Lightness young bird system

[trapperjoe69]

Hi i wonder could anyone help me with something i hope to try ?

 

Lightness system

 

i.e. opposite from darkness whereby pigeons go through body moult but delay wing moult,

 

i want to try lightness to try and accelerate moult on young birds to try and get them through full wing moult before july !

 

do you think this is possible

has anyone tried this

when should i pair up (maybe now?)

how many hours do i keep light on

is there certain feeds would help accelerate moult

 

i would try anything once (i like experimenting to get that extra yard !)

[Sean]

wasting your time with this light system (own opinion)

yes u can get them through the moult but my understanding is that their dont fly as good as birds that been on dark system.

why dont you try it and have some on dark aswell then compare them and you soon fined which as done well for you  ;D

[birdman55678]

Rick Martis from CBS Lofts swears by the light system.  I have a tape that he put out that fully discribes what he does.  Ed

[Chatrace]

18 hours of light starting in January and running to June 1st,then just use natural light. the Light bulb needs to be on that long,don't just think the light from the sun is enough to save on electric. . I liked to have mine see the natural sunrise so my bulbs came on about 1/2 hr after sunrise and went out 18 hrs later letting the birds have dark in the loft till sunrise. By June 1st you should be done. just loft fly till the 5th flight has dropped then slow and easy road work till June 1st. That gives you 4 weeks to push them till July 1st race.

 

Just what I do,others may not agree, but works for me

[birdman55678]

I intend to try the light system this year, seems much simplier than the dark system.  Who knows if it doesn't work right I may be trying the dark next year.  Ed

[trapperjoe69]

thanks chatrace good stuff

 

hi old bird - care to share some of the key information on your rick martis tape -

i.e how much light, do you heat loft, do they go through whole wing in time for racing, why do you suggest it is simplier ?

[Guest Greenways]

Hi

I've used the Light system for years. It's good for people that work during the day eg 8-5pm.I normally pair up middle of Jan. When the young ones hatch I put my lights on from 3.00am till 8.00am. This continues until end of May when it is almost that naturally.You will find that they mature faster so you have to feed as they change in feather and body.I race mine on Gerry Plus and they have no side affects and race just like normal yearlings.

Hope this helps if you need any more info PM me

[Guest marvin]

hi there joe i gave always used the lightness and its always done the job for me i pair up as early as poss as time is the essence,with certain breeds i have seen the body moult starting before they are weaned off i have the lights on from 5.30 am untill 10 at night they stay on this until june the 21st maybe 1 week longer if needed depends on the wing , they are fed very well from the start so you have to be very carefull as to how your birds react to you ie trapping so some time spent with them when there just weaned is required to gain trust . you will have to except that some birds will not moult fast enough for you i have found over the years that the distance birds will not moult as fast as sprint birds i have found that s.v.reets fit the bill an ideal situation would be to have sprint ybs in one section on the lightness and the long distantance ybs left alone but with us all space is a premium but having said that i have won from 450 miles as a 2 year old this bird havind been on the lightness as a young bird. if you wish to know more about the system let me know and i will let you know all that i have learnt ....yours marvin

[trapperjoe69]

thanks marvin - good info !  when should i expect to get mine through the wing moult completely approx, i hope to concentrate on derbies around late aug / sept

[Mr Staff Van Reet]

To much fart on the darken system is the best (my opinion) on the light system you have to pull the tail flights out every other day or thats what it said on a tape from the USA!! but good pigeons with the right darken system will take some betting thats what i think (i fly the dark won the yb ave 4 out of 6 years broke club records as well), wish you well in what ever you chose!!!!! ;) ;)

[trapperjoe69]

well i tried it, and unfortuantely for me it didnt work, birds all rung early january they had at least 16 hours a day - light, and are only just through the wing moult, racing season stopped last week, my birds needed to be about 6 weeks quicker moulting.

 

back to darkness next year !!!