If you own and race pigeons, you must be aware that pigeons should not only appear good on the outside. They must feel healthy on the inside as well. It is a common fact on pigeons that they are good in hiding their true conditions. It is very hard to distinguish healthy pigeons from the sickly ones just by merely looking at them. Not all of the vitamins, minerals and trace elements are present in grains; therefore, these should be given to the pigeons in some other form. Some pigeon owners give spinach and shell grits, but these are still not enough to meet the nutritional requirements of a racing pigeon. They now add vitamins to water once or twice a week for added energy. Because of the closeness of the generation, any trait from any of the pigeons can be easily passed to the resulting offspring both good and bad traits. Add to this, any bad trait found on one of the partner pigeons is likely present on the other too because of their close generations. So while in-breeding can magnify the good traits of your pigeons, the risk is that it can also equally magnify their weaknesses. Two Conventional Methods of Time Keeping The traditional way of time keeping for pigeon racing makes use of the rubber rings that include the unique serial numbers and the especially designed pigeon racing clock. The ring is worn on the bird's leg. The serial number is hence recorded, then, the clock is set before it is sealed. Systematic training of these winged creatures should come next and finally; Treat these birds as an 'athlete' by taking into account training strategies. These may be tough to follow, but experience will tell you that it works. Remember, whatever you do for these racing pigeons they notice. Just try releasing them, and signal them to come back and for sure these birds will come back- just another reason why it pays to extend the best training and dedication for the birds. However, you have to be more meticulous when you want to raise a pigeon for racing. In this case, how a pigeon's loft is designed plays a big role in making sure that they will be raised to their full potential. Here is a breakdown of loft designing fundamentals that will help your pigeon become potential champions in pigeon racing.