jimmy white

i like to get them out , especialy on those blue sky frosty mornings , loft doors windows every thing open, birds seem to love it , in my opinion this keeps there respiratory tracts in fine fettle, keeps the fat off the hens etc , but woud keep them in in fog, snowing or bucketing all day , but believe a shower of rain would do them no harm

how true is this roland,,, very true indeed :)

just wondered the forums veiws on letting birds out everyday in the winter or keeping them in [work and time permitting off course]

thats cause their all looking and learning ;D ;D ;D

thats right westy, just keep letting a pair or two out , then change to another couple of pair , theyll soon get used to their boxes , one thing to watch is maybe a yearling cock trying to claim 2 boxes , then fighting like mad, they can take a right hammering and can knock them right off , same as your pairs locked in the boxes , put a half brick in the corner so that the hen can jump on , as sometimes youll get a vicious cock try and tear lumps out them, but just by keeping your eye on them as you are , should hopefully be ok ,,,best of luck :)

any chance of me getting one wiley, but with just the pigeon basics on it as i wont manage blackpool [but love to here there stories when they come back ;D ;D] ill pay for it [buy one get one free ;D ;D ;D] nah they look good mate :)

there are quite simply no secrets in racing pigeons ,, this forum will give you all the advice you need ,,and more ,, best of luck to you mate,, and happy flying

yes i think thats the main thing but their average speed ,,,depending on the wind, is roughly 40 mph

guess weve been lucky up here , bright blue sky, cold and birds flying well ,,,could have picked the droppings up with my fingers ;D ;D [ but i didnt ]

i think thats a fair warning ,, especialy for elderly folk who are not quite so nimble as the younger ones ,,and off course they would be the ones they would prey on ,,,sound advice i would say

:) FANTASTIC,,,great going richard ,,,,keep em comming ;D ;D ;D

i can agree with this to a certain extent, as i did the same , i rung a yb in a barn ,took it home when ready and won the first yb race :)i think these early short races are won with well trained fit healthy pigeons, where most other birds were not ready,, but by good birds i mean birds that win in top class races , regular,and regularly breed good y birds, as always with pigeons there are exeption to the rule.

hope your keping better now westy ;D ;D ;D ;)

good pigeons , good pigeon husbandry, top class health,,,and patience :)

i actually think its funny how nicknames tag to pigeons, ,, i,e if the "bottom cheq" paired with" wee heid"" limpy " would be left to pair with" short ar,,"or "dippy" then "darkie", would be paired to" toeless"or even" straggles", then that would leave" piedo"to pair with " young co co" or the "big hen" [good job shes a hen ; ;D D] etc etc , dear knows how the name crops up , then sticks ;D ;D ;D

exactly my sentiments beanz ;D and while their breeding winners ,, keep looking for another pair the same ;D

i would pair distance to distance,,,sprint to sprint, but on occasions ive let the lot together , pair as they want [ love mating] it may sound daft but i beleive that some pigeons like some pigeons ,, just like humans you might fancy her and i might fancy her ;D ;D ;D the thing is i fancy them all nowadays ,but cant do nowt about it ;D ;D ;D,,,,,still can allways dream ;D,,,,,but seriously if you can strike on a really good breeding pair[ie, breeding winners] their worth there weight in gold

oooh dificult quick answer to that one, first one would be differant for widowhood or natural ,,,sprint or distance if widowhood for sprint to middle, would pair up as early as poss , separate after ybs were 14 days old let the hens feed ybs one day cocks the other, with galley pots in nest boxes ybs should be eating for themselves very quick, then pair back up again approx 4 weeks b4 first race, they should all lay within 8 days, when the cocks would be trained ,weather permitting ,i would let them sit a week, then all cocks on w,hood flying morning and evening,eventually for about 45 mins each time . on the wed b4 first race turn bowls over show hens, 45 min toss [instead of fly]back to hens ,,separate, after that only time they see there hens frid and sat when they come home,these birds should hold their fittness for at least 10 weeks, for the big races a midweek toss without seeing hens, a lot more to it than this ,,but this just the basics second question i would say yes third question, again differant for w,hood natural,,,,natural pair 10 weeks b4 big event 3 ,4, races then train hard fourth question, no fifth question feeding would depend on the races in question i,e, distance 6th question , glucose , electrolytes, or even milk if hard race in water,,,,,vits on a wed,,pigeon tea on sunday with sugar. [this all for races over 150 miles]b4 this just pigeon tea on sunday,vits on wed a little garlic in the water mon, tues, thurs. very rough answers and only my opinoin [i would play it as the season went] :)

i feed a high protein feed with a little maize , galley pots of peanuts in their boxes, couple of tablespoons of baby milk powder in their water , and fresh grit, minerals, pickstones ,every day, never tried pellets, but can see the sense in using them as described.

brilliant sapper ;D ;D,,,is that an east or a west wind ;D ;D ;D

poor things bound to be frezing pp ;D ;D ;D

brilliant badges wiley , liked the fifers one , but if he wore the daffodil hat that he wore at the white pigeon release, for the cancer releif ,, i think he would be regognised quite easy ;D ;D ;D anyway brilliant job mate

yes alf baker was a very good pigeon fancier indeed, new pigeons inside out, i dont think it was alf that raced workman , but he did breed it, louella did buy this pigeon as i purchased a direct son [,b pd as well] this son of workman produced many winners for me inc good nat positions,,,,,he did have a few silvers and reckoned that they were the better breeders,,, but a great pigeon man

keep them tame and confident and let them know your voice and reward them with a tit bit

;D ;D ;D happy birthday rose ,,,have one on me ;D ;D ;D have a great time ;D