racing

[white logan]

how big of a team do you guys think i would need to race in this years young bird program , i will be flying sout as i live in lancashire and am a complete novice .

thanks

[just ask me]

i would say as little as possible to be honest all depends on the size of your loft and the amount of time that u have i think if im reading the situation right this is your first year we would better be able to answer your question  with lofts sizes and what amount of time u have the less u have the more u will learn as u can keep an idea on each individual bird  i would say 20 is a nice number but more info would be helpful

[sapper756]

What size of loft do you intend flying your youngsters from?

[b.massey]

20/25 is nice mumber for starting up. Just nurse them through season and make sure you've something to fly when they're yearlings

[Guest Thunder Birds]

Depends on how hard you intend to race em and how many you want for next year. As a rough guide if you're going to race the whole programme probably about twice the number you intend to have in your team as old birds. If you're only going to race lightly with it being your first year - less! For your old bird team next year it's like being a football manager - its always better to have too many to pick your team from than two few!

[white logan]

i would say as little as possible to be honest all depends on the size of your loft and the amount of time that u have i think if im reading the situation right this is your first year we would better be able to answer your question  with lofts sizes and what amount of time u have the less u have the more u will learn as u can keep an idea on each individual bird  i would say 20 is a nice number but more info would be helpful

 

i am retired so time is not an issue , my loft is 40 foot X12 foot deep X 8 feet high it is of concrete block construction and dry , i have four compartments ,one has a few show racers ,one has some racers (busharts) and two spare compartments that i hope to race to, ......hope that helps

PS. it will be my first year and attempt at racing

[just ask me]

well even if u have sections left over id say 30 is loads at the start u want to learn about birds if u have t many u will spend all day cleaning out topping up drinkers and so on belive me the list is endless and the more u watch them and the more time u spend with young birds the better the more u have the more u lose too keep them in a reasonable size section where there never to far away from u but make sure the air is good if u can smell pigeons in your loft there are too many

 

any questions u have or if i didn't explain anything properly just ask

[grizzal]

I would start with about  25 and race lightly,

Being retired gives u plenty of time with them ,try to get them

as tame as u can ,nothing worse that wild Y/Bs, all the best for Y/Bs

[Guest spin cycle]

when i started i was told to have 30ybs/year for first 3 years...looking back it doesn't seem bad advice. allthough 24 seems a nice number. JMO but i wouldn't send to many per race (dozen?)....as a new starter you'll probably make a few mistakes ( i still do )...and if you've got 60-70 in the basket, with the vagries of yb racing, you could end up with 30-40 awol and the phone ringing non-stop. i didn't race at all in my first season....but they did ok as 2-3year olds

[Shortcut Lofts]

i think 25 - 30 is plenty also. Important thing is not to breed a big team of untried pigeons, you want to see what they are made of so there is no use breeding 50 or 60 as it only gives you work. The smaller the better when starting up. Dont forget, dont overcrowd them.

[Roland]

20/25 is nice mumber for starting up. Just nurse them through season and make sure you've something to fly when they're yearlings

 

Agree 100%. the more you have, the less managerment level ... Not talking about the ones that can stay at home all day, and or have loft managers. Most flyers that bred dozens and race more is A. a sign of inadequacies and or relying on 'One' being right and taking the honours. Feed costs saved are better spent 'Training that 20 miles a day, or Vet Bills / remedies.

Walk before you run. Let the birds tell you  they like your systema nd want to stay, and or hurry home. Soon you will be having a problem of making room for the y/b's every season, which is without doubt the best testimony to success. Don't add nest boxes or perches... sort out thoses that haven't earnt theirs, or their corn.

Good luck.

[just ask me]

also keep very few stock birds take as many rounds off them as possible even if u can switch the pairs during the bredding season that way u can find out fairlly fast what is in your stock loft

[white logan]

thanks lads , 24 birds seems like a good starting number but in my mind i am thinking can i breed that many , how many will i loose , i have heard about "fly aways" , it is just a waiting game right now and it would be better if there was someone localy whose ear i could "bend"

[just ask me]

thanks lads , 24 birds seems like a good starting number but in my mind i am thinking can i breed that many , how many will i loose , i have heard about "fly aways" , it is just a waiting game right now and it would be better if there was someone localy whose ear i could "bend"

 

that be a good idea get in with someone localy with flyaways well it seems the more birds u have in a certain loft the more flyawways u will get for e.g a loft can  hold 40 birds if u put 40 birds in it there should be no prob maybe a few if u put 50 birds in it u will lose more i have  found over the years that on average a loft will sort it self we all have bad years with slaps of hawks but on normall u will find after say 5 year what the correct birdage in your loft should be

[kirky]

i would go for 40 after plenty of training you will be left with 25 to 30 enough to compeat with best of luck 2009.

[Guest kev d]

all i would say is make sure there well trained up befor the

first race and make sure there drinking in the basket . i basket mine up the

night before and dont send them all at once all ways keep some back just in

case , there,s nothing worse than looking in to a empty loft

[Guest]

thanks lads , 24 birds seems like a good starting number but in my mind i am thinking can i breed that many , how many will i loose , i have heard about "fly aways" , it is just a waiting game right now and it would be better if there was someone localy whose ear i could "bend"

;)where are you ?? let us know maybe someone on here local to you who could give some help ??              andy.

 

 

[cowman]

about 30 is a nice number to start with i was given 30 last year for me to start after ybs and loses from training and 2 loses on race days (only 2 races entered) i`m left with 8 birds from last year always allow for loses as if this year was anything like last year you may need 60 birds to have a team for next year .

[white logan]

;)where are you ?? let us know maybe someone on here local to you who could give some help ??              andy.

 

 

i live near burnley lancashire

[Guest]

 

i live near burnley lancashire

;)must be at least 1 or 2 on here near you ,perhaps put a new posting up ,to try and find a buddy near you. best of luck ,shame your not closer would have been happy to help you .          andy.

 

 

[white logan]

;)must be at least 1 or 2 on here near you ,perhaps put a new posting up ,to try and find a buddy near you. best of luck ,shame your not closer would have been happy to help you .          andy.

 

 

thanks andy , i will keep ploding/bluffing my way through

[Guest]

 

thanks andy , i will keep ploding/bluffing my way through

;Dfrom plodder to another ,i just vary the pace of the plod depending on how well i am  ;D     andy.

 

 

[Roland]

Youngsters can be Basket Trained on O/B race days. Fed and watered in the basket of course.

But the best time is from the nest box.

[white logan]

Youngsters can be Basket Trained on O/B race days. Fed and watered in the basket of course.

But the best time is from the nest box.

 

why only on old bird race days ? and what do you do with them from the nest box ?

[just ask me]

about 30 is a nice number to start with i was given 30 last year for me to start after ybs and loses from training and 2 loses on race days (only 2 races entered) i`m left with 8 birds from last year always allow for loses as if this year was anything like last year you may need 60 birds to have a team for next year .

 

that will be your down fall only breed from birds that there young is left and breed off the ones that have raced  

 

u will find using this method that ure percentages of losses will become much lower so u will need to keep less birds

 

have used this method then when u have this done u breed off only the birds getting u good results usually what u will find if u are lucky that there is a common factor there could a hen or cock in your loft that is showing that his children and grandchildren are getting the results for u then just breed off as many of children as you can  

 

ive worked along these lines i bred i think 38 young birds last year with only 3 losses bascailly in my young bird loft last year the lines of one hen was running through over 3/4 of my young birds last year and this year the same