lefebre dhaenens

ill be the same when i start, excited.... wont be able to sleep. must be heavy rain then for the race to be put off ?do you not exercise when it is raining ?

No , only loft flying during open moments,
Get them in as quick as possible.

i let mine out in the rain if its not too heavy, but they love the rain and sometimes dont want to come back in as they are sat on the loft roof bathing in it. i have had them out when its come heavy and the wattles go pink with flying in the rain......

David, what does the pink wattle indicate? I dont like them in the rain, cause i dont want them getting any disease of some sort.
I try to maintain their health state as long as possible during racing season.

the pink wattle only indicates that they have flown in heavy rain as far as i know.....it doesnt give an indication of health i dont think. i dont suppose them flying in the rain near to race days is very good, but if they do fly round home in the rain it may give them some idea of it incase they fly into rain on race days...

david havent you heard of in the pink the wattle has a pinky tinge to it when the bird is in condition

yes ian, ive heard something along those lines maybe....but i was just using it to explain about flying in rain mainly, as i think niel thought because they had flown in rain it meant something ???
ive heard something about when fit the wattles are pinky orbluey white ???didnt take much notice at the time...

i like seeing them with pinky wattles i always pool them birds

Nice one Ian shall look for the pink wattles for condition in the future

Only thought pink wattles were when the pigeons flow through rain??

yes this happens aswell but its different you can see the pigeon is tired but when its form the pigeon looks like an oil painting and like silk in your hand

my best bird i ever had was like silk in the hand ian, the body also felt like cork...light but firm and just sat still in the hand, no struggling etc...

yes thats exactly how i like them apple boddied

yes ian, i prefer apple bodied rather than the long shallow bodies i have sometimes handled

dont like big keel pigeons altho i have a few

read that champion breakaway had high vent bones, and as we all know he was a champion racer.....could this be an indication to a bird being a good one ? any thoughts anyone as i cant say i would know how to feel for this....

dont think it matters david if its in them doesnt matter what they look like

for the type of pigeon i would agree with you both, nice apple bodies and silk feathers

For the vent bone i am not sure about this part of the pigeon

same here don not really sure maybe someone can shed a bit light on the subject

Some idea of the bone quality can be gauged from feeling the firmness of the vent bones and thickness of the keel. Pigeons with better bone quality through increased bone density will have an increased bone mass. This will raise total body mass , a phenomenon that must be avoided. When the bone quality is low the muscles do not have firm points of attachment and are more easily fatigued. In practice the middle way appears to be the ideal and most good pigeons exhibit vents that are neither hard nor soft. Exceptions occur at both extremes.

My experience is that very few good cocks with open vents are encountered.
A few pigeons have the vent bones drooping below the end of the keel. These birds will never be good long-distance racers as there is a lack of space for the internal organs and it is better to put them in the bin.
I hope i shed some light on the subject, as this is one part of the pigeon anatomy that interrest me most.

yes niel, what you are saying is simmilar to what ron green said about breakaway and what he looks for in a good bird....he said when selecting birds he likes to look for the ones with high vent bones as these are the best/winners......
i know when feeling if a hen is going to lay you can feel it at the vent bones but how high and low is determined i dont have aclue...

However not all theories ............ there are exeptions..

obviuosly he is one fancier who has a theory of his and sticks to it, and by past performances it has worked for him....