Eadie & Kelly Of Bellside Lanarkshire

[OLDYELLOW]

I would like to thank Budgie for agreeing to do a question and answer session with me . Budgie is of the partnership Eadie & Kelly of Bellside Lanarkshire , with a mighty impressive record at all levels , when did you get started with pigeons and tell us a little bit about yourselves.

[budgie]

Eadie&Kelly Bellside Lanarkshire

 

I first started racing around 1970 and went into partnership with George Kelly in 1974/5 as Eadie &Kelly when the the loft was situated in Newmains.We have been lucky enough to enjoy success at Club, Fed and National Level.Since our move to our current address in Bellside a small village on the outskirts of Newmains things have really taken off with New Lofts being erected along with new introductions from the best we could afford.Within the Mighty Lanarkshire Fed we have Won The Old Bird Average Twice and the Combined Average three times in succession with over 70 Diplomas Won within the SNFC over the years with the best positions being1st Sect 3rd Open,1st Sect44th Open,2nd Sect 22nd Open,2nd Sect104th Open,3rd Sect 63rd Open,4th Sect 27th Open,5th Sect18th Open,6thSect54th Open,9th Sect 28th Open,7th Sect80thOpen,10th Sect40th Open,13th sect 58th Open and 14th Sect 47th Open.This year alone within the Fed with up to 7000 birds competing weekly we took 42 Positions alone and had one of the best team performance from Ypres with the S.N.F.C timing 13/15 within 45 mins of which 6 took Diplomas

[OLDYELLOW]

Well it's that time of year again when thoughts turn to pairing the birds up and breeding new champions , when do you pair up ???? and what preparations do you do to get the birds paired up ????

[budgie]

Stock Birds and yearlings are paired up the week after Blackpool and the Old Birds around 14th Feb.Prior to pairing they recieve Total Disinfection followed by Feed Supplement&Lemon Juice then Multivitamins for week.Then a week prior to pairing they are treated for Canker for one week and thats it.Make sure that the pigeons are not overweight.

[OLDYELLOW]

What do you mean by total disinfection ? and what feed supplement do you use ?

[budgie]

Total disinfection is a Combination Soluble powder to keep them clean from,cocci,trichomaniasis,paratyphoid and ornithosis .The food supplement consists of Vitamins,Minerals and trace Elements.

 

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[OLDYELLOW]

Do you vaccinate for pox and Paramxyo at this time ???

[budgie]

We use Medittech/Pigeon Pharmacy products and well known PMV/POX and Paratyphuis vaccine which is used when the youngsters are around 8/10 days old and there-after at the end of Sept.

[OLDYELLOW]

At what age do you remove the young birds for weaning ??? and do you use the darkness system to fly your young birds ???

[budgie]

Youngsters are weaned at around 28 days and go straight onto the Darkness System until 23rd June.They race the full race programme with some going to the Young Bird National.Coming of the darkness i can have as many as 20 pair down on eggs within a fortnight and it does them no harm on later years.

[OLDYELLOW]

Do you do anything special to help them through the moult ??? or do you see it as a natural process that requires no intervention ???

[budgie]

Good Quality feeding with 25% crushed peanuts added which we buy from the local shop and are for Human Consuption only with a little Linseed added.If the feather quality does not feel like velvet after the moult they are disposed of regardless of what they are bred from.

[OLDYELLOW]

Do you feel it's important to race the young birds in the year that there bred ???

[budgie]

Its a must that the young bird team are brought along steadily and race the full programme.Any that show fatigue are disposed off and any that dont do 1hour when exercising round the loft are also disposed off.

[OLDYELLOW]

Moving on to your Yearlings , what racing would these yearlings see and when would you start them off , or are they treated the same as the rest of the old birds ???

[budgie]

They get every race with the exception of the Money Spinners (9 in total) to the coast which is around 380mls with a select few going across the Channel to Ypres.If they cannot do the coast as yearlings the familys that we have will never fly the Channel as Old Birds.

[OLDYELLOW]

So basically your setting them up for 2 year old's and letting them mature as these will be the future stars of the loft but valuable training for there Channel racing career ahead .

 

Moving on to 2year old's what racing would these see and when would you start them off ???

[budgie]

As 2 year-olds the (National Family) would not start until 1st Sat in May then fly 78mls.125mls,147mls,182 mls,225mls then 267 mls before coming of the roundabout system around the 1st/2nd week in June.By this time they are switched on and only need 6/10 tosses from around 40/50 mls.

[OLDYELLOW]

What preparation do you do the week of a big race what feeds do you use and what products if any ???? Do you feed peanuts ? or high protein foods ?

[budgie]

2 weeks prior to the Big Races they can have between 6/10 training tosses.Common sense prevails and we dont break pigeons down.Our feeding regime stays almost the same all year round using Versalaga Best All Round,Red Band and as much Crushed Peanuts as they can eat.

[OLDYELLOW]

You mentioned you raced your birds on roundabout do you pair up any for the big races and send them sitting in various nest states or just stick to the roundabout ?????

[budgie]

They are raced on the round about up to 4 weeks prior to their selected race and sent either driving or on eggs.Some of our best positions come from 2/3 year old hens who have never hatched or fed a youngster in their life.

[OLDYELLOW]

When do you exercise your birds round the loft and what times and what order ???

[budgie]

Old birds are exercised twice a day.Morning 5/6am Cocks 6/7am hens Eveing 5/6pm Cocks 6/7pm Hens.The youngster are let out at lunchtime and all must fly freely for around 1 hour or they are also disposed of.This is of great importance if you want to sustain and keep a healthy team of quality pigeons.

[OLDYELLOW]

Do you have any problems with hens laying with been on the roundabout prior to been raced ???