JohnQuinn

A Knew i should've sent that Blue hen, she would have blown you's away the day if i had.

Ye don't NEED tae drink George, ye'll still enjoy yersel and seeing the Trophies being presented will spur ye on even more for next season

7pm for a 7.30pm start Watty. Presentation of Prizes will take place first then the Buffet will "Open" and the Music will start, hopefully all jiggin by 9pm.

Only 2 more Sleeps, or in my case SleepLESS nights, until our big night For those unfamiliar with where the Colville Park Golf & Country Club is, the Address is....... Merry Street, Motherwell, ML1 4UG. We are VERY pleased with the numbers who will be attending and it promises to be a great night for everyone going.

Aye Watty, ye were 100% right tae throw them out, Showing is about presentation and ye canny present a doo tae a judge that isn't perfect in all respects, including cleanliness.

It sure is Lewis, terrific record to have Also great to see my friend Davy Elliott winning the West Section Averages, the man is a living Legend imo.

That's some record, Well Done John.

They say God loves a trier Andy

Top Top pigeon fancier, i've known Wullie for years and he's always been held in highest regards by me, Well Done Wullie,

I have taken red cards at Edinburgh, Faulhouse, Whitburn and Larkhall over the years, though i've come home with nothing from the same venue's and many others too, over the same period. Around 20yrs ago i went to Larkhall and penned my birds before returning home to feed/water the rest of the birds in the lofts. At that time i had little to no experience of showing birds, but i'm always up for a challenge so took part. In particular i had 2 hens i thought were the type to take good cards in any show, however i was under no illusion that they would be better than the other experienced fanciers birds, who were regular winners on the circuit. On my return to the hall in i went and right away went to look out the hens classes to see how they got on, 1 had taken 3rd and the other 5th which i thought Very respectable considering the reputation Larkhall had at that time. As i walked round looking out my other entries i came across an Empty pen where a Bl Ck had been penned, after checking over and over again that this was indeed my birds pen i went looking for someone in charge to alert them that there was a thief in the hall because my bird was missing. Can't remember who it was that caught my eye ( might have been wee John Bell ) but they seen i was in a panic and asked what was wrong. I said that my Bl Ck was missing and someone must have stolen it so i was looking for an official to try to get things sorted out because i wasn't leaving the place without my bird. At that the guy said to me, Maybe it has Won the class and was at the all winners class now, then pointed me in the direction of the stage where there in all his glory was my Blue Ck sitting alongside the other winners. I was so green behind the ears I DIDNAE EVEN KNOW THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED AT BIG SHOWS, Red Neck doesn't even touch the embarrassment i felt in front of this other fancier. That bird however should NEVER have won a card, let alone a RED one, because his Keel was off centre and it was a handling class, the only reason i entered him was he had the most beautiful Pearl eye in his head and i figured in my ignorance that it might count for something. I'm sure there is a moral to that Lesson, but i'm not sure what it is, maybe its don't judge the Judges because they are as liable as anyone else to miss/overlook faults in a bird that catches their attention when doing their stuff.

With my latebreds I leave well alone, no tossing or forced exercise at the loft in the year of birth. Over the years i have tried all sorts with my latebreds and have came to the conclusion that the best will do what is asked of them as yearlings, regardless of how they are managed as Yb's, the others will go down early on in the program. On average i would hazard a guess that only 1 or 2/10 will do well racing when they get into the 2yr old stage. That Might look a bit skinny on the success front, but if you breed 60 for racing as Yb's, you'll be Very Lucky to get 6 or more to go on and score as 2yr olds at the distance, so the averages favour the latebreds to come on and perform well from the coast or across the channel as 2yr olds, that's how i see it anyway. Also to reduce losses off the top of the loft i leave them in with the old birds, this is Proven (to me anyway) to work as the Ob's are reluctant to fly come the end of breeding/racing so hold the latebreds near the loft, reducing the chances of them being left behind somewhere when they take to the air in amongst ranging Yb's that mix with others whilst out.

Nope we don't, never!! Even the Dickens medal winners are referred to as if they had nothing to do with RACING pigeons.

I seen that Walter, looked like a pure Black in the picture. I didn't see the part where they valued the medal but as stated it would be Priceless if it belonged to my family. I am not certain of these numbers but i think of around 36 medals awarded to "animals" 28 or 29 were won by racing pigeons, some of them homing in treacherous conditions from hundreds of miles away, saving many servicemen from a horrid death.

I don't do anything different when the birds are going through it Wiley, usually the feeding used during racing is fed to them until it runs out then i give them four seasons or similar mix for the rest of the winter. I do use conditioning mixes, usually Red Band but i use that all year round not just for the moult. So i suppose some fanciers do complicate things but to each their own, and if their doos are looking the way they like them to, then more power to them.

Thank you Ian, i am pleased to be seen to be doing my best for the buyer.

For your information, i congratulated Stuart myself, and i felt duty bound to the buyer to put a claim in to Ian, regardless of the merits of the claim.

There was more than one claim.

You were correct in your thinking Ricky.

It is VERY easy for a small convoy to be wiped out Rab, the route or line of flight makes no odds, nature makes doos and other birds batch together because of safety in numbers. No matter where we race from we will get hit by predators, but if your doos are in a large batch there is less chance of a wipe out. jmo.

Cheers Andy (Burgess)

I'll see what i can do for you Stevie, i know a gamekeeper and my missus' Da trains and works gun dogs. Should know by tomorrow

Very true Stuart he hasn't.

Thanks for your encouragement Andy. I work with people all day long from many different backgrounds who actually Fear change, it is a Very Natural emotion to the unknown. Fanciers are no different to others, so when the idea of change is put to us we agree that its for the benefit of all, however when we face imminent changes we freeze and become fearful of what May be ahead. Strange thing the Human mind, but what usually transpires out of change is something better, then we ask ourselves why we were so fearful in the first place. I do hope we can get this idea (change) up and running as i truly believe it WILL be better for everyone concerned in the long run. atvb John.

Here's a picture my wee maw was given the other day. My Da is on the left, Haky's Da on the right, with Andy Thomson, Honourary President of Lanarkshire Fed.

Been working my day job today and about to go and do my shift in the Bar now. Next weekend or the one after (or both) could be a goer for me though, will you stick a postcode up for me plz.