peter pandy

Might I bring to your attention.. Post 1715 on Basics, I sent 19 Hens 160 miles to their first race last year and had 18 from 19 on the shift.

Still having a problem with the magpies, "3", as they appear to have invited their friends along to join in the chase, However watching the antics employed with the amount of disturbance caused I have went on open bowl from 09.00 till 19.45 and reckon the birds are up in the air six hours with 15 minute intervals. At least it is keeping them fit and alert. Feed back on Winter rations once daily at 20.00 Hrs.

You will have plenty to accompany you Walter, So you will not be going yourself, Nothing like a decent jump to get them thinking,, unlike the bleeding hearts who have a headache jumping them 50 miles. Jeez I start mine off at 160 mile with little or no training..

Still laughing, my sides are hurting..

Aye Steve but what was shown was a single wire suitable for horses etc, instead of a proper metre high integrated fence.

Useless for what your requirements are Steve.

Steve, I have an electric fence and have had for many a year, Purchased from "Agrisellex" , It is 50 metres long and encircles the garden powered by a "Copel 4" energiser which knocks out a 14,000 volt kick every second. It may be a bit pricey however it is on a timer and I can assure you, you will never have problems with Rats, Cats, Foxes or humans who should not be on your property ever again.. Best deterrent going..

Well John, the Magpies are running circles round me and the Larson Trap. I Can only wish now, that I had not disposed of my Beretta O/U as they would be blood and snot now. Never been one to be beaten I can only wait for a decoy being delivered. With this Lockdown still in force training has not been required as the colony has been kept on its toes with the above giving no respite and they must be aware that when seeking the heavens they are relatively safe.

In the loft there is a situation I have never seen before, I have three Hens sitting all together on one pair of eggs in a nest bowl and they wont allow the Cock any further than the block on the front of the nest box. Jeez I would have had three full poolers this week if we were not on lock down. Although the colony is now on china's they are still putting in a good shift up high Morning and Evening "apart from the three Hens above". My Young Bird team of 5 have also taken to the sky with one missing 48 Hrs before returning to the fold and will be worth watching in the future. REMEMBER STAY SAFE..

Aye Martin I remember the good old days when fanciers were gentlemen shaking the winners hand and the full pooled bird owner was congratulated too unlike to-day, Any club where all the members have ETS only require 3 inside the club while marking and the remainder sitting in their cars waiting their turn, Jeez it aint rocket science.. By the way is yir auld man dain OK..

Over the past few days the Magpie attacks have increased on every occasion the colony is out for exercise and I do mean viciously with feathers flying in all directions. 60+ years I have kept them and never / ever seen anything like it, so it was a hurried requisition from Solway Feeds to alleviate the situation which hopefully will arrive to-morrow. Wee Mary and I have been visiting the local superstore for the odd provision and came to the conclusion that in all reality if we sustained the 2 metre between fanciers inside the Clubhouse and those not required inside but remaining outside their would be no problem regarding racing. ONLY a suggestion as I am bored to tears..

Although it was my intention to replace all the live eggs with china's to-day I have had a wee second thought that if there was no O/B racing and only Y/B racing I would be a numpty to go a year without a race !!. So I will hold off for a week or so to see if their is the likelihood of some sort of racing this year. If, as it is likely to be Y/B only, then I will breed a round for a bit of entertainment August / September.

So, Andy, The RPRA feels the need to reprimand those who road train their birds as it could create a stray problem ?. Well I am surprised they have not proposed to do likewise with those who let Youngsters out their lofts which could easily be given a fright by a Corvid, BOP, Loud noise etc, scattering them and creating the same stray problem !!. Giving out needless directives does nothing for their ability to recognise that fanciers the length and breadth of the U.K. are well aware of our responsibility's and adhere to them. Unfortunately there will always be those who won't. In the loft all Hens laid without any problems and all is quiet..

Having been hit with a Hen Sparra Hawk this evening the colony is in lockdown till it has removed itself from the local, with a little help from myself.. So much for the Terror Eyes Balloon as the *expletive removed* caught him right under its nose, Oh well I suppose there is a first time for everything in this world as it has been a good servant for many a year. Apart from that, all the Hens are back down on eggs again and will be replaced with China's on Sunday. It appears from what I can make from the news that Lockdown could be continued indefinitely which would mean no racing this year although their will no doubt be some who will get in the car with birds, "Basket Training" with the intention of requiring a visit to a livestock feed company 40/60 miles away for provisions, NOT an offence..

Wee Mary has me absolutely knackered doing all the jobs I have successfully managed to avoid in the garden for a number of years and complaints of a sore back and pulled muscles has seen no sympathy from a wife who expects a bit of effort because going through childbirth keeps coming into the equation. Just wish it would rain.. The colony is looking and behaving wonderful since repairing although the Magpie problem is still persisting with 2 keeping them on their toes. I might just endeavour to build a Larsen Trap with all the spare wood I have put away in a corner of the garden at least it will save me doing other work that the BOSS wants attending to such as this fence could be doing with a coat of preservative and my excuse that I done it 10 years ago did not seem to impress her.

Another lovely day of sunshine saw me dismantling the office aviary with it being superfluous to my needs and a bit of an eyesore according to wee Mary who is the boss, What will I do with the space it created ??, A nice flower bed will brighten that bit of the garden says she who thinks she is the Boss, And will you be looking after it say's I ??, Do you want a cuppa was the reply, end of conversation.. Later, after all my exertions I went about returning Stock birds back into the racing loft as I need their loft room for all the nick-nacks that were housed in the aviary. I never used to hoard anything SO it must be an age thing.. AHEM says the Boss after relaxing in the Summer House come Greenhouse with a cuppa, When are you gutting this place out as my San Morzano Tomato plants are still in the shed and need potting and brought into here. IS THERE NO ESCAPE..

Well I have not seen a Magpie to-day and wonder if they witnessed the destruction of one of their own and thought bugger that. The colony was enjoying the sunshine getting a good deal of vitamin "D" until Percy put in an appearance so they went up to say hello by circling round it till it moved off, Street wise pay's dividends.

Over the last couple of days the Magpies have been giving the colony a bit of grief when given their freedom especially when on top of the loft, so to-day I thought enough was enough, Mr Fenn Trap was brought out of retirement and this evening the first has met its fate. Three more in the vicinity will hopefully meet the same fate soon, which will include one grey Squirrel I noticed in the Hedgerow, no doubt looking to harry the nests of songbirds. It would appear to be all quiet on the home front and the weather lately in the Metropolis has brought the garden maintenance up to scratch although I am fed up dead heading 1,000 White Daffodils & Narcissus in my flower bed. A beautiful show when in flower which brings passer bye compliments but not so when they start to wilt. Keep Safe In Your Containment..

Three days since posting and the difference in the colony since pairing has seen quite a transformation in the loft with happy couples chasing around the skies nose to tail. Nest bowl's scooted with Jeyes Fluid and Topped up with straw should see off any creepy crawlies although I would have preferred reeds, however when approaching Wee Mary for a hand cutting them, she politely told me to do the impossible as she felt I had nearly taken off her fingers last year, So Straw it had to be. A couple of years past I was asked if I fed the colony Bread ?, Naw was my reply, However as those who know me know I bake my own bread with the ends going to waste I thought I would try out a wee experiment, Pinching Wee Mary's Chopper/Blender I crumbed an end of bread and mixed in 2 Spoonful of Hormoform with a little Peanut Oil. Geez the colony loved it and its gone from the troughs quicker than snaw of a dyke on a summers day, Oh and they are shining on it. Waste not, Want Not..

With the news bulletins prophesising lockdown procedures till August and the flock beginning to act in an unhappy fashion "unpaired" I decided to return 9 Nest boxes into the spare end giving the inmates 29 Boxes to choose from with the partition door open, the loft was opened up and left to pick the mates they are happy with. I am sure I have written that I do not have fronts on my boxes nor do I force them into pairing together just letting them go their own way as it leads to happy campers with no squabbles. Laid eggs will be replaced with china's and Jack will have a change to his dry food diet, No doubt exercise will be back to clapping around the sky which I get much pleasure from anyway. Take care and be SAFE..

The only good TIT BITS at this time is keep yourself and family SAFE with self containment. My daughter Angela went down with Bowel Cancer in January and successfully had an emergency operation to remove it, However we cannot give her a hug and can only speak over the phone due to her immune system being so low with not even the Grand & Great Grandkids allowed near. Heart breaking to put it mildly..

Another good friend gone but not forgotten, RIP, Condolences to the family.

Hens out to-day saw an appearance from a Perri Bassa and was quite comical as the team circled around it much to the Bassa's annoyance, Whenever it made a tumble attack the flock evaded it and after a wee while it moved away no doubt looking for easier pickings. The team then continued their exercise period and on landing on the loft I am sure they were laughing.. Well at least I thought so. A visit to Vic Cowper at Dennyloanhead had me collecting 2 smashing Blue youngsters which he donated to the SHU Sale and look forward to pairing them in 2001..Thanks Vic, You are a true Gentleman..

Mealy Cock looks like my style of bird. Nice photo's Steve.