PigeonTracker

Just saw your post Strapper, I agree with you it was a good show and plenty of people through the doors, was a great learning curve for Pigeon Tracker and we met some great people.

Just came back from a very busy day at the Aberdare show which as far as I could tell was a success for most with quite a large number through the doors. Some fantastic birds on show there and from what I saw lots of them exchanged hands with breeders from all over Wales and even some as far as Southampton, Hull and Lincoln all showing well. This was the first of many shows for Pigeon Tracker and we all look forward to doing it next year and a thank all the customers new and old who appreciated what we're trying to achieve and thier support.

That's just a preference of Rob's and whilst not a bad one its not the absolute be all and end all as many good racing or even breeding birds can have some oval curve to their eyes. A clear black pupil is one key factor I'd be looking for, absolutely no milkiness, but the outer parts of the eye would play an equally important part such as the circle of adaptation being a key pointer for me as I'm a believer that the wider it is the better and indicator it can be of a good bird. My views just like Rob's is a subjective one, there's no hard fast line but if you follow the basic priniciples listed below you won't go far wrong. 1. A clear Black pupil 2. A wide adapatation 3. The circle of adaptation being coloured purple. (again this is a preference for me not for all as many colours mean many opinions) 4. A deep richly coloured Iris 5. Last but by no means least is the 'Circle of Health', the blood supply to the eye which is supposed to be the indicator to a birds health and potential performance. Getting that out of the way you'd think if your bird has all these criteria then your on to a winner when the fact of the matter is there is to the best of my knowledge no definitive proof that any of these factors are scientifically proven. Point of fact there are many who think that trying to judge a birds potential by its eyesign is a bit like an old fishwife's tale and means absolutely nothing. Read: http://www.silvio-co.com/pigeons/eyesign.htm My view for what its worth is an eye can tell you a heck of a lot but it will never absolutely tell you whether the bird is going to be a succesful racer or breeder or racer, the only thing that will tell that is time and results, although I've never seen a blind or one eyed bird win a race. Its up to the individual to decide on what they believe what they beleive just like sexing a bird, we all have our ways and Rob's is no better a theory than many others out there. Good question though, let's hope it raises some construtive debate on the differing standpoints.

You bring the Bacon Steve, will have a fryup before you set off to work. ;D

Usually greenish, the mucus can be clear unless infected. Hope this helps, either way you should report the incident and certainly check it out as the good members here have advised, its always better to be safe than sorry.

It was a first for Pigeon Tracker as a company Duncan not for me personally, I'm not sure what the owner is going to do with the egg or whether it goes full term but its going to be something I'm going to follow that's for sure.

Will give it company discount then. ;D

Something new happened to us which is a first for us, wel for me anywy. One of the hens has only gone and laid an egg during transit. Now I don't know whether it was stress or comfort that caused this but it was a really pleasant surprise to see her sitting quite happy on her newly laid. It might be new to me but has anyone actually recieved a bird then finding it sitting on an egg? I hope the egg goes full distance and then I'm going to ask the new owner if they'll name it after Pigeon Tracker and I can sponsor it through its racing.

The one thing that sprung to mind when you mentioned the droppings were watery was PMV-1 (Paramyxovirus), because one of the primary symptoms can include extreme watery droppings, not being a vet my advice is just that and it would be to immediately isolate the bird from others even if it means putting it in a box for the weekend, then take its droppings for analysis. Please don't panic though, its not always going to be the PMV-1 and to help you judge better yourself here's a handy little video http://www.pigeonworld.org/Pigeon%20Heath.htm#PMV%20Video which may prove some help.

Its started snowing in South Wales as well Debbie, and the news says Aberdeen are getting it as well. Hope its not going to be as bad as they say otherwise I might need some huskies instead of vans to get the birds around. :-/

Good for you for taking the time to look for advice, many a good bird is still out there waiting to be reported. The advice of the members here shows how much we all care for the birds and let us all re-assure you that its not the case where the bird automatically gets put down just because it gets lost during a race, it happens with the best. When you do capture it, simply post the ring number here and someone will help you along with what else to do, lets hope the bird can get back home to its owners.

Read that Chris part Chris, the thing we should make clear to people that the courier service in the UK has changed dramatically and for the better with the exception of one company who I don't need to name here. Because this is Debbies thread I'm not going to hi-jack it and wish them the best in what they are doing and just wanted to point out that history is just that, we should all be looking forward now.

That's Amtrak your referring to? or are there other rip-off merchants out there we should all know about/?

Congratulations to all and thanks for posting Flighty Hen

Not a problem for us and we wish Debbie and her boyfriend the best of success with their ventures.

We're up there next week covering most of Scotland but see Debbie from flying couriers has taken it on glad its sorted for you.

how refreshing to see someone go to the lenghts you have to try and help the bird, you ought to be proud of yourself. As everyone else has said though, unless its been microchipped and I doubt I doubt it has then there is little or no chance of it ever getting repatriated. Once again, well done and thanks on behalf of all pigeon fanciers. Jamie

The problem with asking Couriers to sign a contract to deliver charity birds is what if one of the birds was won by someone up in Thurso, one was won by someone from the inner bowels of Cornwall, one by someone in Northern Ireland, and so on, this would put tremendous pressure on the courier who's committed to delivering them for less than an already low price. Our company already donates to charity and no doubt will donate to C.I.N and if there are any of these birds that we could do for free we would but without running the risk of making empty promises as this would let the winning bidder down and be a death knell for the courier responsible. When the auction is over if you let us know who's won what and then post about where they need to be delivered I'm sure you'll see us offering our services for free let alone for a cut but only if we know we can deliver them without delay. Hope that makes sense.

Many a good idea said in Jest.

You were actually on one of our routes but as we couldn't contact the destination as you either couldn't or wouldn't give out their telephone number. I'm sure you'll understand as I explained to you on the phone, we can't pick up a bird we don't know we can deliver, it might mean we'd have to take the bird back which is simply not on. Lesson to be learnt from this is that if the fancier wants a good courier service then they have to work with them as much as possible. It isn't ever going to be a case of one way traffic where either fancier or courier dictates, you simply have to work together. In response to OldYellow and Chris.... If Pigeon Tracker and any other courier were to join forces it would only ever be done if it were likely to benefit the fancier. You, along with any other interested parties will be the first to know if, as, and when anything of this nature happens. Point of fact we're talking to quite a few smaller couriers with a view to creating a service we've all wanted for a long time but never got.

Before carrying out a Spanish inquisition It might be a good idea to establish whether this person actually placed an order with us in the first place because I for one am 100% certain that we missed no-one today that was supposed to pick up from.

If we'd arranged to pick up a bird for you today I can assure you it would have been. So that I can check the facts rather than deal in fiction perhaps giving me the order details in the appropriate manner might help, I can then clarify wether you actually made an order or not and if you cancelled or not, or if you failed to confirm you'd actually be there when we phoned you and so on. Look forward to the information being passed on to me. Jamie

Possibly because we took the time to find out about how to go about getting authorized to carry, then made an application which was subsequently approved. What I did say was that it was to the best of my knowledge and I might well be wrong, don't think so but if I am that's great as it means others have taken the time to do their homework which is what should have been done.

The M25 has only just started and is a nightmare for all couriers hence most blocking it, the M6 was closed all day due to 5 deaths all from same family today, back open after 8 hours plus. Its like that every day with something or another. Hope that helps.

I did spot the red Duncan and know you posted with that intention, good on you. Vallance lofts asked a question and I answered it nothing more, to the best of my knowledge and I'll stick by it unless corrected, not one other courier has taken the time to get authorization. This doesn't mean they are not allowed to it just means they aren't or haven't been given authorization to.