A Harsh Lesson at Bath: My Season Opener Disaster

[PeteDerby]

Yes, 40%Gerry + 40% superstar + 20% energy +

Sorry for the confusion Pete, I can't get in on my "Mike Lycett" account despite resetting the password, so I've defaulted back to my old account.

The Gerry / Superstar / Energy feed I have no issues with. I won RPRA Awards and Region Sprint titles flying on that mix

What did raise my eyebrows was the volumes involved.

You're saying that you fed 1 ounce on both Weds and Thursday? Is that right?


See, you know I help little Jack and Phil a little. On Saturday they had 7 of the top 14 in the Fed between them.

Their birds, on Weds and Thursday consumed a tickle over 3 ounces each. That's a 50% increase on what yours were carrying

"Food for thought" ?

I don’t know jack and Phil, Mike but that’s some performance. I thought I was overfeeding mine as they felt pretty heavy. How much daily flying time do their birds get?

[Buster121]

No probs Buster - thanks

If you can PM me on the MIL account what the email address is that's associated with the "Mike Lycett" account please?

I suspect that's where the root of the issue is

Did you get it Mike

[Winfort Lofts]

Evening all,

Well, the first old bird race of the season is in the books, and let’s just say it was a massive reality check for me. We had our first go with the new Studley Road Flying Club (Tamworth Fed) from Bath on Saturday, and while the club setup is looking top-notch, my own performance was anything but.
The Reality Check
The birds were up at 08:45, and with the winners doing over 1700 ypm, it was a fast, clean race for those who were ready. I sat there watching batches of 50+ birds screaming over the garden at 09:50, but nothing broke.

The silence that followed was deafening.

First Bird: 14:34 (nearly 6 hours after liberation)
Second Bird: 17:48
Third Bird: 18:51
Returns: 3 home, 2 still missing.

Where I Went Wrong
Standing in an empty garden for hours gives you plenty of time to be honest with yourself. I went into this season on "hope" rather than preparation. I’d only given them four training tosses and some decent loft flying, thinking that would be enough to get them through a short blow from Bath.
I was wrong. This game has a way of humbling you the second you cut corners.

The Plan Forward
The only positive is that the birds that did make it back haven't "folded"—they still look lively and healthy, they just lacked the sharpness to compete. The lessons are clear:
* They need more road.
* They need a proper routine.
* I need to stop being lazy with the training basket.

We aren't easing into the season anymore; we’re right in the thick of it. I’ve got a lot of work to do this week to make sure I’m not just waiting for "perch fillers" next Saturday.

Hope the rest of you had a better start than I did!
Cheers.

Ps: if you want to read my full write up, it's on my website

How’s it gone since the first race
Did you get a routine going or going for yb races more

So,

Been busy over the last two weeks, I decided not to race last week.

I have also this week taken up the deep litter that was down over winter, once I was about about half way through I noticed myself that I was breathing easier!

I had also added a couple more vents on the top rear wall of the loft as I had noticed the air was rather stagnant and still.

Since then the birds have been flying with alot more vigour, still not 100% but definitely improving from where they were at!

[CHARLTON34]

Glad to see you've made some changes & things will improve moving forward.

[Winfort Lofts]

That’s good
Are they flying with more speed or longer period of time

Yes definitely flying with more determination now, I'd also say longer too, even if not in one stint, previously once they had landed they be wanting to come in, now they land for 5 mins then strike up and take off flying again!

Glad to see you've made some changes & things will improve moving forward.

Thanks, definitely feel things are moving in the right direction now!

[CHARLTON34]

Winfort sounds like you & me both have had issues at the start of the ob season. But at least we have guidance that can be applied to turn things around, I know it isn't the start both of us wanted.
All I say is if your not happy with how your pigeons are performing then ask the question they are only trying to help genuinely. If I'm not sure about something I've only got to pm or put it up on here you know your in good hands, best of luck wether you try to give your obs another try, & hope your ybs can put you in a better position for the rest of your racing program.

[PeteDerby]

I don’t know jack and Phil, Mike but that’s some performance. I thought I was overfeeding mine as they felt pretty heavy. How much daily flying time do their birds get?

Here's our Fed sheet from Saturday Pete - you'll see the Holbrook Club winner was 16th

If your birds were having an ounce a day then I'd be saying they aren't having enough - not that they were being overfed

Phil and Jack's wouldn't really take more than 30 min on the wing twice a day say on Mon and Tues. There's no need for that to happen. But as the week progresses they'll get up towards the hour morning and night.

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I didn’t send in the end, Mike - wife got an infection after having an eye operation so I was having to run around sorting medication and hospital visits.

Upshot is that I didn’t get to find out if making them to work harder made any difference.

Truth is that whether I fed them more to give them energy or cut back to get the fat off them they had to be flagged like mad to get them to stay in their air for even 30 minutes. By that time they’re trying to get past me and through the traps.

Let’s see if they come better this coming weekend from Frome.

[PeteDerby]

Have you tried a ounce then unlimited barley for 15 mins and just one feed a day , it’s very basic and the hens do 60 min
One year I did the same on diet mix but I lost control they we’re doing 90-120 mins so I had to stop the diet or I was late for work
I do it Tuesday Wednesday and then change to maize Thursday
Saturday tray of energy
Sunday tray of barley to about 3pm
Monday train to a ounce or a pick pot to 8 birds

Not much to it but I never have to wave the flag I just clip it next to my shed

So last YB season(my 1st one) I followed Frank McLaughlin’s 75% barley / 25% VL Champion mix routine - training Tuesdays and Thursdays. Not reading the instructions properly that he sent me I messed up one weekend by not adding energy mix weds / thurs before an anticipated headwind and had a bad race. Other than that I did pretty well results-wise.

The same birds as yearlings, having locked them up for the winter, I’ve not been able to get them loft flying much more than 10 minutes. On advice I changed from 1 feed per day to 2 feeds per day one I’d had them back out again for a month, I’ve gone 50-50 Gerry Plus / Superstar Plus and they’ve shown no more appetite to fly more and just got fatter. Last week I started flagging them so they have been doing 2 x 30 mins per day either just loft flying or 25 mile trainer + 30 mins loft fly where weather permits.

Another factor to consider is that since shifting the feed routine 2 weeks ago , virtually every day it’s been east / north east winds Monday to Thursday which I led to believe puts them off flying long? . Of course, Sod’s Law swapped to a SW wind race day despite the forecast, largely putting me out of contention results-wise being the furthest west, but even so the birds didn’t group well.

Top and bottom of it I think I have to remember I’m just 2 races in and I’ve been tweaking the feeding and exercising, so it might take a bit longer to get a bit of collective form. But I contrast that with the way other people’s birds are coming and it goes back to Mike’s point that they’re either unfit or unwell.

[Diamond Dave]

Good luck with it from Frome Pete. Stick with it mate. Im all for experimenting and trying different things but maybe not so much chopping n changing.
The lads on here will help you get them right.

[PeteDerby]

Thank you once again everyone for your kind and wise input. I’m in that phase of my first old bird season so have to be like a sponge and consider all options until I find my own way, but at the same time understand that consistency is the only way.

There’s so many different opinions, all valid and based upon solid experience and, in a lot of case, consistent success. I’ll eventually find my own groove to stick to and hopefully have more consistent results. But it’s called pigeon racing not pigeon winning, right?