Young Bird Losses

[Guest]

I Have been reading on another Pigeon Mailing List that flyers in the USA are suffering very heavy losses from near or very near the loft, which is utterly heartbreaking.  One futurity race in North Carolina lost more than half of their 400 entrants this weekend from 3 miles.A podsting from the Houston Area of Texas also details very heavy losses near to home. Luckily members of our club have been pretty fortunate, one member lost 1/2 his birds from 14 miles, but no one has reported other heavy losses.  I started training in May with 62 now I have 52.

 

Is this happening to a big degree in The United Kingdom

 

 

[Guest]

in my part of the uk.(central scotland)losses are much the same as you describe in the usa. i started training with 46,after training & just before the first young bird race this was down to 32. now after three races just out to 90 miles this has dwindled to just 21. in addition to these losses i have lost approx. 15 young birds around the loft most of which i assume have gone to feed the pair of peregrines nesting in a quarry about 1,000 yards from my loft.

[jimmy white]

in 1958  i raced 9 ybs and from training to the last race  [280 miles then] lost 2  and won runner up for yb ave, my first trophy i ever won ,and treasure it today.in1999 i had 80 ybs and took a real hammering and finished up with about20    food for thought maybe???

[Guest]

I agree with u, i think people breed too many trying to flockfly them. How can one man/women look after 80 yb/s and know them individually. I started with 32 and lost a few off the board culled the silly ones and lost 2 racing so now have 25 and that to me is too many, but i know them as individuals and know there moods after 5 months of watching them. I let them go this morning in fog (enough fog to make me put my car lights on) and they all homed really well to be fed and enjoy a relaxing day. Next year I will only breed twenty and if I end up with about 12 I will be happy. This year I started with 11 widowhood cocks (in a 12" X 6" loft) and they went to nearly all the races and I ended up with 8. Some of these races were smashes for other people. I think losses must be down to lack of health/motivation in some lofts as there always seems to be some lofts that get most home and some that have smashes.

[Guest REDFOXKRAUTHS]

I agree with u, i think people breed too many trying to flockfly them. How can one man/women look after 80 yb/s and know them individually. I started with 32 and lost a few off the board culled the silly ones and lost 2 racing so now have 25 and that to me is too many, but i know them as individuals and know there moods after 5 months of watching them. I let them go this morning in fog (enough fog to make me put my car lights on) and they all homed really well to be fed and enjoy a relaxing day. Next year I will only breed twenty and if I end up with about 12 I will be happy. This year I started with 11 widowhood cocks (in a 12" X 6" loft) and they went to nearly all the races and I ended up with 8. Some of these races were smashes for other people. I think losses must be down to lack of health/motivation in some lofts as there always seems to be some lofts that get most home and some that have smashes.

 

SAYING THAT ABOUT YOUR YOUNG BIRDS I TOOK 54 IN THICK FOG IMEAN VERY THICK I GOT 10 AFTER 30 MINS (IT WAS 7 MILES) I HAD 28 BACK THAT NIGHT IN AFTER TWO DAYS I HAD 53 BACK

[Guest]

I agree with u, i think people breed too many trying to flockfly them. How can one man/women look after 80 yb/s and know them individually. I started with 32 and lost a few off the board culled the silly ones and lost 2 racing so now have 25 and that to me is too many, but i know them as individuals and know there moods after 5 months of watching them. I let them go this morning in fog (enough fog to make me put my car lights on) and they all homed really well to be fed and enjoy a relaxing day. Next year I will only breed twenty and if I end up with about 12 I will be happy. This year I started with 11 widowhood cocks (in a 12" X 6" loft) and they went to nearly all the races and I ended up with 8. Some of these races were smashes for other people. I think losses must be down to lack of health/motivation in some lofts as there always seems to be some lofts that get most home and some that have smashes.

 

no offence but ur argument about larger amount of birds isnt nescessary right,it makes no difference how many u have in ur loft if they gonna be lost then they will be lost!.

the reason for many flying larger amounts these days is to cover loses,which in recent years have been terrible.

when u hear of flyers saying that i had 20 and finnished with 15 thats down to not racing too much/flying the short races only/and lots of luck and coupled with chosen weather conditions to race...i personally dont believe u dont lose good birds!..i have seen and heard of many top fanciers losing that one special pigeon never to be seen again and to hear them say....them y/bs were out of the top cock... and so on.

reasons for losing birds these days are as always the usual things,and with greater amounts in the air then u will hear of it more,years ago u would hear johnny down the road lost 3 birds today!...yes but he only sent 12,harry up the road lost 4 but he sent 15,well that small amount never mattered because it wasnt thought of as big amounts...these days u hear of fanciers sending 60 losing 20...well spose u could say its not far off percentage of wot they were losing years ago.

i think if u have ur mind set on ur birds u can handle a large amount of pigeons,its when u get thinking that ur birds dont need tossing this week and ill wait till thursday to treat them, that they begin to drop.

i know of some fanciers racing over 100 birds to fly them well and get great results...not saying a small team cant, just pointing out that a large amount doesnt nescessary mean thats y ur dropping pigeons.

 

 

[REDCHEQHEN]

I think dehydration plays a major role in young bird losses - its not a case of birds not being basket trained - but not being able to get near a drinker on the transporter, particularly on holdovers - the youngsters get disorientated. Though personally I didn't lose many, in one particular race - a holdover, two youngsters arrived back home at dusk - 8.30pm, landing on next door neighbours garage - we turned all the lights on in the loft and got one in - but the other one flew off into the night - never to be seen again

[Guest]

we loss plenty soon as we get to the borders,some only rain them 6 miles :-/

[Guest REDFOXKRAUTHS]

I think dehydration plays a major role in young bird losses - its not a case of birds not being basket trained - but not being able to get near a drinker on the transporter, particularly on holdovers - the youngsters get disorientated. Though personally I didn't lose many, in one particular race - a holdover, two youngsters arrived back home at dusk - 8.30pm, landing on next door neighbours garage - we turned all the lights on in the loft and got one in - but the other one flew off into the night - never to be seen again

 

yes dehydration i agree

[Sajfos]

A great deal are lost due to ill health , Salmonella , etc .

[Guest TAMMY_1]

 

SAYING THAT ABOUT YOUR YOUNG BIRDS I TOOK 54 IN THICK FOG IMEAN VERY THICK I GOT 10 AFTER 30 MINS (IT WAS 7 MILES) I HAD 28 BACK THAT NIGHT IN AFTER TWO DAYS I HAD 53 BACK

 

I KNOW THAT YOU ARE JUST YOUNG BEN BUT TO TAKE YOUNG BIRDS IN WHAT YOU CALL VERY THICK FOG WAS THE THING ONLY AN IDIOT WOULD DO, YOU WERE LUCKY TO GET THEM BACK AT ALL, STILL THEY ARE YOUR BIRDS TO DO AS YOU PLEASE BUT I WOULD THINK THAT YOU NEVER CONSIDERED THE BIRDS WELFARE BY LETTING THEM GO IN UTTERLY ABSURD CONDITIONS

[EAGLEOWL]

I Have been reading on another Pigeon Mailing List that flyers in the USA are suffering very heavy losses from near or very near the loft, which is utterly heartbreaking.  One futurity race in North Carolina lost more than half of their 400 entrants this weekend from 3 miles.A podsting from the Houston Area of Texas also details very heavy losses near to home. Luckily members of our club have been pretty fortunate, one member lost 1/2 his birds from 14 miles, but no one has reported other heavy losses.  I started training in May with 62 now I have 52.

 

Is this happening to a big degree in The United Kingdom

 

 

im not sure if you are saying the race was from only three miles of 400 pigeons ,yes ive seen very big losses occur when birds have been released in big numbers so near to lofts , i think they just get there heads down and move with lofts sustaining very big losses ,this happened a few years ago when the race was cancelled and the birds where brought back to the fed headquaters people didnt go to collect their birds telling them just lib them ,luckily i went to collect my birds the rest where libed never to be seen again .,some of these lofts where under a mile from the headquaters.

 

has for people breeding more youngsters each to there own personally i like twenty young birds no more ,some i know breed 100 youngsters some more ,but i like to have what i can look after ,

 

red cheqhen

 

dehydration ,i agree totally with this same with old birds im sure if more fanciers took this into account they could cut there losses to a minimum ,

prevention better then a cure ,i believe this is the most important thing in my loft ,how many times do you here it said hes never watered them birds ,straight to the drinkers .

 

 

[jimmy white]

yb losses are far greater nowa days than years ago, for what excact reason i dont know,,,,,,,,,,,,,,but i do know what can contribute to this due to my own past experience, [1] too many birds to , to little space [breeding more,and more  is just defeating the object of the thing and in fact making things worse

  [2] to many yb,s not being basket trained , properly i,e making sure they habitualy drink from the drinkers ,on many occasions as from 4 weeks old ,which also gives them more confidence in the basket

[3] a lot of darkness ybs are 7 months old b4 training ,,,,too late in my opinion a pigeon needs trained at 10 weeks [even short distances]

[4] fanciers treating their birds on numbers , rather than individuals , less birds =less stress=less health probs=   more contented birds

[5]it is my beleive , we are now breeding pigeons , with less constitution, due to , too much medication

[6] hawk problems

[7]the main bit ,,which i dont know is, there is something in the atmosphere  now that wasnt there years ago , whatever it is ?

[Guest]

yb losses are far greater nowa days than years ago, for what excact reason i dont know,,,,,,,,,,,,,,but i do know what can contribute to this due to my own past experience, [1] too many birds to , to little space [breeding more,and more  is just defeating the object of the thing and in fact making things worse

  [2] to many yb,s not being basket trained , properly i,e making sure they habitualy drink from the drinkers ,on many occasions as from 4 weeks old ,which also gives them more confidence in the basket

[3] a lot of darkness ybs are 7 months old b4 training ,,,,too late in my opinion a pigeon needs trained at 10 weeks [even short distances]

[4] fanciers treating their birds on numbers , rather than individuals , less birds =less stress=less health probs=   more contented birds

[5]it is my beleive , we are now breeding pigeons , with less constitution, due to , too much medication

[6] hawk problems

[7]the main bit ,,which i dont know is, there is something in the atmosphere  now that wasnt there years ago , whatever it is ?

;D (7) too many bloomin aeroplanes  ;D ;D                                                              andy

 

 

[jimmy white]

;D (7) too many bloomin aeroplanes  ;D ;D                                                              andy

 

 

yes  ;D ;D ;D your bang on ,,especially around the borders [otterburn army training camp] those army planes come over faster than the speed of sound , so low you can see the pilot [well slightly exagerated ;D,] but seriously my freind who lived in kelso, lost 40 ybs [them all] in one go ,,,when two of these planes banged over ,, he had some reported in the south of england and in the west of scot, [about 4]

[bosshog224]

in my opinion people suffer young birds losses on a saturday threw feds clashing with each other not enough comuncation.plus there are plenty just lift them 2 the first race with hardly any trainning in them they touch for head wind and the go missing or they hoak home all day and then they blame the birds and not them selves. plus you here this one saying had y.bird sickness last week and before you no it there sending to the folling weeks race for why i do not no all i can think of is there trying to cause problems for others who try to keep there birds healthy.

[frank-123]

would you fly past a man standing in the street with a sword threating to chop your head off

well i guess thats how some young pigeon feels when the peregrine is up ahead

 

i beleive people who understand the health and the feeding of ybs will not suffer as many losses as myself or many others :B

 

just two reasons why it is diffrent from years ago

[EAGLEOWL]

in my opinion people suffer young birds losses on a saturday threw feds clashing with each other not enough comuncation.plus there are plenty just lift them 2 the first race with hardly any trainning in them they touch for head wind and the go missing or they hoak home all day and then they blame the birds and not them selves. plus you here this one saying had y.bird sickness last week and before you no it there sending to the folling weeks race for why i do not no all i can think of is there trying to cause problems for others who try to keep there birds healthy.

 

well said theres too many birds sent that never should be .if you dont breed them you cannot lose them .

 

 

[Guest TAMMY_1]

would you fly past a man standing in the street with a sword threating to chop your head offwell i guess thats how some young pigeon feels when the peregrine is up ahead

 

i beleive people who understand the health and the feeding of ybs will not suffer as many losses as myself or many others :B

 

just two reasons why it is diffrent from years ago

 

can the police not arrest him for this  ?