Why are my pigeons

[thomasd]

ive just started racing and ive been talking to people about thier racers raking out a few miles when they are let out of thier lofts my pigeons just fly round the roof and thats it does anyone know why this is.

[pjc]

probably down to your feeding, lighten there feed and they will excercise better, also try flagging them to get them fitter.

[thunderboult]

ive just started racing and ive been talking to people about thier racers raking out a few miles when they are let out of thier lofts my pigeons just fly round the roof and thats it does anyone know why this is.

 

they won't go off raking until they're ready, if they're young they're building their strength and confidence around the loft first.

[just ask me]

down too feeding mate what u feeding how much that will help members also how many birds u keep size of loft if we know a little about your set up we can hep better

 

but i would say u are feeding wrong

 

 

 

[thomasd]

its my yearling that r not raking out

[Guest chrisss]

its my yearling that r not raking out

 

first of all never belive everything your club mates tell you about how well their birds are flying ;) 2nd if they are yearlings are they pairing up?,and 3rd it might be down to feeding i/e the birds are too heavy?,

[just ask me]

how many onces u feeing per  bird and what type of corn

[Guest]

i wouldnt wory too much most birds just fly round the loft some can manage to get there birds fly more than others but its been my experience that some over exaggerate the time their birds exersise for! feeding has allot to do with it providing they are healthy

[thomasd]

im feeding breed mix at the min just finshing it of i feed them onces a day as much as they can eat them remove the feeder

[thunderboult]

its my yearling that r not raking out

 

sorry, i thought you ment young uns. i would'nt worry about old birds raking off, so long as they fly their alloted time that's ok by me.

[Guest]

 

first of all never belive everything your club mates tell you about how well their birds are flying ;) 2nd if they are yearlings are they pairing up?,and 3rd it might be down to feeding i/e the birds are too heavy?,

 

beat me too it not hard takes me 1o min to type lol

[Guest kev d]

probably is down to your feeding thomas when you get that right you wount go

far wrong trial and error , but what ever anybody says to you about what there pigeons are doing

take it with a pinch of salt .

[just ask me]

are they finished rearing yet

[pjc]

im feeding breed mix at the min just finshing it of i feed them onces a day as much as they can eat them remove the feeder

 

If your feeding a breeding mix are they still breeding/feeding young?

 

 

[thomasd]

no mate just finshing of the breed mix i have stop the breeding now ybs rear what would u feed them on now

[thomasd]

They do fly for an hour sometimes abit longer

[jimmy white]

if their flying an hour , they must be healthy enough,, keep the feeding fairly light, and try and let them out the same time every day,, its allways worth getting their droppings tested ,, does no harm,, and eases your mind,, best of luck,,

[thomasd]

Where would the best place for dropping test and what do they check for

[Guest IB]

no mate just finshing of the breed mix i have stop the breeding now ybs rear what would u feed them on now

 

Don't think anything basically wrong in what you are doing, but it would maybe have been better letting the weaned youngsters finish your breeding mix, and switching the OBs onto a racing mix?

 

Don't worry too much about how your birds exercise at home. I'm a good example of birds raking the skies, while my mates fly 'round the rooftops' but his first bird is usually home before mine on racedays, and that's what counts.

 

 

[Guest Vic]

Flying an hour, and COMPLAINING! Tell Vic, How you do it?  

[Guest Owen]

If they are not doing anything. Feed 50% good barley. And then ration feed. i.e. no more that 1/14 oz per day. Check to see if they have canker or cocci. Birds with either will not have the energy to fly much. If they have reared young they will almost definately have canker and probably cocci as well. Check their wieght. If they have been rearing they will be over wieght because you have probably fed ad lib. You did'nt say if the sexes are split up. Assuming that they are and also assuming that you have them on ration feeding with the 50% barley, put a flag up their a---es and make them do what you want. By the way, as IB told you, just because they exercise like tipplers does not mean that they will win races. It's not that simple.  

[Guest kev d]

where do you get this idea from pigeons rearing will have canker or coci and be over weight

mine are rearing and havent got either and are not over weight ????

[Guest Owen]

If your birds do not have either of these diseases you are doing well. It would be quite normal for the best managed birds to have a degree of these diseases as a result of the stress of breeding. It would also be quite normal for YBs to have picked these things up from the parents. That is why most fanciers treat for these diseases at the time of weaning. I am careful to make sure that my birds are clear before I pair up. But when I check after I part them off after they have reared they usually have a biuld up of both canker and cocci. Most people rear their YBs by leaving a pot of food in front of the parents during the rearing period. And often it is a mixture of food types. The old birds usually pick and choose what they want to eat and feed the young. Often there is food thrown all over the place while they pick what they want. A bit like kids in a sweet shop. The result is usually that the birds put on wieght and are far from fit at the end of it all. Nothing wrong, just normal behaviour. So that is what often happens and if it does then we have to job of putting it right. I am sure that these things should be checked out as a matter of routine. And if all that fails, the search for answers goes on. In my attempt to help I may have stated the obvious and could have been well wide of the reasons why the guy was worried. I have no idea how experienced he is so I attempted to give him a very basic check list to start of with. Short of going to his loft and seeing for myself, I could not think of what else to do. So rather than assuming I thought it worth check even obvious things.  

[jimmy white]

Where would the best place for dropping test and what do they check for

 

you would need to find an avian vet in your area,  or a very experienced fancier with the right kit,, that knows exactly what their doing,, if you cant find anyone,,, and want this test done,,, pm me,,

 

the droppings test is usually for coccidiosis, worms and paratyphoid [salmonella] and some cankers [most cankers would need a swab test]

[retired]

I am lucky at the minute to get 25 minutes out of the cocks at the minute and 20 out of the hens - Odd occasions longer but overall them times are the average.

 

Im not too worried as it would have been 3 weeks till the first race