peter pandy

Midland at Slaughterburn 85 miles to me.

Haw Haw Tommy, yir only sayin that cos yi read it in the Days paper or somebody must hae telt ye cos Billy says ye canny read,LOL.

Well it would appear some had good returns on Saturday while others had poor which is normal in Pigeon racing regardless of distance however poor returns can be contributed to a multitude of opinions and I will not be giving my tuppence worth. My charges are still giving a good account for themselves training with the Hens putting more effort in than the Cocks which are happy enough with 3/4 of an hour before dropping onto the loft which is to be expected with Cocks being more receptive around home than Hens and not wishing to leave the vicinity of their partners who I am sure they know are just a door panel away. With the days stretching out I now put the Hens out in the morning and shift the Cocks through to the perch section. This allows both sexes to have their small morning feed when the Hens return to the Nest Box section and are left for about 8 Hours with their Box. With the Cocks going out for exercise at 18.00 Hrs and shifting the Hens back into the Perch section. The Cocks on returning into the Nest Box section is when they are all given the evening meal which I have increased to as much as they want to eat and all seems Hunkie Dory in preparation for the First race this Saturday with my coming last [some hope] as it will be the first time in a basket for some Late Breds. One thing I am confident about is THEY ARE,, Bred to Race, Fed to Race, Fit to Race, and if lost they will not be missed as I nor you cannot know if they have the Ability to Home..

Aye Tommy you are probably right and I am getting ripped off but the thing is I know they are fresh with "Real Foods" being Distributors to Bakeries and Health food shops, The seeds I buy from them are still moist unlike those I have had in the past including Supermarkets which were dry and tasteless. For the benefit of others I was informed by John Bosworth in a personal conversation we had regarding where to obtain the best feed available and who he reccomends. As I bake my own Bread and on occasion add Sunflower seeds I am wary of what I am adding and have every confidence it is not floor sweepings, Its the same with Peanuts, Dari, Linseed, Rape or Hemp after all you only get what you pay for.

Here,Here, :emoticon-0137-clapping: :emoticon-0137-clapping:

When FIT they will do that themselves.

1289 Denny, Peter Brown, 01324620920

Nothing yet on my beat of the Forth and Clyde canal.

I am roughly 9 miles from Stirling and have a good view of the area living in a flat but being in the Forth Valley all the information from here would only cover to the Fintry hills or a rough race route as far as Cumbernauld, However any help I can give is only a call away.

Sunflower Hearts Hulled, £29.42 for 25Kgs which are for Human Consumption with shelf life 18 months from Real Foods, Edinburgh and they deliver to the door. Peanuts are vacuum packed and wonderfully fresh.

Do not be surprised if they are clocked first before the rest of your O/B team.

Yes they were all given one or two races till the moult stopped them and I also have about 20 Late Breds bred from the racers that have been running all Winter. Hens out this morning as usual with 2/3rds back after about an hour then panick set in as this turn of events has never happened to them before, 2 hours later and still 7 missing, 3 hours passed then 4 when they went hammering over the loft roof swept round and were in in less than 10 seconds, all home and they look in great nick as I was convinced a Bassa had been in amongst them. No I can guarantee they were not sitting about as I had went looking for them when taking Jack for an unexpected walk round the streets. This past week has seen a return of the moths in the loft which have pestered me for a year or two now. I put it down to the large hedges which surround my garden and a lack of Hedge Sparrows thanks to the protection given to the Bassas although touching wood they have never been seen in my area but are pestering my neighbours lofts. Perhaps thanks to the "Terror Eyes" deterrent. With the weather supposedly taking a turn for the worse to-morrow, Saturday, I wish all who are racing good returns.

1050 and best wishes.

Enjoy yersel wee man..

Ryan, having watched birds training from 20-30 miles for more years than I can or want to remember I can honestly say that when your birds are exercising in a tight ball with the wings making little or no effort as if they were drumming then you will notice their is little difference, The speed they are capable off is frightening. I can watch my neighbours birds as I live in a Flat and am able to tell when they are fit or unfit. When birds are supposedly exercising they will fly off with the wind at their tail and turn with widespread wings back into the wind in sailing mode, That basically tells me they are not at racing fitness. Their is also the problem here in Central Scotland that to travel South we are into Hills after 10 miles which is bandit country. I hope that satisfy's your queery. Sincere Regards Peter Mackintosh

SU 16 M 1513 "Unlucky for some" especially me.. This Gay Pied Cock is almost all white and I think because of his colour the Bassa's will pick him out in a batch so he will have to fly like the Devil's on his tail and might get home faster, Mind you he done that last year but thought he was safe getting back then would decide to have a nap before entering. Nae wunner I am Grey heeded..

Work rate round the loft is a good question because when I let them out they are gone before I can extract myself, If I am lucky I will catch sight of them in a ball in the distance and its only occasionaly that I will spy them elsewhere, When they have returned home whether its 30-60 minutes they are ready to return into the loft without hanging around, I reckon they are covering from 30-50 miles depending on the time gone. Last July when I was ready to start tossing the Youngsters John Quinn posted that he was not going to train again and I thought to myself I have never tried that so the only time they went in a basket was to a race. Some started at 85 miles with few losses and others started at 115 miles with few losses and all in all I lost fewer youngsters than normal. This O/Bird season will be the same with no training whatsoever and will go straight into the race I have designated for them. Some of you youngsters think the older generation will not change their ways so I am out to prove a point that fitness can be gained with feed and less use of the basket. If I am wrong then I am wrong but I will have at least tried.

I was thinking about you Steve and the word I was looking for would not come to mind "Density"..You hit it on the nail young chap. LOL

Sunday had the Hens out and away with one returning after 30 minutes and into the trap where I noted her ring number "Must clear the ETS" with the rest returning after 45 minutes. In and fed with the Cocks being turned out had me looking for the early return as they all look the same and then inspected her. Unfortunately she was ripped down the breast with the skin dangling off and her Breast muscle showing but thank the lord it was not damaged, So into the house where wee Mary held her and I trimmed it up and smeared the wound with Germolene "New Skin". Monday morning and I could not pick her out but expected her to remain in but she was gone with the rest and put in 50 minutes exercise. I was having a blether with the rotund Wee John "Tiger" and mentioned the incident and like him I thought she would be out the game for a good couple of weeks but it shows just how much they can put up with injury wise which would have had us hospitalised. When my birds are out they dont fly round the houses but go out at least 1/2 mile and do a big circle quite a few times so using Pi and rough measurements of distance they are puting in 25 miles every 30 minutes. If your's are doing the same ?? Why bother taking them training and burning them out.

Nice one Stevie, Just surprised you have not replied that the weight will be equal to the volume of any given body in comparison to its size. i,e 1 ton of Lead = 1 Ton,, 1 ton of Polystyrene = 1 Ton.. The only difference is its volume size.

Knowing you "Fatty" they will be the 48 size crisp bag. :emoticon-0136-giggle:

Could not have accomplished that many views without you fancier readers and can only hope I dont repeat myself too often. If the truth be known I only started Natural as I was fed up with Roundabout and the ability to find the bird on form as I get more pleasure in picking out my first bird to the loft in a race rather than just winning which can be just as difficult when surrounded by really good fanciers in such a small radius. As those with a good memory will remember my reasons 12 months ago however this new team has been most dissapointing and attempting to reastablish a team capable in a truly Natural state will take a bit of weeding out to find those with a good Homing Instinct to return at speed which fitness will provide. Breeding youngsters from Stock Pigeons which have never seen the inside of a basket is a waste of time and effort with unacceptable losses regardless of their breeding is my opimion only, so please dont reply and say s**te. Look to your own and honestly admit how many winners you have bred from a Stock pair ?. You will no doubt find you have lost the bulk of them. ME I dont have a single Stock pigeon left and will breed in future from a tried and proven race team,, If nothing else then I will know the parents have something in their genes to pass on namely Homing Instinct..

A blue and cloudless sky to-day and you would imagine perfect training weather BUT I have been caught out with that scenario before, So I stopped training in those days and would only contemplate training if their was a bit of cloud cover. With the intention of jumping them staight into either the First or Second race and the forecast !!! proclaiming detrimental weather this coming week I will have them basketed in the loft for a couple of hours daily. Wee Mary returning from the Butcher's Shop to-day asked if I was having a bet on the National to which I replied "A Mugs Game" however she went on to say that she had recieved a tip from an old guy in the shop as to which nag to get your dough on as it was a certainty. Now I gave her a funny look as she has never at any time in the past encouraged me to do such a neferous thing as gamble our pension money on a pigeon far less some beast that would end up in a dog meat tin. Seeing her bottom lip trembling I relented and gave her my Daily Express news paper to cut out the £1 free bet token and nip round to the Turf Accountant and place her Tip on 50p Each Way and she gaily skipped away to do the deed. Watching the Race later on the telly and with Wee Mary clutching her betting slip to her bosum and giving me sly knowing looks she suddenly jumped up and unladylike started shouting at the telly frightening not only me and the dogs but passers bye outside, screaming her head off as "One for Arthur" crossed the winning line. Told you so she retorted on her way out the door to collect her £8.35p Winnings and leaving me with egg on my face at what could have been..I will be drowning my sorrows just shortly.. :wacko:

I thought I would take a look at your basket purchase and to be perfectly honest the price reflected the quality of the product "cheap and nasty". One only gets what one pays for. I have a Loxley 10 bird = over 50 years old. 2 Shepherd 16 bird = over 30 years old and will never have to buy a basket again as they are still in good nick.

I was rather apprehensive on opening the Loft door this morning, expecting to find loose droppings from the Hens, however all was well with small piles of firm manure at the side of the blocks. Cocks put out and turned in 30 minutes then another period of clapping away enjoying the freedom of the skies till they were brought in and all fed with hearty appetites.