Wiley

Cheers son

When your youngsters are right a full basket opened, and birds out without circling heading straight for home is when they are right and on the ball, get your youngsters like that then there's nothing to worry about.

Phil what does recessive mean regarding colour? I only wanted the basic that this chart has given me

Lewis, no I havent

Hens in the London Essex area isn't a regular thing. Well done Tony

Dal, I was very fortunate Frank Tasker was a very good friend of mine, the base of the system will be how he showed me how to do it and prepare them, the only difference I will be doing is keeping them boxed for simplicity and training them on a regular basis but thats open to debate as if there putting the work round home it might not be needed.Feeding wise I am not keen on feeding in boxes anymore like I was yesteryear for a number of reasons. The idea of darking old birds is as you say for rest but also if you take them off the dark 3-4 weeks before an important race there form should in theory peak atthe right time.

Next season I will be giving 8-10 widowhood hens a crack. My thoughts are racing them on the darkness system, darkening from the beginning of march till 3 weeks before the race I wish for them to excel at which would be Stonehaven roughly under 400 miles. They will be trained touch wood daily, and flown round the house of an evening. Those that have raced widowhood hens how have you found the raced while being darkened? Is there anything you noted when flying hens? Most people who know me knows I am fanatical about different types of feed do you feel widowhood hens need to be fed different to cocks? I must stress that I want them to be competitive from short 70mls upto 300-400 mile Mark on the north road.

Thanks for that Lindsay

Anyone got a chart of colour genetics I could take a butchers at?

If the person with the bird knows anyone going near the dagenham or east London area I could Look after it for you unfortunately Gatwick is advertised as London but in fact it's about 45 miles away

Love Thy neighbour, one foot in the grave, In sickness and health, Ain't half hot mum and Some Mother Do Av Em, are some of my favourites all before my time apart from One Foot, but television these days doesn't come close.

Tony, Micky is the only modern day comedian that has me in stitches from start to finish. Jimmy jones has me rolling up an all http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=GB#/watch?v=cEYkNYX8YXg

Micky Flanegan http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=GB#/watch?v=MoJ0--bf-jY Argentinian Racing Pigeon http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=GB#/watch?v=L8M-wBMb7W4

Jason Byrne http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=GB#/watch?v=B0VtkCrbLd8

Looking at ring number and the disaster the combine have given us again wouldn't be surprised if it's a London bird

Alan, is there a difference in the moult between your birds and the birds you received from your friend

Very sound advice, I would not hesitate vaccinating for paramyxio twice any more, best thing I've ever done.

Hi lads it's a long shot but does anyone have any contact details for the said fanciers

Cheers for everyone's input it's a great help

Cheers for everyone's updates on the weather it's much appreciated. Tony I also think it will be tougher then expected but the law of probability is against me only sending the one, but we sent him in good condition just hope he comes and in good time.

Any lads help with a weather update along the east coast our birds went up from Thurso in a north west wind

Sisters wedding at 12.00

I tend to put the bird in a widow hens box with a deep nest bowl with wood chips. Tried suspending in woman's tights they tend to struggle and fall out eventually

Good luck with the new loft mate. I am alway dubious about new wood. Be interesting to note your results in the old loft to the new loft over say a 2-3 year period to see if you have noticed any difference, performance wise. Wish you the best of luck

Bern I cannot really comment but the people who I e spoke to who done it i believe they've struggled with loosing birds inland and had better return on the channel surprisingly. I would love to give the south a whirl if there was a localish club and fed, but at the moment traveling 15 miles to Mark pigeons is not for me. Micky Connolly fellow club member sent his you g birds north all year, his brother Jimmy Connolly who lives in Kent and raced south bet he couldn't race south, Micky joined an organisation I cannot remember which one and sent 5 to the Guernsey yb national got all 5 and was in the top hundred in the national beating his brother by over an hour I believe, also got 100% returns. Good few years back tho.