes that I enjoy watching, and have been a great help to me, are Light System by John Samson, Light System by Rick Mardis, Old Bird Racing by Mike Ganus and The Darkening System also by Mike Ganus.