17 Racing Pigeon Books That Are Written For Beginners
If you’re an absolute beginner who is just dipping your feet into the world of pigeon racing, having the right knowledge is key to ensuring you become a successful handler.
You might have the best quality flock of pigeons or loft, but if you do not have the knowledge on how to navigate the world of this exhilarating avian sport, you may get easily lost along the way.
Luckily, many books have been written on the topic of racing pigeons focused on beginners. These books act as your source of knowledge, guidance, and even inspiration for this bird sport.
In this article, we’re going to unveil the top 17 best racing pigeon books written for beginners. These gems will help you easily navigate the world of pigeon racing by providing you with tons of valuable information about pigeon racing.
From the loft management basics to taking care of your flock, pigeon health concerns, proper feeding, breeding, best training techniques, race-winning strategies, record keeping, etc., these books will take you from a beginner to an ace in no time!
17 Racing Pigeon Books That Are Written For Beginners
Here’s our selection of the top pigeon racing books tailor-made to introduce an absolute beginner to this captivating avian sport:
1. Pigeon Racing Beginners Guide by Dacian Busecan
This is one of the best books for every absolute beginner who wants to learn everything there’s to know about pigeon racing from a fancier with over 30 years of experience in the racing pigeon sport!
The experienced racing pigeon fancier and author explain everything you need to know about racing pigeons in this comprehensive 131-page book.
You’ll learn about the loft design, compartments inside the loft, common diseases and treatments, automatic feeding for your birds, and training tips and secrets.
You will also learn the different racing systems you need to know, molting, acquiring pigeons, various racing pigeons associations across the planet, and more.
2. Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World’s Most Revered and Reviled Bird by Andrew D. Blechman
This is another well-written and well-researched book on everything you need to know about pigeons.
The author of this book has traveled across the United States and Europe and met with pigeon fanciers and haters in a quest to find out more about the pigeons.
In his journey, he’s met trainers in their backyard giving instructions to their flocks as if they’re conditioning a team of soccer players.
He’s also met backyard geneticists toying with the pigeons’ cellular complexion as they try to create better-quality breeds for racing competitions.
Andrew has also interacted with Myke Tyson, one of the nation’s renowned lovers of pigeons and Queen Elizabeth’s royal pigeon handler.
The culmination of all his adventures is this book. It shares the remarkable story behind these birds with both beginners and enthusiasts interested in learning more about pigeons.
3. Pigeon Racing: The Complete Pigeon Racing Guide by Elliott Lang
Elliott Lang, the author of this book, is an expert when it comes to racing pigeons. He shares a wealth of information in this guide on how to win with your homing/racing pigeons with minimum effort and maximum speed.
This book is based on the author’s years of experience with racing pigeons and is packed with useful expert tips. You’ll learn aspects of pigeon racing from this straightforward copy, including housing, handling, health, breeding, training, and racing.
Other important info covered in this book includes finding good breeds, pigeon control, training young and old birds, record keeping, and record keeping templates.
4. Rotondo on Racing Pigeons by Joseph Rotondo
This is another excellent book for beginners interested in learning more about racing pigeons.
The classic 320-page book will introduce you to various aspects of racing pigeons including establishing a loft, how to select your breeding stock, and health and maintenance of your flock.
It also covers additional helpful topics such as genetics, conditioning, molting, eyesight, and more.
5. Pigeon Racing: Pigeon Racing Beginners Guide by Maris Colello
Here’s another great book containing everything a beginner needs to know about caring for pigeons and racing.
The book has up to 131 pages filled with valuable information on a wide variety of reciting pigeon topics.
These include loft design, common diseases and treatments, feeding, training, racing systems, molting, acquiring pigeons, and tips on keeping records.
As a new fancier, you can use this book as a quick reference or an easy read from front to back.
6. Pigeon Racing: Handling, Health, Keeping, Housing, Breeding, Racing, And Training by Lolly Brown
This book will also act as your guide into the world of pigeon racing. It will offer you a broad-based introduction to various aspects of these unique pigeons, including animal husbandry, breeding, health, and competition for absolute beginners.
It poses the simple question “Is pigeon racing the sport for you?” and then proceeds to provide you with all the necessary information to help you arrive at the answer.
If your answer is yes, then this book will furnish you with lots of valuable info on loft design and outing, common pigeon health issues, and basic training of your flock for racing.
It goes further to explore the race formats and administration and even explains to you the intricacies of timing. Not to forget, it has an extensive glossary that serves as an introduction for you, the novice, to the pigeon racing jargon.
7. Pigeon Racing Beginners Guide: Guide On Loft Design, Common Health Problems, And Basic Training by Kiyoko Retz
This book is also tailor-made for absolute beginners in the world of pigeon racing. It offers you a broad-based introduction to racing pigeons husbandry, breeding, health, training basics, and competition for the novel enthusiast.
It also explores various different race formats and administration and explains the timing intricacies. At the end lies an extensive glossary to introduce you to pigeon racing vernacular.
The book sets forth the question of whether the racing pigeon hobby is for you and then takes you through all the necessary information so that you can arrive at the correct answer.
8. The Homing Pigeon: Training, Breeding and Flying These Winged Messengers by George E. Howard
‘The Homing Pigeon’ is an essential guide for every new fancier or those simply interested in the homing pigeons specifically or in general the historic pigeon breeding aspect.
This book discusses important topics such as building a home for your pigeons, breeding and racing your flock for speed, feeding, pigeon diseases, strength and endurance, uses of homers, early historical flights, and more.
9. Racing Pigeons: A Manual by Thayer Keith Miller
This racing pigeon manual book is written by an author with 50+ years of experience with racing pigeons.
This author is knowledgeable about breeding and raising racing pigeons, importing/exporting them, and even winning races in international competitions.
This book will explain to you how pigeon racing can be both an enjoyable and affordable hobby.
It will provide you with helpful info on how to get started, instructions on how to establish your loft, feeding, picking pigeons, breeding and training programs, and tips on pigeon racing at a modest budget.
Keep in mind that this book also looks at some celebrities who are homing pigeons fanciers.
Overall, this book will answer just about any question you have about racing pigeons as a beginner.
10. Pigeon Man: Notes, Tips and Observations from a Lifetime of Pigeon Rearing and Racing by Jim Emerton
For 40 years, Jim Emerton bred racing pigeons and his birds participated in racing where they returned to their loft after covering up to 879 miles.
Now in retirement, the author has written this book to share his experiences, observations, and expertise with anyone interested in this hobby.
This book has a comprehensive collection of his thoughts about pigeon racing, including short pieces that were originally made for leading fanciers’ magazines, and full-length articles and interviews.
He shares easy-to-implement tips on improving your long-distance racing pigeon performance while referring to his real-life experience.
This makes the book more enjoyable to read for any racing pigeon enthusiast interested in learning the bird’s racing sport.
11. The Racing Pigeon and Pigeon Racing for All by Old Hand
If you have a practical interest in pigeon racing, you’ll find this vintage book helpful. The text contains key details on keeping and breeding racing pigeons.
The author shares information on racing pigeons such as selecting, housing, nutrition, feeding common diseases, training, and other aspects of these pigeons a beginner needs to know.
The book is profusely illustrated and the fact that it is packed with tons of helpful info makes it ideal for those who are serious about getting started keeping racing pigeons.
12. Secrets Of Long-Distance Pigeon Racing by Squills
This book is also a true classic, originally published in the early 1930s. The author is a recognized expert in all aspects of pigeon breeding and racing.
He wrote this book to answer many questions he received about getting the racers fit as well as training and preparing them for long-distance racing.
The information you’ll find in this book includes the importance of strain in racing pigeons, young birds, yearlings, 3rd season birds, old birds, and late birds.
He also shares info on feeding and exercise for these unique birds.
13. The Ultimate Guide To Racing Pigeon: What Everybody Ought To Know About Racing Pigeons by Dexter Armstrong
The title says it all; this book is all about racing pigeons and what everybody needs to know about them.
With this book, you’ll learn valuable info about these pigeons and the tips and strategies to help you establish your own loft.
The first chapter takes you through the history of these pigeons and all the important physiological and anatomical characteristics of this bird. You’ll then learn about pigeon courtship and flock behavior.
Other information you’ll learn in this guide includes how to come up with a good loft for your birds, training your pigeons for homing ability, and what to feed your flock for a balanced diet
Overall, if you’ve always dreamt of one day owning, raising, breeding, or racing pigeons, this book is a must-have for you.
14. The Book of the Racing Pigeon – Fact and Theory from Many Sources Including the Author’s Own Experience by Carl Naether
Though this book is an early work on pigeon racing, it still holds helpful information that’s practical and pertinent to modern-day pigeon racing.
You’ll begin by learning the history of racing pigeons, including their involvement in World Wars I and II, and how the racing pigeon looks like, including its behavior, mold, and plumage.
Other helpful information contained in this book includes how to care for your racing homers, racing loft, breeding methods, training your birds (young and old), unusual flying methods, and so much more.
15. Racing Pigeons: A Practical Guide to the Sport Book by Colin Osman
This book comes in a compact and readable form. It provides you with a comprehensive, up-to-date introduction to the art and science of the sport of racing pigeons.
It’s aimed at both absolute beginners and experienced racing pigeon owners.
Note that since the first edition of this book was published, there have been many changes, which include the recent significant developments in disease prevention and nitration.
The new edition covers all these details extensively, alongside the comparison of different training methods for pigeons.
It also offers insights on how to condition the pigeons to win the race (this includes the latest runabout system).
16. Racing Pigeons Natural Remedies by Dacian Busecan
Most racing pigeon owners have resorted to using natural remedies as an alternative medicine for pigeons.
And this book presents you with up to 27 natural products that you can use to treat and prevent many of the diseases your birds may encounter throughout their lives.
Each of the recommended products features a full-color image, a complete description of its composition, benefits, dosage, and form of use.
Arm yourself with this book if you wish to keep your racing pigeons in perfect health using 100% natural products.
17. Racing Pigeon Winning Nutrition Feeding Secrets: Racing Pigeon Nutrition by Racing Pigeon Enthusiast
The last book on this list is by no means the least one! This book goes into full detail about the feeding secrets of your racing pigeon flock.
As you may already know, the right food is the fuel that keeps your flock in top health and enables them to fly at lightning speed.
You may have the fastest and most expensive racing pigeon breeds in the world. But if you don’t feed them properly, they’ll not hit their peak physical performance.
Poor nutrition will also lead to poor health, reduced resistance to diseases, compromise on growth, decreased reproductive performance, and even prolonged recovery from illness or exertion.
Luckily, this book helps you avoid all this by feeding your racers the right diet to keep them in good health and fuel them to give them a head start in their races.
With this book, you can rest assured that you will have an edge over your competition.
Conclusion
That’s our compilation of the top 17 best books for beginners interested in the racing pigeons hobby. All these books contain a wealth of information on everything you need to know about the racing pigeons. You’ll learn how to build a quality loft, take care of your flock, common pigeon diseases, what to feed your racers to keep them healthy and increase their chances of winning, and training tips and secrets to give your birds an edge over the competition.
Remember that all these books are written by authors who have decades of experience breeding, raising, and training racing pigeons. Some of the authors even their birds participated in the bird racing sport and emerged winners. Therefore, you can rest assured you are getting helpful info from experienced pigeon owners and handlers. Which of these books would you like to read first?
