In the Box or on the floor. Cocks for Distance.

[Guest LBuddle]

Hello all

 

What do you think is best?

**In pot's in the nest Boxes?

**On the floor in feeders?

Which of theese makes the best cocks for the Distance?

 

Lee  

 

[Wiley]

Lead to believe Geoff Kirkland feeds on the floor, I believe feeding on the floor creates great competition amongst the birds and in sense is a motivation, anotherb factor is they eat every grain placed before them and dont get time to pick and chose there favourite grains

[OLDYELLOW]

Have done both methods early season i find it benificial to feed in boxes to create a bond with there box and makes them more tame on channel races i find you cant make them eat enough , and as says above they are then compeating for food and eat more , you can control there food more by feeding in the box and feed them all individualy , but if you have sprint races and distance races same day then box feeding the best way in my mind to get them eating more ( distance birds ) i top them up with oil seeds which they eat the lot so pros and cons for feeding both methods , thing is you get to know which grains your birds like the most and therefore can condition better for the race ahead

[little sam]

Start of season, Feed in box corner to bond the with the box, They take to the box quicker, Then i start feeding on the floor in trough when they have all got a box and are fighting for it

[bird man of meath]

feed on the floor at moment will feed in box when i put them up. there killing when the 2 big blue cock get going nobody get 2 eat.

hens 4 distance????

[OLDYELLOW]

ill be racing my hens for first time next season , along with the cocks

[OLDYELLOW]

If flying two races at same time i.e one sprint one distance i would feed the sprinters in morning and box them up with drinker on basket so can set other birds up fer evening

[OLDYELLOW]

asha

Squeaker

 

Posts: 181 I think old yellow got the right ideal,it`s good ideal being 1 step away with hopper on the floor,but titbits in the nestbox evenings before you tuck them up in bed,makes them know your there to protect them,help the nervous by playfight on the edge of the box ,til he leaans to know he`s master of his box,how a pigeon can change just by given it this bit of confidence, so hopper and pots best of both worlds .

 

 

 

[Guest]

asha

Squeaker

 

Posts: 181 I think old yellow got the right ideal,it`s good ideal being 1 step away with hopper on the floor,but titbits in the nestbox evenings before you tuck them up in bed,makes them know your there to protect them,help the nervous by playfight on the edge of the box ,til he leaans to know he`s master of his box,how a pigeon can change just by given it this bit of confidence, so hopper and pots best of both worlds .

 

 

;)how do you get the nervous sort of cock(one that leaves his box when youre hand enter) to fight with you ?? is it just patience . or ,,, ??                 andy.

 

 

[jimmy white]

i would feed on the floor , learning them to eat communialy rather than in the boxes, this can make the  cocks very aggressive , and in my opinion wouldnt eat as much, fight more  in the basket  during  a holdover,, but a little pinch of something they like in their boxes , after their feed

[Guest]

i would feed on the floor , learning them to eat communialy rather than in the boxes, this can make the  cocks very aggressive , and in my opinion wouldnt eat as much, fight more  in the basket  during  a holdover,, but a little pinch of something they like in their boxes , after their feed

;)ive one cock (the bull terrier) who pulls chunks out your hand ,fattest cock in loft and flew well as a yb . is he an exception or ???            andy.

 

[Guest slugmonkey]

I feed on floor and am also reading that several top fanciers let birds nest on floor so babys feed better

I will put peas in the box when rearing young

[Guest]

Hi lee i allways feed on the floor is that 1  of yours at the top very nice

[OLDYELLOW]

;)how do you get the nervous sort of cock(one that leaves his box when youre hand enter) to fight with you ?? is it just patience . or ,,, ??                 andy.

 

 

hunger make birds forage and if you did your job when young birds they would all eat from your hand , this is how you get birds tame and not frightened of you and then hold there boxes better , once reared they should defend there box i find birds that dont defend there boxes seldom make good racers

[pigeonscout]

Lead to believe Geoff Kirkland feeds on the floor, I believe feeding on the floor creates great competition amongst the birds and in sense is a motivation, anotherb factor is they eat every grain placed before them and dont get time to pick and chose there favourite grains

 

I agree with you 100% one hand full at a time on the floor until they start to leave the barley

[pigeonscout]

I have found the best way to tame young birds are to put a fold down shelf on one side of loft or small table and have them about 18 ins of the floor. When you wean the young birds they will be on a bed of straw or shredded paper on the floor or about a week before they can fly to their perch. When you enter the loft put their food up on the shelf and lift each young birds hold for 10 sec's and then put it up onto the shelf to feed.

After a couple of days they start to associate your hands with something nice i.e. food and in 4 or 5 days they will be running to you to be lifted to the food and they will never fear your hands again. It is time consuming I know but it pays of later when you are taking them training as you can lift them straight of the perch with one hand. There is nothing as bad as chasing a bird round the loft to catch it for a race. The last thing that bird remembers before going to the race is not his motivation but some nut case chasing it all over the loft. If pigeons do not fear your hand they will fight it.

[OLDYELLOW]

i can only catch with one hand   so the tamer the better   most of time if im bent over cleaning they will jump on my back

[ribble]

Box and floor for me.

[Guest]

 

hunger make birds forage and if you did your job when young birds they would all eat from your hand , this is how you get birds tame and not frightened of you and then hold there boxes better , once reared they should defend there box i find birds that dont defend there boxes seldom make good racers

i done my job when they were youngbirds , (to cut a long story short) 12 months later they are in a new loft with me (moved twice) hoping to settle when they go to nest in january .         thank you        andy.

 

 

[S.D.B LOFTS]

I had my best season in 2007 feeding the cocks in there boxes . Change this season to floor feeding

i was never in the race . perhaps there was something esle i was doing wrong ? :-/ :-/

[Diydave]

i always feed widowhood cocks in the box, and feed the hens individual too,wherever possible ,as i tend to be distance minded a love of home and their own box is most important, . example being , no hen , guard the food via the box ? instead of fighting on the floor , love of home, not food

[jimmy white]

i done my job when they were youngbirds , (to cut a long story short) 12 months later they are in a new loft with me (moved twice) hoping to settle when they go to nest in january .         thank you        andy.

 

 

weve kinda deviated slightly  from the" fed on the box or floor" , but were still asking about the feeding like most questins on pigeons , theres no quick and easy answer, old yellow , i would say was right in saying,, if pigeons are tamed young, they will remain tame, if allowed, if youngsters will fly on to your hand for a tit bit, they never forget this bond with their owner , and all goes to aid this tameness, or confidence in their boxes as old birds, [when w/hood cocks feeding their youngsters is a good time to re-kindle that bond, which should be very easy if tamed as youngsters......but in n wales novice case, a change of loft will certainly damage this bond, and in my opinion , would need worked on,, i,e as above, when the cocks are  feeding youngsters , they must get used to your hand in their box , without them scatting away,, feeding them by hand in the box, gently playing with them , fighting with them [letting them win ,every time] ,,,,,,,then when on w/hood gently opening the door of the hens side [without the cock diving out]  letting the cock in the side with the hen , the cock will not be long in catching on ,  if unafraid , and treated gently, hell learn to know exactly whats wanted , he should be waiting with antisipation , to get in to that side where the hen is,, so , if tamed as yb,s theyll cotton on quick as ob,s , even if the loft is changed or moved , just with a little t,l,c, ,,,and patience   

[Tony C]

You will always find a cock or two that want to dominate the floor, you can exploit this when setting them up for a race.

[just ask me]

well i race sprint but i feed in the box for widowhood about competition for feeding on the floor something wrong there i feel if u are flying widowhood as i feed mine very little for the first 3 days after the race then they are bought up to an once and a quarter come two days before the race i find it hard to get them to eat anything and day before the race impossible if cocks are still feeding like mad day before basketing in my opinion there is something wrong or as i find if they do eat the odd week the day before basketing my performances drop have talked to top pigeon me and they don't like to see them eat either weather they feed on the ground or in the box

[Guest]

 

weve kinda deviated slightly  from the" fed on the box or floor" , but were still asking about the feeding like most questins on pigeons , theres no quick and easy answer, old yellow , i would say was right in saying,, if pigeons are tamed young, they will remain tame, if allowed, if youngsters will fly on to your hand for a tit bit, they never forget this bond with their owner , and all goes to aid this tameness, or confidence in their boxes as old birds, [when w/hood cocks feeding their youngsters is a good time to re-kindle that bond, which should be very easy if tamed as youngsters......but in n wales novice case, a change of loft will certainly damage this bond, and in my opinion , would need worked on,, i,e as above, when the cocks are  feeding youngsters , they must get used to your hand in their box , without them scatting away,, feeding them by hand in the box, gently playing with them , fighting with them [letting them win ,every time] ,,,,,,,then when on w/hood gently opening the door of the hens side [without the cock diving out]  letting the cock in the side with the hen , the cock will not be long in catching on ,  if unafraid , and treated gently, hell learn to know exactly whats wanted , he should be waiting with antisipation , to get in to that side where the hen is,, so , if tamed as yb,s theyll cotton on quick as ob,s , even if the loft is changed or moved , just with a little t,l,c, ,,,and patience   

;)thanks Jim .   andy.