Merlin

A 3 B 7 C 1 D 2 E 6 F 5 G 4 Well done Alan,lovely gesture,would Ally P.M. his address for me again please.

Happy Birthday Rose,enjoy the day.

Eyes N Herbs by L.T.Corby,definitely the best of any I have read

50 rings every year,always some left over,bring in a few each season,a few go out to B/B etc

Go ahead with a moot at Blackpool by all means,bringing birds to Blackpool is a no no for many stated reasons,elect three judges from basics,have an online show,different classes 50 pence per entry,with proceeds 50/50 to Phoebe and Basics,bit of fun,supporting good causes.

Pigeons are, pigeons are pigeons,strains have nothing to do with it,they don't exist per se,the continentals take their birds usually from winning lines,when they get inside their loft unlike ourselves,they are theirs,,case in point,Staf Van Reet gets a bird from Jansenn,its now a Staf Van Reet,Jansenn Lines,its progeny are Staf Van Reets,Joe Blogs on this side gets a bird from Jansenn,and its progeny is called a Jansenn for evermore,there are two kinds of birds likewise fabciers,good and not so good.

As a very young kid,the first pigeon I ever seen up close,was in an orange box on the wall, kept there by my older brother still vividly remember the colours as it sped down across the gardens,after,"escaping" almost sixty years ago now,still involved with them,some wonderful times and even better memories,with many fanciers,lots of them sadly passed on now.

Welcome back David,

Happy Birthday Chris,have a great day.

Welcome Hogarth,hope you enjoy yourself.

Quite right Tony,very interesting!!

Whats always in short supply,some laughter,well done Roland ;D ;D ;D ;D

There are many no doubt deserving of this,but my own Nominations would be Gangster and Ally Mac in that order. and good luck to whoevers wins.

Whatever for,if you are satisfied here why go,sometimes we can be our own worst enemies.

Very good post,would like to reiterate what Albear has stated regarding Alun Maull an absolute master pigeon fancier,when racing ,and now at producing winners,but in answer to original question,buying in new birds is at best 50/50 from any source its when it turn out the buyer is pleased with them,then you go back again,or move on elsewhere, expect a non racer will offer all birds for sale,a racing fancier,which I am one, gonna keep what I think are best prospects,its human nature,and also as Amanda says a lot is down to the calibre of fancier who gets them.

I would have no objection to using E.T.S. its down to a vote,its called Democracy,if passed the choice is there to use it,or not to,I personally would if only for the fact its less stressful on the birds.

Perfectly understandable Tammy,100 birds does take up a fair amount of space,definitely some lucky fanciers around Germany,those that received these birds regarding the stockmanship of these Irish fanciers,no doubt top class birds.

Must say I found it enjoyable,and tongue in cheek wish the best of luck to "the two tossers" ;) ;) ;D ;D ;D

Get yourself a "dropper" bird that's unable to fly, use it to get them down leave him in and out loft,birds are flock creatures,something has spooked them,and it needs only one to make the first move to drop in.

Many thanks Michael for posting links.

Sparrows must produce five nests of young per year to keep their numbers static,this in itself tells how many sparrowhawks are preying on them,sparrowhawks are discouraged in my own immediate area,result an abundance of sparrows here. What lies they weave to deceive.

The Thone Birds are top class albeit ,expensive possibly the reason they haven't attained flavour of the month status,the early Rolands were decent birds,the latter leave a lot to be desired,just my opinion.

Well done Michael,a lot of them here!!!!

No doubt a fantastic pigeon,responsible for creating a dynasty of top class birds,with the input of Mr Scarlakkens,indeed a bird that will be spoken about for many years to come no doubt,lest we assume these type birds are exclusive to the Continental flyers,there is a bird much closer to home whose achievements I would like to list, with permission from its breeder and owner if its forthcoming.

Training Gun Dogs,there is never a kill involved,they are trained (to set,bird) on command to (flush birds) and to (retrieve birds) in which the dog being soft mouthed will,retrieve without breaking or bruising,these birds in most instances are for human consumption,they are never ever trained to kill or maim,this would be contrary to proper gun dog training,all species.