symbol_of_hope

Yeah the refilling is what I'm currently doing. Don't have an electricity supply up there so the pads aren't really an option atm. But just wanted to make sure this isn't unacceptably cold for the birds to be living in? I mean some days the drinker is frozen solid! I know they are tough but it still impresses me how well they deal with it. If it was me living in that loft I probably would have froze to death by now.

Thanks. Some of this may seem obvious but only after it's been written down I get ice on my drinkers some mornings with this weather we've been having. Is that acceptable? I don't see how I can make it any warmer in the lofts though. Should I hold breeding off for a while until it's warmer? The birds seem fine with it, but don't want to make things harder for myself on my first breeding venture.

Thanks old yellow! I did just come across this one. What are the benefits of widowhood technique for show birds? I'm still relatively new. Got a few cards in showing season but no proper experience with breeding yet. Was hoping for some advice that is show-specific as opposed to racing.

I think I paid £5 for 20 rings. Star & Garter only worth bothering if you intend to take the birds to bigger shows really.

Hey all. Hoping for a few tips on my first time pairing up my show racers. What is everyone's usual policy? Do you like to let them choose a mate themselves and hope for good matches or chuck your ideal matches in a box and see what happens? How long should I keep a desired pair isolated? Anything important I should keep in mind that might be easily overlooked? How much will it matter if I move a pair of birds to a different parting or loft after pairing...? (but keep them together) Also any quick descriptions of best loft conditions for breeding? Lighter or darker, more open or closed in...? Bearing in mind the weather we've had recently... Any advice appreciated! Russ

Well you racer guys have it easy I reckon. Race-birds are mega easy to sex on sight, really distinct to my eyes. It's the show pigeons where it gets all ambiguous. The size and shape of both wattle and head are probably best indicators for me. I know men of 50 years experience though who still find some birds hard to call so I guess there is no real trick to it.

From reading those links am I right in thinking I shouldn't be using a whole lot of maple peas?? Because I'd say at the moment they make up about 15% of my mix.

Rooooof. Where the smeg are you power-washing the gunk away to? Rainy, mucky droppings all over the place is a grim affair if you ask me.

I've got two lofts. The one has a corridor and is just as useful and practical as flycaster described. The other though is a square with L-shaped pigeon space surrounding a smaller internal square where you enter (i think i made that sound more complicated than it actually is) and I have to say that it's hard to say which I prefer. The L-shape gives more room for the birds and better flying space and the birds seem to be happier possibly but the corridor really is practical. I suppose they are both 'corridors' really. The good thing about both is that there's somewhere poo-free for corn and equipment and like sapper said, a lifesaver in this great Welsh weather. These guys saying it's just a place to fill with junk have a point, it does my nut in when clutter builds up and it's always filled with feathers. But really it's not so bad if you muster the effort to put things away properly. Which I usually don't. Lazy git.

Yeah, information and advise that focuses on showing rather than racing is hard to come by. Like with the feeding... some of the birds I don't even fly as many showmen seem also not to do, so obviously you don't want to overload a bird with food fit for flying long distances, so what adjustments should you make? It's part of the territory I guess, working it all out.

Absolutely brilliant Tony, exactly what I was looking for. Nice one guy.

Anyone able to give me a quick basic rundown of the nutrient properties of different grains commonly used in pigeon mixes? I'm a shower not a racer. At the moment I'm mixing my own maple peas, layers pellets, condition seed, tic beans and a maize/wheat poultry mix. I know you get mixes that are supposed to be better for winter and whatever so what benefit does each grain give? Is there anything I should add? It's hard to know what ratio of different grains to use too... And is feeding lettuce or other greens common practise here?

As someone relatively new to show pigeons who suddenly inherited 120 of them, I would say that how flighty they are is down to a birds own personality and how much you bother with them. I have some birds that are very jumpy and some that are lazy and shy and some that fly right up on my shoulder. If you can get them to feed from your hand it goes a long way toward building a calm equilibrium I've found. Tameness seems to travel somewhat in genetics I think. Mine showbirds seem more chilled out than the racers I've seen at local lofts, but maybe my presence had something to do with that...

Cheers guys, nice to be noticed

Hey. Russel Hill, 25 from Abertillery (wales). Lurked here a bit before joining up. Spent a lot of time with my grandfather, Don Cardwell, when I was young. Went to a few shows, fed a few squeakers and was in charge of the tumblers. You know, kid stuff. Discovered girls and alcohol, pigeons didn't really get a look in. Went to Uni, blah blah blah. I always kept an interest in pigeons and was thinking of doing a thesis in uni on it. Anyway Granch died sorta suddenly in June and left his 2 lofts with around 120 show racers and 10 tumblers behind... The loft is in a little allotment behind my house and someone had to take care of them at least in the short-run. As the likely candidate I took up the job (not reluctantly). Since then my nan and I have sold most of the birds. I've picked and kept about 25 for myself which I intend to show and still have about 15 good birds left in the other loft. The others are still up for sale but they can stay for a while yet if they have to. So I was kinda thrown in at the deep end on this and armed only with the vague basics I could remember from when I was young. I've had a lot of help from 2 local fanciers, including the excellently impartial Jim Dyer of Brynmawr. With their advice I think and am told that I've done alright. The birds are doing well, droppings are good, feathers EVERYWHERE at the moment as I'm sure everyone well knows. I've probably got a lot of questions but I'll leave those for more specific posts. Just an intro here. Here's a pic of gdad and me: if it works http://j.imagehost.org/view/0125/granchme] And coincidentally I also keep 7 chickens, 2 rabbits and 3 white dumbo rats. Great site, picked up loads of info on here. Safety.