todays race melton mowbray

disapointing 13th and 20th club lost a lot of time again lost 3 minutes or so due to the fact they were doing 2100 yards a minute very fast over 70 mile an hour better luck next week i hope well done ray see you were 3rd club

hi, i was 3rd club this week ,beat by the same two again.pigeons came well again

well done ray have you got many for lillers

well done ray good result.... what happened ian?did they not trap?

, some thing ill have to work on didnt trap dont know why

Do you feed your racers once, or twice a day ?

i feed twice a day after excercise morn and tea time

You should try once a day , in the afternoon, but let them loft fly first, then they will be hungry , entering would be quick, make this a routine , and i'll bet they will enter more quick after a race.

do you mean out once a day and feed once a day

Yes Ian, only in the afternoon
Loft fly them only once a day
Only feed once a day , till all of them have enough.
Try it , if it dont work for you, well, you can always do your thing.

how much food do you give ian...and do you just feed a small amount on the morning feed and the rest in a main meal later in the day?
i saw a dvd where the fancier gave a small amout of seed before he exercised in the morning to make them fly better, dont know if it would work for everyone though...

i give them three quaters of a once on morning after exercise and the same tea time after exercise

ounce and half a day then...do they eat it all or leave some of it then ian?

yes they eat all of it david

Hi Ian

If the next time you know it is going to be a fast race give the birds nothing after friday's morning feed as come saturday they will hit the back of the pen

But if the race is going to be hard then feed them on the friday evening as they will need the energy from the food

Its all about just getting the balance right yes i have made the same mistakes

Ive read a vet's book who is also a fancier, he said the biggest mistake one can make is to weigh the food, sometimes they eat more, sometimes less ,it all depend on the amount of energy needed for the day fanciers must find that balance.

yes niel, i think that some days they will eat more/less...i suppose the amount of work /exercising they are doing could make a difference, and also the weather ???

was reading article earlier and it said when obs are feeding do not give a feed which has too many different seeds in it as it makes them be fussy and leave certain grains by picking and choosing what they want....

Agree with you David but do you ever see a top sports person in condition fat or eating everything and anything

I find the best way to feed you birds is by hand or in a troff as soon as two pigeons go to the water fountain then remove the feed as the ones left are getting over fed,your best pigeons never eat a lot of food compared to the pigeons which never win

don, the problem ive had lately is that because the birds have been feeding ybs ...when i let them out im having trouble getting them back in because they are not hungry....on one hand they are feeding so i always have food in front of them so the ybs dont go short and this means they wont respond to me calling them in because they are not hungry enough....but then if i keep them short the ybs will suffer...???

David

No the birds are in charge but as soon as the young birds are away then you are boss

And make them know it as well but don't risk the young birds you will have your time

yes don, ive not had the birds out as much during breeding season because i needed the ybs...but my breeding will be over soon and hopefully i will be able to get more of a routine back again as it will benefit both the birds and me...
the breeding season started off badly for me with the cold weather and eggs either not hatching or only one being laid, plus when i did eventually get ybs they were already spoken for as i had promised them to fanciers who had bid on them in auctions i had donated to...now i have only bred 8 for my self but these 8 are ones which i hope will do well racing...

David

Once you have finished breeding then make the pigeons work for you that is the best way forward

yes don, a friend said to me i must stop thinking/treating them as pets.....they are there to race and earn their perch.

Yes your freind is correct as i have already said before you know it you have 1001 pigeons looking at you and wanting to get feed and the waythe cost is it is going to cost you a lot of money.