feeding in this cold weather

[bullcock]

my cocks always seem to be more hungry than the hens maybe i'm too generous to the hens or too tough on the cocks,I know a good doo man who is feeding his birds on 100% depurative one feed a day.

[micko and jack]

I think AND I'M PROBABLY WRONG

but we need an extra bit of feeding in the cold  

so why not the birds

would you put warm water in the drinker

or anything extra in the drinker

[bullcock]

I empty them at night and fill them when feeding, beleive it or not but in some cases hot water freezes faster then cold water ?? :-/

[Guest IB]

I'd posted on this before, pigeons are one of those high-metabolism species, and that rate is affected by temperature. Metabolism for me is simply how quickly the body burns energy:-

 

"when the environmental temperature is raised by 10 degree centigrade the bird's metabolic rate doubles. This means in the normal flight in the thermoneutral zone (65-75 degree F) the pigeon would use .5 kcal/ kilometre but when the temperature is raised by 10 degree centigrade the same pigeon will now need 1 kcal/kilometre.

 

The pigeon at rest would generate 2.5 watts of energy while in flight the same bird would create 67 watts of energy. Now, this is like a light bulb. Try touching a 60 watt light bulb with your bare hands while it is lit. This is a substantial amount of energy and that energy can not be produced by utilising carbohydrates as a fuel for flight. "

 

Now if 'energy-use' doubles every 10 degree rise, and here my maths non-ability   will shine through like a beacon,   that means it must also fall (by the same amount?  :-/  ) for every 10 degree fall in temperature, and so the bird uses less energy in cold weather, not more. The other bit to factor-in is if your birds flying out during this winter or not.  

 

My own birds are fed largely barley (30), with (5) each of wheat, maize, and a mix containing beans, maples & tares. The () measures are tablespoons, so thats 45 for 21 pigeons, probably about an ounce and three-quarters per bird. High carb, around 64% according to the forum calculator. They feel pretty light in the hand, and on the odd occasion I've managed to get them out, they'll fly for an hour..

[Shortcut Lofts]

All my birds are now on breeding mix and are now being fed 50% extra than they normally get because of the cold. The birds seem to be more hungry in the cold for some reason so that is why i do it and have been doing it for 20 years. When i put the feed in i remove the drinkers and go and wash them out and replenish and by that time the feeding has finished - 5 mins, this makes sure all birds get fresh water (cold).

[Guest steve1952]

i built my loft august & september 2009, yesterday i got my 9th pr to breed from, today i will be giving birds extra half ounce of corn only been feeding them 1 and a quarter ounce, but been giving them peanuts out of hand daily in cold weather, was told in october dont give them peanuts till they take them out of hand, after 3 or 4 days they did i was told to do this to get them used to me and hand better it worked.

[Wiley]

im afraid my opinion is when the weather is this cold the birds shouldnt be being fed just barley

[pigeonpete]

Mine havent been out for 3 weeks now, And are still being fed the same amount, The wife says she cant get the corn trough down before there in it. Keep em lean and keen :-) There on breeding mix now :-)

[Guest lenwadebob]

Mine havent been out for 3 weeks now, And are still being fed the same amount, The wife says she cant get the corn trough down before there in it. Keep em lean and keen :-) There on breeding mix now :-)

 

Mine ave been on the same mix for the past 3 weeks, equal parts Tic Beans, Barley and Layers Pellets. Were on 100% Barley prior to that for a month.

[ch pied]

its really really cold here

im in bed with a viral infection

got out of bed to go and feed the birds

they were ALL in the avairy

the lofts well vented but warmer than the avairy

then that got me thinking about extra feeding

stop moaning ;D ill bring yah down some maize

 

 

[Merlin]

stop moaning ;D ill bring yah down some maize

 

 

and some safflower,and a bit of hemp, ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[hepste]

In contrast tro everyones' replies so far, I keep mine fairly tight, on 100% farm feed barley.  I try and keep my birds as close to nature as I can, and nature deems winter time as hard, so it's the same for my birds.  My theory (right or wrong) is that the body in lean times learns how to fully utilise every scrap of nutrition available in whatever feed they are given.  In the summer, therefore they are easier to bring into form, and make full use of the quality grains given.  Having said that, some of my older birds are given preferential treatment, otherwise nature deems they don't survive the winter.

[Guest joshdonlan]

micko i used to feed my fantails a mix of mainly wheat, with a few maples and a bit of maize. Ocassionally id give them a bit of hemp too. Have you tried the hemp? Watch them go nuts  ;D

[ch pied]

 

and some safflower,and a bit of hemp, ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

that should get them well heated up ;D ;D

 

 

[OLDYELLOW]

try some dari mung beans and tares , fantails will eat these more readily due to there size and as said a very small amount of linseed and hemp i cant get my birds to eat more however during the cold spells i reduce the amount of barley i feed

[just ask me]

i never changed the feeding at all during the cold snap  birds can handle it  

[BLACK W F]

hows the weather up in lossie Vagin or ios it gavin  you got any snow ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Guest karl adams]

im feeding my birds 2 times a day  and as much barley as they want  and they look ok my stock have young birds and they are growing nice only thing i dont like is i cant clean out as droppings are froze solid  was going to get blow torch out but think its better left till it thou's out on its own  

[rick]

i never changed the feeding at all during the cold snap  birds can handle it  

 

me niethe,r they can deffo handle it and they need to be strong.

[ritchie1]

my birds got exstra the day for the first time cos i felt sorry for them this morning when i went out feezzing cold so gave them all a ounce and a half but will only be doing this for a short time as the birds have been fine geting a ounce a day

[Guest redlad24]

would you keep the birds on a light mix till the lay eg 50% barley or put them on a full heavy mix now, i paired up yesterday..

[blackdog]

half and half mate untill young chip out

[Guest redlad24]

cheers mate

[Guest pigeon82]

depends if your breeding micko if your breeding stayy off barley you need to fatten them up i had that mistake few birds were getting skinny but i now fill there gilly pots up in the morning then at 5 turn the lights on and fill there gilly pots up at 5pm as well so there is always food in front of them at the minute but once itake there babies away they will get as much food as they want then take the food away till the next afternoon then back to same as before when next eggs hatch