breeding next year

have decided to put blues in one loft and checkers in another next year i want the blues to stay separate

whys that george ...?

i know the background to the blues also bred 11 ybs 10 from the checkers lost training one yb from the blues only had one race and that was the club 3rd race was 2nd club i also have a question mark over birds i collected injured and owners did not want back and no details when i say checkers it's ones i bred

ah right.........ive a small shed which i recently got given, im very tempted o race some ybs next year if i can get organised in time .

would be great for you David if you have time to train them

that would be my main problem george, its always been the problem .....yes feeding and exercising around home isnt the issue, its taking them training and no one being at home to get them in, or not being able to get anyone local who offers a training service .........plus i dont like to leave my wife for too long on her own.

remember the railways David sent by train station master released them collected basket next day

yes i know thats how they did it but it was before my time that, but i do remember taking strays to the train station to send them back to the owners , probably in the 80`s

i'm talking late 50s early 60s

theres videos on you tube showing pigeons a the train station, being transported for a race .......

i remember that David

Largest club in Scarborough way back set their clocks in a railway unit and all pigeons went by train both racing and training also retuned strays or bought pigeons etc;

Also some show birds were sent by rail to be picked up and taken to the show.

Was a different and far better sport in those days in most respects.

Once the commercial boys got involved, as in most sports, there was only one way to go and the state the sport is now in confirms the matter.

Far more fun and sportsmanship before the money boys became involved.

SAD.

Regards.

true misty, it seems to be all about money now, even i saw he difference when i restarted with pigeons in 2008 after packing in 1986, i`d never heard of ybs on darkness and the amount of different vitamins, tonics and products .

awful lot of clubs and societies struggling, it's a generation thing sadly.
I know around here bowling greens going to ruin wasteland, cricket teams folded, darts leagues no more, quoits............sad but true, some of these activities gone forever.

Sometimes it's the costs that rule people out but generally if it can't be done on a smartphone, then the youngins won't be interested.

your right Colin g/children son visit they only have time for the phone

David wrote:

true misty, it seems to be all about money now, even i saw he difference when i restarted with pigeons in 2008 after packing in 1986, i`d never heard of ybs on darkness and the amount of different vitamins, tonics and products .

There were far less losses too David.

Reduction was by culling those that were less capable than others not by great losses racing.

Todays pigeons are mainly drug dependant because instead of culling sick pigeons they have been treated by vets etc; because of the money paid for them.

The studs bare their share of the responsibility, afraid in 99% of cases it would take many years to get the immune system back to where it was 70 years ago.

Thats commercialism for you, a mainly miners sport ruined along with the pigeons.

Regards.

over the last year ive reduced the amount of products i give my pigeons, all they get now is decent corn and fresh water every day, with vitamins in the water 2 - 3 times a week.

also i mix my own grit mixture, consisting of tk conditioner, mixed grit, pink minerals and crushed clay block, with black minerals in a seperate pot .

nothing fancy or nothing expensive like i have done in the past .

you're on the right road david, and have the advantage that your birds never mix with other lofts.

Different ball game racing, once they are in the baskets anything can and does happen unfortunately, always some illness or virus doing the rounds through the baskets. Fat eye doing the damage now it seems.I think this is doing more damage than yb sickness at the moment.

yes your right colin, thats one of my worries if i ever raced again, that they will mix with other birds ......ive heard of this fat eye, any idea what it is and what causes it ...?

barnie wrote:

you're on the right road david, and have the advantage that your birds never mix with other lofts.

Different ball game racing, once they are in the baskets anything can and does happen unfortunately, always some illness or virus doing the rounds through the baskets. Fat eye doing the damage now it seems.I think this is doing more damage than yb sickness at the moment.

pigeon herpes apparently and yes yes yes to disease in the baskets its rampant

oldstrain wrote:

barnie wrote:

you're on the right road david, and have the advantage that your birds never mix with other lofts.

Different ball game racing, once they are in the baskets anything can and does happen unfortunately, always some illness or virus doing the rounds through the baskets. Fat eye doing the damage now it seems.I think this is doing more damage than yb sickness at the moment.

pigeon herpes apparently and yes yes yes to disease in the baskets its rampant

Said years ago, not the condition a pigeon is in when it goes on the transporter but on liberation and many things can affect it.

Some can be identified , dehydration for instance and having picked up a virus will manifest itself later also may affect it long term.

The RPRA have done NOTHING towards solving the sports problems just a crowd who like meetings and chin wagging not a clue otherwise or the sport would not be in it's present position.

Regards.

like darren says some form of herpes is linked to fat eye, it's rampant and yet only a few birds in your team might show symptoms that doesn't mean the rest aren't infected. My experience is birds look and handle fine, maybe don't eat as much or exercise quite as well but some have a swollen lower eyelid usually only one eye. Not like one eye cold because eye is dry with this thing. They also blink real slowly. Fanciers think they're fine but get wiped out racing, personally I think it's head virus, knocks out their navigation capability, if you got a hundred youngsters you might get away with loosing some but anyone with a small team could be wiped out.
I've read about fanciers vaccinating against this but still getting it every year so that's not promising, like I said I think this will end up worse than sickness.