tubbles

North Wirral fed and west lancs amal Wincanton lib 12:15 in variable wind

If the neighbours are complaining about the height, before you get too far could you not dig down 18" just a thought and i don't know what the ground is like but then you could slope it to the front of loft and it would be the same height as you told them. 8)

North Wirral Federation Wincanton

Lol Tammy you can't talk to Harky MASSERELLA like that LOL ;D ;D

We (north Wirral federation and West Lancs Amal) are at Wincanton this weekend 161 miles to me. up to now the weather is north wind but clear :) Hope Michael Fish is not in charge of forecasting still

Don't know if you are in the area of a couple of clubs but if you are, find out which club is the best to race in for whatever racing you are interested in: Distance or sprint. and get the application in as soon as you can for the AGM next season or maybe even join this season, then you could go down there on Friday nights and see how the clubs run and what the peeps are like. Dunno if you are in the same address as you raced last time you had birds but make sure the club membership is open for applicants in any club that you fancy. Some clubs by me have limits on membership, then it is one out one in. Welcome to the forum and back to the sport ;D

I bet the old chap that people are referring to has seen these fly by night fanciers come and go in the past. Fancy new clean looking lofts can hide a disgrace inside. That mans birds will have been probably more healthy and indeed happier than some lofts that have a cosmetic outside appearance. so in fact looks can be deceiving. :

Bucktons Ruby gold for old birds Bucktons champion young bird(well theres always hope) Bucktons Irish ruby stock and maples for any in the nest

Gangster thanks for quick reply. Just looked at a printout from a t3s and it just says 123547 which is 12:35:47 no hundredths or tenths of seconds. perhaps if plugged into a race velocity prog it may like you say, do hundredths but the printout is what we go by. Phil

Great pics Sally. Any chance of you going to Wincanton next week and getting pic of my good blue cock hopefully leading the way lol ;D

I know this would be unlikely, but what if another loft times in to dead heat on the velocity, where would the computer put him in the result? 11th? I would not be happy to see my name 11th on the sheet if i had dead-heated with someone flying in an advantageous position in the federation. We have a computer in our club but just mechanical clocks at the moment. There is no option in the program to enter parts of a second as ETS seems to work on but you cannot clock in in 1hour 30mins and 30.2seconds on mechanical clocks so this also seems to pass an advantage to ETS owners. I feel that the days when someone says at the club, I had ten drop together are going to come back to haunt us, as these people will now be wanting all 10 on the sheet and who can blame them when they are all on the same second or part of that second. It seems that every post i do sounds anti ETS and i don't want to give that impression because i have no feelings about it either way. If it does not kill the sport or detract from the thrill i may get one myself in a couple of years. The sport needs a kick in the a**e to attract more youngsters in but i'm not sure if ETS will help or hinder. :

Pigeon man I am in the same boat as you. I get the call from fed secretary and then phone all the lads cos i have the list of who sent to the race. It's easy and then you know that ALL the members know they are up. As for the idea of txting all members using a mobile, most of our members don't know how to use a mobile ( old codgers LOL ). I find that the lib line is expensive and when it is not updated when you are told, especially for the early short races i have to phone it about ten times. The early races that i refer to are generally east winds cold and misty so it is not clear enough for a liberation but we as secretaries have to find out to inform all the members.

with some of the velocities on the results page that may not be so good after all.

Merseyside here it is bright at times and other times looks like it is about to pour down. not as warm as of late either. Hey it is only April after all

Sorry to hear about the hen but try not to fall out with the missus over it. Could the problem be down to mice/rats? i believe that if a pigeon eats mice/rat droppings it can lead to salmonella or e-coli not sure which one. I have never had one with the symptoms that your hen had but if it is an isolated occurance. it could be that she ate some droppings or even a bit of poison that may have been in the straw or about the loft. I know you want to find out what it is but just hope that no more get problems.

Ken these answers have gone away from your question, they are all talking about racing hens and you are racing the cocks so do not let the cocks tread the hens as this is what they are supposed to race back to do. I put the bowls in and open the boxes for the cocks to go in and call the hens and when they settle in bowl, put the hens in the box and open it fully. some people let the hens fly up to the box but that causes all kinds of problems at times with them going to wrong boxes and stuff. I Place the hens in the box and that avoids fights and also stops the cocks coming out of the box. then leave them but be careful because some of the hens are easily pleased shall we say and drop em too quickly. By the way make sure that they have had all they can eat and give them a drink too before showing them to cocks. there's nothing worse than getting them ready all week and then seeing them scrounging for food i know from experience Good luck matey

I would just like to say that if your clubs applied for lottery grants and were successful, I am pleased for you but what if, another club in your federation applies and gets knocked back by the lottery people. Would you just say, tuff tits and get on with it. not worried that you are gaining the time-in advantage over those without the system but if the boot was on the other foot then perhaps you people who have been "GIVEN" the system would then have something to complain about. I have said all along that i am not against this ETS but, it should be for ALL or NONE in the same federation. and i suppose that should go to AMALgamation....Combine .....National. All the birds are liberated together they race together then when they reach the home end someone who does not have to chase them around the loft to get the rubber off or even just BE there can have a huge advantage. It just makes me laugh that this system, good or bad for the sport was brought in to stop able bodied people having an advantage over elderly/disabled fanciers. If that is the case then why does the RPRA not say that ONLY Disabled or elderly fanciers may use it. but then the Real people who wanted the system would be discriminated against.

Just take the hens away and train the birds back to the loft but don't show them the hens until Friday before basketing for the race. Widowhood is racing without showing hens all week. When they see them on friday hopefully they will understand whats going on but if not, you only have two weeks and that really is not long enough to worry about. the second week they may have a better chance but to be honest don't hold your breath as the top fliers in your area have been getting their own birds 'ready' since the last youngbird race last year. The season does not start from the first race as so many fanciers think, it is all winter preparation. That said, good luck anyway.

We are racing from Ludlow (70 miles) tomorrow, it was supposed to be Hereford (90 miles) but we have been told that the site is booked for something else so we have been chased back to Ludlow. This would be fine for youngbirds but I personally don't think much to a 70 mile race to start off with for old birds. Luckily the forecast says north winds and a bit of North east on way home, so that could take some of the fly out of them at the home end. If it were a south wind from 200 miles it is close but from just 70 miles there would have been bigger gaps because of birds being full of it. Realistically though i suppose if i am 2 mins behind tomorrow i will be able to moan about the short race. LOL we are never happy. :)

I must admit that i have not read all the answers thoroughly but, we had a member move to a new location, he moved to what was a great big open air swimming baths years ago and before that it was a hospital. Now when i went to the library i got maps that showed the hospital grounds and then another more recent one showed the baths but NO housing estate. After a good deal of searching i was told to try Blackwells in Liverpool as they get maps that include the latest planning applications. From memory I think it was about 12 pounds but you could see back gardens in the new houses. Local councils normally have the maps so you could phone the planning dept there and if they do not realise the cost of the maps they might do you a copy of the section that you need. Just tell them that you need to see back gardens. Good luck

I should just point out that RPRA rules say that all birds should be wingstamped or wear an address ring. Sometimes people do this too early and the stamp is all but disappeared. these are supposed to be readable. I am supposed to sign all sorts of forms now as secretary saying all birds are stamped, vaccinated and all kinds of stuff. I only have the word of the flyers themselves and you know what an honest bunch we are. I suppose i could check every one as they are marked but who would do that? :-/

When the young birds are flying i tend to keep them locked safely in the loft on Saturday & sunday. This year i have made a flight(aviary) the full length of the race shed and will put a bath in on Sunday's and just let the youngsters in there to do what they want. Will also be able to do this with the old birds too. 8) of course all good plans fall apart sooner or later so who knows, i may end up letting them out sundays perhaps after eight inland races as not so many birds go over me from the channel season. I have never let youngbirds out on Saturdas though.

Invincible spirit Surely this would mean all regions in the RPRA because if there are national races, the ones in the right areas would have an advantage ( ETS ). As for Wales, aren't you in the Welsh Homing Union? didn't know that was part of RPRA. :-/ Oops just spotted on another thread that there is a welsh region pardon my ignorance

I would not even try to explain how to build a loft but one important part is the amount of birds you want to keep in it. You should, like was mentioned above go and see other fanciers lofts. This will show you how big the sections have to be. Make sure that you measure the widowhood boxes then you can allow for how many sets you want to put in. also the perches need measuring and look to ventilation on other lofts. I personally would suggest using plywood for the outside of the loft and for the front you can pretty it up in whatever you find pleasing to the eye. You need light and ventilation getting in. If space is plentiful, make it 8ft from front to back then you can put a corridor in it. keeps the birds calm and you can keep your records of pairing and other stuff indoors. good luck

just looked around on the internet and some people use the Get off stuff with success but they say it washes away in the rain and others go to the zoo and get Lion poo apparently it works (must be a cat thing) others recommend just orange peel.