jim j.
2 posts
Oct 19, 2005
7:23 PM
|
Ok so i just got started with rollers again after a long lay off. But i have many questions (most are already answered by other posts)
On hearing about everyones lofts it apears as everyone breeds about 60-100 birds per year. How do you go about training that many at a time? I assume you would have a A and B team from previous years that are only flown 2-3 times a week. Do you fly your young birds in large numbers or in kits of 20? I'm just trying to figure out how everyone has the time to train so many kits...lol
Thanks Jim
|
Phantom1
38 posts
Oct 19, 2005
8:54 PM
|
Jim,
I'm new to getting that many up in the air as well, so I'm eager to read any advice given, because I'm struggling!!! I wish you the best!!!
Eric
|
nicksiders
250 posts
Oct 19, 2005
9:10 PM
|
Many run four kits. A team, B team, hold over, and young bird or training team. As they "certify" the young birds are moved up to A or B team. Many are culled that don't "certify". Then you have your breeders and stock birds in the breeder loft to manage.
I fly kits up to 30 birds, but normally they number 22 to 25. My kit boxes have 22 perches and a small part of the floor is solid.
I at least fly two kits everyday so my birds fly three to four times a week.
You will find time for what you want to find time for. Plain and simple. Keep your operation plain and simple; fly hard; cull hard.
Last Edited by nicksiders on Oct 19, 2005 9:12 PM
|
Phantom1
39 posts
Oct 19, 2005
9:13 PM
|
How do you guys tell the difference in birds up in the air. Especially for those fliers that have mainly self birds (no white)? Do you selectively throw out a few at a time and try to make decisions based on that? I've always been leary of flying great numbers of birds, for fear of not knowing for sure what I'm seeing, is actually what I'm seeing.
|
jim j.
4 posts
Oct 19, 2005
9:55 PM
|
Thanks Eric, also i don't have very many self birds so i don't have an issue like yours? Wish i could be of more help.
So Nick, what your saying is that as you start training young birds some of your older "Non Certified" get culled When the young birds start to come into the roll? What kind of timeline do you give to your birds to come into the roll before they are culled?
I guess thats a hard question to answer because each family is different.
So it sounds like what i should do is to have an A team, B team, and holdover kitboxes and as the y/b's come into the roll someone will get displaced from the main kit boxes.....makes sense thanks.
Now on the y/b's you fly daily or twice a day and what about the holdovers? Daily or every few days?
Thanks For answering all my Q's
Jim
|
fhtfire
233 posts
Oct 19, 2005
9:57 PM
|
I run 3 kit boxes. The three are different sizes. My A team box holds 21 birds to give me a little flexability if I want to try a new bird out in the team for a while. It is the smallest box. My B-team box holds about 22-24 birds....This is usually my teenage or yearling kit....the ones that just can't quite make it to the A team or aren't quite good enough to replace and A team bird. Now the third kit box..can hold 30 birds 4X4X3..this is my young bird kit box...it is just there to hold and fly a lot of young birds. As they come into the roll hard...they are promoted to the B-team. This year I bred about 50-60 birds. Only because I lost my A team last year and had to start from scratch with only a few 04 birds. Out of the 50-60 I will most likely pick a pair or two for the breeding loft after a year or more of flying.....I will cull down the crap....That will leave me enough birds for a kit in the world cup and some birds in the B-team as replacements if something happens to some birds hear and there or if I give some away...you know the deal. Next year I may only breed 2 rounds and that is it...out of my 8-10 pairs and then do the same thing. I do not have a big hawk problem...so there may be years that I do not breed much. I run a tight ship do to space....I feel I have a lot of room...but the wife does not...I also feel if I get to many birds..I lose my focus....3 kits is more then enough for me. You get to many..and you can't keep track of who...what....why....and how...LOL! You need 2 boxes for sure...that gives you the flexibility to move birds back and forth as they go through there stages of development and different feeding requirements. Not everyone breeds 100's of birds. Chuck Roe and some other local breeders...run pretty tight ships. Hope this helped
rock and ROLL
Paul Fullerton
|
jim j.
5 posts
Oct 19, 2005
10:01 PM
|
Paul,
That is a great help. I need all the ideas i can get and your is definetly helpfull.
Thanks Jim
|
MCCORMICKLOFTS
199 posts
Oct 19, 2005
10:06 PM
|
Jim I breed up about 150 each year and end up with about six kits. This year I ended up with seven kits and gave the last one away. I can tell you, it ain't easy trying to fly all these birds out. The good thing is that if you get the boxes filling up with similar aged birds, you can fly multiple kits while they are still young. That is the way I do it anyways. I try to fly two young kits together each time. As they begin to mature I only fly them as one kit, which starts cutting into the fly time if a kit decides to fly for a while. With the shorter days now, I can only fly no more than three kits in the mornings, which means most only fly every other day.
We often speak of the challenges of flying our birds but there is usually not enough said about the time involved. A lot of the successful flyers usually have a flexible schedule that allows them more time with their birds. Many of them are either retired or have jobs or lifestyles that afford them the opportunity to spend more time with their birds.
Brian.
|
jim j.
6 posts
Oct 19, 2005
10:12 PM
|
Brian, thanks for answering the other half of my loaded question...lol. I just was not sure if it was a good idea to fly a large number of young birds together all at the same time, it sounds like your saying it is until they come into the roll?
This is an awesome site!
Thanks For all the help Jim
|
MCCORMICKLOFTS
201 posts
Oct 19, 2005
10:19 PM
|
I think you will get some varying degrees of answers on that one Jim. I wouldn't dare fly what I call a "mob" kit (multiple kits) during the fall or winter. That is simply a dinner bell for every predator within miles..lol. I like to fly the young kits (2-5) months of age together not only to save time, but from what I can tell, it appears to keep them flying slower, which ultimately seems to help them bring the roll in a little earlier. Plus you have the added stimulus of all those birds which sometimes can get them to start flipping and putting together small rolls early on. I am starting to believe that it might even help establish set kitting tendencies too at an early age. I noticed I seldom ever had any young birds venturing out of the mob kits whereas the smaller kits they tend to appear from time to time. Other than that, if the conditions are good and the preds are no where around, those big kits can sure be fun to watch.
Brian.
|
fhtfire
234 posts
Oct 19, 2005
10:45 PM
|
Jim,
I fly 30 birds in a young bird kit during the Winter. Brian is right...too many birds and you get noticed by the sky sharks. 30 is just about all I can handle when I am really watching the dynamics of the youg birds building as a team. Also, it is hard trying to find the one that busted a good roll if there are to many birds in the kit. I want to be able to find the bird fast that broke a good one...and keep an eye on it and groom it as a possible A or B team bird. The short days...again Brian is right. You have to fly more in the kits or you will not give them very much fly time. When the days are longer or when you are priming a team for a comp, I will reduce my kits to nomal size kits and fly more kits. Its gets a little easier once you start culling a little bit. But for sure during the Winter I fly all my kits at there maximum limit(If I have had a good breading season). For my A team it is 22 birds B team is 24 birds and the Young bird team is 30 with a total of 76 kit birds. It is for sure OK to fly larger kits with your young birds. Hope this helps.
rock and ROLL
Paul Fullerton
|
Velo99
119 posts
Oct 20, 2005
5:14 AM
|
Jim
When you start out, run 5-6 pairs,go four rounds, try to keep the timing close. It is easier to train 12 at a time than 2-3. This will give you 40-50 birds your first season. Fly them out.Pick the best, move them into the A team. Keep flying the rest thru the year till the next season. Pick out 22 of the best to have as the A team.
Build one more kit box for the young birds. Raise 50 again. The cycle repeats, always picking the best birds. Always get the best birds you can to start. I am beginning over again because I did not heed this advice.It`ll be two years before I can field a kit of the line I have started.
Good Luck
v99
|
jim j.
7 posts
Oct 20, 2005
10:02 PM
|
Now you guys have got me headed in the right direction.
Thanks Jim
|