speedbird Posted October 12, 2005 Report Share Posted October 12, 2005 how long to leave ybs on darkness? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 12, 2005 Report Share Posted October 12, 2005 I fly darkness and I don't have any hard and fast rule abut the time they are put on darkness. The most important thing to me is that I get the birds flying out well before I put them on 18 hours of dark a day. if you put your yb's straight into a darkened loft after they are weaned they will go into a body mould straight away and it has proved difficult in the past to get them to fly out good. Our YB's for the race team are bred 6 months before the date of the first race and are weaned at 21/23 days and are given open air after about 7 days in the YB loft, there is a theory that the birds have a very high learning curve at this age. I put the birds on 18 hours of light 2 weeks before the first race. I always darken about 1 in the afternoon as I feel it is very important for the birds to "clock" te position of the sun early in the day as most races here are liberated around 7 in the morning. We have just finished racing last weekend and the birds I sent to our 300 mile futurity race had good body feathering and full wings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedbird Posted October 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 thanx for that think i took mine of too early this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedbird Posted October 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 our libs are around 10am not realy before that so is that normal 8hours darkend off? & how many weeks are yb kept on the darkness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl Posted October 15, 2005 Report Share Posted October 15, 2005 Has anyone ever had a bird put on darkness but darkness never worked on that bird.I had a bird that was coming very well for me this year early on in the youngbird season,then he was last everyweek couldnt suss it until i picked him up and he only had three flights to go,the rest of the darkness team hadnt started. checked my natural youngbirds and he was on the same flights as them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 15, 2005 Report Share Posted October 15, 2005 I would keep them on 18 hours Speed, darkening them about 1 pm. Your birds will still see the pattern of the sun in the mornings. Some people Darken their birds opposite to me and the get their 6 hours late afternoon early evening, which I think is useless. I got my young bird team in the loft round about the first of May, I had they flying out for about three weeks before I darkened them, we start racing the third weekend in August so I put them on 18 hours of light the first weekend in August Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_bennie Posted October 15, 2005 Report Share Posted October 15, 2005 Carl, I have seen in certain years some familys(lines)do not even pay attention to the fact they are on the darkness. They just continue to moult out their flights as if they were given normal daylight. So I'm assuming it could be a family trait? I'm sure other people on here have noticed this too. Yours in the Sport - Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy white Posted October 15, 2005 Report Share Posted October 15, 2005 WHEN IDID THE DARKNESS SYSTEM I OFTEN HAD THE ODD ONE START MOULTING THE FLIGHTS, FOR NO APPARANT REASON LIKE CARL. OTHER TIMES THE REASON BECAME OBVIOUS, LIKE A BIRD ROOSTING ON THE WATER FOUNTAIN NEXT TO THE VENTS, WHERE THE LIGHT WAS COMMING IN,,,INCIDENTLY I WAS DUBIOUS OF THIS SYSTEM AT FIRST, SO I TRIED A FEW ON IT IN ONE SMALL LOFT, THE OTHER SMALL LOFT HAD NATURAL YBS IN IT, THE NATURAL ONES WERE STOPPED AFTER A BOUT 4 RACES AND THE DARKNESS ONES RIGHT OUT TO YB NATIONAL , SCORED WELL WITH DARKNESS YBS, BUT AS YEARLINGS AND OLDER BIRDS FOUND NO DIFFERANCE IN THEM WHAT SO EVER, THEY ALL RACED AS WELL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl Posted October 16, 2005 Report Share Posted October 16, 2005 Carl, I have seen in certain years some familys(lines)do not even pay attention to the fact they are on the darkness. They just continue to moult out their flights as if they were given normal daylight. So I'm assuming it could be a family trait? I'm sure other people on here have noticed this too. Yours in the Sport - Bill. The thing is i had three youngbirds from the same nest and the others were fine so it cant be in the family.Jimmy i made sure there was no light getting in for the birds to sit in,loft wasnt total darkness just so they could see slightly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedbird Posted October 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 thinks were i went wrong as i didnt darken there loft till 4pm!! thanks for the advive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedbird Posted October 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2005 so whens best to pair up & get young on the darkness system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 20, 2005 Report Share Posted October 20, 2005 6 months before your first race Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedbird Posted October 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy white Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 i used to pair darkness ybs feb, put them on darkness till the longest day, that way i could catch them for yb nat. what you said about birds casting flights, i found you do get the odd one doing this for no apparent reason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul k Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 i think you are all trying to be exact. we breed our young birds in jan/feb and put them on the dark straight away, they are darkened from 5pm until 9am, if possible. they stay on the dark until the 1st July. They will be holding a full wing when the first race comes around. This year from 8 young bird club races we won 7 and won the fed 3 times as well. the main thing with the darkness is keeping them heathly, to many times i've heard people just shutting them in nothing more than a biscuit tin, no air, leading to respitory problems. You need to keep a good air flow, without causing a draft as this to will have a bad effect on the young birds. Remember the loft does not have to be pitch black, ours is dark enough that they roost up but you can go in there and see the birds easily. I think its more to do with the rest time rather than how dark the loft actually is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedbird Posted October 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 isnt it not best 2 wait till birds are at least flying round the loft before put on the darkness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy white Posted October 30, 2005 Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 I WOULD PUT THEM ON DARKNESS RIGHT AWAY , IF I WERE YOU SP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedbird Posted October 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 ok cheers jimmy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 30, 2005 Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 NO NO NO Speed, if you put the birds on darkness right after weaning, they will start the body moult and will be reluctant to fly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul k Posted October 30, 2005 Report Share Posted October 30, 2005 the problem is if you dont put them straight on the dark, they will start throwing flights. Our young birds that are bred in january, and put on the dark will be training before the end of may, by this time they will be 3 quarters finished and wont have dropped a flight. Normally the first flight is thrown around the time of the first race at the end of July, they will have also finished the body moult by then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lycett Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 Our YBS are parted end of March / beginning of April - straight on to the darkness. 09:00-17:00. Taken off on June 21st - though our 1st Fed YB race is about 4-5 weeks after that. This way you get the YBS on no more than their 2nd flight when the big races come around beginning of September - jobs a good 'un Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedbird Posted November 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2005 thanx for the advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janso Posted June 29, 2006 Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 ive heard spme say 12 hours of dark is plenty. What is the real deal? 17 or 12? They say you no need give more than 12 hours of light equal to the shortest day of the yr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sapper756 Posted June 29, 2006 Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 I PUT MY YOUNGSTERS STRAIGHT ONTO DARKNESS ONCE WEANED, AND ALL REMAIN ON IT TILL 1st JUNE, 5pm TILL 8am, AS THAT SUITS MY WORK HOURS. NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH THIS SYSTEM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slatey Posted June 29, 2006 Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 took mine off today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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