YB feeding.......?

been having a few problems over last few days where either ybs seem starving or they wont come in because they are not hungry, after morning exercise i give approx 1/3rd of the daily rations then half hour before darkening i give the other 2/3rds.........

to stop the older ybs getting all the food and the youngest going hungry and going backwards i seperated them into two sections, but this then means i have to let them out seperate and it takes up too much time........


yesterday a fancier told me that because im only letting the ybs out once a day, when they come in i should feed all of them (older ybs and younger ybs) as much as they will eat so that even the younger babies are getting enough.........then do not give an evening feed because they have already had their daily amount in the morning, and then when they are let out for morning exercise the day after the food has digested and they will be hungry enough to trap.........

any thoughts on this anyone....? fancier who told me this has been highest winner in club for the past 20 odd years......

think you have answered your own question listen to him you wont go far wrong

ive had same, those that go in get fed later ones that arent hungry enough wait in passage they go in with rest when food is gone, i did this morning or teatime they learn quick when hungry, treat them same as wife youre the gaffer,
sorry bill you might get some hastle off your wife mate

Hi steve, you hit the nail on the head mate, with youngsters you got to be hard and make sure late birds get nothing then next time out they will be first in. If we are soft and give them a little cos they been out all day without food they learn nothing and continue to be bad trappers.

David, just to try and be of some help with your starving youngsters..lol. I cant imagie why you ration the birds and give measured portions shared out. My youngsters are fed 3 times a day first in the morning basic mix, then small seeds mid afternoon, and finally evening meal basic mix. They are let out at 8 am when they come in they get fed. At 4pm they go out and again on trapping they are fed.

I never measure the food I just add a little the the hoppers as they come in and when they are in I watch and see if they start picking at it and not eating quickly ..then I stop and dont add any more, what ever is in the hopper at that momment is all they get, that way later ones who are not yet in find nothing left and have to wait until next feed.

This way my birds are always still a little hungry but settled, and will egerly eat again any time of day when ever I want them to, so If I go in the loft a few hours after, they are always following me and wanting tit bits.
My birds always trap and never stay out on the roof, after excercise I can get them all in within a minute.

So if you ask me how much they get each a day I dont know and would have to work it out, but one thing I do know is that they will not eat the same every day, some days I feel starving all day and eat crisps bettween meals, then other days I can go all day without food. Pigeons are the same as us they feel hungry one day and another just pick, but birds that exercise well usually eat well if they are well. But if we measure and give the same every day then I think we will start to over feed them and thats not good...hope this helps a little.

hi martyn, yes very interesting reading........one problem i have at the moment is my ybs are not flying very much, im thinking its because i have half the team which are a lot younger so are holding the olders ybs back.......today i fed as much as they would eat and made sure the younger ones got enough to eat, i didnt feed them again later in the day so im hoping when i exercise tommorrow the food will have digested enough so they will be hungry enough to trap well.

ive been having to gauge between too much food and not enough and today when i handled some of them the keels were sharp.sticking out a bit so im sure they havnt been getting enough food because i didnt want them sat out all day because they are not hungry enought to come in, ill see if this new method has any improvement........

Hi david that explains a lot...basically the best thing I find is for a week from weening my birds get everything they want and as much food as they want left in front of them all day, that way youngsters dont drop off. THE AFTER A WEEK OR TWO, I give them a routeen and teach them manners so to speak.

However problems come when you keep adding babies to older birds, I put my first round in 1 loft and second in another that way I dont get problems like that, But my advice is if you are puttin babies i for a while longer just keep food in front of them until the weening stops and they are all equal again. Problem is the older ones flying wont be as good but thats ok, get them goig a bit later. Feed lighter with more barley and they will fly thier wings off.

hi martyn, yes ive just been told about barley today.........my brother came to see me this afternoon and i told him about the problems re the ybs, he told me the yb mix im feeding them is too heavy and too much protien content in it......he said too much is a toxin and through experience he has found yb do need maize as this mix im giving has none, he suggested i feed nothing but barley for a week which will get them flying and then to add super diet to the barley but only approx 25% and then increase it when they start training/racing......as the super diet is vairly expensive so he tells me he suggested i mix widowhood to the barley instead maybe, with me using the new method of feeding as much as they want once a day i found one hen could hardly fly.....and some of the others seemed very heavy , so maybe hes right in saying the feed is not right for them and to use barley/diet instead. what are your thoughts on this martyn.....?

Hi david, Well there are so many variations on feeding its a hard subject to tackle...I have heared about od belgian fanciers who won lots feed all beans and peas, and others like the catrice brothers feed nearly all maize, both flying equally well.

However my experience shows what works for me, Barley or a lighter mix containing maize wheet and smaller seeds certainly will get them going. But because of the babies constantly moulting good protien levels are nessesary too. We must not go mad and take things to extream either, as this is wrong also, so I wouldnt feed just barley.

I have found that getting a balance is good, so my youngsters as I have said for a couple of weeks get as much as they want higher protien lots of beans and peas over 50%. Then they change to a basic mix similar to super widowhood with lots of different grains , but with 25% barley added. This is a morning feed after exercise, if they fly too much now I reduce barley. At night after exercise they get basic mix no barley but with 25% beans and peas added, the basic mix also has beans and peas so they get more than 25% its more like 35.

This way they get a lighter mix most of the time but still get the protien at night, and by giving a heavyer mix at night they are not starved in the morning when I want them to fly, otherwise they wont fly as they know food awaits them when they get in.

When training is about to start I increase the barley and decrease the beans and peas at night this way they are very sharp and eager to fly, about this time I start feeding individual grains first, like pop corn maize first, then basic mix, making sure the carbs are taken by all.

I always feed the birds mid day with a seed mix like redband but I mix my own with lots of linsead, they get this after meals also but i small amounts. this they get from day one of weening, these seeds are esential to them and provide oils for flying on wet days...hope this helps a little, forgot to mention sometimes the birds can be on as much as 50% barley until I find the right balance that makes them fly.

hi kev, let ybs out today and even tho they were fed as much as they wanted yesterday with the yb no maize mix, they came straight in when i called them......today ive put them on 2/3rds barley and 1/3 widowhood mix as much as they want, so ill see what happens over the next few days.........

youll never get control over them youll see

ian wrote:

youll never get control over them youll see

Feral's-Loft wrote:

ian wrote:

youll never get control over them youll see

still keeping pigeons feral,? havnt been on for quite a while thought you had packed in............

personaly with ybs in the past they always have been a pain in the neck lol

biggest problemive had with them mark is getting them in after exercise, they mever want to come in............