Hitchcock Racing Pigeons, formerly known as Mr. & Mrs. Hitchcock & Sons, has been celebrated for its outstanding long-distance racing achievements since 1997. Located in Windsor, South East England, we quickly built a strong team of resilient long-distance pigeons, leading to early and notable successes.

The 2004 season was particularly remarkable, highlighted by a 1st place finish at the BICC National Pau (the only bird in the UK to return on the day) and a 4th place at the National Flying Club Dax. Due to increasing work commitments, we took a break from racing to ensure we could provide the necessary time and care for our birds.

In 2020, we resumed racing with a renewed focus on breeding top long-distance pigeons, aiming to compete at the highest levels both nationally and internationally in races of 500 miles and beyond.

The Stock Loft

Our stock loft, measuring 6ft x 8ft, is designed with the health and well-being of our pigeons in mind. We use standard breeding boxes, positioned about 20 inches off the ground on the back wall. The loft floor is wooden with grills approximately 5 inches above the ground, preventing the birds from accessing waste and significantly reducing the risk of disease.

Maintaining the health and condition of our pigeons is paramount, as it directly impacts the quality of the birds we produce. To ensure optimal breeding conditions, we send dropping samples and swabs from our stock pigeons to the veterinary clinic every four months. These results are meticulously recorded, providing a comprehensive medical health inventory for our stock birds.

Each October, our stock pigeons are vaccinated against Paramyxovirus to build strong immunity against this deadly virus. Additionally, we apply Onespot on the back of their necks once a year to delouse and deworm them for twelve months. Before the breeding season, we administer paratyphoid treatment in the water and treat the birds for canker at the beginning of the breeding season.

Our stock birds are fed on Bamfords Breed & Wean, ensuring they receive the best nutrition for their health and performance.

Bloodlines

Before resuming racing, we conducted extensive research into current racing results, bloodlines, and the ancestry of top modern-day racers. We selected strains that are undoubtedly among the finest long-distance racing pigeons in the world today. These include Padfield Bros, Performance Janssen bloodlines (Jan Hooyman, Van Elsacker-Jepsen, and Mysterio), and the newly introduced Golden Barcelona blood.

To assemble the exceptional team of pigeons we have today, we invested significant effort in acquiring top-quality stock pigeons. Our goal is to establish a robust stock team that we can continually breed from, ensuring the maintenance of the correct type and body build throughout the family.

Racing Loft

We accommodate up to 16 pairs of old birds, which are raced using the Widowhood system. Their diet consists of Versal Laga Superstar Plus corn mixed with 50% Beyers Koopman All in One.

Each year, we breed around 20-30 young birds for our race team, which are flown on the natural system. These young birds are kept on deep litter and are only cleaned out once after a few weeks of being weaned, and then not again until the end of the racing season. We believe this practice helps build natural immunity and keeps the loft dry.

We do not train our young birds intensively, instead using club races, which start at 80 miles, to train them. The young birds are fed the same diet as the old birds.

Feeding & Supplement’s

“THE HITCHCOCK’S RECORD THE ONLY BIRD IN THE UK ON THE DAY”

Mr & Mrs Hitchcock & Sons won this race with a pigeon called “LADY HELEN”, 1st Open BICC Pau and the only bird home on the day in Great Britain. The brilliant performance was put up by a 2 year old blue hen bred from a cock from Terry Hudson’s De Klaks (Borgman Bros) and a hen from Geoff Gilbert which is a pure Geoff Cooper. This hen bred Geoff the “NARROW COCK” which was 1st open L&SECC Pau, 10th Open NFC Pau, 2nd BICC Dax. Geoff kindly loaned us this hen and has bred some really good pigeons. One of our ambitions was to time a good pigeon on the day from pau and it has now come true.

Lady Becky
4th Open National flying club Dax 516 birds
2nd Entente Belge Internat Hens Dax 2,644 birds
23rd Entente Belge Internat Dax 17,526 birds
Bred & Raced by Mr & Mrs Hitchcock & Sons.

Lady Helen
1st National Pau
33rd Colombe Joyeus Internat Hens Pau 1,544 birds
629th Colmbe Joyeus Internat Pau 7,270 birds
Bred & Raced by Mr & Mrs Hitchcock & Sons