Sam Halliday of Milltown
All by the Late Millar McAllister
The very first loft report I ever wrote was on the subject of a successful Widowhood loft. Since then, I have covered many of the top cross-channel winning lofts and without exception every one of them has been racing the natural system!
However, for this report I have gone back to another Widowhood loft. I think it is fair to say that my report concerns ‘the’ most successful Widowhood loft in Ireland! It has been winning all the way up to Dinard, whether the race is fast or slow. This much winning loft is that of Sam Halliday of Milltown, Banbridge. One only has to look at his results over the past years to realise that there is something special to be found here. The name Halliday appears in race prize result lists with uncanny regularity.
Sam Halliday of Milltown pictured with one of his many excellent racers outside the loft.
So, I was keen to find out how Sam had managed to succeed where so many others, here in Northern Ireland, had failed miserably when trying to compete on Widowhood.
When I arrived at Sam’s house it was a bitterly cold afternoon so it was natural for us to resort to a warm cup of tea. This is unusual for me because, like some Widowhood cocks, when I am away from home I eat very little. However, I was glad of the hot tea on this occasion. Afterwards, we went out into the garden to view the lofts and birds.
The main loft is 34ft x 5ft, painted blue and white with three sections. One section is for the ‘Widowhood’ Cocks and another for Y/Birds. On the rear wall of the Widowhood section there are 18 nest boxes and all of them have one side painted a different colour from the rest. On race days birds are trapped through a sliding window, but after the 4th bird has entered the loft, bob wires are put in the window to stop the trapped birds leaving the loft again. At the corner of the garden are 2 stock aviaries and another compartment for the Widowhood hens. Incidentally, the cocks have been raced quite successfully with the hens housed in the next compartment in the main loft! This compared with the normal widowhood practice of keeping the hens out of sight and out of hearing.
Blue Cheq Hen, this is the Dam of the Halliday Loft.
Nowadays, there are no half measures! The hens are kept well away! The ‘Widowers’ start the season by rearing one youngster each. Then, when they have been sitting 10/14 days on their 2nd round of eggs, their hens are taken away. Training now commences and consists of 3 to 4 10 to 14 mile tosses per week for the cocks and once per week for the hens. The cocks are also exercised twice per day but these flights only last about 10 minutes each. During the day, the loft is darkened off to keep the widowers quiet and to make sure they rest. All the 18 ‘Widowhood’ cocks fly the whole inland programme! I was anxious to know how they faired on a real dirty day, or on a couple of days of holdovers. It would appear that this has had little effect on them. In 1973 we had a hold over of a couple of days at Dungarven (1). The result showed Sam Halliday 1st, 3rd and 9th Club (366 birds). All these birds went back the following week, and took 1st, 4th and 10th Club 281 birds. Point made!
The cocks only see their hens for a few moments before hampering for a race. Sam only puts about three hens in at a time, to prevent treading taking place. When the cocks return from the race they once again see their hens for a few moments but once again no treading permitted. However, cocks and hens are allowed together on a Sunday for 1 hour to 1 & ½ hours. During this time the bath is available and most birds take one. Sam found that without the hens being present with them the cocks refused to bath! Kinky beasts?
Blue Cheq W/F Cock a winner of 1st & 2nd Penzance and twice 3rd Dinard.
The feeding of the ‘Widowers’ is all important so Sam pays particular attention to the problem. Feeding consists of more cereals, approximately 1 to 1 & ½ ounces is fed to each bird. This used to be done in the nest box individually but now they are fed twice daily by hand together.
Young birds are also fed twice daily by hand. Their training begins about 10 days before the 1st race when they are taken about 10 miles per day every day. When racing starts, they again receive 3 to 4 10 mile tosses per week.
They are raced more natural than the O/Birds! They are allowed to mate, to sit eggs and fed Y/Birds. Not all of them of course, but the few pairs that show signs of doing well. A young cock may even be semi-widowhood! In fact, anything that will make them fly faster is tried. Sam’s Y/Bird Derby winner in 1969 was sent sitting on young ones. He very nearly did the double in 1970 when he won the Club from the same race point and finished up 49th Open. After losing 14 minutes, he still won the Club by over 20 minutes!
Sam won 7 x 1st’s in 1973 alone! 3rd, 6th 7th and 12th Open NIPA (up to 20,000 birds competing) 5th and 18th Section, 27th and 67th Open Skibbereen Y/Bird Derby and in two Skibbereens in 1973 £300 was won plus top winner in the large Bann Valley 2Bird Club (over 100 members). Sam has been top prize winner in the Milltown HPS ever since he started flying the Widowhood system in 1969.His birds were doing pretty well on the Natural system but, once on the Widowhood, they really went to town.
Blue Cock a winner of 2 x 1st’s in 1973 for Sam Halliday
I handled some of the beautiful stock birds housed here and I must say I was very impressed with the Eye-Sign and the type. The main strain is Slabbuck x Cattrysse but although they have won pure, Sam finds that they perform exceptionally well when crossed. Sam acquired the Slabbuck and Cattrysse from his good friend, Robert McCracken of Banbridge who was responsible for encouraging Sam to re-enter the pigeon game in 1963. For a cross, Sam has used a Dordin Cock from the very good loft of Robert Strain and Son of Ballyclare. This ‘cross’ was an immediate success and resulted in a pair of yearlings winning 3 x 1st’s in 1973, one bird also recording 6th and 7th Open NIPA 19,000 birds on each occasion. Another bird used for a ‘cross’ is a nice Mealy Cock from Stanley Calvert of Gilford, and Gits birds from Sam’s very close friend, George McKinstry of Newtownards. What an interesting conversation must take place when these two gentlemen get together!
I would like to mention a couple of the top racers in the loft. No.1 is a Blue cock which, apart from flying France 5 Times, Dinard 4 Times and Nantes Once, including Dinard and Nantes in the one week, is also a great breeder. His top winning positions include 1st Club, 7th Open NIPA Haverford and 7th Section and 11th Open Dinard.
Another bird worthy of a mention is a real beauty, a Cheq Pied Cock. His wins include 1st Club Penzance, 2nd Club Penzance and twice 3rd Club Dinard. He again is producing the goods including a 1st Penzance winner.
Blue Cock a winner of 11th Open Dinard and has flew France a total of 5 times now a top breeder within the Halliday loft.
The Blue Yearling cock winner of 2 x 1st’s in 1973 is also a beautiful bird and it is hard to understand why these birds don’t clean up at shows. Sam wins his share in the pen but I thought his birds were of a very high standard and should do better than they have already done. Their must be a very high standard of racing pigeons in the Banbridge area! However, it is in racing that Sam Halliday is really interested and on one can dispute that he wins his share in that particular field.
This is a great team of hens here, apparently going to waste, because Sam races the Widowhood system but I feel that in future there may be a few changes. One just cannot ignore hens of this quality, no matter how well the cocks are flying.
I feel that if the team were split in half, one half raced natural, that these hens might hold their own with the cocks. In any case, I am sure that in the next couple of seasons Sam will be trying very hard to better his position from Nantes (19th Open in 1968) and this was with a hen!