best time to pair up 2006

[speedbird]

very interested in when other members pair up,i they pair all there racing team up together or in stages i use to pair up febuary 14th now i seem to pair beore that date due to wanting ybs on the darkness

[Guest shadow]

If you want young birds for dakness pair up in january if not leave it to later in the year most distance men pair the beging of march  pair up to suit your style of raceing

 

fly hard fly fair

[Guest WINGS 04]

you can pair up in febuary and still go on the darkness as i have dun it the last 2 years

[speedbird]

yeah got 1team of roundabout probably pair late jan themn another hut of widowhood cocks with some distance birds in may pair up later so they come on form abit later cheers everyone so far for your advive

[jimmy white]

if your putting ybs on darkness , i would rather pair up middle of feb,and being a mean scot would save feeding these for two months if paired in december, if their put on darkness system theyll still have a full body moult and hold there flights.but remember these parents will cast flights after sitting on their second round of eggs and will be past there best when the longer races come along , unless of course their put on widowhood, and only sit second round 8 days     for the distance races iwould ,now, put them together in april, and race these natural,   i have tried both ways in the past and found that these widowhood cocks paired early, i could get them if they hadnt been raced hard previously, and in fairly fast races, but when it came to the real hard stuff , a natural , paired in april, was preffered,, but as in pigeon racing , there are allways exeption to the rule

[snowy]

if you was really low on birds would you & is it worth breeding a few old birds say december (as the old birds are gifts off other fanciers)? would i benifit as in extra training? etc. all advice appreciated.

[Guest]

I think it really depends on what you want to do in 2006 Snowy.  

 

Do you want to race your Old Birds or do you want to breed a young bird team from them?

 

I suggest that you won't be able to do both. And I certainly wouldn't advise early training e.g. March. It's still too cold. And if you train while they are sitting, and they go down, you lose the eggs too.

 

An alternative might be breed February - May. You've got your young bird race team. The weather's warmed up by then - start training your old birds.

[speedbird]

think im gonna pair my rounabout team up first to get the young off em then repair  in feb then pair my later widowow team up in feb any other views or response to that?

[Guest shadow]

Why do you want to pair up your roundabout team up before your widowhood team, basically you are flying widowhood with both teams so why not pair them all at the same time then you will have all your young birds weaned off together and save yourself a lot of extra work, as you can fly all Y/B's as one team for training etc.

 

fly hard fly fair

[speedbird]

was pairing my rounabout up first & geting the hens fit for first few races then there mates to take over if hens drop off & pair my other widowhood cocks up later as there mainly for the distance also when the hens drop off rest em then get them buzzing for 200mile fed race

[jimmy white]

reply to snowy, as i know  your just starting up i would tend to agree with bruno, and concentrate in trying to get a decent team of ybs, i understand your very keen and raring to go, but it can be very disheartning to try and race , very latebred birds, and then lose them early doors, these latebreds will breed you very good birds in feb or march, its very difficult when first starting , and with a wee bit of patience, you could have a great yb team and if you wanted to ,you could train this years latebreds with the ybs. really an awfull lot of good birds get lost in the cold east winds of march , april. i would follow brunos advice, which would mean the following year you would near enough be able to compete against the best, especialy with your keenness and dedication   wish you luck jimmy

[snowy]

yes jim, didnt really know what to do at first, but after listening to you,bruno, & many more experienced racers, thats what im going to do, wait & get a team of y/b next year, thanks again all.

[speedbird]

still all depends on the weather as i dont like pairing up when its too cold & aparently gonna be a cold winter this year

[speedbird]

think im gonna pair up when weathers ok & pair em all up together so plenty of foster parents as i dont breed off em all & like all birds to rear a yb what & split one team up & repair later for the distance races hat are other members fews on repairing after breeding & leting all racers rear a yb do you think it effects there performance if they dont?

[westy]

a bloke just around the corner from me said to me the best time to pair them up is late december early january

[speedbird]

alot of votes but no reasons seems december is a hit shortly followed by jan

[Guest WINGS 04]

I USED TO BREED IN DECEMBER BUT I KNOW PAIR UP IN FEBUARY AND THE YOUNG BIRDS ARE PUT ON DARKNES I THINK ALL YOU GET FROM BREEDING EARLY IS MORE PIGEON SH%T TO CLEAN AND A BIGGER FOOD BILL AND MORE WORRY AS IF THEY ARE OK  P.S WE HAVE WON THE YOUNG BIRD SHEILD 2 OUT OF THE LAST 3 YEARS AND RUNNER UP THE OTHERE THERE ARE 26 LOFTS IN OR CLUB

[speedbird]

well done wings  good points raised there used to do the same probably change back to feb

[Guest ben]

July,august,after your old pigeons have competed in your choosen races,then just bred off the birds which have flown well in your estimation or to your satisfaction,..

   

[MsPigeon]

I voted for December but I actually put my pairs together the end of November. I think a lot depends on the weather where you live. We have very mild winters, maybe a week of snow at most. I usually have babies ready to band on Jan. 1st. I do this because I end up with a more mature YB with a full wing for the YB race season which starts the end of July or first of August. The years that I am on the ball I can start training my YB's down the road when I am training my OB's (seperate rleases from different places). Thats just what I do, not to say that younger birds don't do just as well. I keep good records and seem to lose just as many older young birds as younger young birds. And one bad thing is that hawks are very hungary this time of year when the YB's are just getting out for their first few times. So I guess it is just a habit that's hard to break. I like that there is no flys this time of year when the nests are sticky with baby poop. And I guess it is something to do with the birds during the off season. Raising YB's is a bit like changing diapers and there's more time for it in the winter.

Yours in the sport.

Carol

[DinUtah]

Wow.  I paired up one year the last week in Nov. for Jan 1 banding.  All seemed to go well as far as having very mature birds for young bird team.    From reading all these responses Ill bet I opened a can o worms of problems that I didnt even realize.  One positive was that often the first egg would over chill 'freeze' and the one baby would get all the attention..

[Guest shadow]

What is to be  gained by pairing in November When you can not get your bands until after the 6th of january.  plus you have extra mouths to feed when you don't need to

 

fly hard fly fair

[MsPigeon]

We get our bands on Jan. 1st, althought they have been delayed on occassion, which is a pain. But as I said, the gain is mature YB's with a full wing. I also do not have harsh winters to worry about. True, I do have to feed them longer, but I also get to train them longer. I just feel like they are better prepared to race. It's just what I do, but I know others who breed in March and April and have a good race team too.  

Yours in the sport.

Carol

[birdbrain]

CI HAVE SOME HENS OFF YOU IM IN THE WESTMIDLANDS 2 AND HOW CAN I PAIR RACING PIGEONS UP IF THEY DNT WANA PAIR UP ;

[birdbrain]

CAROL U CANT RACE RACING PIGEONS BCUZ UR A GIRL. WOMEN DONT KNOW A THING ABOUT RACING PIGEONS DO THEY CAROL