allwhites

In 2001 i walked into our young bird loft to find 40 dead young, one with its crop hanging out and one untouched, still have nightmare now and ours was rats, dug a sewer up in the field 100 yards from the loft, to lose young was bad enough, to lose old birds that you race, know and love. My heart goes out to the lads.

£1,500, i could buy a full set up with that including birds/loft/ etc. This is why this sport is so great, can take the big boys on with pence and still smack their ass. Good luck to the winning bidder.

DUPLICATING ?, A Good or Bad Thing. We get clubs and federations now that are duplicating there races into National type races. What do you think of this, i feel a bird can really only win one first in a race and that is the overall Champion. Maybe 1st section at a push, but nothing more. The rest are for 2nd rate fanciers or the sellers for advertising. In one race, as a for instance, you could be 1st Open MNFC, 1st Section, 1st Open Federation, 1st Section Federation, 1st Club. That goes down a treat for someone selling birds (5 x 1sts to them) but the bird has won one race, that's all. WHAT DO YOU FEEL ABOUT DUPLICATION. :-/ :X

Would you care if your bird flew like the wind or walked if you won a 600/800 miler, i know i wouldnt, and so what if he/she just happened to win a 100 miler on the way, it has happened time and time again. Wot wud u call the bird that did that multi-tasked, lol.

as a general rule i would say that the line of thinking from the first thread is totally unethical in a modern day loft, but i did say ''general'', when you add a personal touch and humanity to it then you get a differing ending. If you have kept a family for years, know the birds inside out then when a certain pigeon comes along you know it is good, you know what is in the pigeon waiting to come out and on these occassions it normally does, eventually.

looks like over 75% returns for the staffs Moorlands SRF from 270 miles on saturday, after the rubbish that happened 2 weeks ago with a stand in convoyer, welcome back and well done again Geoff Silvester. Unfortunately for the fed he's on duty with the MCCC this week, so they will get the good race.

Understand where you are coming from tippler, but has the bird got what it takes to do it. Remember, this season has seen many hardened channel birds lost, some of the bigger national men would have sent their birds as a trainer these last 4 weeks to 300 miles, only to unexplainedly lose them.

Blue base for grizzle and can breed back collours, but i would still pick one of your grizzles for the sire if the young's grizzle typing matched the old uns, light or dark, pied or straight etc, ?.

This season has been spectacular with regards the channel racing so far. It has been a while since i heard so many fanciers complaining about so many birds missing, including those that have won many times at the distance. Having said that, birds have got through and we have our first ''batch'' of 2008 CHAMPIONS, Tell me, was it good luck, positioning, feeding/system, guts and courage that make these gallant birds come, or am i missing something. :-/

janssens, this time of year. Louella is as good as anyone and as cheap too, at this time of year they normally have the last rounds finishing off and may find you a few at reasonable prices if you phone. The stock are good birds and not every one breed mediocre birds, same as anywhere you go.

b4 anyone has a go, that was intended for the fanciers ''worried'' about the birds at Worcester. I have 6 hens being tossed there in 30 mins.

Have you guys moaning about something thats already done realised that EVERYONE wants to go early and it may be that you get a better race hanging for whats most probably an hour or two later anyway, you aint gonna hold over. Whats the problem with the birds racing home in sunshine in a favourable day anyway. After all the east winds and hard races, you amaze me.

tippler, you'll be up mate, lovely down there so my man tells me just a little ground mist clearing, you will have a cracking race (i havent missed yet), ours go after yours.

Lads liberating in Lessay (france) into light morning mist, east north east passage to coast, north wind on channel easy north/nwest on route through uk. Maybe sun/showers at lunch coming in from the bristol channel. Good day on the whole and a 45mph type day. (for 300 miles)

There's a sale for a mate of mine, Mr & Mrs Wells (entire) that would be good for here but dont know how to put it on, its on pigeonauction site. They sellin up, top birds for nothing pricewise. You may have seen them on ''any distance widowhood'' of halsteads/golden video.