UPDATE 22/09/2021

ive found my "new" loft i built last year is very dusty, more so than my old one ......it has an apex tiled roof, with mesh along the eves, and adjustable ventilation on the ceilings of the sections, but still very dusty .

at present i do not have any low down vents on the front of the loft like my old one, and wondering if this is why ...... maybeit needs to to enable the air to circulate better ...

David wrote:

ive found my "new" loft i built last year is very dusty, more so than my old one ......it has an apex tiled roof, with mesh along the eves, and adjustable ventilation on the ceilings of the sections, but still very dusty .

at present i do not have any low down vents on the front of the loft like my old one, and wondering if this is why ...... maybeit needs to to enable the air to circulate better ...

Remember Bilco once saying David, back when     (don't ask me which one) his perfect loft would be a sound water tight roof & 4 walls of wire netting under it type of thing. Something like I suspect where my crows call home here up my gum trees .

Was asked, but a fellow Fancier went to an 'Old fancier' who had passed on.
She needed someone to help sort the birds out and whatnot. He had died in aged the early '80s, and she was about the same age.

Stuart Wiskin went as lived nearer.
He told me he asked the lady Gladis what was she wanted. Said to be shot of them.
He took a bin liner and went to the loft. It was absolutely packed and crammed to the full!. Stuart said one would have a job to squeeze another in. there a was Small opening for them to go in and out.
He told Gladis he would be back the next day!
He went back with a roll of 'Bin Liner!

He told me in all the years in the game - very many, he had never seen such healthy and conditioned pigeons. said all would do well if raced ... was tempted to have a few. - Whether he did or not, I know not, most were unrung, of course, just the odd one rung ... maybe strays?

He closed the loft opening and went in and out. Done the not so good deeds.
Said every time he took a bird from the top shelf, another one or two or more went up and fought over the place!

These birds were perched and nesting anywhere they could. All nests were on the floor!

Told me he learned a lot, and when he saw my so-called overcrowded loft of pigeons, he said I was 'Spot On' after all!
'Over Crowding became a 'Filler' via some giving an interview for a 'Pigeon rag' when they found to say nothing else. Soon well believed it was a 'Safe' thing to say as the norm was to believe.

Gosh, a 6 or 7-foot loft used to house 12 pairs and their' youngsters in days gone by, and not so long ago ...  It is now mainly - I believe, for ones own thoughts, and beliefs of doing their best for the birds that they love. Often treated as 'What a Human' would like ... which of course has nothing whatsoever to do with or any comparisons between a human and a pigeon and NATURE.

Cannot understand the dust scenario David.

Does not come by magic.

Are you using any kind of the conning dusting products?.

If you have proper ventilation you should not have a dust problem, unless you are causing it.

Regards.

Simple realism regards Fresh air in and out, cleansing smell and dust etc.

Fresh comes in low. Hits the back and then gets drwn out in the top middle part. This is the simple way of circulation. Many believe - falsely that a low bottom entry and out the other side at hieght is good. But that doesn't CIRCLE. jUSt draws out some, very little in real terms.
Had a false roof top over a loft. A foot etra wide. Beneath was wire mesh. Also a wire mesh top stop any bird going up or out.
Never mind wind / breeze directin, even very little and the nside air was conatantley being drawn out of the loft.
T

Could it be your pigeons are in better nick in the new shed david, creating more bloom? If it's sheltered by the house and garage maybe not a lot of breeze or wind getting to circulate and shift the dust?

All apex tiled roofs I've seen have been the same, full of dust and cobwebs, gathers on rafters and ledges, wire mesh ceilings, then drizzles down back amongst the birds. If you have electric run in, you could put a few bathroom extraction fans in and set them on a timer. Cheap to buy from Screwfix and only a few pence per day to run.

Think bloom can be a problem, feel it was the reason I had to part with my pigeons.

Although I never changed my methods for more years than I care to mention.

Other than laterly I spent more time in the loft.
 
Pigeons will increase the bloom if small seed is included in their general feed and mine was all year round.

But never encountred bloom that could be called dust.

When a pigeon shook it's self it would throw out a mist of bloom and maybe hang in the air but then vanish.

Just exactly what form is this dust David ?.

Regards.

do you use loft white or any other powdered floor dressings david?

its like colin says, up in the roof space there are a lot of cobwebs, and dust settled on the trusses etc ......at one point a lot of dust was pink, but i reduced that by using less pink minerals, but like daz says, i do not any low down air vents to draw the air up into the roof space and circulate the air ........

i do sometimes use floor whitener, but try not to unless i need to....and if so use only a small amount.

MISTY wrote:

Think bloom can be a problem, feel it was the reason I had to part with my pigeons.

Although I never changed my methods for more years than I care to mention.

Other than laterly I spent more time in the loft.
 
Pigeons will increase the bloom if small seed is included in their general feed and mine was all year round.

But never encountred bloom that could be called dust.

When a pigeon shook it's self it would throw out a mist of bloom and maybe hang in the air but then vanish.

Just exactly what form is this dust David ?.

Regards.

Always thought much the same etc until back when, I watched a video of one of those Belguim ace types of the day etc. Dust went flying every where there off the deep litter when they opened the door to go inside their loft. Even my favourite man ?????????????? Mr Eyesign said in his time it's something one should not worry about as such, in a pigeon sense.

The pink mineral dust will give you a good idea of how the air is circulating david. If it's nearly all up in the empty roof space then you won't get it any better without mechanical vents such as fans. It's up there because the pigeons flapping around are agitating the fine dust and it's then getting it up there in the draw of air then settling on trusses etc.so in that respect the ventillation is working to a point.
If the pink dust is lying on perches, hanging on the walls, low level ledges, this is the really fine stuff, then it's not drawing up and away above the birds.
No way can anyone get the dust out of a loft by natural ventilation alone, simply because the dust particles are heavier than air. It's a balance of keeping the dust down, ie sweeping out and spraying or deep litter for opposite examples, and fresh air entering to create regular air changes in the loft, so wire mesh doors, windows, aviary fronts for examples. You could try lifting the front edges of some pantiles and jam a packer under to let air flow through, presuming its not lined with roof felt under the tiles?

Think 'Bloom's' only draw back is to the fanciers lungs.
Otherwise a sign of health and good condition.
Reason I/Jimmy White believed in E.M. B.

Daz wrote:

Think 'Bloom's' only draw back is to the fanciers lungs.
Otherwise a sign of health and good condition.
Reason I/Jimmy White believed in E.M. B.

Yes Daz, believe it's the really fine stuff that you can't see which is the problem for many, gets deep into the fine branches of the lungs, not unlike industrial respiratory diseases, copd, asbestosos, etc

entry is open for the yearling 2022 event at £200 per bird there will be 250 entries and first refusal for those who entered the 2021 yb event ,not hanging around are they i wonder if anyone will buy ours to enter it ,after last years yearling event i am surprised its even on

Not giving one time to think, or discuss with others i guess Daz.

certainly banging the drum eh daz

Would be interested to see the auction list, as one could assume that those not on it had been entered into the yearling event.

Had a gander at how the local clubs have faired regarding returns.

Turns out the same as everywhere else, had to shorten some race distances to conserve youngsters for next year.

Looking at club members one could not long ago times the numbers by 10.

Looking at the BHW and the photographs of the Grass Root fanciers (backbone of  the sport) nearly 90% appear beyong retiring age, and more.

If these decline you will be left with the grinning advantaged holding their "winners" with not a care in the world for the sport in general.

Regards.

oldstrain wrote:

entry is open for the yearling 2022 event at £200 per bird there will be 250 entries and first refusal for those who entered the 2021 yb event ,not hanging around are they i wonder if anyone will buy ours to enter it ,after last years yearling event i am surprised its even on

I'm totally amazed here etc O/S like to have been a fly on the wall there thou when the discussion took place & the logic behind their thinking process   .

Think over all we had a better time this year than one could have expected around September last year.

Agree and said all along the pigeons were not treated in the best manner regarding training, as for health, we have no idea the problems met, nor how they were dealt with, nor  the outcome of doing so.

So to a certain extent it is defficult to come to a fair conclusion.

oldstrain bred us four to compete with, we had two in the final, the vast majority of the entrants would have been delighted to have 50% of theirs in the final.

Over all looking back at the bleak outlook last year I am happy over all and thank oldstrain.

Regards.

MISTY wrote:

Think over all we had a better time this year than one could have expected around September last year.

Agree and said all along the pigeons were not treated in the best manner regarding training, as for health, we have no idea the problems met, nor how they were dealt with, nor  the outcome of doing so.

So to a certain extent it is defficult to come to a fair conclusion.

oldstrain bred us four to compete with, we had two in the final, the vast majority of the entrants would have been delighted to have 50% of theirs in the final.

Over all looking back at the bleak outlook last year I am happy over all and thank oldstrain.

Regards.

Always been purely a fun type thing for me here Misty over the last few years & I couldn't be more pleased/proud of what the Bristol 's birds here have achieved for us along the way etc. Always an achievement in certain ways to make the final race on the program with these races & if one produces a clock like we have on a consistent type basis now it's a credit to the birds & the one as you say that bred them I suggest.

thanks lads it has been great fun ,i got great pleasure breeding the birds for us well most of them anyway .and giving something back to the forum for puting up with my spill for the last 11 years ..just not quite good enough at the end of the day but we had some good results all the same ,thanks to you all for your appreciation and to mark evans for being our secretary throughout it all ,it has been a blast each year