Rooster J. Cogburn

If yer going to Blackpool Tam ask Herman Beverdam,sure hes got a sale again this year. Big Muttleys Herman's pal He got a couple ae gid sparras from him a few years ago Or do you mean they were actually libbed in the dark?? if so av got the wrong end of the stick

Is it no Herman Beverdam that had the Night fliers?? When Rab Hamilton was at his peak he was getting a lot of doos during the hours of darkness fi the nationals,a lot of folk think think they'd follow the river into Cambus.Don't know if theres any truth in that or not

Would be good to hear from them on the matter.as i said in my very first post Tam,its the early part of the season in my opinion where the heated lofts will excel.You could well be right by saying this means they won't do as well later in the year.At least not with the same birds.

very humorous

We'll agree to disagree on this one

Its not so much this change in temp that I'm on about. Heres a scenario Its the third week in April,my feds first race is this coming weekend-where once fanciers had to scrape snow off the landing board for the pigeons returning. We have two pigeons of equal quality,fed the same rations and mixture.Excercised the same daily and sent with similar motivation. One is in a loft where the temperature remains a constant 16 degrees celsius all day,all week The other is in a loft where it may reach temperatures in the low teens during the day close to lunchtime but at night could be as low as 3 or 4 degrees. Which pigeon would you say is best prepared for my feds first race??

When its colder would your birds eat more if given the choice than when it is warm?? Many fanciers measure and weaken the mixture at the start of the week/season with no consideration as to the temperature,this is perhaps one of the reasons why they are a few minutes off the pace come race day?? In the Spring/Summer nights it is more often than not a lot colder at night than it is during the day.Not too mention the fact you could have a warm couple of days then a cold couple of days.The idea of having this constant temp in the loft is so the pigeons are not affected by this and all energy goes towards the race and their excercie. Again I don't practice this,but the very few lofts I know of within 20 or so miles from my loft who do/did are/were the most successful in the earliest part of the year but as the racing goes on the gap is not as great.As with most things in this game I am sure this is not the only reason for this success early in the year as these guys are fantastic pigeon men,but I'm sure they wouldn't go to the hassle of installing heaters and paying for their operation if they felt it was of no benefit to them

Good stuff Let me know if you manage to get a hold of it then. told you about they pellets but every little helps If you find something that keeps two legged foxes away as well gimme a shout

The birds raced to these lofts will most probably be out for an hour in the morning and an hour at night,during this spell the temperature will almost definately be diffferent to the temperature inside the loft.As it will,as you say, in the race basket etc. Going on what I take from the idea of having a constant temp in the loft,this is not a problem whatsoever.Where I think the benefit lies-is the pigeon with this constant temperature 22hours a day will take more energy from its feed that goes purely towards excercising and racing.On the other hand the pigeon whos loft temp drops dramatically at night or when its naturally cold outside will have to use more energy from its food to generate heat. Therefore the pigeons in the heated loft should have more energy come raceday than the pigeons without it,assuming they are fed on a similar type of and quantity of feeding. Like I say I don't practice this but its my opinion on it,which may be off the mark

From memory(might be wrong) Dave Allen says it should be 60 farenheit thats nearly 16 celsius 24/7 from April through to your racing ends. I don't personally have heating or indeed power to the huts but know of a couple who do/did who say a similar temp is what your after.They are the fanciers who seem to do better than most in the earliest part of the year when its coldest and the temperature drops a lot at night.

Aye yer most probably right there John Quinn

Without doubt it makes a big diffference in the earliest part of season in my opinion. You don't have to look too far to see that King Billy.As for 500 miles with the Scottish race program,you are asking your doos come into peak order when the weathers at its best and the temperature fluctuates the least are you not??So it shouldnae matter too much with that being the aim??

Obviosuly am not in Lanarkshire fed but I'll be looking on with great interest to see how yees get on down this route. Could give a few feds something to think about for 2013 if it all goes well.

May be a daft question Martin but Will the doos not be repelled by it as well ?? I know a lot of these products are designed to keep pests off gardens including wood pigeons. Like you say it must be banned for a reason,so should probably be approached with caution.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&q=Alencon&gs_upl=11048l12939l1l13337l7l7l0l0l0l0l330l1582l2-5.1l6l0&bav=on.2 Alencon

I'll echo wahat you've said earlier-lets hope for a good years racing,theres room for us all

Best of luck with the hen and hopefully Honest Boy will keep throwing winners for years to come

Got a few that have crossed the channel now including her so all going to plan she'll go to Alencon with the others You keepin Honest Boy on the road this season??Is 3708 going back to try and get the Silver award she narrowly missed out on last season??

I was trying to work out after the race which doos our 6th open hen would've been in with??she came straight out the south.

Can only try Never sent over 600miles before so its new territory

Hoping to give the longest race a try for te first time this season. After Niort being passed am brickin it a bit but I'll just no tell the doos its 60 mile further than Tours

Lets hope for a good season's racing Best of luck to all members

Think the new region proposal will take up a bit of time at the meeting. Will be interesting to see the outcome

Good stuff

There were cars out in the late 50s/early 60s that aren't in production anymore-the reason being they are not as popular as the mini.The reason the Mini is still around today is because its a reliable car and consistently good quality. There have been pigeon products that have come and gone over the years much like some of these old cars.Hormoform has survived just like the Mini as it too is reliable and consistently good quality. Because something is popular doesn't necessarily mean its good mind you and whats good to some may not be to others. I'd never really be inclined to copy another fanciers system but when you see fanciers of yesteryear in the league of the Fear Bros,Jock Reid etc. and fanciers of today in the league of John Hodgson,John Duthie,Brian Denney etc. singing the praises of a product,it'll certainly do no harm to give it a try Anyway I don't work for Harkers so its no concern of mines if you buy Hormoform