UkPigeonRacing

Yep, the harvest is finished. It was not a great year, but at the grain silos and rail depots there are mountains of grain. Huge amounts.
The farmers burn the stubble of there's a bit of moisture. They will have to wait until the winter. It is very very dry.
Otherwise they will direct drill straight into the ground.

Murray wrote: ↑Thu Feb 06, 2025 8:54 am Yep, the harvest is finished. It was not a great year, but at the grain silos and rail depots there are mountains of grain. Huge amounts.
The farmers burn the stubble of there's a bit of moisture. They will have to wait until the winter. It is very very dry.
Otherwise they will direct drill straight into the ground.

They banned stubble burning over here many years ago, probably 30+ years ago.

I'm having a few issues with my pigeons.
I had seven young birds to begin, lost a couple, I have added a few more that haven't gone to other lofts, and I've got about a dozen flying. They are flying an hour, disappearing. I had one grizzle youngster come back ripped up a couple of days ago and both he and his nest mate never came back for 8 hours today. I feel I am losing control of them. So the last couple of days I've put the old birds out with them to try to hold them closer to home. It's only sort of working.
They are too well. They are only getting some mix when they trap and some peas in a drinker during the day, and a bit more mix at 4 o'clock. They get some veggies and garlic and bits and pieces, nothing special. But they are too forward. I'm going to lose the lot one day.
I think I might have to put them on a lighter feed and only let them out every second day. There's some small ones that will be ready to go out soon, they'll get dragged away.
I know it's a good problem to have, at least they are flying well, but I think I've over cooked it somehow.

Keep them keen Murray, i would go with lighter feed. great to have them flying well, but keeping them in control much safer. Just my thoughts mate.

Happy to report that things have settled down and the youngsters are doing great.
I know they had been hit by hawks a few times and were very nervous. They were just going out of the loft and taking off in a panic.
I let some old pigeons out with them for a few days to try to give them some confidence. It appears to have worked, the last couple of days they are flying on their own, plus the old Diver who enjoys it, and they are ranging and returning, zooming around then off the other way, just what you want.
The stock birds are now on sort of alternate days exercise, I lost one and another had a narrow escape. They seem happy getting a fly every two or three days. It's really the best I can do for them.
Sadly I lost the Trillian Baby. Vanished.
I kept one youngster from her and the Roadrunner which just started flying. The rest went to other lofts. Beautiful hen, this is Maggie.
Maggie had her first real big fly this morning, after poking around for a week or so. She stayed with the team the whole time and was the first one in the trap when they landed !
Clever wee girl

Nice birds there Murray shame you losing so many

Yep, it's tough going at times, but I'm only given two options. Either keep them all locked up or sort out the ones that can cope. The Billion Baby is a small but very dominant hen. She isn't scared of the hawks, she's too clever for them, always has been. The Trillian, who was my wee darling, was a soft little thing, I would say she has been picked off.
Same with the cocks. The Diver has been outflying the falcons for 12 years, and is showing the babies how to get up high above them. He's funny, the old bloke. When I have the youngsters in the sputnik ready to release, he's in there as eager as he was 10 years ago.
It will take some pain, but I had a family of pigeons in Bendigo that were smarter than the hawks. I have to get them there again.

Good to see you’re still moving forward Murray. It’s such a shame that the hawks are such a problem nowadays. Takes away a fair bit of the enjoyment of having these wonderful creatures.

You will get it sorted Murray, good luck with it mate.

Good luck with it all Murray