wilkins

i think with deep litter how it works depends how many you keep in the section i have one section 6 foot with 17 birds and hemicore is great in the other where my ybs were i had 32 birds in a 7 foot section and it got dusty

i buy it in small bags as i like to keep it sealed i use it for breeding and moulting although i make something myself with pin head oat, yeast , provit, and a little ainseed oil when racing

i use the add herb as it seems to dry into the corn,and helps against bacteria, i add it as i put it int he corn bin as it lasts on the corn for 5 months , my birds feel silky but i do feed rape and linseed to them during the moult , cant see why we feel we have to ad oil when these seeds can be used i used to use a lot of oils arlic,wheatgerm rape etc but now i used none at all and the birds are in just as good feathering

i had my stock go out while in i was building a change to there loft , not by choice. although now some 3 months on i would not go back to having prisoners again more room for racers and different tricks i can play on the sections

i have had floor grilsl 5 years ago and still in good condition, and i have have bought 3 feeders 1 meter long with hinged roof for £10 each , in my local corn store they are £17 for something very similar

does anyone use a berry or a fruit juice in the drinker, i read in jack adams book he used a little blackcurrent in the drinker to help with the plumage , bit like wild birds taking fruit

thanks davey , i used to be a great one for oils bur not this year and i now feel the birds dont need them anyway, although i never thought about the pellets and i do use them

i see at lot of you use cod liver oil which i used to but i was worried about it becoming rancid , do you make sure they clear every bit up or do you feed it in a different way

funny jason i never read your post before i posted ,but we are not far out on what we use other than you use higher amount of beans than me

i moult mine on 1 part each of barley, wheat,chicken pellets ,1 part beans, to every 8 1 litre jugs of this i add 1 cup of rape seed 1 linseed, this mix works out at £6.50 a bag and the birds moult very well on it , i add no oils to it at all. propell one day a week vita combo 2 days a week (which as most no is very cheap) horse mollasses one day a week and one other thing i do is one day a week for just 2 hours a mixture of epsom salts and sodium bicarbonate 1 teaspoon of each to 6 pints i also put a large spinach leaf in my shed every other day(loads in the garden) mine look lovely i dont no longer think pigeons need a high protein diet to moult on or oils put on the food i was worried at first but i now wish i fed this mix for moulting years ago

i use spinach they eat it a couple of times a week at this time of year

why white? vinegar thnaks

once a couple of months old 1 part barley ,1 part wheat, 1 part best all round with peas , 1/2 part pellets and some rape feed 1/4 oz mornng and all they want at night add protein powder after hard fly on the corn

i have a cock 6 year old that does it daily , some of my ybs done it over the last 2 years so i made a box aviery with bob wires for them,

my ybs have open wire front on the top half and louve's on the bottom , i have 1 and 1/2 foot overhang i never get rain in it

if you fly natural i have found that you need to train heavy or flag to compete on the middle distance ,but if you do and you get a good hen in the right frame of mind you have every chance but you have to hope that it all comes together for the intended race

one for the open type and national fliers , do you feel ybs should have to cross the water or fly out to a certain distance if you wish to race them 250-400 miles next year , would plenty of training out to 100 miles be enough for them or do they need the race basket experience and if so to what distance been reading about kevin lawson 2 nrrcc winners this year were trained very well but not raced

tear them with lonco or doxycycline, but i would have plenty of air in at floor lavel and again out the top all 4 sides,

do you think they need to rang much, i used to think they had to but now im not to sure , my latebreds last year never ranged first toss 10 miles and they came ok of the 5birds 2 of them have had 2 channel races to 330 miles this year , one being me first bird and then me second bird home ,

what do you feed on prior to the 3 days is it a lighter diet? thanks

when dried do you crumble it or can it be put into a drinker would it retain the trace elements and minerals is dried, can seaweed be kept in wet condition in non salted water?and if so could a little of this water be added to the drinker a couple of times a week

yes leighton agree ,but it has to be used im not to sure that it will be of any use for ybs in the shorter flights , maybe a lttle sunflower could be added, but i have a little rape in the mix as well since i used the rape i have saved money on oils which are sold for feathering of which i was very keen on but the feather quality of the ybs is just as good

was going to add but forgot and now out of time , add protein powder or a few peas on sunday if the race has been hard, (got timed out on my edit) should be no need for fats in the mix as the distance will not be that far for the babies

2 parts barley/ 1 wheat/1 general mix/ half pellets/quarter rape seed a little light feed in the morning then out after half hour, then full feed a night all they want once they race add a gerry plus from wednesday afternoon to friday morning,

i use provit/ yeast and poutry spice all together and add it to food mollasses or yakult ,