peter pandy

Aye its easy enough especially when the section is 10x8 which is why I used Eddie Newcombe's system of catching them for the past 44 years, but when you have a gammy knee you cannot get down to pick them up from the floor. Age does not make things easier. As regards peanuts !! my birds think they are part of the feed they get so they are no longer a treat..

I had a top man visit yesterday for a lesson on how to keep pigeons who brought wee Mary a bunch of roses, A box of chocolates and all I had from him was criticism all be it CONSTRUCTIVE on little things I had not noticed such as I could be doing with more light and more heat although I explained the loft gets no sunshine till afternoon with it facing South West but placing perspex roof panels on would sort both problems out. Being of an inquisitive nature I had to ask how I would be able to catch them as I am not as nimble as I once was and Like to darken the loft to make it an easy job when wishing to handle them !!. Oh this chap had an answer for everything but will remain anonymous as per his wishes. Contacted Eccelfechan and spoke tae Stevie who kept me on the phone for 40 minutes as he wisnae payin for the call and we are still the best of mates with him sending up a couple of youngsters or maybe I was dreaming..

My sincere apologies Steve if my last remark was offensive to you as that was never my intention.. What I perhaps should have remarked on was that if every bird we race had Homing ability then why are we losing so many ???. I would doubt if 30% returned overall from 300-400 miles races and I cannot for the life of me say its down to the fancier responsible for their losses. I certanly do not send birds that are unfit nor do I believe others do.. Please keep sticking the knife in as I am a masochist and can take the knocks..

Aye whatever mate..

You must have missed quite a lot Phil as it went for an age that I was not rearing youngsters this year for racing and would take a round of Late Breds from what was left in the loft as I am of the opinion that stock birds breed as much if not more crap than birds with a proven HOMING ability and I had rid myself of birds with pedigree's as long as your arm BUT had never seen the inside of a basket.

Plans for the Gold Cup and any other future Nationals have went flying out the window with the 2 inland races !! SO the loft has seen all the baskets put away till next year, If anything has came from this years returns from Midland Fed and National racing it has been the savings on my feeding bills. All that is left for the remaining flock is to rear a team of Late Breds to bring the inmates back up to loft requirments for next year and hopefully better loft management will see a reversal of this seasons endeavours.

Hope everything goes OK as 50 mph winds are forecasted.

Aye John he isnae very guid at forecasting Hearts results :emoticon-0136-giggle:

Bedhampton has been put to BED litterally for me as I only clocked the lone returnee at 8 pm about 2 hours off the result and to be honest I have in 60 years never saw a pigeon so distressed as he was. On arrival he fell through the trap and made his way to the drinker where he stuck his head in and took a good drink, stood back for a few seconds and took another, stood back and repeated this another twice taking 5 drinks to the effect his crop was so full that I could not handle him as he left the drinker and retired to his nest box to sit on his eggs, Food appeared to be the last thing on his mind till the following day. Many have wrote on BASICS what they have thought on the way the race and returns have panned out so I will not give any reply as it would just be a waste of effort other than to say I doubt if 99.9% of fanciers have ever been on or inside a loaded Transporter in June but have plenty to say..If TIGER says the NAT Transporters are not fit for purpose then I whole heartedly agree with him.. P.S. Well done the birds that survived the ordeal and made it home..

G Truesdale Sec,01236 601250

One made it home to me at 8pm and had difficulty removing him from the drinker, Oh aye and he had mud up to his knees.

You better hope it was only used as a feeder and the baskets transferred.

I fancied taking the motor for a wee run last night and visited Newmains as I was in no rush which was just as well as I laid my basket down and stood in the line about 30 yards from the door to the Marking station, Lo and behold there was wee Wattie at the entrance so I shouted !! Walter are you keeping my place for me !!! You could have heard a pin drop as 50 pair of eyes glowered daring me to try and skip the queue before I nervously started laughing. Needless to say it was 2-1/2 Hrs before departing for home and the queue was still 20 yards long. Had a lengthy chat with Basics "Dava" to while away the time and a couple of others so it was a pleasant evening BUT if it had started raining then a riot would have started. Pigeon wise I have sent 3 Cocks two of which I hope to see on the result and the other is only there for wing time as he will be my candidate to knock D.J. off his perch at Ancensis,, Well we can only dream as this game is full of high's and low's usually in my case the latter. To all my friends the very best wishes to you and regards the others, I hope you have a dose of what I have had to put up with.. :emoticon-0156-rain:

Probably lucky if their are 4,000 Nat doos with the rest made up from Federations which brings me to the question, How many transporters are conveying 6,000 + Birds and Hope Midland truck is not doing it.

Aye George the Midland Nat members have to pay birdage and pools 7 days before basketing and their is no money returned if for any reason you are unable to send. Worst system ever devised..

Could not put it better myself Roland and am sure you are talking for the large majority of us.

For the past couple of years I have in the afternoon enjoyed reading a book then having 40 winks and to-day was no different until I was awakened by the phone, Lee Fribben's from the Seed Bed De Weerdt Laboratory confirming the results of the samples I had sent for analysis which were given the all clear on every test so I can rule out everything in that line. We had quite a long chat on the problems of attempting to identify respiratory in the loft and how to overcome it without the use of antibiotics, Meanwhile down in the loft I had my first return from last weeks Nat which has lifted my spirits no end.. :emoticon-0140-rofl:

Ah Ha the 24th wiz hidden in the coarner ..

Dae we hiv tae guess the date John ????.

The origin of the Deweerdt's was Stichelbaut from Marcel Desmet and to my knowledge they can sprint up to 2 year old then do the distance as 3 onwards. Loft location makes the difference between First and also ran.

This past week is a week of my life I could have done without as it has been one disapointment after another both in our personal life and in the loft however as this is Pigeon Basics I will concentrate on what has been happening loft wise. For a start I have had nil return from last week's Nat and I am not alone in the Metropolis as one of the good local fanciers never saw a bird either and 4 Fed toppers are still amiss. Returns are roughly 8 from 30 locally which will no doubt be replicated throughout and one can only wait and see how this weeks Nat entry pans out. Three Cocks will be entered this week as I am now sitting with 10 birds suffering from Hawk strikes which I had hoped would participate however it is not to be. With the weather being a factor last week-end I decided to leave them at home and missed out on a blow home race which would have served no purpose to my mind anyway and Crop/Dropping samples have been taken and sent for analysis in case their is something unseen wrong with the flock as they look in tip top condition. Many things play on the mind when I have zilch returns from birds that were in fantastic condition or they would not have been sent and can only theorise where I could have went wrong with one being not keeping the loft closed up and it cooling down to quickly as night fell with damp in the atmosphere affecting them. At the moment it is all I can put it down to.

I visited my Doctor last year suffering from One eye cold as it would not stop running like a burn and dripping off my chin [very slight exaggeration] and he said I was suffering from a blocked tear duct and gave me ointment which if it did not unblock it I would have a minor operation where they put a fine probe down the duct to clear the blockage. The cream done the trick and it has nothing to do with any deficiency.

Well the Buckingham National race was panning out for to be won here in the West with the wind turning South East so I can only congratulate all the local lads who made the result (1) or at least had their birds return home to try again unlike me who still has zero returns. I will send to Catterick this week with A/V which will be their final preparation race for the Gold Cup and get plenty training tosses in to keep them fit. The Hen situation has left me really short now and a pair of lesbians are proving awkward in my attempt to have them with Cocks but one can only persevere with the beggars.

5 from 5 with Tiger looking after them tells a story.

It is looking throuth the red mist that I mistook the Bury with the Ark. Ho Ho Ho. One was for death the other for life if you can fathom out my meaning.