Keegan & darling , Donnycarney rpc,isrf Co.Dublin, Ireland
By jamie Kelly
Today's loft report is on one of the great partnerships in the isrf in dublin ,this partnership is made up of Paul Keegan and Luke darling, paul and Luke have known each there entire life even been child hood friends and have been racing with each other for 20 years now in Dublin. The lads race in the very competitive donnycarney rpc in dublin and section d isrf been old bird average winners in this the past few years and compete in the isrf and also fly in the infc and ihunfc. The 2020 season seen the lads have yet another fantastic season on land and channell winning no less than 11 first prizes in the donnycarney rpc and also topping section d of the isrf an impressive 6 times in 2020 ,the lads also won 1st open isrf along with many other top isrf positions on land and sea in the 2020 season .one of the real stand out few races of the season was a golden 3 races on the bounce for the lads winning 1st open isrf castletown from 10000 birds then the next race winning 2nd open isrf pembroke channell race from 2500 birds then going again the very next race and winning 2nd isrf castletown from 9000 birds that really is racing right from the top drawer there and it's not very often u will ever see a loft doin that in the isrf 3 weeks running so well done on that lads something very special that is . Another great achievement in the 2020 season was winning the isrf channell bird of the year with there superb pigeon now named kenny after there good friend kenny Perry from Dublin as kenny bred this superb bird for the lads so well done kenny also ,this great bird won 1st club 2nd open isrf pembroke then 1st club 28th open isrf pembroke again and then 1st club 6th open isrf penzance and was also 95th open isrf penzance in 2019 ,kenny also won the isrf metorios award so a real star that pigeon is and I remember them channell races and they were all different types of winds some were fast some were very hard and this cock showed up in all them so a superstar pigeon for me that cock is well done lads .but it was not just 2020 that this loft has had some brillaint days racing as over the years they have had some fantastic results ,just to mention a few stand out ones ,2006 the lads won 1st open isrf st.malo from France and then in 2017 they also won the infc skibereen national and in 2018 they also won the ihunfc from pembroke with there great hen carma this hen also won 6th open isrf pembroke and also 9th open isrf penzance so another gem she is .now a bit about the stock birds from the lads ,they keep 17 pairs of stock 2 of those pairs are feeders and 12 from the 15 breeding pairs are retired winners on the road so that explains why this loft is so good as no matter wat any1 buys u cant buy winners very often u need to find them the hard way ,the main base of the bloodlines in this loft is maurice van de Kruk pigeons from holland the lads told me they got these birds a few years ago now and they are superb pigeons and have really took the lads up a level since they got these as there results the past 5 years prove that also ,another pigeon at stock that is also very important line is appollo from sean hunt ,the lads bought appollo from Sean's sale a few years ago and paired it to there good van de kruk hen mercury and from 6 ybs bred that year 5 of them won and won isrf positions so that's some strike rate ,sean and paul agreed that apollo could go back to Sean's loft as sean wanted to cross him into his own again but sean still sends apollo back to the lads every year to get a few ybs of him with mercury and that has worked well for both lofts so a great stock pair them also ,the lads have a very good van de brande pigeon that bred them there castleton open winner in isrf couple of year ago also. Now onto the system, the lads race roundabout/widowhood system, both cocks and hens are trained hard pre season and even going down as far as some race points with them ,but once the lads think there sharp and fit then no more road training will take place as long as they exercise well at home ,its an early start at the lofts here and cocks will go out first for there hour and then the hens and this will be 5 days a week and race Saturday rest sunday ,both will only exercise once a day and that will be am as the lads like to try get the ybs out in the evening time ,and also think once a day is enough for the birds .theres a little bit of a twist with this widowhood system the lads use as neither hens or cocks will be aload into the section were the widowhood boxes are all week and must stay in the sections with just perches untill Friday before the race when the lads will then run both hens and cocks into there boxes so its a bit of kaoise system also .now a bit on the feeding ,the lads use versa laga widowhood and also van robeys energy mix and add small amount of beans to this also ,the lads use to break down and build up but not for the past few years ,as they now feed the birds the same food on a Monday as they do on a Friday and birds are fed to appetite am & pm and can eat wat they like untill they start gettin fussy then food comes away and it certainly works for the lads .the yb are raced on the darkness system and are fed similar to the old birds ,the lads never usually race a full yb programme but they have made some changes to there yb lofts this year and intend to have a go for the full yb programme this year 2021 .now a bit on the health of the birds, after the moulth the birds will be treated for the basics ,respo ,canker ,worms and then will be vaccinated for PMV,, once paired up birds wont receive any meds untill after they finish breeding and any birds or yb in nest that go back during this time will be removed as only the strong will survive here at this loft ,then once racing starts birds will be on a treatment plan and will be treated every second week rotating from respo to canker to worms ,the lads use to get the birds tested but found they often got different results from same droppings so find the programme much better during the season ,just a little of bit on supplements and the lads use belgasol on a friday before race and then would use sedechol on a Monday and would also use garlic in water 2 days a week during racing and 7 days a week during the winter months.i asked paul wat advice would he have for any novice or new starters out there and paul maintained the most important thing is routine,, pigeons like routine so routine routine routine is a golden rule to follow in Paul's eyes . So there u have a good insite into wat I would consider one of if not the best all round loft in dublin as in land channel and national racing in recent years ,well done lads a well deserved loft report and great racing and I'm sure this loft is only gonna get better ,atb and best of luck for 2021 from jamie Kelly.
