leighton1984

many pigeon men fly there birds to open loft but they have Contratex Deflective Netting to stop the wind and rain coming in. just had a new aviary made for my young bird section but not had any time to finish it of with the snow lol we had the aviary made so the birds can get more sun we are going to put clear sheets on the top keep the rain out

pictures from Holland & Belgium

pics

i have used peanuts but i do like to put them in a blender so when i feed them to the birds they will all have some. its about using the right amount at the right time i do not thing you can over feed racing pigeons that are working to there maximum as they will burn up there fuel so you need to charge there battery's back up after every training flight.

when i see the ring and the pigeon is very still and watches every thing i do in the loft i will pool him. happened last year was 12 fed from the channel but all the cash went was not happy lol.

its the feathers round the neck and breast it will stand out dave allen allways talked about it

the gland is by the rump just above the the tail this some time can get blocked and needs help to open. the gland is like a grease nipple. the ring shows up when the pigeon is in top health and top form shows a ring round round the neck and breast. they will be some skin in the water but you can see it better on top off the droppings the call it dust like little specks of white. the white on top of bath is the bloom off the birds flights. Piet De Weerd all ways looked for wet pigeons

I think many of you are missing some thing. when a pigeon baths it cleans of the old bloom and skin then the pigeon starts to use its beak to press the the oil out of its gland then spread the oil all over its fathers. If you look at the birds later they have a shine some times they have oil marks on there flights this is a good sign that the bird is very happy as it spend lots of time preening it is very relaxing for the pigeon to preen. Iodine is a must as this is a important constituent of the thyroid gland hormone. I have seen many birds in my time and many winners when the birds are right they shine but this is not from any bottle but top health and top management look for the ring round the neck but when the birds are right every thing shows up. spend your time leaning about how racing pigeons live and work and you will understand how to work them right. breed many kill many keep only the very best.

massage the oil gland and see how nice the feathers look after a bath do this twice a year as they can get blocked.

any one had any Mosaic birds in the vandenabeele from m&d evens

i do not have them in my loft but have seen them used only in the summer as the cold is very good in winter but not in summer for the birds. i do think they can help when it is very cold at the start of the season and to keep the same temp from day to night its all down to your loft how much cold air comes in and how quick it cools down at night. if i was to use one type it be the tube heaters as i think they work the best for a pigeon loft but i have looked into the atx heaters but they do cost a lot but if cash is no problem i have the atx heater any day.

if used right they a very good only to stop temp drop in the night or day but they are not what you call hot. very good to get the down out of the birds early on in the season

Danish Tumblers are a pair of right lookers lol. some good pictures.

lol

puresoontjen i was not point the gun at you was talking in general

I Have started a tread that i think is of use to any new starters that come on to this forum and i like members to help to with there input but most talk the talk but never post any thing proactive up am not pointing at any one with this post. cheers

very good posts and put a smile on my face.

please tell more then as i like to know what you like.

if they are not pink and clean are they going to breed the very best young birds as some say don't look till April.?

the thing that happens every week birds that are not right to race get sent and they get lost. the fancier has not got the skills to see if the birds are right so he loses all his birds and ends with pigeons.

you can tell many things by the colour of the skin. when i look at birds at Blackpool or any sale you can see how good the bloke's management is and his lofts. do you want to pay big money for a bird that is not even healthy. every year i look at frank taskers birds in his stall every year and his birds are all ways pink and clean and have warm feet.

what can you see when you look at the feet of a bird? colour clean hot

so you want so see scales my self i want to see clean skin like clean film

what about the colour of the feet

how pink is the skin of your birds