antwerptom03

Hey all, It'a been a great season so far for us here in upstate NY until this evening. The midday forcast was clear and sunny so we loaded them up for a 60 mile toss. Half way home a big storm blew up from lake ontario and out of 26 YB's i have 1 home this evening. The only good news is that it's the hen that i had on eggs that made it home. Her mate was lost 4 days ago on a 30 mile toss. I happened to be out checking on the BBQ grill (and my beer) when she hit the board. I instantly ran to the OB loft for the only unmated cock i have on my property and tossed him in the YB loft. They seem to be interested in each other as of 9pm this evening but time will tell. I put the shutters on the loft at sunset so they can be alone till basketing time. Should i chuck two or three OH's in the YB loft a 1/2 hour before basketing to get this YH fired up?????. I'm sure i'll get a few more home tommarow but they won't be cacing this weekend. Man i need to check the local radar before tossing!!!! Tom

Thanks Linda! I'm only gonna fly 6 this weekend. Milton PA can be tough race with heavy losses. Tom

I started off with 32. Thanks Tom

Here in upstate NY i've lost 6 since we started training. one from a wire and 5 from whatever. The poor little fellow that hit the wire made it home but he did'nt live long. Looks like we've got a head wind all the way home for this weekend (our first YB race of the year) Tom

The birds seem to be just fine. I cut them back to 10 miles this evening because of the 95 degree heat and they were home in twelve and a 1/2 minutes. I have'nt noticed a bird vomiting since that one the other night. Slugmonkey i think you hit the wet dropping thing on the head. The droppings in the morning are perfect. after they've been out working for 45 minutes to 1 hr in the heat i notice the wet droppings. I'll Chalk that one up to my inexperience Tom

Hello Marvin, I'll give it a try for the first race then pull the eggs on monday. I'd like to try it to see how it works for us Tom

Mine seem to be fond of barley and no i don't starve them Tom

Any special handling i should be aware of training my hens that are sitting eggs? I've never flown nest pigeons so it's all greek to me at this point. The YH's laid tues and wed of this week They'll be sitting 17 & 19 days on race day Aug 12'th. I have youngsters hatching in the stock loft a few days before basketing day. Tom

Hooky I give probios every other day all year. I found the two with the loose droppings this evening. They are the same two that spent the night in the sputnik as punishment for not trapping when i whistled the night before last. A nights rest may be just what they need. I sure hope this hot spell ends soon Tom

Hey All, Noticed a few loose droppings and one bird vomitting today so i'm giving them a few days rest. They've been super so far since i started training, They beat me home on tosses, excercise very well around the loft and i still have 32 that i started with. The 90 degree heat with high humidity is rough on us all! While my birds are locked down should they get straight barley? Tom

I remember reading somewhere that loft flying/training should be restricted in the last few days before basketing for a sprint race. Anyone here keep'um locked up the last few days before a sprint??? Tom

Happy Birthday

I seemed to do much better when i worried less about what system my fellow racers were using and more about making sure my birds had a happy and healthy loft to come home to Tom

Morning all, Do you folks handle you're birds differently the week leading up to a hundred mile race as apposed to a 300? I would guess the pre race feeding would be a bit different but what about loft flying and training? Thanks Tom

If i'm able to get the other two pairs on eggs i'll try adding a few extra eggs on a pair or two plus a youngster with one or more pairs Thanks!!!

Hey all, How long can one safely keep a yb on pot eggs? The reason i ask is, Our first YB race is aug 12'th, I have a young hen on an egg laid thursday... (her third clutch she's laid) i also had four pairs of breeders lay the same day. My plan is to slip pot eggs under the young hen and if i can keep her on the pot eggs till the 10th or so then slip i nice fat youngster under her from the stock loft. This youngster should be about 7 days old if i figured right. Any thoughts or advice? I have two other pairs in the YB loft driving to the nest so i may have more than one pair to play around with. The nests aren't anything fancy just dark corners under my box perches and behind teepees

My garden dusting sulphur looks one hell of alot like what they peddle as loft dressing here in the states. Not to be confused with loft white. The garden type just needs to be ground a little finer. Anyone ever used sulphur lightly on your loft floor after you scrape out? Tom

Linda, I hope you gettum home! Our club switched from west to south mid season last year and that race devastated our YB team. We had been flying an easy west course and i'd been feeding light with a fair amount of success and 0 losses. The fifth race of the year i fed as i had done the past weeks only to find out after shipping my birds were headed south for the mountains of PA in a head wind. I lost nearly 90% of my YB team. We had already won two races with those birds that were lost. I threw in the towel for the season after that race. I really felt bad for those birds that had no business flying into a head wind the way i had fed them. 372 beers later i'm over it and Our clubs back in the combine this year and i'm ready to have at it again. Good luck! Tom

I'm seriously thinking about putting a partition down the center of both lofts. I would eventually like to fly a half dozen widowhood cocks and hens but i think i should fly natural OB's for a few seasons to get the experience handling a team of natural birds before i venture into widowhood. In YB's i'd like to keep the sexes seperated Tom

cornwallis, I have 26 YB's in one and 6 pairs of OB's in the other. Thats more than i'd like!! Tom

Our band race is late in sept. Thanks for the tip!

We have two 8x10's.. one for OB's & one for YB's. This year will be our third year racing

I wish we were 20 or so days away from our 300 mile money race!!!!!

Hey all, One of my young hens just laid an egg on the floor of the yb loft. How should i handle her?? I mean, should i get her on a nest of pot eggs??? My loft is semi darkened at the moment and she's mated with a young cock.. They've claimed a dark corner for their own. Any thoughts? Tom

Hey all, if you have'nt checked out "pigeon radio com" you need to do so!!!! Please check out the Alex Beiche YB system as well as the interview with Red Rose lofts!!!!. Look in the archived interviews.. I wish i would have stumbled upon this site back in november!!!!!