pj1001

Many thanks Craig I will pass this information on to the owner. I am not sure if this is the cause or not though as the hen is a biggish longed necked pigeon and her head and beak looks fine. She is of Brasspenning bloodlines and has bred a few decent pigeons in the past and has won a good few handling and eyessign shows in the past . She is being housed in a large 12 feet x 10 feet aviary with a perspex roof. Perching is via poles in the middle of the aviaries during the day if the birds decide togo out into the avairies. The aviary is always open so the birds can go in and out from loft to aviary when they want so I would doubt that she has been attacked by a bird of prey as the birds are at the closest about 4 feet from the wire grill sides. Thanks for the suggestion though Linda, as I honestly don't know what the cause of this is. I thought it might be a health fault as the hens skin is scaley and has a slightly orangy tinge to it but I don't honestly know what could be causing it. Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions though. Regards PJ

That would have been my view also Bruno but when its not our birds we can't make anyone do what they don't want to, I guess. Like you say we don't go to a doctor if we are well only when we are ill, so if a bird is sick the vet should be the place for it. PJ

Its only a suggestions Anthony but maybe the strength of the vitamin in the drinking water is too strong? We had a similar problem with a well known electrolyte product a couple of years ago and stopped using it. We found out from another fancier about a year later that the strength indictaed on the tub was far too strong for pigeons. Hope this might be of some help. PJ

I would have said that she was injured also only she is a stock hen and has never been out other than in an avairy. The feathers themselves are like pieces of string and wetried running warm water over them to see if they open up but with no luck. To me its a strange one ok, have never come across it before. The fancvier in question took his birds to a pigeon health day taken by Armand Schaers last week and he wastoldthathis birds where in perfect condition. ( needless to say he never took this hen out of embarassment)). I tried to convince him that he should take her as there is no point getting well birds analysed its the sick ones that baffle us we should get checked out. But to be fairif she was our hen i probabaly wouldn't have taken her either again due to embarassment. PJ

The INFC Charity Show is on next Saturday 9th December Paul in the Kings Hall Belfast. If your still around you should check it out, especially the Charity Sale as there are some class birds there for sale every year. PJ.

Old birds natural first 3-4 races, then cocks and hens put roundabout for around 6 weeks with old birds natural again for last 2-3 races. Young Birds natural until 2 flights moulted then approx 6 weeks semi-darkness then natural light again PJ

A new fancier in our club who has only been in the club a couple of years showed me an old hen on Monday and asked me what I thought was wrong with her as she has down feathers on her belly and vent region that resemble strings. I have never seen this before so couldn't advise him oin what the cause might be. Has anyone encountered this before or have any suggestions/ comments on it? Any help would be appreciated. I have enclosed a picture of the feathers on hen in question.

I assume you mean iodine Red. How much did you give here and for how long? A friend of mine has a very good hen which hasn't laid since she was a 3 year old, up until then she laid no problem. She is coming 7 year old now and is the dam of several good pigeons including a young hen that won the open here out of approx 25,000 young birds. He is thinking about killing her but if iodine might trigger her to lay again it would be worth a last try. PJ

We have an old 10 year old cock that when seperated this year paired to another 3 year old cock and made a nest of feathers on top of the grills in his nest box. I let them sit on it for about a month then took the younger cock away because it was holding both cocks up in the moult. The 10 year old cock was one of the best racers and breeders we have and this is the first time either cock has done this. Both cock reared 2 and 3 rounds of youngsters this year previous to this also. PJ

PM me REDFOXKRAUTHS with your address and I will send you a few IHU rings. PJ

Old Birds early season roundabout, paired and raced natural for channel. Young birds natural. allowed to pair and sit if they wish. PJ

Think that could be the bosses idea Storm so that is scares the students...lol

Hello Ace, If I was in your position I would contact the RPRA or your particular union on the matter and get their ruling on it. I assume your Fed is affiliated to the union, so in theory at least you would assume that they should be obliged to follow the unions directive. Afterall it was your secretary's error not your's that you details wheren't put forward to the Fed, even more so as they are also the Fed president. Its not like you are asking for something you haven't won. Good luck I hope you get what your good young bird season deserves. PJ

My pic from work id card

2003 Blue Cock '66' known in club as Top Gun 03 3rd club Durrow, 04 1st club Cashel, 1st club, 1st SDF, 1st East section and 3rd Open Mallow 05 9th club Tullamore, 1st club, 1st SDF, 3rd section, 23rd Open Durrow, 1st club Fermoy, 3rd club, 4th SDF, 15th section and 56th Open Skibbereen Classic. 06 1st club 2nd SDF 9th Sect 26th Open Thurles 1st club 5th SDF 12th Sect Mallow 1st club 4th SDF 13th Sect 38th Open Thurles 1st club 1st SDF 38th Open Pilsmore Beach

Our great cock 'Murray's Dream' (now aged 13) and the cups he won when he won the INFC Old Bird National in 1998. He also is the grands-sire of 3 different birds to time from France to Ireland for us and others. Racing results 1994 2nd club, 7th South Down Fed. Penzance Yearling National 286 miles 1995 1st club, 3rd South Down Fed. 13th Open EDC Dinard (France) 422miles 1996 2nd club, 2nd South Down Fed. 23” Open INFC Old Bird National Rennes (France) 460miles vel. 924ypm 1067 members sent 2954 birds 1997 1st club, 1st South Down Fed. 19th Open INFC Old Bird National St. Nazaire (France) 505 miles vel. 733ypm 728 members sent 1901 birds. 1998 1st club, 1st South Down Fed, 1st Open INFC Old Bird National Rennes (France) 46Omiles vel. 887ypm 887 members sent 2386 birds.

Before anyone could answer that a lot of factors would have to be taken into account. Fiirstly is it all Ireland or the south or north. What distances i.e. sprint, middle distance , long distance or all types. Number of birds sent per week, Loft location, etc.

This happened once a couple of years ago Linda with a 2 year old chequer hen from a race from Sennen Cove. It was a hard race with the winning bird in the club being clocked around 18-30. It was decided due to only a 4 birds being clocked in the club by 21-00 to put checking out time to midnight as there was pool monies etc still to be won in the club. At 23-32 we clocked the chequer hen, I went up to lift the clock which was in the corridor of the loft to go to the club and just as I opened the loft door I heard a fluttering of wings. I don't know if she was sitting on a house roof nearby and when she seem me flew to the loft or she was flying all this time, but she ended up 6th club and lifting the pools and nom. PJ

Around 300 miles me. Most of these birds are bred down from our great racing cock 'Murrays Dream'. 1st Open INFC National Rennes 460miles, 18th Open St Nazaire 520miles 23rd Open Rennes , 13rth Open Dinard 420 miles all in 4 years. Hall of Fame winner and listed as one of the considered one of the greatest national pigeons that has flown into Ireland from a lot of fanciers. Each of these races bar one the winning velocity was below 900 ypm and in all bar one of the races there was less than 100 birds home in race time out of around 2500. Our family are bred around him and the best of A.H.Bennetts Van Bruaene lines.

CITROMED (antiseptic citrus seed extract) when the pigeons return form the races to kill off all possible diseases germs before they invade the pigeons. http://www.pigeonnetwork.com/vetdirectory/vetnorway/DrNillsReither/devtrichomonas.cfm

Ronnie Mc Kelvey here in Ireland has got all the best of Bert and Masserella lines and has raced very well with them in both England when he was racing the north route from London to Scotland and in Ireland since moving here in 2002. When he moved here from London he brought 18 Fed winners with him and since moving here he has won Opens and Sections in the NIPA with birdage from 15,000 to 25,000 a week.

The only place That I know of where you can get Citromed is directly from Dr. Nils Reither D.V.M. (a well known Norwegian avian vet) at the 2nd site that Redcheqhen posted. We used the product last year and had some very good results with it with our young birds, the big advantage of the products Sinornis make is that the contain only natural products, thus as a result you aren't messing about too much with the pigeons immune system as you would with antibiotics. As far as I am aware the product is made from fruit extracts and is a liquid citric acid which acidifies the gut thus reducing the chances of bacteria developing there. Hope this is of help PJ

None of us really know what our birds have to encounter on their way home from any race. You could have the leading bird in a race and Mr or Mrs Percy could have it miles form home. So to win these types of derby amd national races the winner will have to be a healthy, fit, well bred and motivated pigeon to begin with. After that wind and weather conditions need to be in your favour and you will also need a certain amount of luck. To me though I true Champion is a pigeon that makes the top 50 positions several times independantly of what the wind and weather conditions are. These birds are few and far between but when a lot of us have one we don't appreciate it enough until we have to try and replace it. Thats when you really know how good a special bird was.

Thanks everyone for your kinda comments and no speck no ticks on either eye.lol You better go into hiding Jimmy after a comment like that becaue Speck will be on the warpath. I heard she was practising some strange dancing and swearing rutual dance in her garden most racedays...so you have been warned jimmy. The first blue cock Craig is a Van Brueane cock, and has bred a few winners on the channel for us already. His sire is a son of Ah Bennett's Hermes when paired to another Van Brueane hen owned by John Lovell @Champion Ede' Both these birds are national winners in there respective National clubs. His nest mate bred us the 1st club 10th fed winner from sennen Cove and the week after a son of his was 38th Open old bird derby St Malo. These 2 cockss are only 4 year old and we have only bred of them the last 2 years so hopefully they will be ones for the future can only hope. PJ

The organisation we fly in in Ireland have 2 Geraldy trailers, that house 3-5000 birds each depending on numbers in baskets. The trailers are air conditioned and also have automatic watering systems on one side of the baskets. IF the trailer and baskets could be changed it would be a big plus to have drinkers on 3 sides of the baskets (or at least the 2 longest sides and possibly food on the other side). Alsos I have been told but haven't seen for myself that when liberating the birds in the bottom baskets can be liberated up to 1 1/2 minutes before the top baskets as that is the average time it takes the electric rollup shutters to move from bottom to top. So perhaps these are a couple of things worth considering Paul. They are excellent trailers though and since we have started to use them especially with the clear plastic flaps on the baskets returns especiially with young birds has generally improved. Hope this is of some help. PJ