Beanz

I gave all my latebreds to a bloke in Bournemouth who was just starting up again, kept 2 back one went off the loft and the other I have just promised to a sale for Piper Hill special school, but would gladly give a pair of 2007 youngsters for a sale or to the lads themselves if they want them. Pick of the loft.

Its a damn shame but unfortunately its a sign of the times when kids have no respect for other peoples property and when they are caught their parents say they are good kids who just had a lapse of character. The courts of course do nothing only slap their hands give them community service and let them go to do it all again, when murderers and rapists are getting light sentences do we honestly think that the courts are going to bother about a loft full of pigeons. Somebody needs to get the ball rolling up their in Hartlepool so these boys can be returned to the sport ASAP.

Bruno, thought about it beleive me, had a couple of calls from people who were willing to come and do it so that I wouldn't be involved, however in the end I pay my council tax let them earn it for a change.

call that a bad neighbour, not running you down but my neighbour had a cement mixer at the back of my young bird loft which he filled with large rocks and pieces of metal which he turned on every time the birds were out, he has also been waving a towel as the birds came in to land and also had fires when they were out, he also threw rice all over my lofts so I would have trouble controlling the youngsters. Got my revenge by reporting him yo the local council as a nuisance neighbour, the council asked him to go in and explain what his problem was, guess what? did not attend but everything has now stopped. Wigan Council is not even pigeon friendly as they won't even let you keep pigeons on a council allotment, but because I complained that he was a nuisance neighbour they had to act.

purchased 2 hens from Foxwood Lofts last year had no problems with them at all. All paperwork arrived within a week

breeding off too many paper pigeons instead of concentrating on performance birds.

I dont change my pattern much, only when dark nights come in and i can't go in, up to then just the same amount of time with the birds, let them out clean out feed and water them check a few to make sure all is okay and then lock up.

Open doors anytime

Mark, enough money where ? I don't know about anybody else but most pigeon men I know if you say you are going to put a penny on birdage, you would think you were asking for £1000 they don't think twice about spending money on birds or clocks etc. but birdage is taboo.

Roland if you put a block of wood about the size of a pallet block or half a house brick the hen can get out of the way and so doesn't get beaten up as you put it. she is higher up than the cock and can hold him at bay.

Super looking birds just bought some Mardons myself hope they turn out as good as the ones you have, I brought them in to try them against my own Van Reets which I put together should be interesting. I was going to say good luck for next season but with what they are producing and looking at the stamp of the birds you won't need luck.

We always set out to try and equal the performances of the year before, in 2005 we won 6 x 1sts and in 2006 we won 8 x 1sts, we topped the fed in 2005 and we topped it again in 2006, so I wouls say we had a good season. As I said at the beginning we will have to try and match that next season.

Don't think it really matters, its up to the individual as whichever way you do it as long as the birds are settled in the loft come racing time

The reason we start early is because the transport folk tax and insure their vehicles from the beginning of the month and if we started later and finished later they would have to tax and insure for extra time and not make money. If we started in the middle of April they would have no income from their vehicles for the first couple of weeks and if we went half way through September then they would have no income for the last couple of weeks, so since it is a business you can hardly blame them, would you fork out extra money for no extra income if it was your business?

Couldn't agree more, paper ones are garbage would sooner spend the money on a proper one. got two for the kids last time one for my daughter who had budgies and one for my son who has cockatiels, I believe parrot type birds are supposed to be worse than pigeons for bloom.

Persanally I don't care one way or the other as I will still race my birds, but a lot of the pro ETS people are well off fanciers who can afford it and in my opinion are using the disabled as an excuse for their own benefit, another one is about handling the birds well I don't know about you lot but when my widowhood cock hits his box he is not bothered about me and is still cooing in my hand when I take the rubber off and in fact probably doesn't realise that I have even picked him up, one of the other questions what does not seem to be answered is If 1 member of a club buys ETS who buys the clubs part, do all the other members subsidise this fancier because he or she wants to use ETS, that is surely unfair, many small clubs and as we all know there are now many just could not afford to buy this. I know there are benefits from ETS but all these need to be brought into the open and discussed not bring it in by stealth which in my opinion is what some fanciers are trying to do and I am still waiting for Unikon to print a price with their adverts Bricon & Taurus have so why cant they or are they trying to hide something. I do beleive it needs sorting once and for all as it is dragging the sport down and causing countless arguments, it is time we had a vote once and for all with the decision being adhered to by all but you and I know it won't happen not yet anyway

cheryl contact nancy view lofts, they have some direct Mardon Van Reets for sale

widow maker if you want some mardon van reets, nancy view lofts are selling some directs as they have to move their stock birds off their allotment, handled some cracking birds last week when I went same price that you would have paid Mardon for youngsters £50 each

Tony the company is Bradwest and they advertise in the magazines and are at Blackpool every year, I wouldn't be without one now, there is a power pack which blows air down away from your mouth and nose so reducing the risk, I reckon the power pack usually lasts for about 2 years, so in fact I was wrong when I said £2 per week as they are about £120 so in fact they are only just above a £1

Hi Rick, Sorry about your trouble, I have used the Bradwest masks for the last few years and I find them very effective, they are a bit expensive but I suppose it depends on how you look at it, how much is your health worth, all I can say in my opinion PRICELESS, I have used these masks for the last 6 years and I reckon it works out at just above £2 per week. I have my blood checked every year at the Blackpool Show and it has come down from in the 20's to my one done last year which showed up as 1. Hope this helps.

we only have room for 12 cocks so its sort them out after the last race and anything that comes back you must decide if it is better than any other you have kept, but i would never condemn one that has returned without looking how it had performed in the races it had been in, would not keep it just because it is bred off certain stock pair because as we all know even the golden pairs breed bad ones, the basket is the best way to decide but even then all them that race through are not necessarily the best because we do not know why a certain bird does not home

being pretty local about 30 miles from Blackpool, I used to only go for the day but for the last 10 years gone for the weekend much better, can pick your time to go in and out missing all the crowds, only problem now is my son wants to come every year, any good looking girls out there would like to take a 15 year old slim good looking lad off my hands for the weekend ( not as good looking as his dad yet though)

T-T its noy creosote any more its a creosote substitute, the original has been banned as all the best things are, after all these years they have now said that it MAY cause cancer, pretty funny really when you think of all the c**p they put in our food these days and in the food they feed to animals which we eat after

ahd a similair problem a few years back went to Lizzie Rigby cost me £50 for her to tell me what I didn't have not what I had got be wary of Vets not all of them are any good, in the end used Baytril lost one rest were okay.

agree with ribble could have had a bang