Life in Bendigo.

[Andy]

Great to hear all is good Murray. Yes the birds love having a bath in the rain. I think they prefer it to bathing in the baths. I often have mine out in the rain. They get drenched, still fly off from time to time with the noisy sound of wet feathers. Then once back in the loft that distinctive smell of wet feathers. Not long though before they have preened themselves and are looking a picture again.

[Trev]

Nice birds there Murray, like the pair reds and grizzles will be good to see the grizzle on right of bowl when bigger

Yes, the grizzles are fantastic babies. Quality.

They are by the grizzle Jos Thone' cock, from a very inbred Jansen x Van Loon hen from my family. Lovely hen.
Interesting story. They were trying to nest on the floor in a corner, so I put a cardboard box down for them. Babies duly arrived, and all was good, for a week. Then they abandoned them. I think the others were getting in the box and upsetting them.
I had a baby off one of the red Thone' boys fostered under the Diver. So I put the red baby back under it's parents and slipped the grizzle babies under Diver and Mrs Diver. They took over and have raised them a treat.

The wee ones are starting to stagger around and eat out of the bowl and are great. I think they were not fed for about 12 hours when the parents stopped feeding them, so hopefully no harm has been done.

The funny thing is, the hen had only laid one egg and they hadn't hatched anything at all, but they took on big babies and have done a marvelous job with them. Old Diver was a good racer, he only had 3 races and won them all, and is a lovely animal. Very quiet and intelligent. He knows they are not his, but he is still feeding and caring for them.

I thought I was in a spot of trouble there for a minute, but it has all worked out.

Many years ago I had a lovely little silver hen, she was one of the best distance birds I've had, she flew Thurso (552miles) 3 times each time being in the clock on the winning day and she actually won it herself on her last visit. Unfortunately she was baron and never laid an egg but if I put a youngster in her nest she would raise it without question. They are strange and unpredictable things as if you tried that with another they will just as likely rip it to bits.

[Trev]

The predicted torrential rain didn't happen. I seem to be the only one that isn't surprised. When very bad weather is coming, you can feel it in the air, or I can, anyway.
It stopped raining about lunch time, but when I got home there were showers. I kicked them all out, because they might be right, we might have a wet day tomorrow.
It's funny how the pigeons love having a bath when it''s raining. At one point there was a decent shower, and the baths were full of birds, all flopping around.
When I had given them a scrape and sweep, and done some housework in the lofts, I called them in, and had everything in in a couple of minutes.
All the sheds are closed up, the birds are fed and warm.
All is well.

I have to agree with you mate with all our modern technology and satellites we are definitely getting worse at predicting weather, the barometer, fishermen and farmers were far more accurate !!!

[Murray]

We did get a lot of rain the next day, a lot of local flooding. The rivers are still up and when the water comes down from further up country it will be a worry.

[George and Morgan]

stay safe Murray

[Trev]

Thoughts are with you all out there mate, I hope it clears up soon

[Murray]

Where I am it is no problem at all. We live up on a rise and the last time the water came over here, Noah was doing the steering.

Those out on the plains and near the rivers are in trouble. When the country was settled, a couple of hundred years ago, they automatically built beside the rivers. The trouble is, every decade or two, they get a "100 year flood", which by definition, isn't, and it all goes under water.

I feel sorry for the people stacking sand bags. it is a horrible thing to have a river go through your home or business.

[Murray]

In one of the last races of the year, last weekend they flew a 500 mile race. Our local bloke won the Bendigo race with two yearling hens, flying 505 miles in just over 9 hours.

Well done Nick Keirghan, yet again.

Nick is flying extremely well. He is not afraid to race and train them hard, and certainly gets the results.

His pigeons certainly always handle a treat.

[Buster121]

Well done that man

[Andy]

Hope you all stay safe.
Well done to Nick.