Merlin

Dont think Vic will worry too much,he has a Scousers sense of humour, and in most instances extremly practical with his advice and very thorough insight into the sport and the way its progressing/regressing.

Have always held beliefs that Barley is one of the essential grains a fancier can feed his birds,at various percentages all year round,possibily maligned because of its relative cost in comparsion to other grains,with a school of thought amongst many,if its cheap, its not good enough for birds,this is a common trait among many aspects of our sport.

So much for freedom of choice,with one system being stacked very blatantly against the other,for what appears to be only vested interests.

Young Bird Auction in Mt Sion Center Waterford City on Sun 20th April at 2oc for Mr & Mrs Alun Maul of approx 50 youngsters,lines of Ad Scahrlakkens,Willem De Bruin,Bertie Camphuis,Ari Van Beeke,C & G Coopman,Wal Zoonjten,Peter Van De Mewe,Comb,Coltin,&Ganus, Comb Vebree, J.d.Portvleit, Borgmann Bros, G & S Verkerk,and his own "Champion Jack" family of Janssens,birds on view with detailed pedigrees on pens from i oc if you are looking for winning lines,you should be there.

With the content of good clean barely at Protein 11.3%,Carbo 69.25%,Water, 14.0%,Fat,2.6%and most important I think Fibre, at 14.4% its on par with Good Corn, but particular benifical for its high fibre content,sure you are correct Rose re Tipplers,it wouldnt do any harm to a 500 milers if fed correctly

Thank you Rose as regards above site,found it fascinating reading as regards Tipplers,something I vaugely knew about.

My own system is based on feeding barley at approx 10% the whole year round, with this increased to 75% AFTER the moult,till two weeks before breeding,my way ,I am sure there are many others

In relation to what Roland has posted above,in most clubs,and even in feds, in any given race , with fabciers winning out of turn in these advantagous loft positions,now with the posibility of multiple birds being clocked within seconds,especially at club level these fanciers will become evem more dominant result wise,in doing so they will decimate their clubs,in essence what is basically the most uneven mis matched game/sport,is now having the odds stacked even highger by those who need it less,what other game/sport allows seasoned profesionals almost to compete against raw and in most instances naive opposition,with our only thoughts for them,keep on getting hammered,you will get there,at the expense of how many others.in one of my clubs,three flyers has got overfly on me by approx three miles,yet these flyers with a predominant wind are five miles less on estimated line of flight,wind direction will mostly dictate race result on any given day.

Suggest you feed mix of wheat, dari, barley,watch and make sure its not same birds that are dropping first,if so remove until they have got out of habit

Likewise at this end Tammy,has been good for past eight days,but long range forecast is giving strong easterlies winds for week end,lets hope it doesnt happen.

Pellets should only be fed a supplement,never intended to replace corn,they are easialy more digetsable,saving on energy which is required to digest corns/legumes,and can be very benifical if fed correctly especially to youngsters,but definitely never intended to replace or substitute for corns,

Agree with Billy as regards above,regarding its claims,all of these and more are present with common sense good management.

My own supplement boost is Pinhead Oatmeal,with a 25 kg bag sufficient for all of breeding season,dont think there is anything finer for youngsters, and later fed mixed with Cayenne Powder and a spoonful of salt fed sparingly to birds three times a week,effect on feathering is very obvious,also good for blood,and circulation,all in the booklet Eyes and Herbs by L.T.Corby

If you wish to be competitive in all young bird races Darkness youngsters are a must especially in the more later races,which in all probability are the most prestigous in many instances,probably the best of both sytems is as described by swilcox above,with young hens maturing physically faster,body moult absent,good wing,and capable of being well motivated,this is definitely the rmethods that I would choose,with slower maturing cocks mentally/physically kept at home for these events

75% Maple peas,with 25% Versa Lagge Young Bird mix,when they are starting to fly a bit,reverse it for rest of season 75% Young Bird and 25% mapales and Barley,probably not the best racing diet,but feel sure its the best for producing a good deal of yearlings,all things considered,my opinion only

Good on you Lefty 26,hope it all works out well for as regards finished product,once its dry with ample fresh air,thats all the birds requirements catered for,look forward to seeing it finished. On reflection is a loft ever finished I for one am always it appears making some kind of adjustments,both inside and out. ?

Well done again Slugmonkey,another good result,good birds good management obviously,speedy or steady vels,still banging them in,Well done.

Would imagine she will be okay if she is not too old,try some barley say at 10% of their regular feed,make sure to keep an eye on her healthwise.

Its only a matter of time till E,T,S, will be used by all "competitive"members no competitive fancier will give another the edge in any aspect, shape, or form, this is down to human nature,I would never opt for it,but will not give any competitor "time" to beat me,as yet we dont use it,but it only takes one to start its introduction,in the bigger picture its not helping this game of ours in any way,much more urgent issues that needs attention.

Delighted to hear this Dovescot,he surely has the heart of a giant,and again well done to both of you for looking out for him.

Flying Naural as I do with my youngsters,I do find more often than not I get better performances from these later youngsters,as I breed late anyway with my main batch of youngsters only weaned this week end,possibily to do with parents having a good degree of natural daylight,again my opinion.

Screen appears ok, slight line on right hand side,much better than it was before on my screen.

Congratulations to both of you,and best of luck for next one.

Agreement with Ch Pied on this one,keep playing about with them,my old mentor a fantastic pigeon man,"You trick them or they will trick you"make them appear to enjoy it.

Looks good,wondering now do I need glasses.