peter pandy

With the flock confined to the loft due to the weather and the inside representing a burst pillow their is not much happening in the Metropolis, Over the last week or so I went back to years past and obtained a 30 gallon plastic bucket and filled with tap water stirring furiously with a paint stirrer attached to a drill to rid the liquid of Chlorine. Putting 2 whole Garlics segmented to about 12 in total and allowing them to grow has given me a supply of garlic water for the birds.. Does it do any good ?, well I don't know but it sure smells Garlicky and so far they have not complained. It was something I done for many years before going down South and introduced it to C.Js, Certainly perked his birds up and only requires topping up once the bucket is down to 1/4 full..

Now that the 7 day course of medication is complete I can in all honesty say that the flock is in fine fettle and the moult has not been affected with the treatment dispensed to the letter. Droppings rolling off the perches, Wattles snowy white and the team ready to roam the heavens again apart from those bereft of feathering on neck and head.. Feed has been given ad-lib with Beans, Maize, Wheat and Red Band, scoffing roughly 35 Grams daily. P.S. The flock now consists of 50 with only 6 youngsters left that were never infected..

Samples from crop and droppings were taken from the 4 worst Late Breeds in the loft and sent for analysis at Belgica De-Weerd with the results phoned to me by David Calbot informing me there was a middle to high Cocci count and middle to high Canker count also a trace of Paramixo. A new product developed by Belgica which is not advertised was sent to me and a 7 day course is being carried out.. 4 days in and the response has been magnificent with the light now shining at the end of the tunnel. In our conversation abuse of Baytril and other Anti Biotics are devastating our pigeons with the immune system being destroyed especially in blind treating as specific Antis only destroy certain Bacteria but will leave other Bacteria in a strengthened position making the problem worse.. The only Youngsters left in my loft are from the ones I bred from my own team back in May as their Immune system had enough strength to counteract the introduction from my late mates birds, The moral is STOP blind treating with Anti Biotics and have your birds tested by experts.. For £10 which is only the price of a packet of fags you might curb the losses incurred when racing as I am now of the belief that it's not Hawks, Wind Turbines or any other that is responsible for racing losses but diseased birds in the basket through your misguided treatments.. Natural Immunity beats every disease within reason..

Blind treating is the reason I will not use Anti-Biotics and Avian vets in this neck of the woods are as rare as hens teeth,, In fact I know of none. Speaking to Holly at De-Weerdt I have requested sampling gear and will have Dropping and Crop swabs sent down for analysis on Monday. Going through what is left of the Colony had my attention focused on a youngster [ lovely Red Cock] which I thought was one of birds brought in and on inspection turned out to be a stray which has been there since July and Wing Stamped with the owners phone number which I called apologising for not informing him earlier due to my inattention. It transpired that his flock had contracted Paramyxovirus and had lost most of his youngsters back in July which would have been about the time it arrived in my loft.. Coincidence perhaps but it would answer many questions and time will tell.. Colony now at 51..

Having been a fancier for 60 years I have never came across the ailment which has affected my flock and had to dispose of so many daily.. The flock is now down to 60 with a daily loss of one or two albeit youngsters, They can be perfect to-day but to-morrow will no doubt have me dispose of others, Where will it all end !!!.

This past couple of months had me taking my finger off the pulse in the loft [so to speak] and I have reaped what I have sown.. For more years than I can remember when weaning youngsters I always gave them 100 Mg of Ronadizanole for Canker and vaccinated for Para which practice I carried out till May this year breeding from Stock and Race team. All Youngsters bred since then have been left to their own devices and immunity which to-day has seen the last of them being disposed off with an unidentified illness and a 3 Year Old Hen which I believe was the carrier. None of the birds bred before May were affected and are in perfect health [ Famous Last Words ]..

To-day had me starting the clear out of the aviary stock loft with the intention of the nest boxes being fitted into the race loft taking my box accommodation up to 40, As I only fly Natural and have no intention of ever keeping prisoner stock again nor racing youngsters, the work should keep me occupied for a day or two. The stock loft will be converted into a food and Bric a Brac store.. The 90 inmates I had last week is now 80 with one doing a kamakazi into a lamppost and the rest just not good enough which was unfortunate and I am still looking daily for further reduction.

I really grieves me to write this story about my old mate Eddy who passed away back in May and with the disposal of all his birds. Out of his memory his Old Bird team was transferred into my stock loft where they bred a team of youngsters, All appeared not as I would have wished with nest casualties and after inspection those which warranted a place in my racing loft were moved over. All went well for a couple of weeks when suddenly they developed some malady and were disposed off and the Stock loft was opened up and all given their freedom. After a week and all Eddie's birds picked up from his loft I disposed of those which had problems and within 2 days what was left of his birds had been broken and put in my racing loft. Now whatever affected Eddie's birds did not affect mine and I recalled a conversation we had back in January prior to Eddy Pairing up which was that he always treated his team with Baytril for a couple of days and I had said he would kill the immune system which is the only denominator I can determine in the loss of so many of his birds as my stock has been perfect. The moral being WHY are some feeding anti-biotics when there is nothing wrong with the flock..

My experience with the Barley Straw would appear to have been not what I wished as it ended up breaking down after a month or two,, So its a definite no go and the scraper hoovering up after is back on the cards for the future. Clenliness is Godliness as the old saying goes is true, with less dust in the atmosphere and a cleaner environment for me and the flock. Chatting to a club mate recently regarding the state of affairs and Y/B losses devastating the Fed should perhaps see a different change in the way we conduct our Race programme next year for the benefit off the birds instead of the way it has been over the last couple of years. Time will tell. I am sure I have said it before that 100 miles is far enough for all Young Bird races and no need to basket on a Friday for a race on a Saturday.. Less time in the basket == Better returns..

When I had a wallet Wee Mary and I used to go cruising the Caribbean in January. Now its watching the boats on the Forth and Clyde canal.. Cheaper too. LOL.

Down in the loft to-day had me scraping the boxes and floor completing the daily clean with the hoover to remove any feathers missed, How I came to having 90 birds in the loft has had me scratching my head however closing the Stock/aviary loft and moving the inmates over accounted for some and although starting the season with 50 racers I only lost 15 racing so I have roughly 40 Late Breeds to Winter. Every time I am in the loft I am looking for droppings not perfect or wattles not 100% as they will be moved on. The loft itself can accommodate all at the moment however I have great difficulty identifying birds I am specifically looking for which is annoying but this is an age thing and a heavy moult competes the problem. A 3 year old Cock is sitting china eggs and is so low in the bowl you would not know he was there and wish he had been like that back in July but their is always next year to look forward to.

There was a photo recently in the Daily Express of a sparrowhawk dangling dead by the legs on a post which was a blatant fix as the Fenn trap would have had both its Legs off which is why I wrote to beware where you put them as I am sure no Pigeon Fancier would wish to harm any Bird of Prey.

Just a wee bit of humour in this time of year when all the Y/B perches are devoid of occupation, Hopefully it will brighten up your day and bring a smile back to your faces. My youngsters are just starting to take flight into the blue and will have all Winter and Spring before entering the fray of racing.

Whaur ye bin hidin John or hiz yir fone bin cut aff.

Mark 6 Fenn Trap... Deadly and be careful when setting as it will break bones. Have used them with great success and are due to be outlawed for sale in the near future. Remember it is illegal to put on post where bird of prey could alight..

Thank-you for wishing Mary well, It has definitely been an awakener as to how quickly a loved one can deteriorate and how much work a housewife does, In her recuperation I curtailed her to cleaning one section of the loft only after she had removed all the straw as I felt it was a bit dusty for her and sharpened the floor scraper for ease of use hoovering out when done, I can now let you know that she has fully recovered her ordeal and has managed the entire loft without a tea break while I supervise.. Can anyone advise me on how to remove a sharp implement from my back.....

With wee Mary back to her normal self and my useless administrations of domestication ""on purpose"" all is well on the home front. Down in the loft was a different proposition with some malady knocking off youngsters in a 24 hour period and had me giving quite a few the Coup De Grace. Fortunately it was all from the birds I had obtained from my Late mate Eddy and they have virtually all been moved on.

:drinking-coffee-200:

Congratulations from Wee Mary and I mate.

After posting my last diatribe I went down to the loft and called the birds in for the night and was sitting on my perch wondering why my National candidates were not on the nest amongst one or two others which were awol… Unbelievably 4 nests were devoid of eggs and that was my season finished, Squirrel or Jackdaws I have no idea but reckoned on the latter with war being declared on both species. The very next day saw wee Mary feeling unwell and with me as sick as a parrot our domain was not a pleasant environment with Mary getting worse as the week progressed, Doctor was called for wee Mary who diagnosed and prescribed Salts and with her feeling even worse I called for an ambulance and she was whisked into hospital and proper attention prescribed Pneumonia, Antibiotics were pumped into her and she had a wee holiday for 5 days with nurses running to and fro attending to her needs. Domestication is not my forte but I am trying my best and Racing Pigeons is the very very last thing on my mind..

Empty yir box.

The Gold Cup "Bucket List" is once again unfulfilled however one has to "endeavour to persevere" as the auld injun said to Clint Eastwood and hopefully next year will see it happen.. For those who are like moi,, don't be to disappointed as without losers like us there are no winners.. :wacko: For those on Basics who clocked wholehearted congratulations :egyptian:

Their are times when I cannot remember what I went into a room for and other times I can remember conversations 40 years ago as if they had just been spoken,, One of those occasions occurred when I was sitting in the garden this morning reading the newspaper and baking as the temp hit 28 C. In a conversation with the late Edwin Newcombe we spoke about National birds and the way they arrived at his loft from the distance and his reply was !! The birds you see hedge hopping are the also rans as the winners especially from 500+ miles are flying up in the thermals and only the extremely fit birds can get up there.. Now when I was working down in the Cotswolds the Loft was precisely 1000ft above sea level and I remember Gold Cup day when the birds went over the top of me at 1000ft roughly, So they were racing at 2000ft in the thermals and much cooler thinner air with birds being clocked at 20.00hrs.. Does it mean some will be clocked on the day ?. Time will tell especially if the birds are being looked after in the transporter and not baking in the heat.. Heat exhaustion in the basket will kill before the traps are opened and lead to many losses as was proved from Bovingdon in 2010..

My 3 year old Cheq Cock is my sole entry for the Gold Cup which is the Premier Race in Scotland, Is He Good Enough !!!, time will tell but he is the best Bird in the loft by a long mile and I could do no more for him with 1060 miles under his belt this season with his regime consisting of quite a few single ups every day leading up to the week-end and Wee Mary wanting to know if my motor has a petrol leak and why does it take 2 hours to go to the newsagent round the corner. :emoticon-0136-giggle: I can only wish like me your dream is fulfilled..