birdman55678

They will be fine if not raced as ybs. But as has been said before be sure to train them well and they will fly their hearts out for you. Good luck.

I believe this poll would have been better if we could have chosen three things separately then the total could have shown the three top choices. What do ya think guys and gals. Ed

It is guarenteed they will get thirsty if not given water. What substance are you referring to Craig. Ed

One thing you have left out Craig is to use a good gut flora after using bleach.. Or so I have been told anyway. Ed

Those peds will help a lot on cold winter nights when trying to pair up your birds. Not only will it help with the light and warmth when you put them in the fire place but they don't leave lots of ashes that have to be packed out later... LOL. Ed

Just because it is passed doesn't mean you have to use it. You can still use your windups or whatever. Main thing will be to get that first countermark in the clock fast... Good luck. Ed

Was the sparrow hawk diving at the doos?? We have lots of sparrow hawks and they leave the doos alone. There are even flyers that have put up the kestral nest boxes and encourage them to be around as they will generally run off all other hawks in the area... Ed

The distance birds need a little longer to mature, so I say at a min of 2 years. Ed

pigeonscout.. I have found that the squared off feathers are also more prevelant in my loft than the round ones. I have found that they do not change with either age or moult. When discussing flight feathers it also seems to hold true that the number 10 flight seems to always be 1/4 inch or so shorter than the number 9 on my longer distance birds and my speed birds seem to have all #10 flights a tad longer than the 9th. Any thoughts from you???

Not sure if I am understanding your post or not but I will ask this question just in case I have it wrong. Is it in fact that your club or fed or whatever level encourages you to only clock 1 or 2 birds? If this is in fact the way it is I would never want to be third. heck your highly sought after 3rd place finish might have in all actuality been 50th or worse. Were is the logic in it and I am not being sarcastic or anything. This person that gets third probably thinks its a dandy bird and will breed from it when actually the other flyers have lots of birds better than it. Please clarify for me if I am wrong or misunderstood your post. Thanks in advance. Ed

Hi Jimmy. Mr. Barkel has written about the same subject in his book. Not sure about Levi but I will check it. Ed

The 3 covlet feathers are in what would be the arm pit if on a person. They stand out very well and if you see the squared off feathers then you will immediately know. I have looked in many lofts and have always seen both. If you have problems just PM me and we can go into more detail. Ed

Bruno, unfortunately it would not even things out. A manual clocker no matter how you use it will never beat a ET in a close race, its just flat out impossible. Personally as I have posted I would not want to do without my ETS. With the ETS you will always know which bird is actually first to the loft and its simple to pick your best birds each week. At the same time you can tell which ones are either overworked, needing more rest or sick or maybe just lazy or worthless all by the times on the clock, no guess work ever needed. I agree the initial cost is somewhat prohibitive and I had to save for a while to afford mine, but once you have the clock and the rings everything is much more simple from then on, the only added expense from then on is if you happen to lose a bird then you have to replace the electronic ring. I know there are many others with different opinions there but I don't know what else to say other than if you don't have the ETS and everyone else does you will only be racing for the thrill of racing and the closely contested prizes will not be yours. At the same time if your timing manually and your bird is out in front than you will still probably do well with the first few birds it. Without ETS you won't be totally out of it except on the close races, but me thinks there are many more close races than the others. Good luck to all no matter what clocking system you choose to use. Ed

Our concourse uses the unikon ETS, we belong to the AU which has its own software called "windspeed" that is compatible with all the different electronic systems, the software calculates everything that you would need to know and is very simple to use by the secretaries of all the clubs, combines and concourses and national organization. Ed