Peckedhen

Some folks in the States have a large plastic model of an owl on their lofts and it seems effective as a deterrent.

Valentine's Day.

Guy selling quite a lot of stuff on E-Bay at the moment. Pick up only - in Manchester.

Thanks Jimmy. LOL Yeah, I guess I'll soon find out my mistakes!! ;D I know two cocks for definite (I think :) but as for the rest well, time will tell!!

How much longer are my birds going to carry on laying? Do they stop of their own accord or do I have to separate them? :-/ Am I supposed to separate the young birds too? I still haven't decided which are which yet....they all look the same to me!! :B :-/

I'm really sorry to hear about your mum Wings. You know, they do say that you should not make any big decisions or changes for a year after a bereavement. Although you may be 'going through the motions' at the moment, you may well find, as time passes, that once again you begin to enjoy the birds Think carefully, don't be hasty. Thinking of you. Sue :K)

LOL - you're supposed to cook it first!! ;D ;D ;D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Redcheckhen. Hope you have a great day. ;)

Yeah, my young birds are moulting - is it still OK to fly them when they are almost bald around the head? Not racing, I'm only thinking 30 miles or so? :-/

Oh dear Ben..maybe you could compromise with your neighbour? How about agreeing to only have your birds out for one hour twice a day? Don't let them land on his roof - I gave my neighbour a tennis ball to lob at the birds, if they went on his roof, and they soon learnt not to go there! Keep your birds flying whilst they are out - you could flag them - I think that Westy has success doing this. Good luck.

Enjoy your day Carl. HB. Suex

Good luck Snowy/Westy - got everything crossed for you. Let us know how you get on.

Oh, I missed this - just back from hols and trying to catch up with everything!! Hope you had a great day Gez. Belated Birthday Wishes. Suexx :K) :K)

Thank you.

I had this happen. I put the egg in, a bowl, in the nest box and made sure the hen was locked in the nestbox when the second egg was due (they miss a day and then lay in the afternoon of the next day). She laid the second egg in the bowl and hatched both no problem.

Is Red Band OK to feed the birds or is it just for trapping? Is there much food value in it please?

Putting hen in caused chaos Jimmy! I am now ferrying youngsters back and forth - they stay in loft and I put them in dovecote for a feed 3x a day!! Hopefully just a few days and they will be feeding themselves!

She has laid again though but is on plastic eggs? - Will give that a try. Thanks.

I floated two eggs under my fantails in the dovecote. The youngsters are now 18 days old and I've moved them back into the stock loft BUT I don't think that they are being fed! Their crops were empty last night and still this morning. I've dipped their beaks in water but they didn't drink. There is only one other youngster in there but it is almost self feeding now. Any suggestions what I should do? I'm leery of returning them to the dovecote in case then have problems getting them to stay on the loft. :-/

Thanks Craig. I've four stock pairs and 18 YB. That's it - I'm not breeding more now till next year!

Here's the baby that wasn't keeping up with her nestmate. Still small but very feisty - pecks and wing-slaps me if I invade her space!

Folks who sell no good birds to unsuspecting newbies. My first birds were just caught in a barn - they were fantail/homer crosses, wild, not rung, covered in lice and couldn't find their way home if I took them out of sight of the loft!!

LOL - you wont want these if you're going to race Paul - they don't come straight home, they've found somewhere nice to hang out for a few hours before they return!! Not only that, but they have taught the younger birds to do the same! :

Hi Paul and welcome to the forum. I have no experience of pigeons as I just started last year but, I can tell you what I have found.......think carefully how many birds you will keep..I started with a 4x6' shed, progressed to a garden shed and now have just bought a 12'x6' shed and would still like more room. I have found it much cheaper to buy a good quality garden shed and convert it to a loft. Having said that, you might be lucky enough to find a secondhand loft - I think that there are some on the forum at the moment. Be careful where you get your birds from...there are a lot of feather merchants out there...I learned the hard way....the most expensive is not necessarily the best. This forum is great for advice but, you can't beat hands on advice from a local fancier......when I think my birds are ill my 'pigeon man' comes straight round and checks them for me. Read and ask - the only stupid question is the one you don't ask - believe me, I know, I've asked plenty. ;D Good luck Sue

So sorry to read this Jimmy. My thoughts and prayers are with you and his family. Sue.