Life in St Arnaud

[Buster121]

None.
I have almost a 50/50 ratio of homed in pigeons and those that haven't been out.
I had a bad period where I lost too many. I had pigeons that were happy here, then boom, gone. There are about one million hawks per hectare around here, so maybe they got chased and got lost?
So, nothing is flying out just now. I need to get a colony of pigeons bred here. At present I am breeding youngsters for other people. I have orders to fill and then I want to breed a bunch of youngsters for me, to hopefully train and race next year.
I feel terrible when I have pigeons who don't understand why they are not allowed out.
The B$B's daughter, paired to the big Heremans cock, was flying soon after we got here. She stares at me in the sputnik.
I hate it. It really hate it.

It is a shame when you have to keep them shut for so long, but I think you are right to try and get as much out of them as you can before trying them again. I'm sure they are happy enough for now, and certainly happier than being chased around by hawks !!
Mine are shut up now until next February/March, they will go out at weekends while I clean them out but I know I'll still lose some as the hawk is never far away, I had a hit two weeks ago and lost a youngster that had flown every race
Mine miss the bath, they try and bath in the drinkers when they are shut in

Shame on the loss mate

[Buster121]

On a better note, I have 8 babies which all hatched in the couple of days from 24th to 27th October.
The first two were singles, the other three pairs have two. I had to put rings on the first two this afternoon, one was suddenly very big!
I'm so pleased that the pigeons are really knuckling down and raising these babies now.
Six of these are off to the Horsham money race, and I am very pleased with them.

I hope they do well for you mate

[Buster121]

Good luck to you all

[Buster121]

Very happy by the looks

[Buster121]

lucky may see 80 in June

Sure you will mate

[Buster121]

Alreet then.
Yesterday was a bit of a disaster. We had to go to Bendigo for Doctor's appointments, or more honestly, for me to get the Dr to write me another script for pain killers. I use the odd one or two these days.
We stopped at the big hardware store to get some bits and pieces. I was putting a bag of potting mix in the boot when a gust of wind blew the lid down on my head.
BANG!
Blood everywhere, people appearing from all over the place.....For those who have never had a decent whack in the scalp, it bleeds like a stuck pig.
Got that sorted out, thanks to the staff with a first aid kit and a nurse who happened to be shopping. I assured them I was okay, had bigger hits than that.
We went and did the grocery shopping, I was starting to feel a bit average, but kept that to myself.
I have borrowed a hen off D. Cox tp pair to the W/F Thone'. So we swung out there and got her. Drove home the 110 km, or 70 miles in imperial measurements, and was feeling okay. Which should have been a warning.
I fed and watered the hen in the box and let her sit while we unloaded the car then put her in the loft, whereupon the Billion baby tried to kill it.
So I had to chase it around and catch it and put it in the shed for the night.
We had our dinner and I had a shower up to my neck and went to bed. The concussion started to kick in about then. It's amazing how you can still function for a long time after a bang on the head. I was a rambling mess and Catherine was upset so things were just ordinary.
Today I have got better all day long. I've got a big gark on the top of my head and a massive bruise. The wee hen is in the loft and settling in.
So it was a very temporary drama.
But it bloody hurt!

Take it easy mate and a speedy recovery is wished, hope the birds settle ok

[Buster121]

Nice to see things going well Murray

[Buster121]

Nice pic there Murray, the blue on bottom would be my pick followed by the middle one looks really sharp

[Buster121]

Like I said, it's not the greatest picture, the Billion Baby on the far perch is a lovely pigeon too. And she is a g. grand daughter of VD Bulck's Kittel, and she has already left winners. The other two are younger, Trillian is on her second round of eggs and I don't know whether the middle one has done anything yet.
Good pigeons, all three.

I did say nice pic meaning all of them was just expressing my view on ones I liked

[Buster121]

Good to see all going well