Novice

Very sad indeed. I note that Dr. Jim Swire (who I admire greatly) still maintains that the only convicted guy was a scapegoat and that he (Jim Swire) attempted to speak with the real bomber in Sweden recently. He is one man working tirelessly to unearth the truth.

I Owen, I tend to say what I have to say as concisely as possible. Therefore I conclude from your text that you cannot disprove the tail grand dam theory. It that were me and I had no proof either way I would neither demean or praise the theory. For what it's worth I had never given the theory a thought till this thread was raised but I would not have passed judgement on the theory or it's author.

Can you either prove or disprove the theory?

R.I.P. Dennis

Eamon is in Kilbirnie-Ayrshire.

I don't know Ian you may be correct as it was a long time ago.

Now you are going back to the time when I was a boy. We are speaking about 1970 here. I think it was in a genetics book I borrowed or in a book written by JW Langstone. The discussion was with John Mc Call from Dalry and I think was in relation to a hen I had from Bob Jamieson of Lochwhinnoch. The Jamieson left many children and grandchildren which won out of turn.

If we are judging on the basis of only one nest then I would suggest that a completely incorrect conclusion could be drawn as you would really need to monitor the colour of the offspring over a few nests. I have always been taught that the most important pigeon in any pedigree (breeding for performance) is the tail grand dam. That is the dam's mother.

The main difference between metal and wooden crates is that metal is a good conductor of heat while wood is a poor conductor. If the temperature generated by the birds in the crates is greater than the temperature of the air surrounding them then metal crates will do a better job of equalising the temperatures by conducting the heat away from the birds while wood will not. Personally I think the material of construction is well chosen.

Sunshine and showers with close to zero temperatures in Ayrshire.

In my opinion there are no lazy pigeons. A pigeon which does not exercise at this time of year while separated suggests all is not well within.

I don't know if that's true but the SHU issues a list of airports every year and most have an 8 miles exclusion zone. From some race points the organisers are supposed to notify the ATC in advance that the intend to race from that area and the convoyer should notify them of liberation 30 minutes in advance. This seems a bit extreme considering the fact that about 600 Geese and 100 Whooper Swans are grazing on a field a few hundred yards from Glasgow Airport.

I'll make a donation.

I am absolutely gutted for you. If you have a change of heart I can't help out with a new dookit but there are plenty of birds here to help you restart.

The original post is quoted above. The poster simply asked who could read eyes and immediately the anti eye brigade jump in with 2 feet. Let the poster do his own homework and decide for himself about this or any other theory. That is his prerogative without having the views of others forced upon him. Some of the posts are well off topic and typical of the negativity displayed by pigeon fanciers.

I don't have his number but I can message him on FB and tell him you are trying to contact him. Does he have your number?

I note that Cameron has chaired a meeting regarding the impending storm before it even happens. I believe this is because it will hit his constituency of Witney. They never even bother to mention the fact that there has been a storm in Scotland. I have always kept an open mind about independence but this "leader" and some of his actions such as interest free loans for Muslims is pushing my vote in a certain direction.

From what I can determine the main reason for poor returns from Inland Nationals is Duplication. Many club and Federation fanciers send birds to these races which may be capable of taking Club and Federation positions when released from a similar distance in a convoy of pigeons which are all going in the same direction. However, when they are released in the company of birds whose home lofts are spread all over the country they need to think their way home. Many of these Duplicated birds are not capable of this task. I appreciate that the SNFC depend on these races to swell the bank account, however, if these races were dropped from averages this would allow the Duplication exercise to continue while the true distance fancier could take a step back and target the races in which he was really interested.

Very few people would choose to part with a "proven stock cock". As posted previously clearance sales has to be the way to go to find something of the calibre you seek.

I believe the fancier in question will be Kevin Burton. They are located in Ayr I believe.

If it's important to you phone or mail the appropriate union and ask who the rings were registered to. Personally I wouldn't bother it's the quality of the pigeon which is important.

I could be wrong but my recollection is that the 3 year proposal was tabled after the race route had been decided by a fancier who stood to enjoy a geographical advantage from this route. That in my opinion is simply not on. Sorry for that comment if it detracts from the purpose of this thread.

There is absolutely no doubt that such a venture would benefit Ayrshire Federation. Not only would the birds be on a true route but they would be transported in quality accommodation. Everyone would benefit from strength in numbers and it is likely that federation overheads would be reduced. This could be the lifeline which we need. Perhaps the challenge may even attract some fanciers back to South Road racing from their chosen North route. Obviously there will be obstacles to be overcome but I see no killer concerns. As far as young bird racing is concerned perhaps a race from about 200 miles before a national race may give our birds the distance and experience which the guys who race with the UNC already enjoy.

Did Fountainhead stud not offer a similar guarantee years ago?

Is that not temperature related?