Merlin

Fair point Michael J,what might your opinion be regarding these issues ,would you not like to post it and possibily give others oppertunity to read,and maybe judge your opinion .

Well no doubt your of the school of laughter Roland,well done ;D ;D ;D

Think myself they will struggle to reach approx 5% of entry home,of course would imaigne many will be "couriered" back post haste,there is the Auction yet to come,and again more dosh to be gathered in,why doesnt the Union who granted the licence look for some answers,if this farce can be spoken of as best in the World, WOULD HATE TO SEE THE WORST

Well done to any bird that made it,they showed courage and heart,and well done to owners,but the whole scenario when judged cannot be good for the pigeon racing game,maybe for the social side of it,beers and burgers,etc but to announce the date of the race beforehand in this instance your stuck with that date for an amount ofreasons,in last couple of years due to the inclement weather we are having this is very foolish,note amount of occassions organizations have switched marking dates alone this year,this cannot be done when you have stated date,and have an amount of people,cameras,etc,waiting for arrivals at e.t.a this is a media/circus type event,and difficult to cancel or postpone for these reasons,sadly the big losers in this are the birds,incidentally its not the only one loft race to have suffered,Galway one loft race have no birds home from Chester up to one hour ago,flown under same scenario.It will be interesting to see what birdage is like for next seasons,if same scenario is still appliciable.

Well done to Joe and Delboy for their efforts,for a very deserving cause.

Imagine they will be few and far between even this morning,based on reports of birds being lofted flown out approx 8/20 miles from Lib .

Whos to say these birds are going to get in in numbers to morrow,birds being lofted 60/70 miles from lib site after hours on wing,strikes me as a disaster,again these birds looked like they were just the supporting act for to day,"commodities"nothing else,no wonder pigeon racing gets such bad press,pigeons welfare should always come first,not in this instance it appears.

On a more serious note,Cloudview has again donated six 09 youngsters to the Phobe Auction,again well done Cloudview,and good luck to whoever purchases,who knows it may me moi,this is the point I am trying to get across to those who are in the market for birds,stuff pedigrees,get the pedigree of the man,far more important.

My way being that Cocks are left in their boxs,and hens removed to adjoining section,on poles,or v perches,try to keep off floor which encourages hens,to bond,in corners etc,after excercise/training hens trap into cocks boxs,with cocks having been removed to hens section,and on it goes,race hens one week cocks the next on land,beleive always mate should be waiting after race,akin to widowhood,many variations on system,get one that suits yourself.

Having read these back posts,once again Vic you are right out of order,you are more than capable of posting something worthwhile as regards pigeon topics,which most on site enjoy,on occassions it appears you seem to have the "patency on sheer stupididty" David as for yourself,keep enjoying the birds,and posting about them,its like a breath of fresh air reading your posts concerning them.

On occassions have heard similar,and have to agree it pitifult to observe and hear, regretably its Naure,but the real crux in my opinion is overpopulation of these species,which are rampant almost everywhere now,this is the real problem,resulting in too much predation of other species,Predators dont need protection,laws should allow relevent people,in this instance, farmers,land owners,gun clubs,to regulate these species,overpopulation of any species of Predatorwill always spell trouble for others,in our case,its Perigrines and Sparrowhawks

Also in agreeement regarding Magpie,but on a one to one basis,its the Sparrowhak that is most efficient at killing song birds,with all its entire repotire geared in that direction only,where as the Mag is a scavanger,carrion eater road kills,land fill sites,with the song bird youngsters being only part of its menu,with Sparrowhaks,its all their menu.,again problem is too many magpies.

Morning Jimmy Endangered species as such are funded regarding protection of same,and often breeding programes in the wild/captivity are also in vouge to help create more of this species,all species of birds are on the protected list,but are left to their own devices,and Nature to propegate and care for themselves,and sometimes its possible under licence a cull can take place,if they are proven to be overpopulated,there would never never in a millon years be a licence ever granted,as regards an endangered species,so if and when the R.S.P.B place nest boxs/breeding platforms,and state its because these are a rare and endangered species,this is a no,no,basically what D.E.F.R.A. hopefully will say to the people,is what fanciers and many others are saying for some years now,the species are common enough,not to warrant an endangered tag.

Sadly thats true Dovescott,with the present laws,whats the lates on European Protection of Birds and web site Dovescott.

Again its a possibility,and I certainily hope so

No,its quite probable they will come off the (endangered list),which is a kick in the cobblies for the R.S.P.B so much for their mantra "a rare an endangered species" with no special concessions,same as many other species ,but will like most other species remain on protected list

I would think possbily along the same lines as yourself as for racing them Ronnie,as it might possibily be counter productive to getting birds returned to owners,and create even more issues than solving.

The simplest thing in the World is to knock something,pick holes in it,without any alternative being offered regarding the stray problem,cost of repatriation appears to be the main crux,it neednt be,already on any given week end we have transporters criss crosing the Country,and returning empty,get the Unions to set up and man Regional stray centers,with the empty transporters picking up strays for their own Regions,whenever passing ,or in proximity,right away you remove the cost of transport.,would imagine returns would be better liberated nearer home,no issues re being carried with race birds,select sites on geographical positions,possibily 10 or 12 would be sufficient to cover all,with strays being inter changed on a regular weekl basis.

Come on Spin Cycle jump in here with me, Set up an array of holding lofts/stations at various points around the Country,with someone in charge for birds to left in/an dout, Sort out birds on a regional basis,Transporter passing these lofts,or in proximity would call an dfetch birds home to its "regionional"holding loft,inter exchange on a weekly basis.

Spin cycle I am not so sure its a bad idea,needs a little tighhtining up in places,but its at least an option which especially this season has seen the stray problem almoost reach epedemic proportions,do we not have a responsibility for our pigeons,because they are a.w.o.l it doesnt end there,how long do you think its going to be before these anti people get wind of this,or councils city and urban,the public squares,sea promenades,most public and lots of private buildings are awash with stary pigeons,our fed dropped approx50% of its convoy only last week end,do you think this amount of birds,have gone into some Bermuda Triangle,look at your own Fed,this is a problem which will come and haunt us eventually,and if there is any cahnce of getting these nearer home,we should be capable of doing it,without having to depend on the goodwill of a few fanciers.

Never had a problem regarding what Chris has to say,wont always agree with it,but its honesty shines through on all occassion,no problem,unlike some whose political correctness is usually hollow and for effect,rather than substance,keep it going Chris.

This is a gigantic step,D.E.F R. A. is just telling R.S.P.B we arent gullible enough to still beleive your lies as regards them being a rare an dendangered species,now they are as common as any other species relatively speaking,and not benifiting from any special circumstances,no wonder this Raptor orgz are gobsmacked,now let Nature take its course.

;D ;D ;D Thats a classic Dovescott. ;D ;D ;D ;D

;D ;D ;D Nice one,still so eager just waiting to go toss some youngsters,you know what they say,an hour in the morning etc,!

Congratulation and well done Ozbrit and hope it continues for you.