piggy Posted October 21, 2005 Report Share Posted October 21, 2005 hi all, i think i had a good first season well with the old birds any way, now the advice is i will not be racing hens next year as to busy with work,the end section in the loft is 4ft wide by six foot deep,i was thinking of some sort of floor grills with either rows of saddle perches or sloping continental perches, there will only be between 8-12 hens in this section, what are others thoughts on this, or what would you do or have done? much help fully appreciated, oh p.s wife does not like the idea of boxes locked away all week, plus at the mo the hens come out 3 times a week and fly for about 45mins,she wants to keep this up thru next season and let them fly in the comeback season once the cocks are 3/4 thru the season to test the hens as well? stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Silverwings Posted October 21, 2005 Report Share Posted October 21, 2005 watch out for the hens pairing together ,they will lose their enthusiasm for the cocks , partitioned sloping perches would be better ! use wide mesh grill on the floor if possible , to prevent them nesting together ...... thourght about a roundabout system ? the wife has a good point ! dont waste your hens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shadow Posted October 22, 2005 Report Share Posted October 22, 2005 I agree with siver wings . Go on the roundabout system use poles or V perches for the hens fly hard fly fair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy white Posted October 22, 2005 Report Share Posted October 22, 2005 if you cant race the hens , its difficult to stop them pairing as the season goes on, , if the section is 4 ft wde and 6ft deep, you could try 4ft long poles, where the hens can only sit side by side, also grilled floors, or you could box them on the wednesday thursday, friday, as sometimes the racebirds are in the basket this long, it is horrible having to box up hens, i used to do this but had a 22 ft aviery, where i could change them about, give them a bath etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 I have raced my birds seperated & out of sight of each other for many years, I tried just about every thing to stop them laying without success. This year in one loft I put wire floors in the corridor and left the hens in there looking through the dowels at the cocks, they could perch on the lids of the feeders. They stayed like this from January to the BICC Pau race with only a couple of eggs being laid. I sent 5 of these hens to the Pau race & three of them did quite well. So much for not letting them see each other!!!.The hens were too busy watching there cocks to think about pairing together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 This May i was taking the birds for a National race and i said to John in the van on the way to marking, hey next year im going to put extra widowhood boxes in the hen section, build another shed for the hens and just race 24 cocks due to time etc. good idea he said. didn;t think nothing of it, the birds where liberated and could you belive it my 1st bird was a hen, and the best thing was it won the race so i think i will just keep the way i have been doing it next yr!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 my hens ias i have said on here before are in a section 6ft x 5ftish. 3 lengths of 2 x 1 across the section and this is where they perch and i never have the hens pairing up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 I was at a loft at the weekend and the bloke had his hens in a section next to his stock loft with a fine mesh wall between the perches and the stock section so the hens could see the stock cocks at all times, and he has raced his hens on roundabout without them pairing for a few years. In my loft due to lack of room my hens are locked up in boxes from the start of the season to the end, they are always kean as hell on a friday, but I hate keeping them like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedbird Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 i know a guy that puts 1 or 2 cocks in the section next door which the hens can see through a mesh door & dont have any problem with pairing up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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