you bird sickness dont knock it if you dont agree its only info

mine are opened up at 12 let out at 6pm fed then left alone i let it get dark natural and close the shutters just before bed
there fed half there feed at 12 and the other half around 6.45
so no bird should go to rest with a full crop there all on a 50/50 mix
depuritive and bucktons irish mix

That's the one Sean, food that is easily digested is a must in youngbirds. some fanciers used to laugh at me, because of my different bins of different grains.
Just look at a baby for example when we wean them, we give them food that is easily digested, if it's not they will either be sick or become constipated or both.
When a pigeon becomes constipated it holds corn in its crop because its system cannot process it, they then start to consume large amounts of water, this will do two things. Aid them to induce vomiting to clear the undigested corn from their crop and also help them flush their whole system, hence the watery droppings.

peel bros wrote:

David wrote:

i think feeding to late in the day before darkening the loft doesnt do them any good, they dont get long enough to digest the food properly, also feeding too heavily whilst on the dark isnt good.......JUST MY OPINION.

your right david,ryan who helps us used to over feed our ybs,we fed them about an hour before darkening them, far tooo late.we now feed them once at 11 oclock and thats it,we now have better control over them also. i think you tend to gice ybs far too much with them being just babies but believe me its a big mistake,thats the problem holding corn in the crop,we hd to starve ours last year for about 4 to 5 days to clear the crop. we just used wheat and barley///this is just our way you do,nt have to use it though ,just trying to help

i agree ray, i let my ybs out at this stage once a day, when they land i try get them in the loft straight away and feed them 50% super diet and 50% widowhood mix, they are only given 1 oz per bird and thats it for the day, no more food.........obviously they get grit etc but this also means that by the next day the food has been fully digested and they trap when called.........(well this is once my system is in full swing)

personally i dont think ybs need exercising or feeding twice a day at this stage, but this is just my opinion, i know others do things differently to suit themselves.

last year i only exercised once per day and they would do 1 1/2 hours i think its enough and i only feed 1 ounce per bird also its a lite mix called junior plus by versa laga and when i compare it to the no maize yb mixes it astounds me just how heavy some of these yb mixes can be look at buctons yb mix with no maize theres so many maple peas in it that you would think it was breed and wean lol not knocking buctons quality though as i use their conditioner

what do members think to yb mixes? you can get a no maize yb mix and one with maize, do ybs need maize in their diet or not....?

also some feed thier ybs on a normal widowhood mix, i do myself but its mixed 50/50 with super diet so its a lighter mix.

David wrote:

what do members think to yb mixes? you can get a no maize yb mix and one with maize, do ybs need maize in their diet or not....?

also some feed thier ybs on a normal widowhood mix, i do myself but its mixed 50/50 with super diet so its a lighter mix.

my y/bs are fed on 70% depurative 10% layers pellets and 20% super breeding and they are fed by hand in the trays
i will change the feed once they are ready for training sean

My youngbirds are fed a mix of high carbs and seeds which are oil rich. White Dari, safflower, Naked Oats, Red Dari, Lots of small seeds including Niger, and Millet, Paddy Rice, Wheat, Buckwheat, Hemp, Linseed, Rapeseed, Peeled Rice.
They get no maize or peas until they are flying for at least an hour.
Then I will add small roundberry maize, popcorn maize, white and blue peas.
I feed this on the loft floor after I scrape it.
They get vitamins once a week in the water, they also get garlic and honey in their water once a week.

gary why do you feed on the loft floor ? i know you scrape it but why dont you feed in trays.....?

just interested to know.

It teaches them to become competitive with each other, just like in the wild, plus I'm up close to them as I do it, this helps them to form a bond with me as well as associating me with food. It also helps me see the character in the birds and spot the dominant ones.
When the get older, I will always have peanuts in my loft coat, so the ones that come to greet me will get a treat, soon after they will all be competing to greet me.
It's just my way David, Ive always been the same.

im the same gaz always hand feed um them what dont come get nowt they soon come next time and like you say they get to know you and bond better

I know to some it may sound a little daft, but I enjoy it, it's like my time with em.
I like them all to to feel comfortable and confident when I'm in the loft, this is when I discover my favourites. and give em silly names.
It's gotta to done g, this way the learn who's boss.

i still sit with them and place the corn in the trays by hand etc, but i personally dont like the idea of feeding on the floor and prefer shallow wooden trays.......

once again gaz thats me i got a stock pair off daz and some y/b last year

the red you see in the silly pics is not mocked up this is there carictor

bond with your birds you will win far more ray has his nephew who cares for his y/b and we have seen that its time to let him motivate um feed im not so sure best of luck ray try the 3 box system barry knows

I used to use a similar system, but mine just had two openings and a divider.

Even the stock birds I brought from kev's I have them all tame.
Like you see in some of pics I have done with them on me hands and stuff.