Silky Feathers

[jimmy white]

where is the gland situated

 

if you part the feathers you will see it,, at the base of the back,, stimulating this gland with your finger should proove if working well should be a spot of "oil"  on your finger

 

my apologies larry,,missed your post

[just ask me]

 

if you part the feathers you will see it,, at the base of the back,, stimulating this gland with your finger should proove if working well should be a spot of "oil"  on your finger

 

thanks again

[jimmy white]

maybe just a point of interest,, Brian May,  the irology expert,  explained to me whilst at my home, that pigeons [like canaries ] have buff feathering and plain feathering. he called them satin feathered and silk feathered , these were , he said , genetic,, showing me through a microscope , it was quite possible to see the difference with various breeds [or birds, pigeons ] some had wider webbing and some closer webing, he reckoned the latter absorbed the water easier than the silk one, which repelled the water, whether this was prooved to be true,i dont know,  but i could certainly see the difference in the type of feathering quite visable

[ch pied]

NOT ONE  of you experts have mention a good clean moult  , with plenty of OIL SEEDS AND PROTIEN during this time .THE YEAR STARTS WITH THE MOULT .

      Rowdy,i`m not knocking you or your management,good sound advice,but please try this autumn time,1 small section,fed barley100%,or wheat/barley 50/50,and honest to god,you will have a big shock coming to you march time,the birds in that section,just with clean water and grit,will be silky,soft,sparkling,you will be shocked,will breed a beautiful round of babies,and be fit for most anything.I know it sounds stupid,but just try it on a few,if your scared,we did,even won best in show with a hen late dec that flew 497miles early july,good hard race,seperated sept time,left on 100% barley until march. No pulses no oil seeds no oil over food,certainly no cod liver oil. Just barley, grit,and fresh water.

new wheat , new barley , load's of rape seed , not so much for the oil in the rape but the enzymes in the skin , when i start them on it the  dropping's go a bit loose for a couple of day's while they adjust the water intake , then everything back to normal

 

 

[Guest Freebird]

No, bog standard, they'll eat it when their hungry, I have 25 widowhood hens and they eat an ounce a day with a touch of linseed no probs it's all gone. I'd be more concerned about the quality of the Barley, had some from a supplier about 18 months ago and was musty, dumped it. Mine at the mo is from country wide, also used Gem. If I remember with the farm barley get  aglass of water and empty a handful in, it should float if it's decent. I'll try and check my facts to make sure I've not got that wrong though.

Cheers mate.

 

 

[Guest]

maybe just a point of interest,, Brian May,  the irology expert,  explained to me whilst at my home, that pigeons [like canaries ] have buff feathering and plain feathering. he called them satin feathered and silk feathered , these were , he said , genetic,, showing me through a microscope , it was quite possible to see the difference with various breeds [or birds, pigeons ] some had wider webbing and some closer webing, he reckoned the latter absorbed the water easier than the silk one, which repelled the water, whether this was prooved to be true,i dont know,  but i could certainly see the difference in the type of feathering quite visable

 

Yes Jimmy that's right and you'll find the buff good in hot fast conditions, however I would be interested in the genetics of this. Any eye man worth his salt realises that when he examines the eye he is looking for constitution of the pigeon and I reckon these buff types will have a poorer constitution/genetic make up in the eye. I'm not positive on this because I can't remember when I had a 'buff' in my loft, when selecting I will be looking in the eye for the finest constitution I can, i.e. the athlete that can do the marathon, not the one that can win the 100 yds but is spent come the 400 yds.The structure of the eye will be completely different as will the feathering I suspect.