cowman

hi can anyone advise me what to do i have a cock and hen paired up for 6 weeks now they have built 2 nests in 2 boxes but not layed yet this has been going on for around the last month the cock did tread the hen but still no eggs both sit in the nest bowl and defend it like mad if i put my hand there even though there are no eggs . i have a hen in my racing loft been sitting 2 eggs now for 5 days but dont really want to breed any more in the racing loft do you think it would be worth putting the 2 eggs under the 2 stock birds that haven`t layed but sit in their nest all day ? cheers simon

its hard for my loft to put them on the dark so i go for 16hrs of light a day untill last race then back to natural daylight hours .

the thing is with sealing the pads into place there is a lot more work cos who is going to go and seal the pads into place on a sat morning ? and return after the race to check the seals are still in place before removing it the reason i say this is who in their right mind will want to risk leaving a pad @£150 in a loft on an allotment ? or even in their garden for that as i for one could not afford to replace pads after the scum have been out and about and taken them from lofts they will take birds why not pads ? .

as its second hand get a letter from the fancier your buying it from stating you have bought it from him as this will help you if you are using his rings so you can prove they have not been stolen off stray birds when you get them deactivated . he has to inform his/her region of any changes with the ets too all you need to do it write the make and the serial numbers of clock pads etc etc and send it with your name address loft number to your region sec .

i did contact louella about their kirkpatricks they will be avalible around april time from what i was told .

http://www.tourdesmaritimes.com/Eyesign/Eyesign101/Sexing.htm

ive been told if you look at the young birds rear end before they feather up (still in down) if the rear hole smiles its a cock if it frowns its a hen

i to use bt internet,cost £15.99 per month for unlimited downloads and 8mb speed,plus a free hub

kirkpatrick x barker

if you were to kill or hurt any of the rspb hawks they would take you to court i wonder if you could turn the tables and take them to court if their hawks killed your pigeons it would be a land mark case if someone did and won .

been snowing here since 8pm now got 2 inches on the garden and its all settled on the main A road outside my house . not a gritter in sight .

still mine has not arrived at my newsagent wonder if its an area thing as i`m in glos but come under west midlands where is everyone else too that have not had theirs this week or had it late ? .

just remember early pigeon racing was done with tumblers rollers fantails ect so why not go for it.

just looked outside and we have 5 inches of snow main road A coverd snowplough just went past but still very dodgey . looks like another cold morning driving round feeding sheep for me though .

keep the bait going it dont kill them streight away they bring all their mates for a good feed then die after a few days . if you have dowels on your lofts or air gaps at the top like blakes lofts wire it up the bloody things will get in anywhere.

rats are clever ive had a problem from the hedge row behind my lofts holes in loft etc put down a tray of sleymore poison and 2 rat traps with peanuts glued onto the plate . day 1 all poison gone and 1 rat in trap day2 all poison gone and 0 in trap day3 half poison gone none in trap day 4 half poison gone none in trap day 5 no poison gone none in trap notice a pattern only had 1 trapped the other left the traps for the bait well its been 4 days now no holes in loft no bait gone from dish so hopefully got on top of them now but always keep bait down if the rats have an easy feed outside the loft they wont try and get into your loft for food .

barkers make an excellant cross with kirkpatricks

a lil bit off subject but ive seen a sparrow hawk sat on the wires down the road from my lofts as soon as the buzzards spot it they chace it away maybe having a group of 8 buzzards around the fields by my lofts aint a bad thing .

now thats whats known as fast food ;D

my mate tried it once crossed woody with racer the young birds were so wild he let them out of the loft just to get shot of them so it is geneticly possible to cross woody and racer .

you need a rodenator a mixture of gas and air pumped into the run then ignited from the rodenator BOOM moles dead .http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3252202206965996879&q=rodenator&total=28&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0 also avalible in uk

you could always try ebay we bought 100 sheets last year to do our corn barn and paid £120

about 30 is a nice number to start with i was given 30 last year for me to start after ybs and loses from training and 2 loses on race days (only 2 races entered) i`m left with 8 birds from last year always allow for loses as if this year was anything like last year you may need 60 birds to have a team for next year .

how were the birds killed was the back of the neck ripped out or head taken off i had a weasel get in my stock loft it only ripped the back of the neck out so it could drink the blood luckily it only got one bird i believe it got in through the dowel front since then it has been wired up where all dowels are and air gap under roof also the vent holes at the back at the top so far no more problems .

i wouldn`t worry i have 7 pairs of stock birds been together all winter 1 has layed sitting 6 days now and 3 more pairs paired up in the last 2 days it has been colder than normal this year so i`m just letting them get on with it in their own time i have a light that comes on at 5am and goes off when light 8am and everything has moved in the last 3 days since increasing the light hrs .