Ian McKay

It is time limited John

What does the expletive remove mean Peter Nobody said otherwise but I don't use it on Food it's for spraying the loft

Survey Report on young bird sickness (YBs) in pigeons Introduction: The reason for the survey is I have 2 subjects who have never knowingly had YBs and thought that was a good starting point. The products I have asked about are all used by these 2 people with some red herrings thrown in. It is not about finding out what you use, it's about finding out which products these 2 guys use that appear to be helping them avoid YBs, and, if this is the case, after 4/5yrs with no YBs I don't think it is luck. I hope this gives you an insight into what I am trying to do. Will it help? I do not know but it is interesting, I have two other people who have answered and are amazingly close to what these 2 guys use and they also have NOT had YBs. Method of returns: 2 Pigeon Forum Sites: Pigeon Basics Pigeon Chat Plus some direct by E-mail Findings: Some people are not willing to give answers but I assured them it would be confidential. A lot of people use products even though they admitted they did not work. I was quite shocked to find the amount of antibiotics and non approved vaccinations being used. Conclusions Based on Data: 133 fanciers had YBs (76%) 17 of this group used Permitherin (12.78%) 42 fanciers did not have YBs (24%) 13 of this group used Permitherin (30.95%) On further investigation of the fanciers who had YBs and used Permitherin, it was established that most used it incorrectly. Other products that faired well were Egg Food and Hormoform see Chart It appears that an insect may be the probable cause of this problem. Whether the birds eat the eggs/larva or get bitten is inconclusive by this survey. It is not a Virus as all birds that mix in training vehicles / crates would be affected (as advised by the experts) Recommendations: The use of an insecticide like Permitherin or a substitute would be beneficial. It is important to clean the loft and saturate it to eliminate insects with a regular spray to help eliminate the problem in the future. A water based product is more cost effective and beneficial to our birds. Aerosol sprays cannot saturate the loft properly and are expensive and ineffective. Immediate Recommendations: Start with your YB loft / section saturate it before you put your youngsters in, giving your birds as much protection as possible. Future research is needed: It may be that fanciers do not realize there birds have a problem until they start training or racing then it hits them with poor returns. This may explain why we have such losses in some races and why Federation / Club birdages plummet soon after racing starts especially in the young bird season. I have at least 4 fanciers who have had what they believe to be YBs and have decided to trial a Permitherin type product for 2017. They will follow the instructions to the letter to see if it helps them in 2017. The results will not be known until approx September 2017 Please click for graph: YBS graph PB 270217.pdf Should you wish to know more or ask any questions I am on Pigeon Basics or Tel: 01224 741028 Ian McKay “Kingslea†Kingswells Aberdeen AB15 8SL

Are you a mind reader just in the middle of publishing it now Give 5 min and you can read the report Ian

Would you invite John to the swally just to help him make up his mind :emoticon-0136-giggle: :emoticon-0136-giggle:

It's nothing new just being reported more Racing will be OK It's been in Penguins in the Artic since 2013 but they just carry it

Happy Birthday lads Have a nice one :drinking-coffee-200: :drinking-coffee-200:

Totally agree the 2 inland races are good for the SNFC that's where they make the most money but it is at the expense of Fed / club racing If they were taken out (which will not happen) maybe just maybe Federations and clubs would have to join forces to get to the coast which would help them It is shortsightedness of the SNFC as it is affecting Federation racing and without Federations we will not be racing our birds OMO Ian

The Joe Murphy Column This week I have been busy mating my birds up and things seem to be going well so far. It is very time consuming and I have been letting them out of their nest box a pair at time but we still have the grandchildren this week as the schools are closed 3 days this week. Margaret has the patience of a ‘Saint’ and can get them to do anything she wishes. But me, if things are getting tense I just go out to the loft for a short while (this is my way of getting out of the situation). Once the birds are down on eggs then it is much easier and time to relax with the birds. I’m more than happy with my pairings this year and I gave every bird a CCIE Tablet for Canker; Coccidiosis, irritation of the mucous membrane; internal parasites and External parasites in their box while mating up. By the time this column appears I hope to have the majority of them down on eggs. Kevin has his birds mated and we will move the first round of eggs from the stock birds up to Arbroath for the racers to rear. I hope all your eggs are filled and good luck to all readers of the column for the new season. Password Every day you hear about people having their computer or bank personal items ‘hacked’ and the amount of problems this has caused people. Many years ago my children told me to keep changing my password and like many of your readers we have the greatest ‘password’ ever ‘A RING NUMBER’. You can go back to your first pigeon to win you a 1st prize, or the best breeding pair you have had, or your first national winner. You get what I’m talking about all you have to do then is add a prefix like what you called the pigeon for example; TCGB75V82671 and I can bet you no-one will ever be able to break into this password. You can change it so that the TC is at the end of the number or whatever you wish. So if you are having problems or using the same password for all your transactions then think of a ring number and give it a try. East of Scotland Federation Sale Received an email from John Baillie the press officer from the above federation who informed us that his federation young bird sale went well considering 2 Scottish Cup football games and the Scottish rugby team were also playing. However John says ‘everybody I've spoken to today all seemed to enjoy the afternoon or early and late evening for some!! If we could thank the panel of Norman Renton, Andrew Lees, David Jamieson and Jim Wilkinson for a great afternoon. As we have always said, everybody wins flying differently with methods and training, but they all have 2 things in common - good pigeons and hard work! We must thank ALL the donors again for the quality of pigeons they had either put in or are giving as youngsters this year and to the buyers of these birds. I hope they all produce or race as good as their parents and grandparents. A special THANK YOU to Tom McEwen of Elphinstone who phoned round all the top fanciers to achieve a list as good as any in Brittan so thank you Tom. The raffle was very successful and the members who donated must also be thanked. The East of Scotland Federation has also been successful in obtaining financial support from the Scottish Coal Industry Special Welfare Fund (SCISWF) towards the Federations new premises. This we thank them very much. The premises have been ordered and hopefully being erected early March. Thanks again Joe for all the publicity you give to our federation concerning the above sale and quiz as well as publicising our weekly race results, yours in sport John Baillie’. BICC Presentation Received an email from my good friend Guy Reed of Isle of Wight who attended the above presentation of prizes and trophies he wrote; ‘Dear Joe & Margaret, I know what I’m going to write will appeal to you as you also rise to the challenge when it comes to distance racing. I thought I would drop you a line to let you know, I just experienced my first BICC presentation diner, at Bournemouth. I arrived Friday pm, right away meeting up with old and making new friends throughout the evening, and the camaraderie was immediate. That evening I joined John Rumeny, Marc & Julie Errington, George Purvis (who no longer races but takes a very active interest in his good friend John Rumeny) and Brian Garnham of Lincolnshire a Kings Cup winner from Lerwick. Reg Wright who came from Hull and had previously won 2nd open BICC national so between us we covered the entire country. It seems that night we attended the single bird long distance club for their presentation. I won’t do much name dropping here as the event will be covered by Gareth Watkins in the press but both evenings were sheer bliss for me, being in conversation with some of the country’s finest long distance fanciers. The BICC is the place to meet men who arise to the challenge of the toughest racing in that it includes not just National races but the International events. The weather was very kind and on the Saturday a good long walk along the beach was enjoyed in bright sunshine, with an easy view of the needles on the Isle of Wight, which demonstrated just how close the Island is to the mainland, to my 'north eastern pals' who joined me for the walk. I was not up to my normal drinking antics as I had been rather unwell for about three weeks, and was glad of the extra rest, but this meant I enjoyed the conversations all the more. I came away feeling I had learnt something and that’s a good thing in my book. I can also add some new names to my list of greats that I’ve come to know in my life through this fantastic sport of ours. On the Saturday night the BICC presentation was a joy and the way they presented the trophies was quite emotional, especially when Ron Dove was awarded the Barcelona trophy, which gave a lump in the throat for me and I suspect for others too. This inspires like no other race, Barcelona again for me this year 2017, fingers crossed. The hotel service and the food were excellent, and I would like to say a special thanks to my ‘Pompy' pals Mick Bunney, Albi Deacon, and Kevin Bakes who encouraged me to attend. So for those who are not in the Internationals I say give it a try, even a taste of an achievement is worth the effort, and those flying against you will take you to their hearts. Best wishes to you both yours in sport Guy’. John Rumeny George Purvis Brian Granham Marc Errington John Tyerman John Rumeny and George Purvis Marc & Julie Errington Good SNFC Birds Received an email from fellow fancier Vic Couper who wrote the following; ‘Hi Joe, I would like to say how much I enjoy your reports on good SNFC birds and of course Joe's Joke. I live in a very small village called Dennyloanhead, a few hundred yards from where the first ever SNFC Rennes race was won, this was in 1910 by a Mr W McLean with his champion blue cock ‘No Surrender’. It is my ambition to have my name on the Gold Cup along with his. I hope you don’t’ mind me writing to you but I have a very good bird in my loft at the moment he has scored in club and Federation but has excelled at the SNFC inland nationals and is a real money spinner. He was bred from my ‘Number 1’ pair a mealy cock from Pete Patrick of Thornton and a chequer hen from George Harris of Dunipace and this pair is breeding some very good SNFC birds for me. The chequer cock (who I have named Vic’s Boy Joe Murphy see picture Victor has agreed to this!!) SU14AV 749 his performances are as follows, in 2015 from the Portsmouth race he won 36th section E winning £229.90.flying 375 miles. Then he won 15th section E plus £119.90 from Eastbourne a distance of 402 miles. Then in 2016 he was my sole entry into the Buckingham race a distance of 300 miles and won 30th section E and £525.35 plus the nomination of a free entry to the Gran Canaria one loft race. He then went to Littlehampton race a distance of 385 miles and he won 38th section E. The local SNFC members have a £10 nomination on these inland national race and he has won them all plus £400. So fingers crossed that ‘Vic’s Boy’ achieves his goal and wins a Meritorious Bronze Award in the new season. Our second pigeon is ‘Veronica’s Boy’ SU13WS 940 raced by Liam Byrne of Glasgow and named after his wife Veronica. In 2015 this dark chequer cock won 4th section F from SNFC Gold Cup race from Alencon a distance of 544 miles. He recorded a velocity of 634 competing against 1416 birds. In 2016 he won 1st section F 33rd open SNFC Reims Gold Cup race flying 579 miles he recorded a velocity of 747 flying against 1323 birds, my thanks to Jim Hannah for the photograph of Liam’s winner. Veronicas Boy Obituary I was very saddened to read in last week’s BHW the passing of Brian Stansfield the father of our ex editor Cameron. I phoned Cameron to express my condolence I had only spoken to his dad a few times but he was a ‘Distance man’ and his race was Tarbes. Cameron informed me that he is going to have some of his dad’s birds set up for the Tarbes National in 2017 and it would be a fitting tribute to this man if his name appeared on the open national result. We wish Cameron well with his dad’s birds and once again our condolences at Brian are passing to his wife, and the whole family; our heartfelt condolences. Joe’s Joke A 25-year-old Jewish girl tells her mum that she might be pregnant. Very worried, the mother goes to the local pharmacy and buys a pregnancy test kit. The test confirms that her daughter is pregnant. Shouting and crying, the mother says, "Who was the selfish bugger that did this to you? I demand to know! Without answering, the girl picks up the phone and makes a call. Half an hour later, a Bentley stops in front of their house. A middle-aged and very distinguished man steps out of the car and enters the house. He sits in the lounge with the father and mother, and tells them, "Your daughter has informed me of the problem. I can't marry her because of my personal family situation but I'll take charge. I will pay all costs and provide for your daughter for the rest of her life." He continues, "Additionally, if a girl is born I will bequeath two retail furniture stores, a deli, a chateau in France and a £1 million bank account." He continues, "If a boy is born my legacy will be a chain of jewellery stores and a £25 million bank account." "However, if there is a miscarriage I'm not sure what to do. What would you suggest?" All silent at this point, the mother placed a hand firmly on the man's shoulder and told him "You'll try again." Please continue to keep the news flowing; to Joe Murphy Mystical Rose Cottage 2 Flutorum Avenue Thornton by Kirkcaldy KY1 4BD or phone 01592 770331 or Email to joejmurphy1@gmail.com REMEMBER THE J IN THE MIDDLE or log onto www.elimarpigeons.com www.fancierchat.co.uk and www.pigeon-chat.co.uk also www.pigeonbasics.com who wish my weekly contribution portfolio on pigeon topics from Scotland. © Compiled by Joe Murphy

Happy birthday Lad's have a nice one you stick to this and you will remember it :drinking-coffee-200: :drinking-coffee-200:

They have seen enough of me Alex too tight for them :emoticon-0136-giggle:

Damit :emoticon-0179-headbang:

Try SHEDS>GARAGES>PIGEON LOFTS>ETC . PHONE}01324/621115>>>MOBILE}07917440005. . E-MAIL}}grantheeps@yahoo.co.uk . use phone or e-mail for prices please Or Crafty fifer both have adverts on top right

If he is no wanting it I will send for it John :drinking-coffee-200:

If he is no wanting it I will send for it John :drinking-coffee-200:

It heard o Britex and thought it was a good time to get oot :emoticon-0136-giggle:

Yes he did say he had an AB stray :emoticon-0136-giggle: :emoticon-0136-giggle:

Presentation of Federation trophy's 18 March Lord Byron Cocktail lounge Byron Square Time 7pm Music Karaoke Free entry Free Buffet Children must be accompanied Come along and have a shindig and a bit of a meet and greet

That's nae you threatening to buy some doos is it Alex :emoticon-0136-giggle: :emoticon-0136-giggle: :emoticon-0136-giggle:

Can't move anywhere as no one want's them :emoticon-0136-giggle: :emoticon-0136-giggle:

Never mentioned a OLR Wullie it is normal for small island racing for big losses was NOT meant as any criticism just a fact

Both home wins :emoticon-0136-giggle:

Horrendous losses are part and parcel of racing from anywhere to a small island we don't understand it

Follow this link for some interesting information https://ec.europa.eu/food/sites/food/files/animals/docs/ad_control-measures_hapai_chrono_2017_map.pdf

The Joe Murphy Column Last night Margaret and I settled down to watch the TV programme ‘Flights of Fancy’ on the BBC 4 programme but have to say that I was very disappointed in this representation of our sport. It was like going back to the year dot when I was a ‘wee laddie’ in short trousers. Showing fanciers with old clocks and thimbles, plus the liberations in old transporters to me did nothing to enhance our sport. Nowadays we have state of the art transporters, with ETS systems and everything being computerised a great stepping stone away from what we observed. We as a sport have contributed thousands upon thousands to ‘Charities’ throughout the land and this was not mentioned. Not that it matters but the price of a pigeon has increased too fold since the days showing with now web sites and on line auctions where you can purchase birds from all over the world. I’m sorry but this programme did nothing for me and if I was being honest left a bitter taste in my mouth as it was more like a documentary of ‘In times gone by’. Honest Man A few weeks ago there was an advert in the BHW with a fancier selling some of his stock birds on- line in ‘Pigeon Chat’. My mate Guy Reed purchased a hen at the sale and asked if I would collect it and bring it to Blackpool show and he would get Ed Rann to meet me and he would take it back to the Isle of Wight. (Thus saving carriage and they go on about the Scotsmen being tight just kidding Guy). We made arrangements to go to Kevin’s for the evening and I visited the fancier concerned Gerald MacPherson who lives just outside Dundee and collected Guy’s bird. Gerald showed me some of his pigeons and I being a curious fancier asked him why he was parting with so many top quality pigeons. Gerald was very honest and said he wanted to cut down on his stock pigeons and create some room for youngster stock. He had bred from all the birds on sale and had enough direct from them and rather than wait till they were too old he decided to sell them now; which was fair enough. However during our conversation Gerald told me about a male pigeon that he had purchased this was a direct son of the famous ‘Mistral’ a half-brother to ‘Euro Diamond’, ‘Blauer Barcelona’ and ‘Monica’. The dam of Gerald’s pigeon was ‘Hannah’ also a ½ sister to Euro Diamond as both were bred from the famous ‘George’. Gerald showed me a lovely picture of this cock and his pedigree (which he scanned for me and I have attached to this story) you all know about the Brockamp pigeons so I do not need to say anymore. Gerald had a hen of the same lines that he wanted to mate the cock with, however after the first 2 rounds of eggs being clear he took the hen away and mated her to another cock. He then mated the ‘Mistral’ cock to a yearling hen and in the first nest only one egg was filled, after this all eggs from the cock were clear. So he mated him to another hen but the same thing happened in the first nest. So Gerald went into the loft and took the cock outside and released him into the sky never to see him again. I said ‘Oh my goodness Gerald you never’ he stated that if he was not filling his eggs he was no good keeping him as a stock bird. Yes he could have put him on the market and resold him but why burden someone else with this problem. He lost money on this investment but as he said ‘These things happen in life and it is all part of pigeon racing, but I can assure you Joe every pigeon that was sold on the website has been bred from these past few years, as I have children in my race team ’. I have known Gerald and his brother Mike for many years in-fact I visited Mike on the morning of the Reims Gold Cup race of 2016 when he timed at 06-32am flying 585 miles to win 1st section C 2nd open Scottish National Flying Club. One of the first times I met them and their father was at the late Jock McKinnon entire clearance sale here in Thornton when they purchased Jock’s 1st open SNFC Falaise winner of 1979 ‘Lorna’ named after his daughter. (A daughter of ‘Lorna’ also won 1st open SNFC Rennes for Eddie Newcombe I think this was his 1984 winner) The MacPherson brothers have always tried to purchase the top winners or direct children from them and this continues to the present day. I have always found them to be pleasant and honest as the above episode has emphasized and I thought the above incident would be of interest to readers of the column as well as the fanciers who purchased birds from the website sale. Good SNFC Birds This week I start with Davie Allison of Hamilton who has 2 pigeons that are worth a mention the first is a blue pied yearling hen SU15L 6381. She won 3 times from the Scottish National during the 2016 season with her first section E prize being 44th from the Buckingham race a distance of 289 miles against 2084 birds. She was then entered into the Littlehampton race a distance of 373 miles and she won 37th section E from an entry of 4482 birds. Davie then set her up for the Ypres race (which is a good race to send yearlings to for their first attempt a distance of 446 miles and she won 31st section E 177th open from an entry of 2323 birds. His second pigeon is a chequer hen SU11 5853 she is also a 3 times national section winner with her first win from Ypres in 2013 when she won 70th section E from an entry of 2356 birds the following year she was entered into the Buckingham inland national with an entry of 2941 birds competing and she won 14th section E 109th open. Then last year 2016 she again went to Buckingham and won 55th section E from an entry of 2084 birds. I have included a picture of Davie that I took at the SHU show of the year as he judged the best in show at this event. Our next birds belongs to G A Firth of Lockerbie with blue bar hen SU14S 6418 as a yearling she won 31st section A 372nd open from Portsmouth a distance of 316 miles with 4767 birds entered into the race. Then in 2016 she was entered into the Buckingham race a distance of 241 miles and she won 27th section A 58th open from an entry of 2084 birds. She was then set up for the Gold Cup race from Reims a distance of 517 miles and she won 8th section A 52nd open from an entry of 1330 birds. As you will see another 3 outstanding pigeons and I wish the above fanciers all the best with them in the forthcoming season. Davie Allison Brockamp top pigeons Son of Mistral Son Mistral Ped Joe’s Joke Wife versus Husband. A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word. An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position. As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically, 'Relatives of yours?' 'Yep,' the wife replied, “In-Laws'' Please continue to keep the news flowing; to Joe Murphy Mystical Rose Cottage 2 Flutorum Avenue Thornton by Kirkcaldy KY1 4BD or phone 01592 770331 or Email to joejmurphy1@gmail.com REMEMBER THE J IN THE MIDDLE or log onto www.elimarpigeons.com www.fancierchat.co.uk and www.pigeon-chat.co.uk also www.pigeonbasics.com who wish my weekly contribution portfolio on pigeon topics from Scotland. © Compiled by Joe Murphy