I had 6 out of 7 home from yesterdays race, including '900' who had arrived back from the previous race just 15 minutes prior to basketing, so did really well to come! I am missing '522' the 3rd bird home from the previous race, I was hoping to see her on the loft this morning but as yet she hasn't made it. In the club we finished 9th and 10th and 4th out of 7 members. 8 minutes behind the winner. I must admit I must have overfed them as on arrival they failed to trap and I lost 5 minutes on the first two birds, and the others were just as bad.
I have made some changes to the loft which I have been planning for a long time. I have ripped all the soffit off and replaced with wire mess in the two sections and the air flow is far better already. I have also put a window in the stock section to allow more light. In the main loft I had already inserted 2 windows several months ago to allow more light but the one was being partly blocked by a 6ft fence, so I have reduced that to 3ft to allow the light to flood in.
I have this morning seperated the birds, and rough guessing I have 14 hens and 13 cocks. I have room for 24 pairs if both lofts are in use. However, I am thinking of having the stock and race birds in the one loft and having a max of 16 pairs. That will be 32 youngsters a round, so two rounds and my breeding will be over. Last year due to not having enough hens etc at the start of the breeding season, it took me 5 rounds to get a team of young birds together.
The Europa Auction is on the 18th October in Barry, South Wales. I have an idea of the pigeons that I want to purchase at the sale and introduce into my stock loft. I hope to be able to purchase at least 4 new birds that will add quality to my existing loft.
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