Double D
9 posts
Sep 07, 2005
8:30 PM
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I haven't seen anyone ask the question and was curious what most do so I'll ask it here. Do you ever fly the birds in your breeding program just to give them a chance to get out and stretch their wings or are they too valuable to take a chance on losing them? It would seem kind of harsh in some respects to take something that was bred to fly and not allow it to ever fly so I was just curious how some of you feel about that. As always, thanks in advance.
Darin
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birdman
55 posts
Sep 07, 2005
8:55 PM
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Darin,
Throw hawks and falcons into the mix and you might think twice about letting those breeders out.
I keep mine locked up due to heavy predation. As long as the loft isn't overcrowded or they have a flight pen they will be fine.
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fhtfire
196 posts
Sep 07, 2005
10:05 PM
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I myself will not fly my breeders..It is hard to get real good breeders. Just think of it this way..kill one pair of proven breeders. Let say out of 4 rounds you get 2 excellent kit birds..I mean future breeder material....then multipy that by a 9 year breeding...you could lose up to 18 excellent future spinners..not counting the other offsring that are just "Good" birds. That is how I look at it....it is even a higher number if the cock you lose...breeds 3 or 4 different hens a year that could be up to 20 rounds...that could be up to 90 excellent birds in the breeders breeding lifespan.....See how valuable a pair of breeders can be.
rock and ROLL
Paul
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upcd
33 posts
Sep 07, 2005
11:42 PM
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Thank you, I thought I was the only one. I don't fly my breeders to often for the same reason. However when people come to your house to buy birds they what to see something roll. Not only that but breeders are a little fat and lazy. They have been busy with the kids and are tried.
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rollerpigeon1963
51 posts
Sep 08, 2005
7:06 AM
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For those just starting out you ask yourself, to fly or not to fly! When getting into the hobby you need to ask yourself. A couple of things! Who are you getting your stock from and what are you going to do with them once you get them. You have to sit back and think for a while and do some studying. Do your research and read the journals if the competition side is the way your going. Then see who is doing what when it comes to competition. Now don’t look at just one fly look at a few different years. Because even the hard core roller guys have bad days too. If you are serious about getting birds buy them direct from the person you have been following. Don’t buy them second hand!
If you want to get some birds locally then visit as many backyards as possible. Watch the birds and see what they are talking about when they use the words style, speed and depth. This will give you a better understanding and knowledge on what to breed towards. The best way to choose your new breeders is from the air. So once you have chosen them you won’t have to fly them again. And since you bought them locally you can ask the person you got them from how to work them. You can find out how the person gets them ready for a fly and how they feed.
Now if you can’t visit the flier’s backyard that you want the birds from. Call him/her up and ask questions and ask how they do things. Tell them that you are new to the hobby and need help. Some of the old timers don’t like to sell or give birds away to a new guy/gal for a few reasons. Sometimes a new person is in the hobby for a short period of time and then deicide to give it up. The original breeder looses the birds he has given out without being told of there progress. Sometimes the original breeder is given a bad name because the new person can’t get anything out of the birds he received from the original breeder. Because lack of knowledge on how to condition the birds.
Now there is auction’s on different sites offering some good birds up for auction. And if some of these birds are ones that you are in search of. Then by all means give the breeder a call and ask him about the birds he donated. Majority of the time they are from the original breeder and are not second hand.
If you receive a breeding pair, use them in your loft. Breed as many of their babies as you can. This will prove their ability to pass the goods on to their young. If you don’t raise some good babies then give the original breeder a call. Tell him what you did and how you did it, and what the squeekers did in the air.
Now if you receive a young bird kit. I for one wouldn’t fly them unless you can obtain more down the road. Because you might loose some to the weather, hawks, and fly away. Breed as many squeekers as you can and select from your squeekers for future stock. Now I know that if someone sent me a young bird kit they all won’t be excellent birds. So all the pairing probably won’t work out. And you will have your share of culls until you get a grasp on the breeders and what they are producing. It’s a little longer process by doing it this way. But since you didn’t go see the birds first hand you have to do a little work to get the goods.
Now remember if you do get some birds from someone please keep in contact with the person. Tell him what you are doing and what the birds are doing. Tell him any faults that you see. This will help him and also help you down the road. He might be able to give you some inside tips on what to breed for best performance.
If you fly the birds after getting them from the original breeder you are taking some big chances. You could loose them or have them killed. And once they are lost they can’t do anything for you then. If the original breeder has used them in the loft they were worth breeding from. And not loosing to a hawk or other means. And if they were a proven pair what is this telling the original breeder about you?
You will get out of the hobby what you put into it. If you take shortcuts all you are doing is cheating yourself.
Just my opinion here!!!
Brian Middaugh
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rollerpigeon
Site Moderator
353 posts
Sep 08, 2005
7:38 AM
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Hey Paul, good post. In business when we look at "value over time" it is called the "lifetime value" of a product or a customer.
It is an attempt to see a broad, longer range view that guides current efforts and investment of resources.
Each stock bird has a "lifetime value" and when it is properly recognized by a clear thinking fancier, the decision NOT to fly a stock bird is a easy one to make.
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FLY ON! Tony Chavarria
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