I have a idea of just pairing 6 hens so they sit eggs from early April rearing youngsters in May so it’s the first nest of the year etc 

good luck all ,,,,,,,,,

my guess vel 1234.

Anyone else starting this weekend 

good luck all

looks like it’s going to turn cold again next week 

anyone else training when do you all start the season 

1. Stopping hens going lesbian on me as I’ve a tendency to be a bit heavy on the feed with hens

2.The missus has a new job which involves her going to work 20 miles away every day. Its training back over from the north instead of the south but hey for old birds especially channel bird’s trainings training. Small basket in the back of her car she chucks them when she gets to work and by the time they back all I have to do is trap them feed up take the bairn to nursery and then work. The widowhood cocks will be exercised and trapped in by the time the hens are back. This will save me an hour on the morning of exercising the hens which I would have to do if they were celibate/roundabout. The natural hens will be exercised an hour on the night.

3.For long distance natural still seems to be favoured by a lot of fliers especially in Scotland so it must have its advantages. Plus when I first started racing pigeons I raced natural and had success with it inland and enjoyed the method even though form came in cycles.

My loft layout is closed in, pantile roof with good ventilation with 4 sections with a corridor throughout and polycarb front . Solid plywood partitions separate the sections. Each section has its own external sliding door for trapping into corridor then through section door bobs in bottom over ets pad. The 1st section is young birds plus 12 widowhood hen boxes in corridor. The 2nd Section 12 widowhood cocks, the 3rd section 12 natural pair, the 4th section stock. Will have a radio on all the time in the widowhood or natural cocks section to stop the natural pigeons disturbing the widowhood cocks.

The key questions I have for the natural fliers on here are:-

1. Do you feel it’s best to rear young birds prior to racing and if so how many 1 or 2?

2. How do you decide your first pairing dates? As an example in my case our 1st race is the first week in April which is stupidly early (80 miles from Wakefield). The races I’m aiming for the channel ones which in the North East we generally have Channel, Inland, Channel on alternate weeks. 1st channel race this year was 24/05/14. Now I know due to laying etc I won’t hit all races with the hens and I will have to sit and plan my races with the hens to have them in nesting states where I can get them ready for the races but just after an idea of when people pair. In the North East the traditional date was 14th February to pair the channel team.

3. Feeding as they are channel birds and on natural I’m guessing they need good bait with no breaking down etc. Would feeding be along the lines of breeding mixture until racing starts, maybe halfy half with barley to keep weight off them when on eggs. Then back on to straight breeding mix for rearing then for racing a good quality widowhood mixture with no breaking down plus sunflower hearts for the longer water races?

4 .Any general advice you may have for racing a team on natural

5. Why do you race natural and what do you think are the key advantages over widowhood pigeons?

6. What are the disadvantages of natural and have you any tricks/tips to counter them?

Many thanks for any responses I get.

walked a

so five "older birds" to join the team again. i also had a 5 year old cock , raced at the old address, could i break him too ? had him in a cage on the grass for a week . he was also "cut down" but just the 2 last remaining flights.

tried him out yesterday , and he took to my woodpile , which is nearly 6 foot tall , and near the loft. looking around for 10 minutes or so, other birds were flying around. next time i looked , no sign of him ?

he wasnt here when they were called in around 4pm , well i thought , another gone . maybe too much to ask of a 5 year old.  almost back in the house ,,,, and he came back ,,, and ,,, flew around , and around for over an hour and a half .  so he done a 70 mile round trip back to the old place, then flew for and 1 & 1/2 .

just wish i had tried to break them when i moved down .

Does anyone here fly their cocks on the celibate system? I used to read an older member's post named Owen that flew his cocks celibate with good results, but sadly I learned he had passed. I am from the USA and any help would be greatly appreciated. I do have a basic system for the hens, but I am open to hearing how others fly their hens celibate.

Thanks,

Sota

Thanks in advance

Where from?

How far is it?

Good luck folks

What are your returns now?

Thank you

How many do you plan to send?

How far is it?

Where are you racing from?

Good luck to all Basics members racing this weekend.

Which Cub/Federation

Where are you racing from?