Click on 'Articles 2022', and read the one at the top, called "Lots of contradictions".
Well worth it.
Ad is Dutch, and his use of English is a bit strange to us, but he is a goldmine of experience gained at the top of the sport.
Food for thought.
If you have 5 minutes to spare, and you would like some food for thought about pigeons, Google Ad Shaerlaekens' website.
Click on 'Articles 2022', and read the one at the top, called "Lots of contradictions".
Well worth it.
Ad is Dutch, and his use of English is a bit strange to us, but he is a goldmine of experience gained at the top of the sport.
Click on 'Articles 2022', and read the one at the top, called "Lots of contradictions".
Well worth it.
Ad is Dutch, and his use of English is a bit strange to us, but he is a goldmine of experience gained at the top of the sport.
Greetings from the land down under.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
On that same subject, A few months back I made a new sputnik trap for the loft.
The effect has been terrific. The birds have never been better.
They can sit out in the fresh air during the day. Because they are trapping better I am feeding them more and the are in great condition. They seem happier and more content, which is saying something, because they were pretty laid back anyway.
I have hit the jackpot!
Not quite. One might expect them to be all glowing with health, pink and shiny in the flesh. But they aren't. I just handled a bunch of them and they feel great, but their breasts are blueish and not what you would want.
Something is not right, I suspect it's because when I shut the loft up at night there isn't quite enough air flow. I will have a tinker with it.
As I say, it's all food for thought.
The effect has been terrific. The birds have never been better.
They can sit out in the fresh air during the day. Because they are trapping better I am feeding them more and the are in great condition. They seem happier and more content, which is saying something, because they were pretty laid back anyway.
I have hit the jackpot!
Not quite. One might expect them to be all glowing with health, pink and shiny in the flesh. But they aren't. I just handled a bunch of them and they feel great, but their breasts are blueish and not what you would want.
Something is not right, I suspect it's because when I shut the loft up at night there isn't quite enough air flow. I will have a tinker with it.
As I say, it's all food for thought.
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Greetings from the land down under.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
I had a fair idea of what might be a part of the problem.
The back wall vent has 1/4 inch square mesh over fly mesh. It keeps bugs, mice, snakes and any other undesirables out. It also gets clogged up and needs cleaning from time to time. They were moulting, so it seemed a bit pointless, and I had fallen on a knee that I wrecked many years ago falling of a racehorse. So kneeling down has been a problem.
Story short, it needed doing.
I removed the mesh and used the vacuum cleaner to remove all the crud in the screen,
Put it all back together and it looks much better.
The back wall vent has 1/4 inch square mesh over fly mesh. It keeps bugs, mice, snakes and any other undesirables out. It also gets clogged up and needs cleaning from time to time. They were moulting, so it seemed a bit pointless, and I had fallen on a knee that I wrecked many years ago falling of a racehorse. So kneeling down has been a problem.
Story short, it needed doing.
I removed the mesh and used the vacuum cleaner to remove all the crud in the screen,
Put it all back together and it looks much better.
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Greetings from the land down under.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
The trap looks great Murray. The birds look very happy with it.
There was certainly a lot of debris on that mesh. Looks much better now clean. I haven’t got any vents in my lofts apart from through the traps and under the eaves of the roof. The stock loft has the aviary on, so is open during the day and the race birds are now on open loft. The young bird loft is vented through the roof.
There was certainly a lot of debris on that mesh. Looks much better now clean. I haven’t got any vents in my lofts apart from through the traps and under the eaves of the roof. The stock loft has the aviary on, so is open during the day and the race birds are now on open loft. The young bird loft is vented through the roof.
Back just enjoying club racing for the time being.
The sputniks are cracking mate, you certainly made a good job of them.Murray wrote: ↑Sat Mar 26, 2022 6:47 am I had a fair idea of what might be a part of the problem.
The back wall vent has 1/4 inch square mesh over fly mesh. It keeps bugs, mice, snakes and any other undesirables out. It also gets clogged up and needs cleaning from time to time. They were moulting, so it seemed a bit pointless, and I had fallen on a knee that I wrecked many years ago falling of a racehorse. So kneeling down has been a problem.
Story short, it needed doing.
I removed the mesh and used the vacuum cleaner to remove all the crud in the screen,
Put it all back together and it looks much better.011.JPG
The mesh vents look much improved too, hopefully they will solve your problem Muzza
well done 
I have to say that is the one thing I don't have in this loft that I have had in all my previous lofts. I remember our Dads loft had vents low down at floor level at the front of the loft and high up just below roof level at the back the idea being to draw fresh air right up and through the loft. As I said I've done this in all my previous lofts but not this one, might have to give it some thought
Today I took a bunch of the youngsters out 4 miles again, it's education. When I got back they were all on the roof, on the lawn, in the bath...
They haven't been very good this year, they may have had some scares, I have lost a few.
So it was good to see them really getting on the program.
I picked up a few tonight, and blew the feathers off their breasts. In 24 hours the skin is cleaner, the flesh is becoming pink, and they look fantastic.
Cleaning out that vent has made a difference.
It is a lesson, I think.
I could have concluded that there was a respiratory problem, and given them a course of antibiotics.
Instead, I concluded that there was a respiratory problem and had a long hard think about why? And fixed it.
They haven't been very good this year, they may have had some scares, I have lost a few.
So it was good to see them really getting on the program.
I picked up a few tonight, and blew the feathers off their breasts. In 24 hours the skin is cleaner, the flesh is becoming pink, and they look fantastic.
Cleaning out that vent has made a difference.
It is a lesson, I think.
I could have concluded that there was a respiratory problem, and given them a course of antibiotics.
Instead, I concluded that there was a respiratory problem and had a long hard think about why? And fixed it.
Greetings from the land down under.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
Well done Murray. The simplest of things can make a big difference. Fanciers are to quick to jump for the medication nowadays. With yours if treated it may have sorted the birds out temporarily but the cause of the problem would still have been there and reoccurred in time.
Back just enjoying club racing for the time being.