Hobby on the Wing : Camarillo fancier tells of his excitement in training and rearing his pedigreed birds like thoroughbreds.

Before retiring from the federal civil service 10 years ago, electronics engineer Richard Smaby’s big concern was to keep Navy missiles airborne. But now the 61-year-old Camarillo resident is more interested in smaller flying objects; racing pigeons, to be precise.

“We call this the poor man’s horse racing,” said Smaby. “The pigeons are trained and reared like thoroughbreds.”

It may be cheaper than preparing for the Kentucky Derby, but serious “fliers” such as Smaby, who also buy and breed these birds, can pay as much as $3,000 for a pedigreed racing pigeon from Dr. Fabry’s loft in Belgium, capital country of the sport.

Smaby’s interest in the sport was piqued five years ago during a conversation with an aficionado at the local feed store. Since then he has won many racing prizes. And he has traveled twice to Europe to buy birds and to meet the masters of the sport.

“Here we have Monday night football,” said Smaby. “Over in Belgium and Holland pigeon racing is like their national sport. For every household in the United States about 1 in 10,000 have racing pigeons. But there it’s every 1 in 100. In a five-to-10-mile radius around Antwerp, there are about 150,000 pigeon fliers.” He added that it is not unusual to see 10,000 to 15,000 birds flying during the racing season.

Recently on his bucolic acre in Camarillo, Smaby engaged in an evening feeding ritual at the whimsical 20-by-10-foot “Pigeon Palace” that he built for his gray sueded-silk charges.

The sinking sun cast the loft in damp shade while bathing the avocado trees in a surreal amber glow. And against the insistent cawing of crows and the throaty, liquid cooing of pigeons, Smaby discussed his hobby.

“I clean my loft every one or two days. There is a disease called Pigeon Lung Disease that is a significant risk if you don’t wear a mask,” he said, holding up a rubber mask commonly used in spray-painting. “It’s caused by a protein off the pigeons’s feathers. You inhale it and it causes a disease like emphysema.”

Breeding, racing and caring for these critters is a full-time job. But Smaby has mastered it, as the awards in his trophy room attest. He won the High Point Loft award from the Ventura Pigeon Club in 1987-89. And he is a founding member of the Camarillo Pigeon Racing Club created in July of this year.

Smaby said he starts to breed young birds in January. He trains them between March and July by releasing the birds at increased distances from home until they return from about 150 miles. Then they are ready for their first race. He keeps them on a specially balanced diet to give them energy and to keep them sleek. “These are little athletes. So they have to be fed a certain way.”

Young birds race in September through October. And birds over a year old race between March and June, said Smaby.

“Every bird here has been at least 500 miles. They’re my veterans.” He sends the pigeons long distances on a truck or in specially designed mailing crates. “They’re getting to know me quite well at the post office,” he said with a chuckle.

Before a race, a small-diameter, wide rubber band bearing a number on the outside and another on the inside is attached to the leg of each pigeon. “To prevent cheating, no one knows what number is on the inside except the race secretary,” Smaby explained.

When a bird “comes in,” he goes into a trap. And the rubber band is quickly removed and dropped into a timer clock that records to the exact second the bird’s arrival. The clock’s compartment is sealed and only the race officials can open it.

Smaby said studies are being conducted at Cornell University to determine why the racing pigeon returns home more quickly than the homing pigeons.

“The difference between homing and racing pigeons is a homing pigeon will take two days to return,” he said. “But the birds I’m looking for can fly 600 miles in a day and not stop for a drink of water.”

Smaby believes that his birds do well partly as a result of his encouragement.

“They have personalities. And when they come in, I talk to them. They know my voice and dive for the loft instead of circling.”

* FYI

For information on pigeon racing or local clubs, call 482-4955.