Merlin

Wonderful results,well done looks very professional and really top class birds.

My answers to original post as follows If meeting facilities are not available to all club members,one objection will surely render this meeting void. Use of community facilities by club makes this agreement somewhat dodgy by apparent bias against a member of community(11 year old) without good cause If these two avenues were unsuccessful you then proceed with Lottery Grant/s issue Again any decent person involved in staying stum and allowing a situation like this to develop especially at the top,should feel ashamed,nothing but nothing to my eyes would justify refusing an 11 year old the right and facilities to enjoy his birds.

It appears Karl has already got them mated,round of youngsters proof of that,type to type is what I would be doing,handle them often,you wont be long in matching them,and very often your best racers are to be found in these first crosses,with the vigor being introduced with opposing bloodlines,I would recommend handling your birds at every chance,this and some peanuts will give them no fear of you.

Your ability and skills are a credit to you,these can never be taught only learned,it appears you have done these very well Karl all the best for new season.

My own out look regarding E.T.S. is this system is of no benefit to our birds welfare in any way,with so much misinformation,sickness,losses,Birds of Prey etc, with none of these appearing to be addressed in any way,no one would baulk at giving less able bodied fanciers whatever means required to make the game more enjoyable,this would never have been even an issue im sure,any competitive fancier still competing within five years will almost certainly be using E.T.S. regarding if he wants to or not, will fanciers have left game by then,more expense on an ongoing basis,how foolproof will it be,remembering you have chips in bank cards also,look at scams here,down the road its an amount of hassle,as a fancier my misgivings are the bird its health or exploits are no better off than now,if half the time or energy thats been spent re E.T.S was spent trying to sort out in my beleif more urgent issues affecting our birds welfare I believe we would be steering in the right direction,personally I would live without this system,unless I start to get shaded by others using it. So if we want it or no,eventually we will all have it.If you wish to stay competitive and be fair to your birds abilities.

Its a very generous gesture,please put my name down.Thank You

Very impressive birds they are a credit to your ability,wish you all the best with them.

Coal dust is an excellent mineral for pigeons,it was used by many of the older fanciers,aware of its benifits, but sadly its not an item in use to day,as for birds visiting the beach I tend to think its for the salt content found on the beach grit which they are after, too much salt lis taboo for pigeons

Think Bruno should return to P B where a large percentage of people on here would like to hear from him again.

Is there any chance Chg Pied that someone was working this Sky Pirate on that day,as its definitely appears to be out of character for a wild bird Fanciers in this area were wiped out by Percy when flying their kits of rollers, A pair of Eagle Owls took up residency in area,none or very little problems since from Percy for the last eighteen months,I am flying rollers again for this period and have not had any trouble,long may it continue

Agree with you Slugmonkey this system is definitely the best for producing more than a fair share of winners,good racing winners are mostly found in first crosses due to the hybrid vigor, if bred from close bred individual parents its found that first crosses are your best racers,the old maxim applies in this instance close to produce breeders with hopefully an abundance of winning genes contained therein,and with the hybrid vigor introduced with the crossing of the two different bloodlines.

Regardless of all the hyped up strain names, and there are new fashionable ones each and every year, there are only two types of pigeons, GOOD ONES AND BAD ONES! Pedigrees are only as good as the person that is writing them! My sentiments also.

There is no set way,a fanciers vanity leads him to assume his is the only way,Ive been to lofts that have been uncleaned for years,with the resultant droppings forming deep litter,and housing as healthy and winning birds as you might want ,also been to state of the art loft costing a fortune,cleaned on a daily basis,but with a good degree of different ailments on an ongoing basis,health of birds is the yardstick by what system is adequate,not forgetting a healthy birds dry droppings is one of the most natural and efficient pro bios a fancier can use,whatever suits oneself,as long as birds are contented and healthy with the system,what fanciers are lacking in is some serious doses of common sense.

If all birds are running together,a natural selection process will occur with the most dominant cock mating to the most forward hen and so on. No problem re these, with mating its a sexual attraction not colour Abut 4 out of ten

Have seen similar before in hen at laying time,problem being overweight when laying,egg hits nerve causes temporary loss of leg movement,should be okay after 12 to 24 hours,with no further trouble,weight should be kept off all birds,hence reason for barley in diet.

Their is a max of 100% fitness,you only sustain this for a period of time,consequently training and racing young bird hard in the year of their birth is detrimental to their future as old birds,they are not machines,when you train them hard and race them likewise as youngsters,for the majority of these you wont have them as old birds,whats left are burned out after the yearling stage,their is always an exception no doubt,but for the majority its au revoir time,I beliive as youngsters their training and racing should be an education and selective process for future racing as old birds.

Excellent they look a picture of health,what are they like when working.

Mention of Natural Flying equates to Cock/Driving,/Hen being Driven,/Both Sitting Eggs/Both Rearing Young,/ Hen in Egg/Hen laid Egg/considering time factor involved in these pursuits for NATURAL birds when races are being held Widowhood equates to a bird with his domestic work over/fed the diet of an athlete with regular excercise work,now consider its availability regarding time fixture of approx ten races,all things considered for land races, Widowers have a distinct advantage,Channel and distance races,carefully managed Hens are a must.Whatever system is used enjoyment is paramount,the harder you work at it the luckier you get.

Good post Roland,fanciers should listen the old maxim should always apply when dealing with our pigeons,everything in moderation,except their skin which should always be pink/ish and likewise with their throats.

Put me down for four (4) please. All the best.

Im interested for a £5, its only a bit of sport

Single rearing for me is a definite no no, in most instsances I keep in line with what Nature intended,a single youngster invites splayed legs,even with pot eggs present,sometimes neglect by parents intent on nesting again,chill factor if weather is cold,the overfeeding is a negative rather than a bonus,re what science says regarding infants,also a pair of birds when fed a decent mixture should have no problem without any visible effort in rearing both young,if they were to show stress or undue hardship,dirty wattles,undue water intake,with many other signs,well at that stage I wont make any long term plans for their future,normally indifferent feeders are your earliest fallers.

Phone Number for Kevin Barry as above,does anyone have a contact No for Eddie Wright (Fountain Head Lofts)

You should be able to get a liquid Calcium supplement from Chemists

I am entirely in agreement,we all have to live and abide by rules in all walks of life,why should this site be any different.