How much do you feed?

[westy]

feed 1 oz or as much as they like per pigeon, i have been told by a few fanciers that 1 oz is rubish and vice versa.

[Jack Barkel]

Hello Westy,

 

For the sprints, I would feed one dessert spoon twice per day per pigeon separately. For the long races as much as they can eat. Do not feed on weight, feed on bulk measure.

 

As pigeons pick up food at different speeds and different choices of grains, competitors should never be fed together, otherwise they are not subject to contolled feeding.

 

Feeding for a race  we must think like a racing car driver, only give them enough petrol to get them to the finishing line.

 

Feeding is an art in itself

 

I hope this info is of use to you.

 

Regards

 

Jack

[mealybar]

Was wondering this thismorning when my ybs woudnt trap up :B Yesteday I gave them a bit more in the trough but still took the feeder out once 3 or 4 had visited the drinker. Out of interest what are fanciers feeding their youngsters just at the moment, and how much?

[Guest shadow]

I feed no more than 1.5 oz per day my young birds are on young bird mix and my race team on red widowhood both from Bucktons.

[Jack Barkel]

Hello All,

 

I still say if any of you are feeding all together in a food trough, some are eating twice as much as the others. That means the greedy are getting double the measure you think they are getting and the slower eaters are getting maybe half the measure.

 

First to the drinker is another fallacy, for many of the slower eaters than these gluttons that are drinking have hardly had anything to eat. Unfortunately we are judging our birds on the contention they all eat at the same speed.

 

This has been my observation in many lofts where I see fanciers watching but not realy observing.

 

I think this is worth mentioning if we wish all our birds to be competative.

 

Regards

 

Jack

[westy]

thanks all.

[Saffer]

In widowhood teams, yes feed can be judged.

With Youngbird teams and any of the countries racing

teams of over 80 pigeons it becomes impossible to get an

exact measure.

Food type also makes a huge difference, mates of mine race

in the Southern Hemisphere and are using imported food, Mariman.

 

They could not see the sheet, until they realised you feed far less

of the imported stuff.

Racing conditions also vary.

Generally if feeding together, 20-23 mililiters per bird.

You will find this is when 3 of the 80 go to the drinker, you

also find it works out to be 1 1/4 ounces about right.

 

Above 500 km the margin for error goes, you then just got to keep an appertite.

 

Reagrds saffer

[jimmy white]

Hello Westy,

 

For the sprints, I would feed one dessert spoon twice per day per pigeon separately. For the long races as much as they can eat. Do not feed on weight, feed on bulk measure.

 

As pigeons pick up food at different speeds and different choices of grains, competitors should never be fed together, otherwise they are not subject to contolled feeding.

 

Feeding for a race  we must think like a racing car driver, only give them enough petrol to get them to the finishing line.

 

Feeding is an art in itself

 

I hope this info is of use to you.

 

Regards

 

Jack

 

exellent post young westy, says it all really   :)

[T_T]

I am feeding my youngsters on Bucktons V.I.P.

 

Jack,

       I would find it very difficult to feed youngsters individually and if I had 20 youngsters and measured out 20ozs in a trough, the greedy ones would still eat perhaps double their share, leaving the others wanting.

 

I strongly believe until you start training, don't ration because the youngsters are growing.  Give them their fill and watch until the last one has left the hopper before removing the remainder of the feed.  

[Jack Barkel]

Hello TT,

 

I was under the impression that all fanciers know you cannot feed measured ounces of food to youngsters, therefore I did not need to ask the stupid question do you mean old birds or young birds. Obviously an informed fancier asking such a question would automatically know such a question could not apply to young birds. I do believe I was answering a sensible question with a sensible answer, and not a stupid question with a stupid answer.

 

It is imperative that fanciers understand the excess build up of fats and protein before the weaning stage of a youngster, and what has to be done to rectify this excess intake which are its building blocks to maturity.

 

Young bird flying to the informed fancier is obviously as different to old bird flying as night and day, hence Iwas attempting to answer the question of the person who started this thread.

 

Giving him the consideration that he and others on this forum are well informed fanciers, I never thought that youngsters who's preparation are entirely different to old birds, would ever be mistaken in that this is what the question was eluding to.

 

If I am wrong and you and the person asking the question are referring to young birds, then I rephrase the answer and say no person in their right mind would feed measured ounces to young pigeons when racing.

 

The secret here would be what kind of food and at what time of the week and not the measure. The intelligent feeding system is entirely the opposite to when flying old birds, for old birds do need to have measured food intake.

 

I hope this clarifies that I am well aware you can't feed a lot of youngsters individually.

 

Kind Regards To All,

 

Jack

 

[jacksafc]

Strongly agree with a paragraph in jacks first post re "just enough petrol to get them from A to B", however some birds will just not exercise on 2 dessertspoons or one ounce per day which then requires regular, even daily training flights.

I know top flyers in the North East who feed widowhood cocks communally, maybe the slow eaters just go to the wall but this certainly doesnt afect their "team " performance.

Many roads lead to Rome, again as always, down to the pigeon man and quality of stock.

[jacksafc]

So neither 1 ounce or as much as they want, but as much as they need, and thats where the skill comes in, and unfortunately most of us dont have enough of that.

[T_T]

Hi Jack,

            It seems as though my previous post got us a little cross wired and unintentionally got your feathers ruffled. Firstly I understood us to be discussing YB feeding and secondly that people were giving their youngsters 1oz a day hence my remark that I would find it difficult to do that as individuals other than youngsters on a widow hood system where they would be treated as old birds.  Maybe I've misread the previous posts and got things in the wrong context but certainly no offence meant.

[Guest Silverwings]

In this neck of the woods the young cocks in some of the lofts are on Widowhood ? and i can confirm that they ARE fed to measures and the same pigeons win as old birds ???????........ray ( Fascinating sport this is  'in it )