holmsidelofts

Hi josh. i changed the way i fed mine this year and it has transformed them, they are doing 1.5 to 2 hours a day no matter what the temperature they fly there hearts out, never panting just really enjoying themselves. We are feeding versa larga super diet one and quarter oz once a day. we mix a handful of sunflower hearts into it. this is what it looks like without the sunflower hearts. When we start training we will use this as a depurative and start adding heavier corn towards the end of the week as we start to heavily train them. good luck mate. jas.

Im told there is a shortage on vaccine again this year. lucky i bought mine earlier on in the year, i didnt want to be left like we were last year. good luck guys.

Hi tom. How many birds went do you know. Did you send yourself if so how did you get on. Good luck for more returns today guys. looking at the weather at the moment out there its not looking good. jas.

you quoted above we are not allowed to use live vaccines, that quote is wrong. you can use live vaccines over here there is no law to say you cant. Live vaccines for salmonella are available over here from vets, i get mine from a very reputable pigeon vet and i have spoken to the manufacturers of the vaccine and asked them the same question about the legality of them being available in the uk and was told they are allowed to sell them on special licences to vets in the uk so theres nothing illegal about using them in the uk. There is no racing advantage from using live vaccines other than they stimulate the immune system, but dead vaccines do that to, i see no advantage from doing it to win races. there are just as much crap for sale over hear in the uk birds as there are in holland and belgium, you just have to know what you are looking for and dont just buy birds because they come from holland or belgium.

Happy birthday Paul. Have a good day mate. Jas.

Excellent read IB thanks for posting. Keep them coming if you do have more on the subject. cheers. jas.

Hi all. Ive been doing some research regarding air conditioning units and dehydration and have come up with some interesting facts that could be the reason for high losses on transporters with active air con units. below are some quotes from different websites on dehydration: One fact which is clearly not well-known, is that air conditioning strongly contributes to dehydration. What most people seem to not realize is that while air conditioning is "drying out the air," it is also drying out one's system, making the possibility of dehydration even more likely and more of a problem. While we rush to the air conditioned confines of our office to avoid the sun's terrible glare, do remember one thing - air conditioning contributes to dehydration as well. The dry air that's constantly pumped in by the a/c dries our skin off moisture. For people who spend most of their time under the a/c, remember to drink enough water everyday! Effects of air conditioning: Dehydration. The cold causing muscle contraction. The cold causing blood vessel contraction. The air conditioner may be circulating stale air, chemicals, or other allergens from a ventilation system that hasn't been cleaned out properly. Just food for thought, we always talk about birds coming back dehydrated from races or blame clashing for loss of birds but it could indead be the air con that we use to keep the birds cool that is causes the dehydration added to that the high temperatures that can occur in the basket this could be the answer we are looking for. Whats your thoughts. Jas.

I had a mare of a year last year with birds not coming in. it would take me all night to get them in. i tried everything, but ultimately it was a mixture of things causing the problem. one for what ever reason they didnt like going in the loft and refused to land on it. they were allowed to walk around the garden and were fed to much. This year we redesigned the loft. We changed the feed ( only getting super diet at the moment at an oz and a quater and flying for 1.5 plus hours) and we now use a clicker designed for training dogs. evertime we feed them we click the clicker. they now associate the clicker with food. We trap 50 pigeons within seconds, trust me when i say as other of said dont feed them at all if they dont come in and after a couple of days they will be the first in. We still do it now. any that decide they want to sit around doesnt get fed. You have to have a strict routine otherwise if they think its exceptable to ignore you they will do it on race day. last year we had 11 sat on the loft before we clock our first. teach them when they are young and they will do it for life. youngsters who are bad trappers tend to be bad trappers as old birds. good luck my mate. Jas.

Good luck today paul. jas

hi greenlands. I work for sky tv and we currently have no issues with emails at this present time. jas.

Hi guys. I hope the birds turn up tomorrow for you all. you make a good point about the transporter. It is state of the art we cant deny that, probably one of the most uptodate transporters out there, but what test have they really done with it. we have aircon but no digital thermometers to see if it controls the temperature, you have birds in aluminium and plastic crates, they create there on heat and it has to go somewhere, what we need in the baskets randomley are minimum and maximum thermometers so we can really see if the birds are overheating. I dont think for one minute the birds are being mistreated, but i do believe its temperature related, theres good evidence of birds being dehydrated from races. we've moved into the 20th century with the transporter now lets move it into the 21st century. at least we would have something to work on then. you cant fix something if you dont know what the problem is. Good luck again guys. Jas.

Some good advice from everyone. Personally we feed versa laga super diet at 1.5 oz a day. They are exercising well and trap superbly. The key to trapping is routine. We use a dog clicker that is designed for dog training. Everytime they are called in they are fed and we click the clicker. After a week or so of this they associate the clicking sound with food and will follow you around the garden. They literally hammer through the traps as they know theres food coming. I really believe you have to be careful not to over feed youngsters as well, Fat youngsters wont fly, the same for hungry youngsters wont. getting the balance right is the key. Also if the birds are on darkness and moulting heavy they will be less reluctant to fly so just be patient. jas.

Mr and Mrs bromley 12.45 thats the earliest i know of.

Held over mate, thats the last thing fanciers wanted. There will be lots of birds in there from last weeks hold over which only had a couples of days recuperation before being put back in this week, weather looks good for tomorrow though. so good luck to all who sent. jas.

An interesting article below is about the eagle owl in britain. Several pairs of eagle owls, the largest owls in the world, are now breeding in the wild in Britain, according to a new study. But it is unlikely they will ever be considered British birds as they escaped from a large pool of birds kept in captivity. With its prominent ear tufts, 6ft wingspan and its ability to kill birds as large as herons and animals as big as roe deer, the eagle owl is one of the most remarkable birds in Europe, nesting from Spain in the south to Russia in the north, but has always been absent from Britain. However, in the past 15 years, several pairs of the birds have begun to nest in different parts of England, according to a review of the eagle owl's status in Britain published in the journal British Birds. Beginning with a nest found in the Derbyshire Peak District in 1993, there have also been successful or attempted nesting in North Yorkshire; in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire; and at an undisclosed site in southern England. The North Yorkshire pair raised 23 owls between 1997 and 2005. The Lancashire pair hit the headlines in May last year when they began attacking walkers, especially walkers with dogs, who took a footpath near their nest. This year, according to the British Birds study, the birds moved "to a less accessible site elsewhere in the Forest of Bowland ... laying three eggs and rearing three chicks". However, the eagle owl is unlikely to be admitted to the official list of British birds which is maintained by the British Ornithologists Union (BOU), according to the study by Tim Melling, secretary of the BOU's records committee; Steve Dudley, its administrator; and Paul Doherty. This is because a review of all the historical evidence indicates that eagle owls have not bred naturally in Britain since the "land bridge" between Britain and the continent disappeared about 9,000 years ago when sea levels rose after the end of the last ice age – possibly because the birds do not like flying over extensive stretches of water. Previous records of eagle owls found or shot in Britain in the past four centuries are now all thought to refer to captive-bred escapes, as the bird is very widely kept, especially for falconry. The study estimates there may be up to 3,000 eagle owls currently kept in captivity in Britain. "The situation with the eagle owl in Britain is a difficult one," said Mark Avery, director of conservation for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). "On the one hand, these are fantastic creatures. On the other hand, they are not British birds, and, as is the case with all introduced species, we do not know what impact they may have on our native fauna." The eagle owl was a very different case from species such as the red kite or the white-tailed eagle, which have been successfully reintroduced to areas where they had previously bred, but had been persecuted to extinction, he said. "It's not that the eagle owl hasn't bred here for decades, or even centuries – it hasn't bred here for many thousands of years, so reintroducing it is simply not part of our conservation thinking," he added. "One of the problems is that this bird is a top predator which can eat lots of things, and we do no know which parts of our native fauna it would pick on for its prey. So it would be better if people who own captive eagle owls did not let them escape, because we don't want any nasty surprises." Nobody knows if the eagle owls breeding in Britain may be able to establish a self-sustaining population in the wild. It is thought unlikely – unless the population is boosted with further escapes from captivity or deliberate releases. Releasing a non-native species into the wild without authorisation is a criminal offence. Size matters *With its 6ft wingspan, and a body length of nearly 2ft 6in, the eagle owl is bigger than all other British birds of prey except for the golden eagle and the white-tailed eagle. It is twice the size of the tawny owl and the barn owl. The only other land bird to compare with it in size in Britain would probably be the great bustard, which died out nearly 200 years ago. To find a comparison one would have to look at water birds, such as the mute swan, the heron, or the crane.

The rspca have stated on here already that its illegal to release eagle owls into the wild and anyone caught will face a serious fine, that just tells you that they are worried that people will start to do this and they know the impact on the peregrine population that would have. eagle owls were once native birds of the uk but the rspa have no interest in preserving them, they are hypocrites and dont care about wild birds at all. jas.

you have to remember tommy is abroad sipping sangria so it could be anyone mate, that came from the national website.

I have 50 at the moment with another 16 to part over. My youngbird loft is 25 foot long, 6 foot wide , 3 compartments. boxes in the middle section, boxe perches in the other 2, Will separate them closer to racing and will race them on the roundabout system as youngsters ready for the old bird season next year. by the time they are yearlings they will know the system well jas.

Hi newcomer. I have in the past had mechanical ventilation in the loft, Steven van breemen of holland is one of the experts on this and i used to write to him quite regularly before email became the norm. Mechanical ventilation does work there is no doubt in that, i to have tried it and have very good success with it. But for me i wouldnt go back to it now. to do it correctly there are formulas you have to work our and the best method is a tube running the full length of the loft in the roof space with a extractor fan on the end, there has to be different size holes cut in the tube and they have to be spread out over the length of the tube, this will then insure that the amount of air it pulls out is equal across the whole loft, attached the the end of the tube is a mechanical fan thats run on timer switches and it can altered the speed the fan runs and at what intervals it runs at. Get it right and you can keep hundreds of birds in a loft very healthy, i have personally seen this ventilation system first hand at stevens lofts when i have visited him. i also had it on my own loft and had excellent result not only in club but fed combine and national racing. But i have moved away from it now due to cost, its not cheap to run a proper size extractor fan. if you dont get the right size one all you do is waste your time and money as it wont exchange enough air to be effective. I have worked in the past in the air extraction industry and understand this. That is the reason why i moved over to the ronnie williamson design ventilation system ( see photos above in my previous response). In my opinion its as equal to any mechanical ventilation system and it does cost you anything once you've done the work to the loft. Check out jim jenners secrets of champions 4 dvd on loft building to see this ventilation system on ronnies lofts and you'll see why its so good. I have found the environment on the loft spot on. The dropping dry out to completely nothing i have 50 pigeons in a 3 compartment 24 foot loft and i dont believe in being tooclean with youngsters as they have to build up there natural immunity to common diseases and in the past i have had fungus grow on droppings that have been down a week or 2 but i litterally can go for months and the droppings just fully dry out with no fungus and you cant smell anything in the loft its that good. Its the best thing i ever did and i cant wait to fly youngbirds out of it this year. So im not knocking mechanical ventilation as i know first hand if done correctly it works. but give ronnies ventilation system a try and you wont regret it.

Hi paul. Heres some of the results from the welsh national flying club, these are earliest times so far. CENTRE B. PRICE 11.17.23 W,HIGGINS 11.15.44 A.HERBERT&SON 11.19 LONELL BROS 11.16.02 J. MORRIS 11.18.32 D. THOMAS 11.22.57 K.VOKES &SON 11.21.05 SMITH&JONES 11.19 F.VOKES 11.31 DAVIES & COOMBES 11.19.47 I DAVIES 11.18.49 MORRIS & LUCAS 11.19.27 K.METHEWAEN 11.24.17 S. DAVIES 11.19 S.DUKE 11.26.19 M.HUGHES 11.21.51 A. REED 11.22.25 DAVIES & HAYNES 11.21.09 M. MAYO 11.23.25 MORRIS&LUCAS 11.19.27 H.MINNETH 11.22 WRIGHT 11.32.28 B. HACKLING 11.2.01 D. EVANS 11.25.21 SOUTH SECTION S.PROCTOR 11.12.39 PADDINGTON 11.13.04 G.PICTON 11.10.31 MR.T.HARRIS 11.18.26 MR&MRS BRIDLE 11.18.18 K.DONNELLY 11.23.42 S.RIGHT 11.13 G.EVANS 11.26.47 KIDD&COOKE 11.09.17 MR&MRS LANSDALE 11.16.39 HAWKINS FAM 11.15.17 NEWBURY 11.19.08 NEWBURY 11.19 ROGERS 11.27.24 C.DISTATER 11.21.19 FLEMMING 11.18.13 K.GAIN 11.10.51 AJS.APPLEY 11.33.04 FISHLOCK 11.19.16 K.HARNAM 11.28.56 WALTER 11.29.06 S CURRY 11.38.01 B JONES 11.30.32 More to follow mate. Jas

Welsh north road at dover held over due to bad weather, just got the update from lib line. Jas

sorry guys bad news birds are held over due to bad weather. good luck tomorrow. Jas

just rang lib line, update at 12 due to low cloud cover.

good luck to everyone who are racing today. Jas.