what feed!

Ill stick with barley and breeding plus.

i dont use barley at all niel but i know plenty who do and get succuss

Hi Ian, my birds flew well with the barley, once a week i gave them breeding mix, seems it work ok.

if it works for you stick with it good luck

i am planning on feeding mine on barley over the winter....is this ok ?
im working on the theory it will keep their weight down so when pairing up they wont be overweight, but will feeding barley make them fly less or more ?

Feeding barley at the first time then they may start flying less as you are reducing the amount of heavy corn feed but as time goes and the pigeons become lighter and get used to barley then they may start to fly longer

If you look at the belgium flyers some have them on 100% barley and in a
aviary in the winter months

But that for me is a little harsh

I dont think barley all the time is a good idea, they need other food too, finding that balance i think is important.

i dont feed barley at all but its up to the fancier what works for them

The barley can be used to suit you and the pigeons not all things suit everyone, but it is what makes them work

can barley be used on its own as a depurative to break them down apon returning from the race ?

Yes if you look at a depurative it consists of up to 85% barley

1.DEPURATIVE MIX (**NEW**)
This is an excellent Depurative mixture

Ontario Barley, Hard Spring Wheat, Hard Winter Wheat, White Milo, Safflower, Long Brown Rice, Red Milo, Yellow Proso Millet, Oat Groats, Flax Seed (linseed) and Canary Seed.

Protein: 11.4% Fats: 1.3% Carbs: 61.3% Fiber: 5.1% Ash: 5.3%

2.This is a cereal based mix with a high proportion of Barley. It is often referred to as a �light mix� and, if fed after racing, will aid recovery and help restore energy reserves

Barley, Wheat, Milo Buckwheat, Safflower, and Dari.


Depurative
An easily digested high fibre breakdown mix for feeding on return from racing. This cleansing light feed helps purge unwanted toxins out of the pigeons system.
Can also be given to widowhood hens and resting pigeons.

ian, we fed our widowhood hens on barley so not to get them fat and also we kept them a bit light on food as we thought it would help to stop them pairing up with each other, which was a problem.....

have you ever used depurative

hi ian, never a purpose made depurative mix....just used barley as one......

A good reply back with the depurative content very good

David i would just keep to feed barley to the hens as this will keep the weight of and keep there minds on the next feed

yes don, we sometimes had trouble with the hens pairing up, we had roof lats accross the loft as perches and didnt have any floor covering eg, sand, straw etsc which would encourage them to pair up....we had an aviary which they went in during the day.

yes david its all about keeping the hens fresh

Spot on Ian as long as you can keep the hens fresh and uncomfortable then you will stop them from pairing up

nothing worse than putting the hen in and shes not interested in the cock , he wont be that keen to get home

yes your right ian...it seemed like a constant battle sometimes to keep the hens more interested in the cock than the other hans....do you ever have any problems with the hens pairing up ?

yes david the odd few but i sort them ones out end of the year and replace them if you know what i mean

what do you do to try stop them from pairing, or is there nothing you can do ?