holmsidelofts

Lower spec microscope though, no mechanical stage, Would spend the extra as when you get down to 400x you cant do it really with out one, any tiny amount of movement is huge under the microscope at that magnification.

Try looking on the net for free webcam capture software as in the past when i was given a lone of a usb microscope camera it didnt come with software. i went online and found a free webcam software and it worked fine. Most webcam capture software should work. I use a camcorder on my microscope attached with a barrel lense from brunnel. i use a mac book pro laptop and use capture software called vidi and it works perfectly. good luck. jas.

Yeah i totally agree thats why i will only buy from someone i really know and trust. I would never buy from anyone else unless it was a complete clearance sale. Then by the winners or the breeders. jas.

I dont dispute that, just commenting on your £25+ compared to £4 comment. everything in the world revolves around money. but money doesnt make you a champion. There are 100's of people out there that have spend £1000's on the best birds but never become champions, money wont make you successful but it does help in some circumstances. I agree about cost and it does cost more each year to race but we cant do much about that, I have been racing for 30 years and if you compare the price of corn back then to what it is now its not that different giving for inflation. But for me its all about quality not price, yes you can go to a local farmer who will sell you grain, but its nowhere near the quality of what comes from abroad as the climate abroad gives better quality corn and thats fact, plus factor in delivery and the price will be higher but the quality is also higher too so in my opinion that extra cost is worth it. I know cost is an issue for some people, and not all people in this sport can afford to pay for the best and theres nothing wrong with that. Im fortunate enough to be in a high paid job which allows me to spend that little more, I have tried cheaper corn and saw a difference and so i went back to what i know. If you factor in the cost over a year for racing it works out for me something like what follows. Corn bill - £700 average. supplements and products including vaccinations - £300 Training approx 10 tosses old birds at about a cost of £4 a toss - £40 Training for youngsters 40 tosses approx at a cost of about £4 a toss - £160 Club fees - Approx £70 Racing cost per week Approx £20 per week average races of 25 a year - £500 a year. that doesnt factor in national fees and sending and pooling in national races Ets rings £100 a year approx. my time 3 hours plus a day every day 365 days a year £priceless. Thats nearly £2000 a year on the sport we love. Unfortunately it is about money, without it we couldnt be part of it, and i do feel its what is partly to blame for the sport being in decline as its very difficult for youngster to get into the sport with the above cost . Thats why its important for fancier like us to support the youngsters who are getting into the sport the way we do. Have a good season ahead, Im gonna make sure the wife doesnt see the above or i could be talking with a high pitch voice the next time im on.

Not sure what multivits you are using mate but you need to shop about, Beyers Liquid Multivitamins £9.98 Harkers Harkavit-Plus £6.86 De-Scheemaeker Natural Naturavit Plus £6.53 etc, so where you get £25 + from im not really sure. Plus as i have said before its all about supply and demand, Poultry farmers spend millions of pounds a year compared with us pigeon fanciers so the companies who make these products are gonna give them the discount. Its a market that is 100 times bigger than we will ever be.

I think its like all hobbies there will always be people making money from it, People who make lofts, sells corn and products, people who make dvds, people who sell birds, people who run one loft races etc all make a living from the sport. For me i dont mind paying for something if that thing is worth the money they are charging. And as the sport is getting more and more expensive i dont see an issue with people making money from it as some do it to help pay for there racing fees.

You can get it from here, i get the whole pale malt £35 per bag. http://www.zen37219.zen.co.uk/maltedgrains.htm jas.

Gem do malting barley which is just a higher grade barley, or are you looking for malted barley which is different, malted barley is malting barley that has been put through a process which turns the starch to sugar, it is then dried extremely quickly, it tastes completely different to normal barley, very sweet tasting the bird love it. we use it, i get it by the 20kg bag and it costs £35 a bag, this is from a brewers shop. I will dig out the details and let you know where they are from. jas.

Hi paul. Whats the origin of the van reets mate. Jas

Keith and Jason Edwards, hanbury arms garndiffaith, pontypool, welsh north road fed.

Very nice hen mate. Having met jos a of few occasions i have found him extremely honest and he really knows racing pigeons. In my opinion hes the best in the world and have been for a few years now, good luck with her i hope she breeds you loads of champions for yourselves. Have a good christmas. Jas.

Thanks kylie. Yeahs it not easy, one thing it does it make you appreciate what you have in life, we often moan about things that aint worth moaning about, when something like this happens it really knocks the guts out of you. For us it was never about downs, we would have been happy to have the opportunity to have our little boy with us, unfortunately it was not to be. Downs can happen to anyone regardless of age, we had a perfectly healthy little girl first, me and my wife aint that old she was 25 when she fell pregnant with brandon, and we did everything to make the pregnancy a healthy one. We all have to be grateful for what we have in life. My 3 year old loves the birds and cant wait for training to start so she can come with me.

very inspirational that poem. We lost my little boy brandon about 2 years ago, he had downs but had a fatal heart condition and we were told he would only live for a few hours after he was born and we had to make that horrible decision that no parent wants to make, that decision will haunt me and my wife forever, theres not a day that goes by that we dont think of him. You have a beautiful baby that will bring you so much joy. We have to little girls one who is nearly 4 and the other who is 14 months. 2 girls what a handful but we love them so much. Have a great christmas. jas.

not to bad at the moment, hopefully will stay dry for the day. Jas.

I dont think so every time i've seen it its been in ready mixed bottles, and thats straight from the vets, so i dont think so. Jas.

No its in liquid form unfortunately. I've never seen it in powder form. Jas.

Yeah i totally agree to. All we are trying to do on this site is to share information with other fanciers so that everyones aware of things and people dont get ripped off. Jas

Thats not a very nice thing to say about me is it owen, lol ;) ;) ;) ;) . I know what you mean though mate it seems some do more than most on basketing night. jas.

Lindsay I didnt just make that quote up, that came straight from 2 of the top uk pigeon vets, yes people are using it after 28 days but it aint doing them much good i would have thought, All they are doing is giving a product that is then weaker than it should be and wont work correctly making the problem worse. If you dont believe me the next time you go into your vet ask him the question. Im only giving you what i have been told. do with it what you like, i can only make people aware of this. Jas.

Not really sure where you are getting your figures from on the percentages, baytril 10% you couldnt use on pigeons due to its strength, Plus the amounts that poultry farmers buy i think they should get the discount, the more you buy the cheaper it should be, Plus as baytril has a shelf life of just 28 days buying baytril for pigeons by the litre would not be worth it. Plus you cant buy from that site unless you have a vets prescription so you are better off going to your local pigeon vet if you require it. Most pigeon vets wont prescribe it anyway due to its strength and harshness on the bird, dont forget antibiotics kill good as well as bad bacteria, you will probably find most vets will prescribe Amoxyclin before they would issue baytril. In fact for the amount you would use its not cost effective. I would never use antibiotics if they were not needed. Jas.

Heres the big question. You come home from the club on a saturday night, to find you have won the lottery, hooray we scream. After buying your new big house and getting your 100 foot plus new loft erected you have the dilemma of where do you go to purchase birds to fill it, its your choice, money is no object. Where would you go and why?

Hi roland. Im not going to get into the louella quality argument as this as been well documented on the site, just commented that when louis was alive was when they had better quality pigeons. Now i dont think there birds are that good but as i said this thread is not about this argument its about one of the greatest racing pigeons of all time and i just commented on the quality of the birds on the link that was provided. Jas.

I told you paul you should have hung there, whats a few thousand when you are spending that sort of money, ;) ;)

I told you paul you should have hung there, whats a few thousand when you are spending that sort of money, ;) ;)

No louella says in the british homing world advert that invincible spirit was bought for £110,800 so if thats the case the bird above cost more. But if you base that on what £110,800 was worth in the early 90's ( not sure when louella purchased him , he is a 88 pigeon) then i would say hes still the most expensive bird .