Advice Starting out in Manchester

[Guest wardy]

Hi

 

I am looking to start out raceing , My grandad & dad used to race about 10 years ago and were prettty sucessfull but they are both no longer around now , I recently bought my first house with the intent of a decent garden so i could have my own loft ( the misses thinks other wise )

 

What im after is some info on what i need to do to start out excludeing the obvious IE LOFT BIRDS.

 

How many birds should i start with

where to buy a clock from and what is the best type for a new starter

equipment

 

any info will be gladley apprecaited

 

Thanks

Joe

[WilliamJones]

Hey Joe,

 

That's great, you're going to love them! Here are my suggestions:

 

The amount of birds you start with depends on how much space you have. Your birds will need about 0.5 meters squared of floor space each and there needs to be enough room for every pair to have their own nesting box, with a few left over (those bloody cocks will definitely try to bag multiple nestboxes so you may as well have a few spare, just in case you can't stop them!)

 

The best things to think about when buying:

 

a ) When you buy your birds make sure you buy them from someone who's well known locally and can show you his breeding records and race results (you really want someone who can show you his loft has had success over the last 5 years). If the guy has a good reputation then he's not going to give you a load of crap birds because it'll reflect badly on him, whereas bird wholesalers won't give as much of a damn.

 

b ) You want to get all your birds from one loft really because it'll make your life a lot easier as you can ask the guy you bought them from for advice on them. Also it'll mean you have a better idea of what outcomes you'll get from breeding. If they're all from different lofts then every egg will be a complete lottery.

 

c ) Your loft doesn't need to be huge or expensive, it just needs to be comfortable. Really it'll need at least two sections: one for the youngsters and one for the older birds. If you have the space then it'd be a good idea to have a little bird hospital where the sick or new birds can stay while you keep an eye on them without endangering the rest of your flock.

 

EDIT: make sure you can stand up comfortably in there and that it doesn't have any hidden nooks or crannys... you'll be spending a good amount of time in the loft so you should make it an environment you're happy to be in. You also don't want anywhere in there that your birds can hide from you in.

 

Those are three good points to think about initially, if you've got any other questions then ask away!

[Guest wardy]

Hi Chipping ,

 

Thankyou for taking the time to reply the points you have made are great and has got me thinking lots.

 

i was thinking of haveing a 10 x 6ft loft with two 5 foot sections , but may resize down to 4ft sections and have a 2ft section for the sick bay.?

 

I was thinking of starting small with the birds maybe 6 pairs? would you recomend that this would be a good idea?

 

whats sites are good to use to by equipment from? i want to be picking bits up as a go along obvisoully i wont be ready this year but i want to be ready for next years YB season.

 

Once again thanks

[sapper756]

Hi Chipping ,

 

Thankyou for taking the time to reply the points you have made are great and has got me thinking lots.

 

i was thinking of haveing a 10 x 6ft loft with two 5 foot sections , but may resize down to 4ft sections and have a 2ft section for the sick bay.?

 

I was thinking of starting small with the birds maybe 6 pairs? would you recomend that this would be a good idea?

 

http://forum.pigeonbasics.org/public/style_emoticons/default/wink.gifwhats sites are good to use to by equipment from? i want to be picking bits up as a go along obvisoully i wont be ready this year but i want to be ready for next years YB season.

 

Once again thanks

 

 

Try on here first, if you are looking for equipment, you never know, some times some one has what you are looking for

[REDCHEQHEN]

Joe - I've got 2 x 4'6" sections - and they really are quite small for racing (I would really advise against 4 foot sections)

For a sick bay - if you have a garage or shed put a few spare boxes in there - or use a basket - you also need to think about where you are going to store the feed for the birds - I use dustbins bought from Wilkinsons - they hold 3 to 4 bags of corn - and they are stored in a shed - which also houses my sick bay

[just ask me]

if u want to say where your from there might be some one from your area on site from your area a couple of lofts visits to other fanicers will allow you too see with your own eyes what is involved

[Guest wardy]

Cheers for the Advice Guys Im from manchester ( Wythenshawe ) to be precice Also looking for a Club in the area surrouding any one from the manchester Area who can knows of any can you please let me know.

 

where can i get a Clock from ive been doing some research and what is the best to start out one of thoses electronoic ones or the manual one where the you put the thimble in the Clock? and price?

 

Cheers Joe

[just ask me]

im sure there someone from Manchester that could tell you where your nearest club is

 

maybe when u see the different clocks working u might have a idea what best for you

[lenton1163]

where can i get a Clock from ive been doing some research and what is the best to start out one of thoses electronoic ones or the manual one where the you put the thimble in the Clock? and price?

 

 

 

im new to the game myself but i think it depends on wich club you join my local club you carnt fly ets you have to have a manual clock a t3 is the best so ive been told so i would join a club first and see what they say

[dal2]

Firstly cograts on choosin the best sport/hobby ever. I say hobby because I really believe that when you start off then it should be treated as such. Defo need two sections in yer loft but three would be better. A corridor is also a good idea. Racin next year might be a bit of a tall order but best o luck, try gettin some younguns early next year and youll learn a lot keepin them in good nick and you might get a couple o races.

Join a club first before thinkin o a clock then youll know exactly wot you require and also you can bend the ear o the best fancier in the club who will not be able to resist tellin you how its done.