wilsric

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8248056.stm Just seen this in the bbc. Maybe we should go into competition with BT!!

I've never understood the difference between double widowhood and roundabout!

By God, as somebody not racing yet, just in the process of setting up a small loft (converting a shed on the cheap), and looking forward to the good nature of his club sorting him out with birds, these numbers are pretty bloody scary. We don't have much (if any) in terms of spare money and if this is what I'll have to pay out I won't be in the sport for long.

Thanks Tractorboy. For 12 pigeons, would I be better with the 2 or 5 litre?

Hi there, I'm starting to price the final things I need to set up my first loft. It's a ridiculously obvious question, but how much do birds drink? I'll have about a dozen, and have no idea what size of drinker I need to buy. Also, several sites offer poultry drinkers as being suitable for pigeons. I know pigeons drink by sucking unlike chickens, is this type of drinker OK? Cheers

From what I gather (others will know better) if it's well ventilated it'll hold about 30 birds

I'll be in a similar situation soon. No birds yet, although some people at the local club have kindly offered to help out in that regard. I'm converting a 6x4 shed at the mo, so I'll have 12 birds max at first. I've never had anything to do with pigeons before, so I'm starting off small to 'dip my toe in' and so as not to scare the wife with an enormous lift in the back garden (that's for next year!). Interested to hear if others think such a small team can be sustained.

Only the good looking ones!

I suspected it wouldn't do, but was hoping otherwise due to the extra space. Thanks for the info.

Hi There. Is it critical to have lots of clear space around the loft? One of my potential loft sites (the one with the most space) is a clearing surrounded on all sides by trees. Would this be OK or would the lack of visibility be an issue? Cheers

Aha....

OK, looks like I'll have to revise my numbers a bit. I want to start off on a small scale in order to ensure that the pigeons are for me before I spend too much. Thanks for your help

I'm hoping to convert a 6x4 shed into a loft for homers, gather that will mean about 15 pigeons max. If I add a 6x4 aviary onto the side, how many more could I keep? Cheers

I've heard a few people here recommend false ceilings. What's wrong with the birds flying in the roofspace?

Hi There, I'm just starting out, and as my wife isn't keen on the idea of the pigeons, I was wondering if I could race competitively with white pigeons? She'd go for that easier as she thinks that they're prettier and more 'dove-like' I was going to build a starter loft (http://www.redroselofts.com/starter_loft.htm). I'm assuming I can get around 24 birds in there and leave enough room to keep them healthy. As that'll likely be the only loft I had fir a while, thought I could eventually have 5 pairs of old birds and a dozen or so youngsters. So if I was to get the white birds (which seem harder to come by) Could I win with them?