moulting mix

do you put them on moulting mix once racing is over or just feed them regular mixture?

I used to change mixes for moult but this time I'm just going to leave them on a high maize mix that they've been on since May, add a bit cod liver oil couple of times a week and leave them to it.

I think a lot of continental moulting mixes have too many small seeds and safflower in for my choice, fair enough linseed and a little hemp which I'm using in this feed but not 7 or 8 small seeds that many flavour of the month brands contain.

Time will tell I suppose.

Nature says that in the wild all the small seeds are at harvest time, at the near end of the birds moult.

Some ready to fly thousands of miles and others ready to stand the Winter Months, when the feathers must be at their best.

Fanciers have disrupted nearly everything natural with regard to racing pigeons.

So the moult is now artificial in it's developement in several ways and has progressively been so in our sport for many years.

Long ago came to the conclusion the best way was to give a sound mixture all year round with everything available to the pigeons that they needed.

The seed mixture was fed differently on a small clear area where I could clear up any that was left, they left different seeds at different times.

The basic feed was straight on to the deep litter.

Never any difficulty with the moult and mainly in show condition.

When I have borrowed the odd stock pigeon on returning the fanciers have said how good they were in condition and that includes studs.

Think you can get too technical as opposed to looking at nature.

Regards.

Always fed a standard around mix over the years but the problem with that is the stock birds get to fat I don't like barley fed to my birds I now many do so this year going to try multi task from bamfords lots of different seeds and grain in this mix and see how they go

left mine on the breeding mix plenty enough protein for the moult ...but i do feed a small seed mix with a vegetable pellett in the morning for brealfasy there on 1/4 ounce in the morning and an ounce in the evening ...birds are always ready for there grub and seem well on it ....have used vl-mutine other years ,this is pretty much the same only fed in 2 different meals atb

ive just got mine on an all round mix, and give tk conditioner every day .........feathers all over the place at the moment, birds are moulting nicely

yes I'm just leaving well alone, these are moulting slower now, less feathers blowing about the place and last 2,3 or 4 flights to go, no totally bald patches and still ok to train on good days, bit linseed and hemp now mixed in the corn. Starting to look like yearlings in some cases.

colin, i noticed on my yb which i was monitoring, it never actually had patches where the feathers were moulting, it was never bald around the neck or head, it just moulted steadily and could have raced or trained throughout the yb season .

but as you say, this may be because it never went out exercising .......