kev01293

lovely looking pigeon i hope he does you some good he certainly looks the part

with all the doom and gloom in pigeon racing jim its nice to see something that put a smile on my face good on yer mate :D

hi,on 3/4/07 i asked for help after coming home after 5 days away working and found a 05 hen bird sick in her nestbox unable to stand,she had also lost weight and had swollen eyes,after giving her some water/glucose she seemed to perk up briefly but refused any corn,by the next morning she was dead,my wife is adamant that the hen took corn the day before i came back home so this being the case it was something that took hold and killed the hen within 24 hours? ive since been told that fresh straw was put into the loft 3 days before i came home but the straw was not from our usual supplier-could this have anything to do with my hens death bearing in mind that all my other pigeons seem ok so far? kev

i totally understand what u mean barlby we,ve got 2 tame ones ourselves loved and cherished by the family and i dread to think what would happen if they got lost racing? i,d never hear the last of it

thanx for the replies my birds have been treated this year for canker as a precaution and were due to be treated for cocci and worms when the hen went sick and died, ive had a couple of strays in over the last 2 weeks and some feral pigeons feed on next doors bird table so im wondering if there,s a connection there as my birds like to peck around in the garden after excercise and maybe theyve been where the ferals have pecked around ? i managed to get to the two strays before they got to the drinkers so im assuming that there hasnt been any infection spread through the water? at the moment its a matter of me keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best? kev :-/

well as i expected my hen bird didnt make it till this morning,she was dead at 6am when i checked her and had been dead for at least a couple of hours, i tried the calcium tab and the warm bath last night in case she was egg bound as advised but that didnt help her droppings were 95 per cent light green water with a small brown lump in it (thats the best way i can explain it) she had lost a lot of weight but my wife is sure that the hen took corn the day before i got home but im wondering what disease could take and kill a pigeon in 24 - 48 hours,as i said before her eyelids were red and swollen but the actual eyes were dry and had started to shrink back into her head, any advice would be much appreciated kev ps all of my other pigeons seem to be up and about and lively and are not showing any signs of sickness but how long will it take before i know the rest of my pigeons are in the clear health- wise

my wife looked after the birds while i was away and shes sure that they all came down for corn and drank water yesterday but i cant see how the hen went downhill so quick overnight? she seemed to perk up a bit when i gave her water/glucose and as i found her in her box by the floor im wondering wether shes been without water for a few days cos she was too weak to get to drinker? my wife does her best with the birds if im away but im wondering wether she just didnt notice the sick bird? anyway il give the hen a calcium tablet and a warm bath to see if that helps but im not expecting her to make it till the morning-i hope im wrong? thanks for the replies kev

ive just come back home after being away for 5 days and after letting the pigeons out for excercise i noticed a 05 bird laying in her nestbox unable to move,she has lost a lot of body weight and her eyes are closed and seem swollen, ive fed her some water with glucose but she is unable to stand on her own,can anybody give me any idea what might be wrong and how i can treat it?? many thanks kev

i always use the coiled tel no rings but have had a few come back with the rings missing so i might start using the permanant tel no rings, as others have said on here when reporting strays most are glad to get them back but others just want u to throw it up next day or ask can u take it down the road and then release it, few that ive spoken to want to send for them,one fancier asked me to bin it for him and that one is still sitting in my loft,surely if we are good enough to report their birds the least they can do is send for them ?

i had a yb brought back from wales last year down to sussex by amtrak but i dont know if they collect from scotland? my yb was delivered next day but i can understand why u dont want to use them after all the horror stories we hear and what with their price increase as well, theres a really good courier down this way called the phantom flyer whos also a fancier but im pretty sure he doesnt go to scotland? kev

as jupiter says grit and pickstones only cost a pittance so why deprive my pigeons of something that they enjoy and need, ive read in pigeon books and the fancy press that the vast majority of fanciers use grit and pickstones-surely they cant all be wrong??

i stand corrected sammy grit does grind up the corn in the gizzard not the crop but therefore it still does a job and is also a source of calcium

will a sparrowhawk actually take a pigeon and fly off with it while the pigeon is flying with the flock or do they wait until the pigeons have landed and then pounce?? kev

wait until the racing season starts proper and then see how amtrak perform with all the extra strays about ?? kev

welcome on board nic and good luck for the future

your right roland it does work-thats got me puzzled : :-/

grit is a source of calcium especially important for laying hens and growing yb,s and it also helps the birds grind up the corn in the crop but then i think you know that sammy

ive picked up a few dodgy (or should that be doggy ) strays before tam but this one is of the feathered type ;D ;D

hi, on fri 16/3/07 a chequer ring no gb01 D61640 came into my loft as a stray with my own pigeons after excercise, the stray had a tel no ring on but on ringing the tel no i was told by the former keeper (who lives in heathfield,sussex) that he had sold the pigeon 4 years ago when he gave up the sport, this morning i rung the rpra to check ownership of the pigeon only to be told that it is still registered to its former keeper in heathfield so i am now back to square one,when the pigeon came into my loft he was in good condition and had obviously been in somebodys loft, if you are missing this pigeon please contact me to arrange its return or to transfer ownership over to me many thanks kev

I READ SOMEWHERE ON PIGEONBASICS THAT ITS NOT ADVISABLE TO GIVE YOUR PIGEONS POWDERED BABIES MILK AS THEY HAVE PROBLEMS DIGESTING IT BUT IVE ALSO READ THAT SOME FANCIERS HAVE HAD THEIR BEST SEASON EVER AFTER USING IT? WHAT DO YOU THINK AND DO YOU GIVE IT VIA THEIR WATER OR ADDED TO THEIR CORN OR WOULDNT YOU USE IT AT ALL? KEV :

i noticed that bilco,s bulletin is back in this weeks bhw, welcome back bill I look forward to reading more of your writings in the future :)

i was wondering what i DOES contain-probably nothing that i cant get elsewhere and cheaper kev

what is winning combination and whats it supposed to do?? :

ivermectin - brilliant stuff,im told it kills lice,mites and all worms and i havnt seen a trace of any since using it also i believe it can be toxic to hawks

when some fanciers talk about pigeons being in form they sometimes refer to the blood spot and how advanced it is? as a novice i would be grateful if any fanciers could explain what the blood spot is ? kev :-/