Novice

Happy Birthday John!

I visited a local store today which sells horse supplements. One interesting product on the shelf was a mix of rapeseed oil, hemp oil and flaxseed oil.

I have about a dozen in the nest to select 3 for a single loft race. To be truthful I doubt if I will bother with early breeding again as the weather in January makes it a chore and the youngsters just cannot be at their best breathing fog and damp air.

I read the article many years ago and remember it well. In addition to Rabbies talent as a pigeon fancier Jack Curtis also wrote very well.

Over the past few days I have been seeing peregrines in my area. In fact I have a couple of hens missing and one just home with secondary feathers missing. I don't normally suffer attacks till after the first week in February. I wonder if they have returned to their nest sites early because of the adverse weather knowing that they will be safer on home territory. A fellow fancier who lives about 6 miles from me also reports problems just now. Remedial action is now imminent.

Great result well done.

Very sad. R.I.P.

That's really sad to lose such a young life. R.I.P. Theo.

There is no saving to the fancier in Scotland. We are charged a preset price irrespective of quality or purchase price.

Absolutely terrible. Sorry to read this!

I think you will find that the loft can be very important but it's probably more about having a loft which works for you in your location. I think you will find that the Coopers (for example) would not achieve what they have done with a ordinary loft.

No I wouldn't bother. I never like to introduce anything at the start of the season because you never know what they will bring with them. Besides I can't be bothered with prisoners so it looks like a choice latebred later in 2016.

I think they (initially George) started to fly well after the introduction of the Busschaerts about 1979. Following that and after a National win the distance birds were sold. At that time when I asked George why he was selling good distance pigeons he said he wanted pigeons which he could time every week not just on the odd occasion. Thereafter specialisation started concentrating on what they now do to perfection.

Even when they won a national with Janefield Andy?

Yes I have the book as well and I have also discussed these subjects with Brian on a number of occasions. He is very knowledgable and the opportunity to discuss pigeons with him on a personal basis was an honour. He even retained the literature for pigeons he bought in the 60s. Brian was fully up to speed on throat theory before it became fashionable. Unfortunately my DVD no longer plays it was a copy made by Brian. Yes Derek had many performances. My impression is that he and Brian bought the stock birds between them. Derek also owned some pigeons from Howard Hainsworth including Lolita and Oyster which were later the foundation of the Brian Denny pigeons.

Good morning I think I have time for a second coffee before daylight.

Cinnamon powder is available at reasonable cost from a retailer called "Grapetree" for anyone interested in using these products from the Glasgow area they have a store at "Loch Lomond Shores". They stock several dries herbs/spices, well they did last time I visited several months ago.

Yes it was I have seen it on eBay at one point in time advertised by someone from Southampton. I felt that may have been Tony Cowan as he was involved in making the video originally. The copy I had came from Brian and I believe Sammy on here also had one. The video also featured Derek Smith Twice an UNC winner.

It is entirely possible to do this. My source of information is Brian May.

I believe pearl to be recessive so they can breed yellow eyes as well with pearl appearing somewhere down the line. However, I could be wrong

Just to keep the record straight the compound we are discussing is diclofenac. This is the active ingredient in Voltarol available without prescription for about £7.00 from any good Chemists.

Even though I haven't read the article fully ( I need several readings to understand it fully) it seems very interesting. I note that oral dosage of Ivomectin is recommended for worm treatment while most fanciers seem to think that 2 drops on the back of the neck does the job. Now there's another myth exploded which agrees with which I have been taught. First reading seems to indicate that an acidic medium increases the adsorption of tetracycline. I never knew that!

The weather encourages us to feel down at this time of year. Wait till you are old enough to have a flu jag- it's a god send. Never mind the hours of daylight will soon be increasing. Hope you are well soon.

I have an occasional youngster going off colour but I have always had that since I started with pigeons many years ago. I can remember in my youth even disinfecting gutters on my parents home as I was so fanatical about it. About 20 years ago I went through a phase whereby I had youngsters developing the "spongey crop" you spoke about in an earlier thread. At that time I did loads of homework and discarded the information which I felt was irrevelant. I did learn that , although we cannot kill a virus we can block it if sufficient antibodies are present. Now I still have an occasional youngster going off. I never quarantine them but I feed lightly for a couple of days by the end of which they either improve or they don't. The light feed would be rapeseed as that's about the smallest grain I can find with good nutritional value. The only time I really had a problem was about 3 years ago when my entire club developed a problem which we later blamed on one individual contaminating the communal training trailer. This caused me to cancel my entry to the Clermont National race with old birds that year. This may be a long winded way of saying it but YBS has not been a big problem for me up till now and yes at this point in time I am really bored.

I have just finished reading an article by Professor van Grembergen who claims to have won Belgian Young bird Nationals a few years ago against darkies with birds with perfect swallow tails. He claims this can be an advantage in certain circumstances. He also states that a long tail adds stability but also that it increases the amount of effort needed for flight. Just another aside.