Natural

[peter pandy]

50/60 years ago the only rice you could get was pudding rice and if my Mum God bless her soul had seen me taking rice from the jar to feed birds she would have skelped my lugs. What was in her larder was to feed us not wild life. LOL I had to feed the birds with the 3lb paper bag mix from the CO-OP.

[peter pandy]

With 5 weeks yesterday till pairing up its time to get them into pairing condition and with excercise now going to be every day regardles of weather conditions the "Terror Eyes" balloon had its yearly renovation with the red repainted with bright red enamel paint.

Writing about red the wife said there was a bit of red Liecestershire cheese she found in my son's fridge when cleaning it out so although it was as hard as concrete into her Kitchen Aid mixer it went with 1kg of feed and nearly destroyed it,so it was hastily stopped and grated instead then it mixed in easier. The birds loved it and were chasing about with their wings in the air for more.

Reading in last week's BHW the John Clements page regarding pigeons not flying at high altitudes and he could not think of a successful pigeon loft located at 1,000ft or above. Well C.J's. loft was exactly 1,000ft above sea level and it was more than successful and I am sure I have posted that National birds were racing over me at I reckoned 2,000ft easily. They were never in a ball but strung out in a line over a mile long.

Mr Clements still writes a lot of sense and is an enjoyable read especially on distance racing birds which are a species off their own making. ie, not flock flying dependant.

[peter pandy]

With the rain belting down and a gale blowing the birds stayed inside so the plan to have them out daily was duly hit for six but the hens were out in the aviary having a bath and being blow dried.

I wonder if last years pairs will go to-gether again or pick a new mate as I dont pair up as such but leave them to their own choosing. No fighting for nest boxes and if they want to make a nest in the Aubiose bedding on the floor then they can do so and I just hope our Jack "Border Terrier X Patterdale" leaves the eggs alone. At the moment the birds and he are getting along well and he only gets the odd flick of the wing on the nose when he tries to get into the feeding trough at the same time some are feeding.

Real creosote is getting harder to obtain and if any one has a spare half gallon I could purchase then please PM me.

I use Creosote by putting beer mats in a tub and cover them with the Creosote leaving them to really soak in for a couple of days then put 1 under the nest bowl and nothng survives to upset the sitting birds. Any beer mats that are left over go into a polly bag and sealed for further use and remaining creosote is poured back into the container for future use.

[peter pandy]

My uncle Donald gave the newly hatched chicks via there parents rice 50 odd years ago

Good for birds going to races in hot weather to hold water

My Irish friends give theirs Paddy Rice

 

You wont have any Irish friends now Mike :emoticon-0136-giggle:

[peter pandy]

Another day of rain. It is getting that bad I now have to wear wellies walking through the garden. Talking to my brother to-day and he was saying he has taken 30ins of water out of his fish pond this winter as his has no over flow.

A I to assume that no-body can help me out with coal tar creosote ?.

[peter pandy]

With over 50,000 views I think I better state my next move in the loft.

When Vaccinating I put down on paper the size of the bird ie, Small, Small to Medium, Medium, and Medium to large.

With all the Small and Small to medium cocks numbering 14, I was extremely surprised that I have an equal number of hens the same so that's 14 Pairs for March 23rd in Section 2. and if all stays the same 16 Pairs of Medium, and Medium to Large for Section 1.

My Hens are still in the Aviary Loft and will remain there while I split the Cocks into their respective Section where hopefully they can claim a nest box.

Feeding has been reduced to 10 grams per bird daily, 50/50 with Supreme Mix and Barley and 10 grams Columbine All in One mixed in. Layers Pellets ad/lib are still in the Hoppers for topping up their needs. Their is not much more I can do at the moment and some visitors to-day remarked they were in show condition looking superior to there's which pleased me.

[buster151]

Another day of rain. It is getting that bad I now have to wear wellies walking through the garden. Talking to my brother to-day and he was saying he has taken 30ins of water out of his fish pond this winter as his has no over flow.

A I to assume that no-body can help me out with coal tar creosote ?.

 

I have taken an awful lot off mine this year as well as Im same no overflow

[TonyW]

www.creosotesales.co.uk

[andy Burgess]

Another day of rain. It is getting that bad I now have to wear wellies walking through the garden. Talking to my brother to-day and he was saying he has taken 30ins of water out of his fish pond this winter as his has no over flow.

A I to assume that no-body can help me out with coal tar creosote ?.

 

http://forum.pigeonbasics.com/topic/82084-creosote/page__p__994687__hl__creosote__fromsearch__1entry994687

 

click on the link Peter , post 5 from John has the details

[peter pandy]

Thanks for all the info on Coal Tar Creosote. The problem is the smallest amount you can purchase is 20 ltr drum which would be OK if I was soaking 100,000 Beer Mats instead of three dozen :emoticon-0136-giggle:

[WALLACE]

Would a couple o dreeps o medicated creosote not do the same job ? Minus the black stuff

[peter pandy]

Split all the Cocks to-day after they had a two hour fly racing about the sky after the wee weather confinement and geez are they handling good. Not wishing to blow my own trumpet but I would go as far as to say that I have never handled pigeons that were so slippery it was difficult just holding them. The body and muscle tone is perfect, bright eyes and perfect clefts. Cannot wait for the racing season to start and get a kick in the baws for blawin ma trumpet so early in the season.

[peter pandy]

Would a couple o dreeps o medicated creosote not do the same job ? Minus the black stuff

 

Their is more to it than just creosote. It wont be long now till the hedges start leafing up and the moths appearing from them. As I am surrounded by hedges I can catch litterally thousands in my moth Zappers but they dont get them all as any crack or dark place in the loft is a hidy hole for them especially in the gaps in the roof planks.

[dal2]

Split all the Cocks to-day after they had a two hour fly racing about the sky after the wee weather confinement and geez are they handling good. Not wishing to blow my own trumpet but I would go as far as to say that I have never handled pigeons that were so slippery it was difficult just holding them. The body and muscle tone is perfect, bright eyes and perfect clefts. Cannot wait for the racing season to start and get a kick in the baws for blawin ma trumpet so early in the season.

 

Handling like show doos lol

[Wiley]

Pete, could you please tell people your routine for exercise and more in depth about your feeding, as from my own experience feeding 20 grams per day per pigeon the birds are constantly looking for food and do not exercise for even the hour, unlike your own on the feeding flying for 2?

[dal2]

Pete, could you please tell people your routine for exercise and more in depth about your feeding, as from my own experience feeding 20 grams per day per pigeon the birds are constantly looking for food and do not exercise for even the hour, unlike your own on the feeding flying for 2?

My widow cocks fly for a max of 20 mins. ...hens 5 mins

[Wiley]

My widow cocks fly for a max of 20 mins. ...hens 5 mins

 

Dal are they fed 20 grams(8grams under an ounce)? Having played with feed for years i know in the "Tropical Climate" of the South, the birds being fed 20grams are constantly on the look out for food and have no desire in flying for a good time scale, so im a bit shocked that in the "bitter coldness" of the north that they will fly between 2-4 hours, so im a bit intrigued on how its achieved as the answer may take us all onto that next level.

[dal2]

Dal are they fed 20 grams(8grams under an ounce)? Having played with feed for years i know in the "Tropical Climate" of the South, the birds being fed 20grams are constantly on the look out for food and have no desire in flying for a good time scale, so im a bit shocked that in the "bitter coldness" of the north that they will fly between 2-4 hours, so im a bit intrigued on how its achieved as the answer may take us all onto that next level.

Never.....and I mean never have I had either sex exercise for more than 30mins. They exercise longer at the start of the season but the willingness goes after a few weeks. ..... hens for me are the worst and I often give up with them and hope to get them more motivatd when paired for the channel

 

 

I watch other members birds burn the sky up and think I may be last this week.....

 

Never.....and I mean never have I had either sex exercise for more than 30mins. They exercise longer at the start of the season but the willingness goes after a few weeks. ..... hens for me are the worst and I often give up with them and hope to get them more motivatd when paired for the channel

 

 

I watch other members birds burn the sky up and think I may be last this week.....

 

I feed one handful morning and night to cocks.....hens fed in trough in morning not measured

[peter pandy]

Wiley,

I have already posted that I feed ad/lib Spillars layers pellets in a large hopper and obviously the 30 Cocks are into them at daybreak around 08.00. I will put them out at 09.00 if the sun is shining and 10.00 if its not but its dry. They are locked out till 14.00 when the trap is dropped and whistled in to be fed 150 grams Barley 150 grams All Round Supreme and 10 grams Columbine All in One mixed to-gether and fed into a trough. So all they are having is 10 grams off hard feed each. Doing my homework 20kg bag of Pellets will last me roughly 35 days for the 30 cocks so that will be 19 grams of Pellets daily = 29 grams of feed per bird daily.

I think you will agree that all in all I am a heavy pellet feeder which has surprised even me and I thank you for bringing it to my atention.

[peter pandy]

Regardless of the outside inclement weather the inside of my racing loft is like the inside of a house. I can sit inside it and am not aware of the weather outside. I know the birds are happy with their environment and If they are happy and showing it then I am too.

To-day when it was wall to wall sunshine the Cocks were roaring their heads off which is to be expected as they are in fine fettle and it is the full moon when all wildlife is at its peak or should be if all is ok. In 28 days time they can get down to the business of choosing the hen they want to spend the rest of their lives with as I never force them to take up with a partner they would be unhappy with. The reason my birds are flying the skies is due to the fact that with it being a new team they are mostly 5-10 months old and are still what I term running. I thought you would have clocked that fact lads. When section 2 went out at 10.00 they took off S/W and were gone for 1.1/2 hrs probably gave you a visit Steve the time they were away.

[dal2]

Regardless of the outside inclement weather the inside of my racing loft is like the inside of a house. I can sit inside it and am not aware of the weather outside. I know the birds are happy with their environment and If they are happy and showing it then I am too.

To-day when it was wall to wall sunshine the Cocks were roaring their heads off which is to be expected as they are in fine fettle and it is the full moon when all wildlife is at its peak or should be if all is ok. In 28 days time they can get down to the business of choosing the hen they want to spend the rest of their lives with as I never force them to take up with a partner they would be unhappy with. The reason my birds are flying the skies is due to the fact that with it being a new team they are mostly 5-10 months old and are still what I term running. I thought you would have clocked that fact lads. When section 2 went out at 10.00 they took off S/W and were gone for 1.1/2 hrs probably gave you a visit Steve the time they were away.

Never seen them mate lol

[peter pandy]

Never seen them mate lol

Probably too high for you LOL

[philg50]

I see you have them shut out for 4hrs ,dont they get troubled by marauding hawks .

[peter pandy]

I see you have them shut out for 4hrs ,dont they get troubled by marauding hawks .

 

Funny you should mention Hawks as my Brother in Law "Basics Uncle Albert" lives 100 yards away and was telling me this morning that one had been hit at his loft yesterday afternoon and would I be so kind as to get my "Terror Eyes" back up as he has not had trouble from them since the "Eyes" appeared 5 years ago. DONE.

[peter pandy]

It was a Thursday afternoon before the Fed Young Bird Open and I was admiring this Blue Pied Cock as he was going about all the Hens old and young looking for something to pair up to. The old Hens were off their eggs and Cocks sitting and was obviously desperate to tread and was not giving a toss whether the Hen was married or not and as his frustration grew so dis my hopes for a goos time from him on Saturday.

The doors were opened later for the evening fly and after they had excercised all they wanted they hit the house roof and mucked about as pigeons do.

They were brought in and fed the evening meal and as I sat there in the loft it became apparent the Blue Pied Cock was missing and checked to see if he was still outside. As I sat with my brother wondering where I had last seen him it came to me that I saw him on the chimney pot birling and sweeping his tail and my worst thought was that he could be down the chimney.

Now back then I lived in a 4 to the block and our house was the upstairs flat and I lost the toss of the coin to go out the skylight window and climb the 10 feet to the roof breast, on looking out the window I shouted down that their was no way I was going any further and my brother who was a carpenter shouted dont worry I will make you up a ladder to climb up the slates and just hook it over the roof breast. So he did, and I did, and pants required immediate removal as I did not really realise just how high it was, anyway I shimmied along to the Chimney and looked down to see the Blue Pied on a ledge 12 feet down. I gave my brother another shout and told him to sling a weight up to me using a fishing rod with the instruction that if the weight hit me I would brain him when I made terra firma again but on the first cast I luckily managed to catch the lump of lead and told him that in the shed he would find a hammer and cold chisel and at his leisure would he make his way into the attic.

Now this is the tricky bit as I lowered the lead to where the Blue Pied was sitting I started to gently swing the lead against the chimney brick and my brother pin pointed the brick that appeared to be what the lead was hitting and proceeded to chip the brick from the chimney. After what seemed a life time as my past had flashed in my brain on more than one occasion he made the breakthrugh and one loose brick went crashing down the chimney and knocked the electric fire to bits and it was the wrong brick as he was about two feet below the bird and had to take another brick out, fortunately enough this one ended up in the attic and he managed to grab the Blue Pied safely and will I manage to get myself down from the roof.

It was getting dark when the Fire Brigade arrived with a turntable ladder and rescued me.

As for the Blue Pied or Blacky Blue we could not make up our minds what colour to put down on the race sheet he was 1st Club Nom and Accumulator and 5th Open Fed with £100+.

Observation is the key word..