what system

what system dose everyone fly with there younge birds im still trying to make me mind up if to darkie down or natural .....

If you have very early youngsters place them on the darkness or even on the widowhood the young cocks

Or even get the young cocks paired to some old hens and fly them to youngbirds and visa versa with the young hens

well i raced mine on the dark last season for the first time and it wasthe best season i,ve had with them,they where racing natural ,paired up and on eggs or young uns.the hens where the best by far on this system,never tried widowhood or roundabout but i might in the future

Ray get the young cocks paired to old hens on eggs for 10 to 15 days then remove the old hen, bowl just like the old widowhood cocks then train the cocks back to the hens just like old cocks
Must say they don't all take to it if you have 12 young cocks on it you will be lucky if you have 4 to 5 take to it no worries in tat but the ones that take to it come like rockets and race home big time cheers cheers

last season we raced non-darkness but they were bred early like this years, moved end Jan/early Feb

We had them seperated cocks in one section hens in other, as we are still building a team down here it was my plan to race them for the first five races then stop all cocks etc

for the first five races they were untouchable in the club - then we stopped all cocks and moved them into old bird loft, did keep a few hens going but these then couldnt get within 10mins of the darkness youngsters

i think definately darkness for the later races, thats why "fingers crossed" we will have first round as last year and a later round which will be on the dark for the latter races

thats a few idea,s for the future,i,ll stick to the way i flew last year for now ,then if it no good then i,ll try one of these idea ,s ...thanks

so if i was to go onto darkness my first year breeding is all over with the hatching but hopful by the fisrt week in april all younguns should be weaned so will i put them straight onto dark or shall i wait or am i to late to put them on the dark

phil as soon as they are eating put them straight on the dark then take them of it on the longest day which is bouges weekend

only racing ybs this year and am putting them onto the darkness system, dont know if they are going onto it from weaning or when the clocks alter.........havnt done it before but by what ive been told and read its the best way to race ybs now if you want to fly the full yb program and be competative......

Im on all natural, I think if you breed early enough you wont need darkness, and the later ones born in march april wont be advanced that much to bother them in the racing. however head moult can be a problem if its cold.

hi martyn, when we raced years ago i remember we bred early ybs and by the time they were racing they were more or less like yearlings......cant remember how far in the moult they were and if they still flew the full yb race program.....

yes they will vbe, I have had the best results with birds hatched in february, they have looked like yearlings at racing. I find the slightly later ones to mouldt a lot, and the much later ones then are ok again. It depends if you want to fly the whole programme or not. you will have to lets us know how you get on with the darkness this year.

its my first season back racing martyn and only racing ybs, and as you know darkness is new to me so both the system and my management will just be trial and error for this year.........i dont expect to tear the road up but if i can at least clock a few decent performances in ill be happy for now.

no doubt i will be posting how they do each week on here......

Looking at the comments, and in a different light the first round to be natural and the second round put on the dark, as the second will be in good feather condition for the latter races (nationals, gold rings ect)

As the first round will start losing flites come the important races and the feather condition will start getting poor

Don Webb wrote:

Looking at the comments, and in a different light the first round to be natural and the second round put on the dark, as the second will be in good feather condition for the latter races (nationals, gold rings ect)

As the first round will start losing flites come the important races and the feather condition will start getting poor

i have put both first and second round on the dark (not that the first round need too) for the 2 years of racing now i have no problems with the later races i also have had no problem getting them through the molt after and the yearling last year performed really well you are right about thier feathering the look like old birds compaired too the natural birds

Sue only tried to give an ullternative as some people have had problems with the birds getting through the moult

My youngsters will go on darkness when the clock goes forward as at the moment they are on natural darkness which is an even split, day light hours only become longer when clock goes forward so u compensate for this by darkening the days
Ken

mine will go on the darkness straight away,in about two weeks time

sorry ...thats when i will put them over

ken, do you think there will be any benefits between ybs on dark from weaning compared to ybs when the clocks alter, or will it more or less be the same..........

each have their own theories david,what works for one man doesnt necessarily work for another.

It's everyone to there own way

David i can honestley sai i dont know as ive never out youngsters on darkness as soon as they have been moved
Ken

I have known fanciers do it but for me it's a no no, for me it's a shock to the system

Light them no light with in seconds ??????????????????????

friendsloft wrote:

David i can honestley sai i dont know as ive never out youngsters on darkness as soon as they have been moved
Ken

ken, if i wait till the clcks alter to put them onto dark, by the time they come off it how long would it be roughly before racing starts and also do you start to train whilst still darkening or wait till the shutters stay off (if you know what i mean)