Novice

How we have turned full circle here. I can remember reading a few years ago about a French fancier who gave his birds a coffee bean each on the night of basketing. There can be nothing more natural than a bean grown in a field.

Good point but what you need to realise is that the assessment can only be as good as the knowledge of the assessor. If he really does not know his subject well he is doomed to failure. Just like a handling class we all have different traits we like or dislike. Remember the breeding characteristics (as far as I am aware) relate more to the patterns in the iris than in the sigh itself. As a neutral I could be wrong on what I have said and someone might correct me.

Does your indepth knowledge of the subject and outstanding results qualify you to make that comment?

I am neither a believer or a non believer in eye theories. However, I do know the afore mentioned Brian May and have listened to his presentation on several occasions. Brian is a gentleman and as honest as the day is long. Over the years he has been a great benefactor of my federation supporting it with donations of pigeons any time we ask. Having said that Brian will tell you that looking into the eye is a guide to intelligence and health. He will also state that the form of the bird can be determined by monitoring the composition of the sign. To be a winner a bird must also posess unseen qualities. Brian's health is failing now and he has had several periods of ill health. One aspect of his work which really impressed me was the fact that he can show slides of his own eyes before and after having suffered a stroke. He points out where the iris has been scarred during this illness. As I stated I am neither for nor against any theory but before decrying any of them we really need to have an in depth understanding of that theory.

I am not looking for an arguement in any way shape or form. During the month of August we had a family of these killers hunting here. They had a successful breeding season and i think the main reason for this was the large number of seagulls on the landfill tip. It was strange watching these as one of them was obviously not accepted into the group for some reason. It was constantly squaking as though it was always hungry. Myself and fellow club members lost many racers during this period. I even had 2 6 year old stock hens in a basket in the hut and released both to fly back to the loft (20 yards ) and one never made it home. Only percy could have accounted for this. However when I pass the local churches I don't see a decrease in feral numbers.

I appreciate the work which has gone into the above script however to say that the majority of pigeon rings found in percy nests belong to racers which have gone feral is supposition and paints this killer as some kind of superhero cleaning up the streets. This is not the image the pigeon fancy should promote. Feral pigeons tend to fly low and are high risk targets for percy. Feral racers also copy this flight pattern. The number of ferals we see populating shopping centres and other areas suggests that percy has little interest in feral pigeons. Given that each pair of ferals will rear 4 youngsters each year and that percy needs one pigeon each day to survive then I suggest a few feral munching percies would soon eliminate the feral species. Given my losses at training and racing during the month of August I would suggest that most of these rings actually belong to either returning or exercising racers.

Try some of these poultry rescue organisations where they give you ex battery hens. They still lay plenty of eggs. Don't keep a cockerel that will only cause neighbour trouble.

I se a very brave pigeon to Derek Mc Kinley in Largs at 16:04 He has had an excellent season

A great effort by the organisers. I enjoyed my day and appreciated the work involved. I hope we have all improved the quality in our lofts now with some well chosen additions.

We have the power to strike back legally by controlling the food supply. Take pigeon off the menu at peak times and their numbers will fall as will the number of songbirds. Keeping our birds in during winter will make little difference. It's before they nest, while they are rearing and above all when they are teaching their young to kill that we need to act.

I'll be there for certain. It was a great day out last year. I am well impressed by the quality of the lots and the presentation. I know for a fact that the committee have spent a great deal of time on this project.

I think she actually has an injury to her keel which may have been part of the reason for her first mistake but she has raced since. If ambushed she would go for a safe haven.

Hi you are correct this is the second time 4072 has been in at you. Without looking my book this was her second or third race since them. Strange her calling in when racing from Sedgefield in a westerly wind. It looks like they cross over earlier than most people think. Many thanks for taking the time to care for her and others.

Excellent we all look forward to seeing you.

Quality Stuart there will a great buy for someone at the sale.

Are they Blue Pieds Stuart?

Low cloud and no sun in Ayrshire. A very grey day in prospect.

Well said Rikki

I could be wrong but I thought that when the Olympics were held in Mexico (high altitude) that the problen for athletes was the lack of oxygen. They had to train especially to run at altitude.

Seems like a worth a try idea, I also spoke to a fancier on Friday who claims to have better returns since he started putting spots of sheep dip on his youngsters. Has anyone any experience with this?

Absolutely correct. A fellow club member told me that there were 4 percies in the air above where we live today. They were hunting in a group I pity any tired racers in the area. We need to avoid racing at this time of year and concentrate on flying a few later bred birds. Perhaps we should all keep a few pair of Birmingham Rollers to fly in August.

The fact that they can have good returns with mid week racing and there are still the same number of hawks in the sky confirms that most of our young bird losses are caused by clashing. Eliminate clashing when we decide out race programs and returns will improve.

Come on Joan you have more dugs than enough.

Ayrshire took a battering in the east from Otterburn. Too many federations liberating in a small window due to the doubtful conditions in the morning. Being candid the Ayrshire birds should not have been basketed till Saturday for a Sunday race. If we all decide to go east next year then we need to consider Sunday racing. Ayrshire birds home into a westerly location so common sense dictates they should race west to avoid young birds clashing.

Aw sh** another door closed