Novice

Yes I feel that we are rapidly reaching the point when the songbird population is insufficient to feed the number of predators we currently have. I include birds such as Magpies and Carrion Crows as predators. No doubt the corvids will be blamed for the decline in numbers in the song bird population by the RSPB. If we can restrict the amount of pigeon available we will see a change in the overall situation.

Without doubt this year, to date, has been the worst in history for attacks and losses particularly aroung the loft. I wonder what the reason is. Have the BOP increased so dramatically over the last year? Has the mild winter helped their increase? Have we reached a stage that the numbers of native birds such as the Starling (reported 80% decrease in numbers) have been depleated so much that we have insufficient numbers to make a significant contribution to the diet of BOP? Did the migratory birds leave these shores for home early because of the fine weather we had earlier? Personally I would be grateful for answers to these questions from any informed source. However what this illustrates to me is that while we campaign for a change in the law which will take years if ever we really need to rethink our breeding and racing schedules and stop feeding these BOP when they are really dependant on a staple diet of prime pigeon. For example should we be racing youngsters in August? Most definately not. I really feel for anyone losing birds at the moment due to predation.

Ian Noble in Ayrshire had the Matt White true barless blues. Whether or not he still has them I don't know. If you are interested I can obtain his phone number.

Please don't be offended when I avoid all forms of flannel like yourself and repeat that your post is well off the mark. I have an honours degree in Chemistry and worked as a Shift Manager in a Vitamin C production unit.I suppose you will now try to explain that Vitamin C which is Ascorbic acid is also alkaline. Believe me I have worked with Glacial Acetic acid and it is acidic in nature. Yes it was common policy to dilute it and use the resultant liquid as vinegar. I won't bother to bore any readers with a lecture in Chemistry but please believe me I am much more qualified on the subject than you can ever claim to be. Anyone who had ever been associated with the Chemical industry would know that the logrithmic scale used to measure hydrogen ion concentration is denoted by pH not P.H. as you have quoted (not once which could be a simple mistake) but on 6 occasions which indicates lack of knowledge to me. unininsuated ---please indicate what this word means so that I can expand my horizons. Do you mean unsaturated? While everyone can express an opinion on these forums posting information which is incorrect, inaccurate or misleading may have disasterous consequences. I close by reassuring you that vinegar and acetic acid are common names for Ethanoic Acid (whether dilute or not) with a formula of CH3COOH and are definately acidic. That is my last post on the subject.

This post actually made me wonder if my 44 years in the chemical industry had been wasted. Any vinegar irrespective of the initial source is dilute Glacial Acetic (note the spelling) Acid. Acetic acid is a weak organic acid and never, by any stretch of the imagination, could it be called an alkali

Occasionally these establishments do have open days and if you have doubts they are well worth a visit. I visited one and the turbines were silent. Now that they are relatively common yes they can be an eyesore but they are my preferred alternative to neuclear and the high incidence of child leukemia which can accompany it. I have 42 turbines and 1 neuclear power station close to me and I know which one I would prefer.

Did you attend the meeting? Please answer the question.

Did you attend the meeting?

Are the birds vaccinated against PMV?

Given the traditional race programs we are subject to there is little advantage in rearing early young birds. However if we were to really get our thinking caps on and design a program with youngbird racing finishing before August when Percy is training his young to kill pigeons then there would be a huge advantage associated with everyone breeding early young.

Ayrshire fed race from Berwick. All races have been good but that's probably more due to the weather than the race point. 2011 old bird winning velocity was about 2160 ypm while youngbird winning velocity was 1250ypm

get away you silver tongued devil

You will insist on being a snappy dresser. Similar to myself

Some of the hens were still exercising and there was no way they were coming down when they saw the big man

You know you are welcome anytime. You should have said your feet were cold you big girls blouse. Sundays I am usually still waiting on birds from Saturdays liberation.

No I think he is referring to bankers and the governments who continued borrowing knowing that their poor growth rate meant they had no chance of honouring the debt. The borrowing of politicians in countries like Greece and Italy allowed the electorate to live outwith their means simply to buy votes and keep themselves in a job. Now they need to pay the piper and they are not best pleased.

Not sure if he did but a pigeon called Barcelona Blue associated with Davie springs to mind. Alan Raeside from Irvine held some sort of 1000 mile record with a pigeon called "the Conqueror" I think.

At one point in time Amoxycillin was licenced for use on pigeons. At that point it was the only product with this consent. The company which did this was Vetrepharm. I have no idea if they are still in buisness or not.

looking good. I have seen Tranter lofts on display they do a quality loft.

what is even more alarming is that these idiote MSPs can sanction this expenditure to keep birds away from their buildings. In other areas the criteria is more simple-remove the food source or install a bird scarer. I wonder what contribution the SHU made to defending the guy and publicising the case.

Initially I felt that the crisis had been caused by greedy banks. Ok they have been ripping us off for years but the real problem stems from successive governments (not only in this country but elsewhere) borrowing money to govern. Frankly it is not on. Most responsible people cut their cloth to suit the budget but not these characters. Now they expect the working man to pick up the tabs. Simply not on. As far as Osbourne is concerned one glance tells you that he cannot be trusted. I bet he was bullied at school and is now looking for revenge.

A bull eye is like the eye of a bull. There is a lack of pigment which shows as black but you can see the true colour of the eye if you look at the eye with the beak facing you. ie looking at the eye at an angle 90 degrees different from normal. KB is correct bast your assessment on the weakest eye. Concentrate on performance first and take it from there. Study of eyes is interesting but there are many more aspects of a pigeon to be taken into consideration.

Do you mean a normal eye and a "bull" eye or 2 normal eyes of different colours. Bull eye normally accompanies pied pigeons and they can have 1 normal and 1 bull frequently. 2 different coloured normal eyes would be more unusual. Probably just disregard this birds eyes when selecting a mate.

Yes racing down the west gives a true line of flight without conceding double overfly to the coast members. When the federation changed route they were persuaded to do so because of hawk strikes. These can happen anywhere now so it is logical to give the west route a try. Unfortunately the race point chosen for the first race is Lockerbie and the second is Carlisle. My personal preference would be to have 2 races on a relatively "safe route" to build fitness and confidence then jump into Appleby and thereafter follow the conventional M6 ROUTE. As has been posted on here previously we should all be doing our bit in winter to secure this natural route.

There is a proposal to do this and it looks like a reasonable option/ The only drawback is the early race points.