Kyleakin Lofts

Happily there is no damage here.

Welcome to the site.

Good morning all.

Good morning all.

I have never raced my YB's and have never had YBS to the extent it is reported on here. My YB's have went off a bit with the odd one ruffling its feathers, but not in an endemic manner where the whole loft has it. They are not vomiting, except the occasional one that has overeaten and they do not suffer from the runs. In my opinion my YB ails are normal ups and downs any young animal has to work through, not YBS as reported on here. They are usually on open hole and up until this year, mixed freely with all the other pigeons. This year I have the ability to segregate and now have a few prisoners as well as separating cocks from hens, OB's and YB's.

Good morning all.

Good morning all.

The percy or SH catch the doos and the buzzards steal their prey. The fox comes along and chases the buzzard, etc, etc. Fact remains, the doo is gubbed.

At one time you could look to the top flier in your area and he would be pumping them out at around 1% top quality and 4% decent doos, the other fliers would be around 1% decent doos. They have to be bred to be born and the good stockman had a higher hit rate than the ordinary fancier. There are two or three in your area, same around Edinburgh, Solway, Borders, areas. The West has a few as well, but the majority of fanciers make up the numbers and are striving to improve, some more successful than others. Why are the same people at the top on a regular basis? If they weren't breeding the goods, they wouldn't stay at the top.

Very often one finds that there are fallow generations. A great racer does not produce his like, but his offspring do. This is where the stocksmanship comes into play. One must know his pigeons and his family and then keep faith in them. The beginner has to rely on this good stockman to supply him with good stock and to mentor him as he progresses to continue his mentors family. Sadly nowadays there are not enough beginners willing to learn / listen and there is a dearth of good stockmen who are willing to mentor beginners to the nth degree. It also has to be borne in mind that not all racers are able to breed. It has been said on here by fanciers of merit, that breeding is gold and racing is silver.

" When horses are inbred haphazardly, without culling of inferior stock, many undesirable traits may become predominant in their offspring. For example, the inbred horse's ability to resist disease and his overall performance capacity are often depressed. The growth rate of the inbred foal, and the average mature size within the inbred herd, frequently decreases. Non - selective inbreeding is directly related to a depressed fertility rate, an increase in abortion and stillbirth. Some basic principles of genetics show why these traits are directly related to inbreeding. When two unrelated birds are mated, the chances of unidentical alleles combining within the resulting embryo are high. On the other hand, mating close relatives increases the pairing of identical alleles (increases homozygosity). The effect of increased homozygosity is a decrease in the number of heterozygous gene pairs and, subsequently, a decline in heterosis (i.e., loss of vigour and fertility). Although the reason for this allelic interaction is not clear, geneticists believe that its presence contributes to the overall quality of an individual. Therefore, as homozygosity increases within the inbred herd, physical quality controlled by over - dominant alleles declines. " These two paragraphs highlight the requirement for good stocksmanship. One must have the ability to cull and the knowledge of which ones are the culls. The closer you inbreed, the more ruthless you have to be with your culling. You also require to know when to bring in your cross to prevent loss of vigour. " A successful inbreeding program requires good foundation stock and severe culling over many years. For this reason, experienced breeders who operate large farms for the production of superior proponent breeding stock usually practice inbreeding. It can also be used to establish breeds, or true-breeding types, with respect to certain characteristics such as colour or size. A breeding system, which uses extreme inbreeding, such as mating between siblings or between parents and offspring, is referred to as CLOSE BREEDING. The detrimental effects of inbreeding (such as decrease in vigour, fertility, athletic ability and size) are usually exaggerated in a close breeding system. This is especially true when average breeding stock is used and little culling has been implemented. Close breeding can produce extremely good, or extremely poor, results. Success and failure depend on factors such as planning, foundation stock, emphasis on culling, and completeness of pedigree and performance records, etc. Haphazard close breeding could be very detrimental to the overall quality of the resulting offspring. To avoid disaster, a careful study of the merits and weaknesses of the breeding stock should precede a close breeding program. Only the most outstanding mares and stallions can be used with any degree of safety in a long-term close breeding program. " Your subsequent proof. " Perhaps the greatest advantage of inbreeding is that it increases the pre - potency of individuals within a herd / flock and consequently helps to create distinct true-breeding strains or families. This prepotency (the ability of a stallion or broodmare, for example, to stamp desirable characteristics upon their offspring with a high degree of predictability) is the result of the parent being homozygous for important desirable traits. When such a parent carries two identical alleles on corresponding points of a chromosome pair, he transmits that allele to the same chromosome point within his offspring. If two such parents are mated, the offspring will always possess the same desirable trait. Therefore, as inbreeding increases homozygosity, it also enhances prepotency. (This is advantageous only if the parents are homozygous for desirable traits.) " The one main advantage to inbreeding whatever form is used, however, with racing pigeons, the basket proves the ability and the success of the programme. Nowadays the ability of the basket to assist the stocksman is greatly reduced by the increase of chance in the equation. Why the increase of chance? Simple, the increase n the BOP population decreases the chance of a true reflection from the basket alone.

Happy birthday.

Good morning all.

Welcome to the site.

A few odds and sods to finish, but other jobs to do first. She who must be obeyed has spoken.

Best of luck. Hope your night is a success.

Are you ready to take distances, etc?

Happy birthday.

Good morning all.

Tam can come anytime. Good supporter of our Fed. Don't know when he'll get home though.

Good morning all.

There's nowt as strange as pigeon fanciers!!! Apparently they have had too many bad races from Fraserburgh.

Welcome to the site.

NRCC is the North Road Championship Club. They are based in the middle east of England and convey several other organisations to Scottish race-points. We used to go to Fraserburgh on our own and with them, so twice a year, but now only go by ourselves. Pity the option of two Fraserburgh races has been removed.