peter pandy

Hens out to-day into a cloudless sky and up they went to about 500ft burling and jinking about which had me enthralled as the sun was at the precise position to strike the underwing of the flock resulting in flashing like diamonds which was a rare and never to be forgotten sight, A memory which will be with me forever... Absolutely Marvellous...

How else can you inform the Federation members you are representing George !!.

At the recent SNFC Management Committee meeting there were at least 4 on the Committee who would have liked to return to pre 2000 National Racing ie, Dropping the Inland races and returning to what the original racing was.. The promotion of Long Distance Racing into Scotland as the present system has seen less income into local Federations and the demise of Combines, We were given short thrift.. Less members, Less birdage so the costs will be rising to cover loss making races and no doubt that will see more members changing sides OMO

Are they holding the auction in a mental institution ??.

Having been an enthusiastic follower of Ad Schaerlaekens for many rears I have always followed his enthusiasm for keeping things simple, Which is why for many years at the start of the Moult the team are given Sedochol daily and once again they have came through a magnificent Moult with silky feathering. It just needs the encouragement to race and all will be well in Merry Mack Lofts, Free flying may not be every ones cup of tea during the Winter months but it keeps them fit and healthy and rest assured if their is a problem with any in the flock the lack of exercise will pin point it. As individual pigeon fanciers some wish to keep them ensconced in the loft while others like myself get enjoyment out of watching the daily fly whether it be round the roof tops or gone from sight, As I maintain Each to there own..

Well the first frost arrived this morning and devastated my flower bed especially the Dahlia's and Begonia's so that is more work having to cut the stems and lift the Tubers for drying before storing them away for the Winter, Lawn still needs another cut before the mower is cleaned oiled and put away !, Wonder if I can persuade Wee Mary to do it !!!. Hens out and gone for 90mts while I cleaned and hoovered although most of the flock only have the last flight to throw and that will be that till next year. Mind you there are plenty of down feathers floating around so all is well..

Let's look at this from a different view point, Birds locked up all Winter, but as we all know birds exert the most effort when taking off for flight, Now if your birds are on the floor of the loft say 12 times a day then they will exercise the flight muscles to reach a perch that amount of time. Feeding high Protein will replace the damaged cells and this is where Hypertrophy comes into play..

Not really complicated as it just stands to reason.. Losses multiplied with the Darkness system and fanciers believing that Young Birds "running" was something to be avoided because that system and basket training stops them running 50/100mls on their free will, The complication starts when WE think we know better than the bird..

Thank's George, Hypertrophy was what I was looking for and you have named it precisely and is in all probability the reason for Young Bird losses with them still having nest muscle which diminishes quickly. I am sure I have stated this FACT before..

Habit Davy, Normally I would have 40 Late Breeds at three months of age and they would be running, Learning the countryside and disposing of nest muscle to be replaced with better quality muscle which in my opinion if not administered will result in massive losses when racing begins as Yearlings. Now I cannot remember the correct definitive name for it but in humans it can be done by auto suggestion where exercise tears muscle to be replaced by new firmer quality and stronger physic tendons. This was shown to me in the Mid Seventies by a Kung Fu expert and had me moving 405Lb barrels with ease. Aint nothing wrong with Winter exercise which is why I am a fit and healthy 72 year old and hopefully still with all my faculties, Working in the garden Daily and exercising my brain with a Daily read of newspapers and a good book. If you find I have not explained fully then no doubt we can continue at Clarkson in a week or two..

Cocks out to-day and after 30 Minutes were banged by a Bassa, Splitting them into two groups saw half disappear and the other half performing the fastest trap back into the safety of home, 2 Hours later the rest turned in safely with no losses although a wee touch nervous and no doubt I will be scraping slightly loose droppings the morra. Oh aye I nearly sh it my pants..

Worthy of a good read and highlights what we are up against, written by Robin Page who we should employ as an Investigative Journalist by all the Unions.

Had this problem many years ago and was told it was poor ventilation due to a lack of air movement. As you know I feed quite a lot of beans and never seen mould on their droppings even when not scraping out as rigorously lately. Quite sure you will sort it out through observation and I have my heater panel set at 90% humidity.

With high winds during the night and day it knocked out the power to my tool shed fuse box at 01.00 which in turn stopped the electric fence timer. Now stupid me reset the fuse box then went to open the electric fence without first resetting the timer to the correct time so I received a 10,000 volt kick.. No wonder I don't have problems with cats foxes or any other nocturnal vermin.

Cheers mate fat fingers excuse !!! mmmm perhaps if you went on a diet you could get closer to the keyboard LOL,, Now I aint sayin yer FAT..BUT..

Stevie forgive my ignorance but what is a "deffo year" ??.

Flight Path Given on the First of the month to the race team, However the stock loft was never given it and this is where the "Virus" started, Only youngsters were affected But My time in the loft was severely curtailed July,August and September. I am still a great believer in the product..

Twas quite blustery when I decided to put the Hens out to-day and did they enjoy themselves twisting and turning high up in the sky for a decent 40 minutes ?, You bet they did,, and I watched closely for any which were not performing keenly which could decide if the Virus the Loft contracted was still among them. I can honestly say they have shed the malady and look like racing pigeons again with their new coats and snow white wattles. In all probability most fanciers would have said nothing and kept quiet however I am the opposite and would like to thank those who were in touch with advice and quack remedies.. Should to-morrow be like to-day weather wise then the Cocks will be turned out for a performance review..

Aye Tommy, joker to the last.. April this year had 13 days with temperature above 10c and most days were North Easters, Sleet and 2c would do wonders in hardening them up.. LOL.

All I can do Tommy is keep a close eye on the 4 youngsters left in the loft and hope they complete a decent moult. In my Daily Express to-day there was an extract from the Microbiome Journal stating that people were more likely to get sick when curtains were closed !!, Their study found sunlight kills disease causing Bacteria that live in dust while darker conditions let them thrive. Researchers warned, Humans spending more time indoors where exposure to dust particles that carry Bacteria including pathogens that can make us sick is unavoidable !!! Young Bird Sickness etc etc DARKNESS SYSTEM...

I the loft to-day I was going through most of them and found another youngster in beside the Cocks so I have 4 left from this years breeding, One in particular held my attention as it looked like body feathers were stuck half in half out so a closer inspection showed this L/B Grizzle had a few feathers which broke away when given a light tug, This no doubt is a result of the medical treatment they were given which has obviously affected this ones metabolism, Not to worry though as it will only have a couple of races next year then put bye to go through a normal moult which should see it 100% this time next year. I was told that the treatment could affect the Moult and can only keep the auld fingers crossed that its a one off.

ORBITUARY... Reading in the Daily Express last week about the murder which took place in Dalkeith Country Park. It was a dastardly deed with the victim found poisoned to death. However I am sure many fanciers will sleep a bit easier in bed now their is one less Peregrine in Scotia..

Beautiful afternoon here in the Metropolis had me filling the bath and letting the Cocks out only for them to stay put and fart about inside while I scraped and hoovered around them, Mind you their were a couple of Buzzards high up not wishing to move hovering on the thermals so I will persuade Wee Mary to buy some decent rockets now they are in the supermarkets for Guy Fawkes, They will shift them with a bang under their a*s*.

All is well with the colony although sadly depleted and with only 3 youngsters surviving from 60/70 bred this year it has transpired a years breeding has gone, am I disappointed ?, You can be assured I am, and from now on security regarding strays will have to be the watchword. 100% attention which took a back seat when Wee Mary went for a holiday will hopefully not be repeated although she was quite happy to notice my feed bill has halved and according to her we can now have a wee holiday with the savings.. I soon quashed that idea and purchased 6 months feeding to-day, I received a lump on the back of my head as a reply.

With the colony now looking like pigeons again and free from whatever malady they had the hens were given an Open Loft and had a bath after a 30 minute fly out of sight. It's marvellous how they were ugly Ducklings last week and now with their feathers renewed are looking like oil paintings. Still hoovering up feathers although it is only a fraction compared to the past fortnight, I am sure we are all in the same boat..