pjc

nothing in here yet!

train them, nothing to lose!

This also happens the other way around, I offered youngsters for sales at the end of last year and although most went one member did eventualy make 1 contact, knew they were ready and never made contact again.

in good nick if they've been rearing youngsters

it prob not a lier pigeon but always isolate strays. It maybe worth an e-mail to the RPRA as foreign rings should be registered if not give it 10days to get fit and the toss it and see if it goes.

if they are youngbirds, sit on the floor with them when you feed them, few grains at a time and they'll soon start coming to you for the food and be all over you. Some birds are naturaly quieter than other though!

does anybody know jonjon?

if they are using it then great, often they will just look to go back through the door.

even members who consider themselves experienced keep learning!

my concern with that trap is the birds won't find it! if the trap is fitted to a small flight etc when the birds have been let out they will look to re entre the same place, it doesn't look like your birds will be even going out of the same side of the shed yet you expect them to find the way back in.

yes its in BHW

a while ago there was a thread about checking keel colour/skin condition. A reply, i think from Jack Barkel explained why fanciers should not part the feathers to check the keels due to the time it takes for birds to reposition the feathers. Giving a bath on a thursday encourages the birds to preen and gives enough time to replace any lost oil unless you put anything in the water that will dry them out.

shhhhhhhhhhhh, built into me wrist watch!

interesting Pete, i've found if they've had a hard week, training etc in the run up to a race they enjoy a nice relaxing couple of hours off and a bath. After the bath they prean etc and put there feathers back in good order for the race. What do others do? Maybe a new thread? Some still handbath on a friday morning to cool the blood!

if you normally excercice morning and night before feed then just do the same if you train, i would train early on thurs, let them rest during the day and let them have there freedom and a bath later in the afternoon before evening feed.

the size of your hand minimum because thats where mine can land when they drop out of the sky!

there are a few saddled fancy breeds you could use if that was the marking you wanted but if you did decide to race them latter on you would want to breed out the cross. The white is pied and not a spacific genetic marking so you could pair 2 of the above together and get a tail marked or solid colour bird. The red in the first pic is a hen, all the cocks are red ch! With fancy breeds they will breed for colour, our OGO's have solid shield markings and the only variation with them is the number of coloured secondary flight but tail, head etc is alwsays white!

don't think so although some have backed them to the hilt in the past so may be connected.

send em back asap, along with the ring from the one that has already died!

better to keep control of them, excercise in the morning then feed in, then let them out for evening excercixe before main feed but bop's etc will have a field day if left out. Not only that if you have birds sat arround on neighbours roofs all day you will start to get complaints. There is nothing wrong with leaving them out for a few hours occasionaly while you are in the garden, give them a bath etc and limited freedom but control id key! Phil

enemy within or a member nobody wants involved with his negativity throwing his toys?

i take it theres no wing stamp?

is the one in the pic not yours?

where are you Steve and what saddles have you already got?

What you are looking for is to get some experience under the youngsters belt for the future if you are a new starter they are your race team for the next few years. Just feed normally all week inc thurs, and then half feed early friday morning and you won't go far wrong. Don't excercise friday but don't bung them up with carbs they don't need at this stage and are not going to use.