MIK

light dusting Derry-Ireland..very cold and windy. Mick

soupie i used it for isolating the odd sick pigeon for a while, but my 10 year son has a pair of fantails in there at the moment. I have to build him something bigger as he reared 2 young on separate nests last year in it Mick

thank you both Andys best i could with limited space as i live in a built up area. If i had the room i would have another 10ft of loft and an aviary the full length. atb Mick

YB LOFT OB LOFT another view of OB LOFT

these stock u breed , i breed a few meself ..i call them kamikazees

a good local scribe would ensure it got there. That is if anyone is willing. atb Mick

he has the show racer head, but is it just me or does he look to have a short wing. Mick

might be no joke but funny as hell :emoticon-0140-rofl:

crazy

ahhh,,,cheers yellow Mick

lights i think will only dry moisture in air not stop drinkers from freezing, specially with open front mick

Peter i understand, i fly into something similar albeit its not central, its the N. West surrounded by the Sperrin mountains. If they miss the 1st break then as you say an extra 40-50 miles dog leg. If they follow the drag then its 70 miles more to home. I dont claim to be a good racing man , im still learming, but i will always be in the opinion if they cant make it or give up the far side of the sperrins then i dont need them. Those that do make it is the ones i want to work with. I wish u well 2013 and hope things improve withinn all ur organisations atb Mick

very good Rab

Well he has timed from France regularly with same birds 480 tops to him. if ye decide to bid Danny, good luck Mick

Rab i agree to an extent, lots of good doos maybe lost at a young age. But its the ones that dont give up, heart and love for home i think we need. ok maturity may give that, but thats up to the individual fancier to decide what he wants. I have patience, more than some, but if a yb/yearling doesnt home by itself i have an X against it. Some will turn out good but majority will be crap when going gets tough. Ive had only about 6 Scottish strays in since i started in 2003 and evry one left on their own. Mick

Peter im only saying my thoughts, hope no offence is taken. Race horses trained here, they will race the same courses throughout there lives and have jockeys to guide them. our pigeons need training, mostly to get them on a line and keep fit. They either have homing instinct or they dont. just my thoughts Mick

Hope im not intruding here when i give my opinion, I understand what you saying Peter about shipping together, but to "school" future distance birds to come to an area is wrong imo. I think they either have it or they dont and training them to home from certain areas is false. If a bird is to come from France to Scotland it has to be able to navigate, there is no drag there. Therefore the drag in inland races is only going to affect result because what cant home from being dragged around the country as ybs/yearlings is worth *expletive removed* all..Scotland is not that big of an Area when you think about it. atb Mick

dont know if its worth the distance Danny ....the farthest win in descript is 340 to me and prolly only 300 to Mr. Williamson. good sprint to middle bird me thinks Mick

i got mine from Boddy and Rideurpocket also, was good for a while, but it never kept them all away. No good for deaf cats. Not worth the money imo. Now its the Jack Russel and a spring loaded ball bearing rifle atb Mick

i'll put 2 up i wont be pairing until mid Feb or early March. If both hatch from this first time pairing(i hope) Sire. GB 12 C 23634(bred by S. Mc Grotty), purchased at the Action Duchenne sale held on another site G.sire 4th open INFC Fougeres, first bird clocked next morning flying the furthest for Mc Eleney Bros(France to N.west Ireland) 532 miles in 2002. G.Dam bred a 2 times french pigeon into Derry 2009 and 2011 for N. Mc Grotty, both NIPA 500 miles. Dam. GB 07 F 21714(bred by myself for stock) and lightly bred from with no great shakes. Half sister to my 2 times french hen and a full sister bred a 250 mile winner for S. Mc Grotty. G.sire 13th open INFC Fougeres on the day for Mc Eleney Bros 2003 G.dam Bred by N&S Mc Grotty and a dtr of their 2004 section winner Lamballe NIPA winner 2004. This hen bred me a hen to fly france twice...2009 top 200 in open NIPA, 2010 out of race time. Im still learning but blood is here if anyone wanting a punt. 5 different french pigeons into Derry in this pedigree. I can get these ybs to Dumfries atb Mick

i got mine 2004 from Boddy and Rideurpocket havent seen them since other than that one from jedds, was able to purchase that locally for a similar price. the ones from redstar are not the weighted ones If ye all find somewhere to buy them, let us know. Im still using the ones from Boddy and Rideurpocket but they are well rusted. Im in da market for some new ones atb Mick

I actually like this, thats called thinking out of the box. With the prize money now available in most big races, i dont think it will ever be passed But i will test my 2 rounds this year on one race and let you know the result atb Mick

pen 1

Bigda i dont understand what your trying to say, expletive remove most YBs will have lost their squeak by the time they are ranging. Anyone racing a squeaker has some dam good intelligent birds or they are completelty bonkers. This early rearing and the darkness has taken YB racing to a different level, enabling fanciers to compete in the whole programme...it doesnt make them weaker by doing so. But most can become lazy and stupid if not trained early enough. I dont agree in rings being despatched before Janurary, as you could have December reared young. Anything reared b4 Feburary will be mature enough to breed come August and have an advantage over later bred young through better motivation. March/April reared for me always, and everyone to their own. Less intelligent but definately not weaker imo. atb Mick

happy new year to all