jimmy white

i think the bath for w,hood cocks friday am ,,,,,makes them settle in the loft all day without getting stressed

i would just go along with the conventional ones ,,id be more worried about the birds

i think it depends on the distance you want to try for,, i,e for distances up to 300 miles i would pair up end of jan, let them rear either one yb or two , after they have sat 8 days [no longer , as they will cast flights] then put them on w,hood [keep the hens as far away as poss] this would roughly bring you till the end of march, at this stage i would fly them every morning and every evening at exactly the same time , after a while they should be flying up to an hour [if untrained at this time]personally i would rather see them doing this than risk training them in cold weather , which can finish them for the year, i believe the racing is far to early and ruins many a yearling , i would much rather train a few odds and ends ,just for the first few races , then finish these for the year ,,,,then , if you can manage to get some decent days , just a few tosses should suffice for the races starting in may for your w,hood cocks , this way they will last the season and be better off for it, in the future [ive scored with 2 year olds in june at 500 miles with this system ] but im sure you will learn by all the info on" basics" on this system ,,looking through the back pages, as they say there are many ways to skin a cat ,,,,,,,,choose your preferred system and stick to it , without any chopping and changing , and you will win i certainly hope so anyway,,best of luck

usually the next day

first of all congrats in having a great season, but in saying that, most fanciers are just coming up to distance races from now on . distance meaning 5 to 600 miles+ i,e heading "what makes a distance bird " i would say that it takes a "special " pigeon to race and win any prize in these sort of distances ,usually birds that have distance bred into them [but not always so], then comes the the management , pigeons must be set up for these races [still having plenty fuel in the tank] a mature pigeon just having cast its first flight in June , and flown to the owners preference [knowing his or her pigeons] these special type of pigeon are very difficult to come by, as most newer or keener young fliers may not posses the patience in to hold on to younger pigeons until they are fully mature [this, sometimes, is the hard bit ,especially nowadays for some reason ] but the points you have made ,above , certainly help,,,and one thing is sure they are very, very gallant pigeons , ive witnessed hardened racing pigeon fanciers actually weep [ive done it myself] seeing a pigeon drop on a wee back garden loft after flying these distances i allways remember my father saying,,",the old head for the hard road" this saying has stuck with me , for over 60 years ,,,,,,best of luck matey

slightly injured

mid lothian bird paddymack , someone will put phone no, up or ill put it up later

yes

does anyone think that ,, jealousy, heresay, gossip,, is ruining the pigeon game and loosing fanciers ,,,,,, just a yes or no please

don't know if the c d works ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,but the Eurasian eagle owl does ,,,,it kills any pirds of prey of an evening ,whilst their roosting in the same habitat ,,,,,,,,,,,,if an eagle owl is born in the wild in uk ,it is a brittish bird and therefore ,it MUST?? have the same protection of any other bird of prey, by law

will do jas ,,,thanks

i would go along with this post, really good stock birds are hard to come by, sometimes you can hit it off buying proven winning racers , but that's by no means certain , i think the best way is [as above] is to buy at a clearance sale, birds that have already bred winners , and if possible the actual pair, it would work out cheaper this way , even allthough you have to pay a fair price , even one pair of proven,really good stock birds,are ,,gold

this is the cheapest way micko ;D ;D ;D as the virkon, s, will last you a long time ;D ;D ;D,,,,,,,,,in this climate ;D ;Dall the best

well done indeed ship guy ,, keep feeding the bird rice, amung :)the beans , any grain at all will do , even dried broth mix uncooked off course, it must have clean water [unsalted ] i think you have a wee pal there hell probably go when he things hes fit enough and ready,,,,,,,,,remember to clean the poop deck :) ,,,,good luck

my advice newboy is get to know one of your local best fanciers, form a bond , then listen ,look and learn learn about pigeons from a master craftsman at the game [NOT in a pub] learn the best habits to get into, and if your keen enough, theil stick with you,,, this forum and its members ,will answer all questions regarding pigeons,,,but just one thing to remember ,,,,,,,,theres more downs than ups in pigeon racing but the ups are the greatest thrills you could ever imagine ,,,,,,,,best of luck , enjoy your racing

might be a bit chancy , that , if an old cock manages in the box it would scalp them , i would tend to just put half bricks along the floor at the back of the loft ,so the yb ,could jump on ,,,,and off if need be,,,,,,,,,,,,but another section is best , but why not leave them where they are let nature take its course

yes,,ideal, and agree with ronnie,

many years ago, lost as a yb in a 62 mile race , came back the next april, black as the ace of spades [could barely make out it had white flights ]clean, in a week , took to a box ,jumped right in to the racing ,,,,one of the best birds i had .

best way, twice a day if poss,during racing [takes a few mins ] birds get well used to you, spray virkon s ,,,all over on good dry days

hi philb , im in loanhead and would be pleased to help you all i can ,,,if you pm me , ill pick up the pigeon ,,no probs.

looking at that very interesting site , this COULD be possible , but very rare indeed ,,,,,,,,,,but i do remember,in 60 years of keeping pigeons only once did i ever see an albino [pure white with pink eyes]a freind of mine bred this albino pigeon from a pair of seemingly normal coloured racing pigeons ,as he was going to put it down ,being a kind of weakling , i took the bird at approx 10 days old ,reared it under another pair , but at 3 to 4 to 5 weeks old this bird was most certainly not going to survive ,it couldnt eat like the rest,never flew at all [i doubt if it could see very much] i hand fed it as best i could , but the bird never survived . a very strange thing genetics ,and a most interesting site,,,allways food for thought

looking at that very interesting site , this COULD be possible , but very rare indeed ,,,,,,,,,,but i do remember,in 60 years of keeping pigeons only once did i ever see an albino [pure white with pink eyes]a freind of mine bred this albino pigeon from a pair of seemingly normal coloured racing pigeons ,as he was going to put it down ,being a kind of weakling , i took the bird at approx 10 days old ,reared it under another pair , but at 3 to 4 to 5 weeks old this bird was most certainly not going to survive ,it couldnt eat like the rest,never flew at all [i doubt if it could see very much] i hand fed it as best i could , but the bird never survived . a very strange thing genetics ,and a most interesting site,,,allways food for thought

i agree entirely with you,merlin, the problem is that the eagle owl is only wild ,,,if born in the wild ,if its an escapee ,the rspb class this as" not wild" [it beats me how they can tell the difference????] but if born in the wild SHOULD come under the same protection ,of any other bird of prey [the wild bird and countryside act] the argument by the rspb is that the eagle owl is not native to britain and flies in from belge etc ???? ,[therefore doesnt come under this act] but most ornothologists disagree with this ,,,,,but the point is whether theve flown in, or escapees , if they breed and hatch youngsters in brittain , they should,and in fact do, come under this act and should be protected like any other bird of prey ,,,,,,,,,but its strange how umteen y,birds born here ,have dissapeared , the rspb dont want them here , so, as you say merlin , i wonder if we would ever here about a court case involving the rspb killing/harrasing/capturing one of these birds ,,,,,,,,,who knows?

certainly some pigeon well done indeed stu :)ive a feeling ,with those results ,,,,,,,there will be more to come

so true debbie ,so true. good luck sapper with your bird , and all the members who try and help