Pigeon's out or not over the winter months

[CHARLTON34]

Morning all, do members fly pigeons out over the winter period or are they locked up until spring. BOP maybe an issue for some that don't want to risk letting them out. Has anyone noticed any difference with flying out over winter other than fitness, or the same with pigeons being locked up for a few months anything that crop's up possible wing lock.

[Buster121]

Used to fly them all year but now mainly kept in

[CHARLTON34]

I try to get mine out on better days if I can but not this morning it's been damp & mist here, just low level cloud cover all this week.

[Steve Howells]

I try and let them out as often as possible, but come January they'll be out every day that the weather is fit.

[Bowbroom]

A very successful local fancier once told me “Flat horse trainers don’t have their horses out on the gallops in the winter”

[Buster121]

Mine are shut up now until February/March, I was letting them out at the weekends just while I clean them out, but having lost 2 in 2 weeks they are now locked in.
I'm planning on splitting them up this year but will probably leave that until I've had my vet inspection in December. They will be paired up mid to late February, I don't want youngsters flying out much before April to limit the risk of losses to the Sparrow Hawk, my old birds will start going out again once they are paired up. It does mean that they are unlikely to be fully fit for the early races but I'll use those races to get them fit for the longer ones, which are the ones I'm really interested in.

In answer to your other question Dave, if it wasn't for the bloody hawk they would be on an open loft all through the winter too, whatever the weather.

I’m the same no point in early ybs unless you go on the dark or want to have them
Sexually mature to race to the opposite sex
if you breed early here and don’t do the above you not really going to do much good your better off with late March / April hatched

I do agree Neil and find the best youngsters for YB racing are those bred in April/May especially if raced natural. I will breed early but only because my young birds are bred from my Widowers and the only chance I get with my widowhood system is to breed early. They will still be kept on natural as I’m not interested in young bird racing or young bird results.

April/May go all the way

[Albert]

Morning all, do members fly pigeons out over the winter period or are they locked up until spring. BOP maybe an issue for some that don't want to risk letting them out. Has anyone noticed any difference with flying out over winter other than fitness, or the same with pigeons being locked up for a few months anything that crop's up possible wing lock.

Birds out on good days, mainly at weekends, locked up Feb, and March, as they are rearing, and it's the worst time.

[Steve Howells]

Is it my imagination or have we seen and heard less of wing-lock in the last couple of seasons?

Certainly doesn’t seem to be getting mentioned so much.

[Anthony webster]

I like them out but I think darkness baby's need to be kept in inn winter natural baby's out few times aweek iv not had mine out for 5 weeks they just fell to bits some older hens chucked whole tail at once but 1st December there start going out every second day .

[Bowbroom]

We used to keep ours in until 4 weeks before the first race following the Late Ronnie Millers methods, Ronnie won the first race for years on the trot