An interview with Mr. Petrica COCOS – FRC – February 2009 - part 2
14:53, Joi, 30.07.2009
An interview with Mr. Petrica COCOS – FRC – February 2009
- part 2 -
Mr. Cocos among his racing cocks
RRP: How much time do you spend preparing your pigeons during the racing season? Do you have a tight schedule?
P. Cocos: Indeed, I have a set schedule and I`ve been sticked to it since all my life. I`m a conservative person by nature, starting with music and finishing with pigeons. I advocate for the new, but I take slow and small steps, and I`m that type of guy who likes to get the very best of me. I never plunge head first. Maybe this is another reason why I had such a long continuity in pigeonsport: the fact that I knew when to put an end, how and how long to continue. Willing to do everything at a stroke is one of the biggest mistakes one could make in pigeonsport. Those who don`t have enough time for their pigeons call into play with the second chance from the very beginning. Why do I say that? Because the time you pay to your pigeons is very important, especially when talking about short and middle-distance races, my favorite ones. In
Breeding cocks during the supper time
RRP: What do you think about two-day races?
P. Cocos: This is where the chance comes in to play. This is why I advocate only for one-day races. It`s not that I don`t play them, not that I wouldn`t like them, but I`m telling you: when a pigeon spends the night wherever it may find a shelter, anything could happen. Whereas one-day races are the ultimate races and I love them, from 800-900 km, which can be played extraordinary. They are the most appreciated races across the country and I believe overseas too.
A group of breeders extremely worthful
RRP: What`s the route you basket your pigeons for?
P. Cocos: I basket my pigeons only for
Some breeding hens that any fancier would want for himself
RRP: Do you consider there are different types of pigeons in terms of flying over the mountains and flying across a plain field?
P. Cocos: Absolutely. I believe that flying over the mountains creates a type of bird a little bit more daring and faster. And this is all. On the contrary, in my opinion, pigeons that fly across a plain field are much stronger. Try to imagine what would be the environment for a pigeon flying over the mountains: an area with much more oxygen, with temperatures not so high comparing with those across a plain field. Taking into account the long period of time a bird spends high in the sky when flying for a long-distance race, one should know that the air a pigeon is breathing does matter. The mountain air contains much more oxygen, hence the bird would make a smaller effort because its body is better oxygenated. The pigeons that fly instead across a plain field are frequently facing head dry wind during most of the middle-distance races. Think that a bird that flies 200-300 km, facing a head wind and hot weather, will return home fleshless. One should know that in
The future of the loft is in good hands
RRP: Which way do you fly long-distance races from?
P. Cocos: I have raced from both directions, depending on the possibilities I have had. The best flying route overseas is
Young and confident at the begining of a tough racing season
RRP: What can you tell us about your feeding, breeding and training system?
P. Cocos: I`m going to start with training. I`m saying that, concerning the two categories that I play (short and middle-distance), probably 30-40% from the races that I win is due to my training methods. All the fanciers should understand that we must regard the pigeon as an athleet. If we didn`t get this, then we didn`t understand anything. Therefore we should treat it as an athleet: quality food, good health condition, quiet rest and training. If we don`t know how to combine and correlate them, then it gets harder and we`re waiting for the chance to come in and play. I`m a supporter of private trainings and all my life I did nothing but such training sessions both with old and young birds. If you respect yourself as a fancier, one must have the knowledge to run these trainings. And I run them both at the beginning and during the racing season. I train my birds gradually in order to get them in peak condition whenever I want to. Because nature, which is more and more catching as you can notice, might get your birds in peak condition, or it might mess them up in no time. If you don`t rule with a heavy hand and you don`t spot at once that something is not right, if you don`t understand what could help or disturb your pigeon, then you are hopeless.
One of the stock pigeons of breeding section: cock RO-141171-00 half-brother with 2485, 2486, 2487 and full-brother with 4126, 1138 and 248
RRP: So, if you have the feeling that a pigeon is not in good condition, do you still basket it?
P. Cocos: It depends on the racing category. If I`m playing the AS category, then I`m going to basket it, but this means I`m a little bit pushy. I usually consider potential winners all of my pigeons that go to a race. Consider that I start with 30 birds at the beginning of the racing season, and I play the first 3-4 races with this number of pigeons. After that, I race with 15-20 pigeons, but all of them must be future winners. I`ve been many times messed up, when talking about the team standings, because I was competing with too many pigeons. If you compete only with 2-3 birds, then you`ll do a great job because this is what you got and this is what you play with. But, when you have many good pigeons, it will be much harder to set up the team. I`m glad that 2008 was the third year in row for me to have won the title `The Best Racer of the Season` in
A real champion: RO-4169-2004-M
RRP: What can you tell us about your feeding method?
P. Cocos: I feed my pigeons only with <Natural> widowhood mixture, adding extra corn, depending on the situation. That`s all. As for the rest, there is no secret formula to me. You got to feel the pigeon when it`s on his feed, or it doesn`t want to eat anymore. And then you have to step in consequently: to give them something lighter, or to use certain vitamins to increase its appetite. When talking about invigorators, I use only products that can be found on the market. I`m the originator of a project whose purpose is to set the basis of a pigeon testing lab in order to trace prohibited substances. Therefore we cooperate with a
A very good racer and breeder: cock RO-1138-1996 -
half-brother with 2485-2002-M
RRP: What about the system you use to recover the strength of your pigeons?
P. Cocos: This is also a very interesting topic, with lots of benefits. From where I stand, the recovery of your pigeons` strength must begin as soon as they come back from a race. Let me give you a few details: first of all, after coming back home, they are left alone to have a rest for 45 minutes or even longer - it depends on how long does it take for them to adjust their body temperature. Afterwards they are given a warm and chilling bath. I pay a special care to this bath because it`s a total relaxing bath and pigeons begin to get used to it and believe me when I say they are looking forward to take it. Then everything else is done: adding invigorators to the water, according to certain prescriptions and schedule, followed by an extremely light diet. The first two days, the pigeons are given a depurative mixture, with an increased quantity of barley, doubled by lots of tea. If you go on like this, you`ll see your pigeons looking great after 3 days. You won`t believe how fine and quick they get back in shape. Recovery means a lot for pigeons. A great a number of fanciers make the biggest mistake, due to their lack of experience, and take irritability for great condition. They see the pigeon very nervous and would say `Wow, this bird is in great condition`. Later on they basket the pigeon and have the unpleasant surprise of a bad returning or, unfortunately, of a loss. Then they ask themselves how could this have happened as long as the pigeon was in good condition. Many fanciers don`t make the difference between good condition and overstimulation.
The male RO-4118-2004, the father of the champion RO-6041-2006
The same RO-4118-2004-M