Southener

Can't see no articles on that site.

Isn't the Ayrshire fed in Scotland? I'd like to read the article if anybody has a link.

Many thanks for a valuable post. I am fortunate to have time available but like yourself don't want to become a slave to the loft and spend unnecessary time with the birds rather than the wife Could I ask how you start the young cocks on your celibate system - do you just add your selections to the old bird section or do you have a section just for the yearlings? Do your sections have regular nest boxes?

Re the young birds. Does your club basket cocks and hens separate on race marking? My club used to have young birds all in together as a rule and generally a fanciers birds were given their own crate.

I may be wrong (probably) but celibate seems little different to standard young bird racing, in as much as the pigeons just race home to the loft rather than a partner - I realise they run together when home but there seems to be no bond the same as with a mate they have reared with. I had some nice results with young birds that paired but generally most didn't.

Does the roundabout system fall down though when a cock gets home first from a race and finds no hen?

Dampen the corn first with a little garlic oil or lemon juice and then sprinkle on the brewers yeast and mix in, high in protein to help muscle repair and very rich in vitamins, especially B complex vitamins.

I'm thinking of perhaps starting up again, but promised myself when I had to pack in that if ever I started again I wouldn't have hens going to waste just keeping them for the cocks. I flew regular widowhood with decent success but hated the hens not being used after their young bird year. I have been doing a lot of searching here for a system and have enjoyed reading the posts by Owen, Terry McCarthy and others but have a question or two. How does a celibacy system differ from roundabout? I know both cocks and hens are used for both systems obviously but am I right in thinking the roundabouts are paired and rear babies and the celibates do not? Can you send all the birds, both cocks and hens, to the same race? I have a few more questions but that will do for now

Peanut butter is a brilliant bait for mouse traps

Hi, I've been trying to find out the cost of a similar loft, could I be so bold as to ask how much it cost please?

Not familiar with ebay? it's an auction and you have to bid for each item. If I receive a suitable offer for any book I will remove it from ebay. PM's only please.

You may have seen my other thread selling my pigeons. I have also got some top quality books for sale on ebay, including; Fit To Win Feed To Win Janssen Brothers Arendonk Champions Of The World Vol 4 Champions Of The World Vol 5 The Four Seasons A collection of Squills Year Books A collection of BHW Stud Books All the books are in superb condition You can see the details here; http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZcn211160

Nope, both son and g/son have won the fed.

I have had the Hongerloots for 7 years now, I started with 6 Belgian rung young birds direct from Hongerloot in 2000, I raced these and 3 of them won and 2 topped the Fed, they came highly recommended to me and they certainly fulfilled their promise, so the following year I decided to have a few more. Now, Hugo Hongerloot is an old man and a bit fussy who he sells to, I was very lucky in getting an introduction from my mate in Co Durham otherwise I would not have been able to buy off him, at the time there was only 3 people who he would supply and between us we ordered the complete round. I had 17 of this batch, they wasn't all good of course and anything that never made the grade was disposed of regardless of cost, among them was 2 nest mate brothers, both red cocks, these 2 have become mainly responsible for my team today and I can trace just about all my winning pigeons back to these 2, one of them, 87, has won the Fed twice and bred a fed winner and his brother, 88, should of been 4 times a Fed winner after his yearling year, but the best he did was 4th Fed (twice) as he was a show off and would never trap, just clapped round for 3 or 4 times before coming in, on one occasion he came home as my first pigeon and did his usual, NEARLY 2 MINUTES later I got another Hongerloot and clocked it to win the Fed, he has since bred a Fed winner though, and that son, another red cock, has also bred a Fed winner. That's one of the best things I have found about these, all the pigeons that have won have bred winners too, all the remaining (proven) originals are now in the stock loft. I race in strong competition in the Woodside club in the Surrey Fed, flying against the very successful partnerships of J.W.Adcock & Son and R & K O'Connor, both winners of many big races including classics and combines. They have won very well sprinting fast or slow races, The Kent Sprint club held a Y/B gold ring race from Sennen Cove, 262 miles to me, it turned out to be a stinker in a north east wind and there was only 6 on the day, I had 2 of my 4 entries come together after 8 hours 40 minutes on the wing to be 2nd and 3rd open winning £1150, not bad for babies. They are now winning over the channel for me too including the fed, I was originally lead to believe they was mostly classed as sprint to middle distance pigeons, but I have won Bergerac on the day with them, 450 miles, but would class them best for racing up to 300 miles. They are a pigeon that is slightly above medium in size and are superbly tame and have very soft feathering. Hongerloot himself raced in the same club in Belgium as Frans Wildermeesh and put up many superb performances. As is quite usual in Belgium his policy was best to best and not worry too much about pedigree, anything that never made the grade went for soup. Gerard Bil and Gevaert are some of the names that appear in his pedigrees.

I have sent you a PM with some back ground details. Chris.