TheSaddler

Frank -Totally agree I feed depurative/barley until wednesday night - Then give em the good stuff ..... I have my hens (22 of them) in a three feet by five feet section, on V perches and have a sloped wire mesh floor. Remove hens that pair and box these up in another section. They'll ruin the others in most cases. Chris Little's lesbian hen proves this theory wrong though - Maybe race these lesbian hens to eggs?

mealy bar - peanuts are what everyone at the club says - I know the birds love them but i'm a bit dont like the effect they have on the birds (fat/weight) and the toxins. I've used them in the past... but i'm reluctant to change the diet while the birds are flying well - I'm tempted to try it out on the hens though.. I also have sneaky and homoform waiting in the boxes every other day.

RockinRick, my first question is why do u not train ure old birds ? I'm at work for approx. 11hrs of the day and have a young family so dont have time... I give my old birds three training tosses per year (at the start).. The rest of fitness is acheived from flying around home - In my first race this year I was 4th, 7th and 12th Fed 1300 birds - Training does not get birds fit in my opinion. my second question is do u feed before u let out ? No I feed morning and night - After the birds are exercised. and my last question is do u let cocks n hens out together No - I race roundabout - They exercise seperately.

At the start of the season it's all we ever talk about. Bad Traps... My birds always land after no more than half a circle at the worst - but I have trouble getting them off the lofts tiled roof (apex). I have two lofts that face each other. I know this arrangement is far from ideal but I can't change this since the birds are still at my mom and dads house. And since I dont live their anymore it would be a bit rude to take up all their garden.. My question - What incentives do you use to get them to trap:- I always have food waiting for the birds - even after locked out exercise I show their mates on basketting night I have a fantail - That I flap, and then throw into the pen to get them off the loft roof.. I always take my time clocking in.. Does anyone have any suggestions? Also I never train my old birds - Do you think this is why they dont trap on race days? Because they only ever enter the loft in the week as a kit?

Some add barley or depurative to the feed (approx) 50% to get them to fly more - For me 30mins at this time of the year is ok. You dont want them ranging too much yet. The barley/depurative may reduce their weight hence the longer flight... Does anyone else have any tips?

Thanks for the reply Jimmy.

Interesting post Jack, My best stock cock (Now 11 years old) has bred his fair share of winners, even fed winners. He has a frilly breast but he's never been raced though. Interestingly enough he his off a father to daughter mating and he's the only frill that has ever appeared in my birds (FVW based). This cock certainly tends to indicate that your post is correct.

Jimmy - Do you treat for canker? if so, do you use natural products?

I finished 1st and 3rd at SVFC, and 1st and 4th at Greets Green. That makes it 3 1st's in seven days and seven club prizes - Happy Days.... My Worcester fed birds look about 30 yards/minute behind the best federation birds i've heard..... but there's always next week.. Lets hope the Bromsgrove fed bird is up with the winners.. has I only missed topping it last week by around 10 seconds.

Too right T_T - Theres only one Jimmy Walker! Best keeper the Saddlers ever had!

The Saddlers - WALSALL FC - Now English 2nd Div! Here we come Accrington Stanley!

Not mathematically I dont think - But my team The Saddlers are .... Never mind we have the pigeon season to look forward to..

Sorry meant to say UK not England

I bought a bird from Jos Vercammen during my visit to Antwerp (2004) - A Very inbred family around the Panther - ideal to cross into my FVW family. The lofts and pigeons are superb. But.... the Hen I bought from Luc Geerinckx at the same time has bred more winners. Both birds cost a small fortune though! One thing I will say is my best birds came from Oldbury via the late Jim Smith - So although there are good birds in Belgium we have just as good in England! You just need to do your research..

They look good times Alan - All the best for tonight!

Penkridge by Cannock? If so not far from my house - Good conditions hardly any wind, low cloud cover though - We had fast races today from Frome today - returns good.

Two around 1650 (1hr 37 from 91 miles) - Bad trap though so birds should be in front - Around 1634 in bromsgrove fed (1hr 38 from 91miles).

Totally agree Jimmy - Most of the problems are stress related. Some we can control e.g. the loft environment .....but others are beyond our control - Diseased pigeons mixing with ours during a hold over, poor hygiene on the transporter, poor quality food during hold overs, dirty water when birds go down bad training tosses for youngsters etc... We have to treat to control these factors..

I hope we do race this weekend! Good luck to all - I'll post my approx. velocity sat afternoon.

All my birds get it every other day - In one word 'Excellent'

I treat every year before race season - Something that contains doxycycline is best. I used an Ornicure product this year but brand is irrelevant. It's best never to treat blind - I'd suggest testing before treatment. I disagree that fresh air and good constitution prevent a pigeon getting an infection. The various infections can be spread in the race basket and although the strong pigeons have less chance of catching it, they are not immune. This may help some:- http://www.epah.net/birds/Herpesvirus.html Dont forget treatments account for 1% of a pigeons performance - the rest is down to the skill of the fancier and the quality of the pigeon.

FVW for me.. Scored from 78 to 560 miles for me.

Congratulations Craig - Great start to the season

I finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd Club 187 birds - 3rds a bit close though..

Alan, Low cloud today and no birds in the sky - Also no wind.. Far from ideal racing conditions - I've had 25 out of 30 (about 20 in six minutes) but returns overall from other members are poor and times appear all over the place.