1st of the year.

Egg shell on the loft floor. Hatching started.

same here hal, went in today, 1st yb hatched ........

more to follow i expect .

blimey you 2 are breeding early....paired new years eve and might have a layer tonight by the looks of it ,6 days will they be fertile i wonder good luck lads

oldstrain wrote:

blimey you 2 are breeding early....paired new years eve and might have a layer tonight by the looks of it ,6 days will they be fertile i wonder good luck lads

Shouldn't I suggest be any problems there at 6 days etc O/S as long as the cock has done his duty as intended .
*****

Few drops of vegetable oil and sprinkled with yeast on the feed today.

6 days Darren seems a bit early but they may be OK wouldn't be the first ones to have fertile eggs under a week , hope everything goes well for both of you hal and Dave and have a good breeding season

markevans wrote:

6 days Darren seems a bit early but they may be OK wouldn't be the first ones to have fertile eggs under a week , hope everything goes well for both of you hal and Dave and have a good breeding season

false alarm mark wont be long though by the looks of it tbh i am glad it was a false alarm as i feel much better with 10 days or at least 8 but so long as they are full that all that matters eh atb

Yes 8/10 day is much better you can be quite sure they will be full or should be full fingers crossed always a bit of a let down when you have clear eggs

markevans wrote:

Yes 8/10 day is much better you can be quite sure they will be full or should be full fingers crossed always a bit of a let down when you have clear eggs

Suspect in some ways etc Mark clear eggs could be more of an issue at times than many would just like to maybe admit too when breeding    .  

Lot of mine. younger ones deserted 1st egg because of the cold. Just 2 nests hatched. 1st time I have seen them. Too cold to get the parents off to look.

Woodies driving and nest building.

Think they must know something we do not.

Regards.

The only thing driving round here today was the snow plough. 9" snow in 24 hours.

Putting back pairing up till @4th feb but some of the hens have other ideas and getting fresh with each other so on 100% barley now and fed tight.

barniewild wrote:

Putting back pairing up till @4th feb but some of the hens have other ideas and getting fresh with each other so on 100% barley now and fed tight.

Can understand your area is slightly different to ours and you should be keeping snow buntings and not pigeons, but birds and animals usualy have instincts regarding when and when not to breed in the wild.

Regards.

Great stuff , mine just paired , well most if them . So all to look forward to

peel bros wrote:

Great stuff , mine just paired , well most if them . So all to look forward to

Hope so Ray fingers been busy here I see .

ive a couple need ringing around tuesday, for a local fancier friend of mine ........rest will be paired once the drinking water stops freezing over, i need to add worm mix into water, but no point if its freezing over ......

David if you worm birds with water based meds this time of year, especially when it's extra cold, they won't drink enough water to take effect mate. They don't take to the taste when mixed in water as it is so need to get enough into them, I do it on the corn. What are you using pal?

If I had ever had worm problems with my pigeons I would have treated them individualy, the only way you can be sure all receive the proper treatment, water a gamble.

Regards.

im using the easifen wormer colin, in water for one day ........not sure if it can be added to corn, ill need to look

MISTY wrote:

If I had ever had worm problems with my pigeons I would have treated them individualy, the only way you can be sure all receive the proper treatment, water a gamble.

Regards.

yes thats true enough misty, i did worm via tablet a few years ago, and like you say, i knew every bird had been treated.......only downside was it was time consuming.

60 + pigeons takes too long, much easier to treat in water .

Come on David, gives you a good chance to handle all the pigeons and see any possible problems.

At least 12 hours a  day available under the prevailing circumstances.

Otherwise get some garlic in the water, I never had any health problems once I  
used it constantly and the drinkers needed constant topping up when the pigeons could have had a drink from the pond.

Regards.

10ml to around 30 birds on the corn David.

Miss a feed one morning so they are hungry p.m. then they're going to eat it all. You can always give them some untreated corn to top them up afterwards.
Get in the shed before it gets daylight with a torch next morning before they start trampling in the droppings and you might be able to see worms if they pass any. You might need to repeat within a set time to break the worms/eggs cycle, instructions will tell you. Get them done and then they're ready to pair when you're ready mate.

barnie wrote:

10ml to around 30 birds on the corn David.

Miss a feed one morning so they are hungry p.m. then they're going to eat it all. You can always give them some untreated corn to top them up afterwards.
Get in the shed before it gets daylight with a torch next morning before they start trampling in the droppings and you might be able to see worms if they pass any. You might need to repeat within a set time to break the worms/eggs cycle, instructions will tell you. Get them done and then they're ready to pair when you're ready mate.

Only trouble with that barnie.

Some pigeons will gobble and have more than others.

The only certain way to ensure ALL get the right amount is to treat individualy.

You cannot gaurantee all the feed has the same amount of the treatment either.

Think individual treatment by far the best.

Regards.

barnie wrote:

10ml to around 30 birds on the corn David.

Miss a feed one morning so they are hungry p.m. then they're going to eat it all. You can always give them some untreated corn to top them up afterwards.
Get in the shed before it gets daylight with a torch next morning before they start trampling in the droppings and you might be able to see worms if they pass any. You might need to repeat within a set time to break the worms/eggs cycle, instructions will tell you. Get them done and then they're ready to pair when you're ready mate.

the easifen wormer is the best stuff ive ever used colin, usually cant see anything on the day after worming, but on the day after its sometimes been like an explosion in a spaggetti factory.....that was a few years ago, ive done them every year since and usually not as bad.

i think the easifen kills eggs too, i do know its good stuff, its from the pigeon pharma advertised in the BHW

MISTY wrote:

Come on David, gives you a good chance to handle all the pigeons and see any possible problems.

At least 12 hours a  day available under the prevailing circumstances.

Otherwise get some garlic in the water, I never had any health problems once I  
used it constantly and the drinkers needed constant topping up when the pigeons could have had a drink from the pond.

Regards.

yes true enough misty, gives a chance to check them over etc .......but i just dont have the time to handle over 60 pigeons, and give them all a tablet .

20 birds, yes ...........60+ no .