classicpony
245 posts
Jul 11, 2007
5:16 PM
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Seems I have run into something new, my kit birds won't fly very high, they are watching me, when I add feed or they think I might add feed they fight each other to get in to eat. I give them the correct amount of feed everyday but wow they act like they are starved. Fly time? Less then 5 minutes!! Tree top level at the most, always around the kitbox. The only thing that keeps them up is my red flag.
Jim
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Missouri-Flyer
745 posts
Jul 11, 2007
6:59 PM
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Jim,
read the "Milo versus Wheat" thread..especially the ones from Brian and Paul..It will be a feed problem you are having..Feed more and see what happens in a few days.
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Jerry
Home of "Whispering Wings Loft"
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Santandercol
1233 posts
Jul 11, 2007
10:51 PM
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I have that same problem with my 2nd round from March/April.They are still getting all they want to eat.They are kitting tho',,,that's a positive!!And tonight it was a good thing they were low when the henery swooped in they all landed (no crashes) and came in quick.If they are YBs they can be the stupidest little shits,but hey,,,how smart were we as YBs???Hunh?The heat I think can have alot to do with it too.How high can you jump at 100F.?----------
Kelly
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Ballrollers
800 posts
Jul 12, 2007
1:27 PM
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Jim, Kelly, Jerry,
We are all going through that...it's a young bird thing. They'll get over it. However, I have a young bird kit of Danny Horner's Jaconettes that was donated for the Convention Futurity and they go up to 800 ft. every time! I know of several other men who have the same problem with that family.
I will also take my worst offending kits (low flyers) 1/4-1/2 mile away and release them and make them elevate to find their way home. Then they start flying like rollers again.
Cliff
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MCCORMICKLOFTS
1444 posts
Jul 12, 2007
2:36 PM
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Cliff, my guess is that over the past five or more year Danny hasn't been paying as much attention to the flight characteristics of his birds. I could be totally wrong. But my early Horner birds I got some 7-8 years ago didn't have a high flying problem that I can recall. However, the past couple of years he has sent me some young birds to fly out and some of them demonstrated a desire to want to fly higher than what I experienced with the earlier birds I had and actually still have. One thing I have noticed with these birds is they need to be on straight wheat a large portion of the time. I can keep them down, both old and young alike as long as I manage their feed intake and don't get to liberal with the feed can. You cannot treat them like you would treat your Turner birds.
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classicpony
249 posts
Jul 12, 2007
5:04 PM
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after changing the amount of feed, the fly times have gotten better. After 10minutes and they have slowed down of the feeding I take away the feed. I will give this a try for awhile. The time is better but still the height is 75 foot tops! Maybe that will get better later????
Jim
@thebirdhouse
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belle
271 posts
Jul 12, 2007
6:55 PM
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I get some kits that will fly low and some kits fly high, same breeding and feeding I think it has something to do with the training age.
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Justin
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Ballrollers
802 posts
Jul 13, 2007
2:23 PM
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Brian,
I believe you are right on the money. Danny has been working to get depth and speed,primarily, it appears. He will tell you to only feed them straight wheat. You
are right. I can't feed them like my Turners, but as young birds, I have been feeding them a mix. My brother let his Jacs get a little out of shape and overweight and they stay down pretty well...of course their quality and speed went down the tubes, as well, as we might expect. So are you feeding young birds more or less straight wheat to keep them down?
Cliff
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MCCORMICKLOFTS
1445 posts
Jul 13, 2007
3:54 PM
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It depends on the time of year Cliff. During the winter months the first few young kits are on a breeder mix for about a month or so, until they start really flying for extended periods of time. Then they get mix and wheat. The later kits that hit the box when it is hot don't get the mix for as long, but rather a wheat/mix combo. For all of the young kits once some start flipping, and coupled with the heat, they are on straight wheat. Our wheat is pretty good, fat and full bodied wheat. I will add some of the breeder mix to the feeding about two times a week, especially for those kits that are still molting. My mix has a lot of oil seeds so that supplements those requirements. Once the body molt is done, they are pretty much on wheat, with the splashed of the oily mix here and there. Once they near this stage, about 5-6 months old, I don't like to keep them on a set nutritional routine because they can get out of your control quick, then you have to fight to get them back. The wheat is the base and I can really keep a good reigns on them at this point.
You have to remember too that the Horner birds I have now are somewhat different than what he has now, by my selection. Not a whole lot of a difference, but some small things that I've noticed.
Last Edited by on Jul 13, 2007 3:56 PM
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Ballrollers
805 posts
Jul 16, 2007
8:24 AM
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Brian,
Sounds like we are feeding young birds the same way, my Turners, as well as the Horner Jacs. The only difference with the Turners is a few Austrian Peas with the wheat....
Cliff
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Electric-man
403 posts
Jul 16, 2007
7:33 PM
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I cut the milo out for a few days now and started adding a half cup of black oil sunflower seeds to a cup of wheat and they are flying as good as ever! Maybe not as high as they went in the spring, but their a good 200', starting to roll a little more too! My birds are starting to loose feathers, so I will keep playing with the oil seeds and maybe help them through the molt! I'm gonna try switching the milo and oil seeds back and forth for a few days and see what they do!
Val
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J_Star
1073 posts
Jul 17, 2007
10:55 AM
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I fly Danny Horner birds and I also have trouble with them skying out. I feed them wheat pretty much and still a problem with them. Although, they are my own breeding from the Horner family but still the same issue with the older birds. Seems to me the hens taking the kit high. I don't know what else to feed them but to give them Canadian peas and Pellets at this point to add waight on them and keep them down to earth.
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MCCORMICKLOFTS
1452 posts
Jul 17, 2007
11:39 AM
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Jay, from my observations, this family can be extremely athletic when given the opportunity. It is as though once they mature, they can, at times, run on fumes. I have good luck keeping the reigns on them by simply not flying them much. If I fly them every day or every other day, forget it, at some point they are going to dot out and fly for hours and hours. Putting weight on them only works for a very short term, a few days at best.
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J_Star
1074 posts
Jul 17, 2007
12:45 PM
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They do run on fumes. There must be some kind of way that they can be brought down to earth. This problem appears in the summer months only. I am thinking about trying some Soye beens baked half way with their daily feed for a few days.
Last Edited by on Jul 17, 2007 12:45 PM
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MCCORMICKLOFTS
1453 posts
Jul 17, 2007
12:56 PM
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Jay, in some ways we have to take our experiences with a grain of salt I suppose. You mentioned that you experience the higher flying tendencies during the summer months. I can assume you don't during the other times of the year. I on the other hand don't experience much high flying during the summer, from the old or young birds. Of course I don't consider 500 feet as high flying, where as that might be too high for you or someone else. The winters here are usually dry, not a lot of humidty and high pressure, which tends to lead to some height problems. Occasionally they will fly high on the tail end of a storm too, but I think that happens with any family of birds. For the older birds, if I treat them well with some rich treat food, they will take liberties on me, high flying for a portion of their fly time being one of them. If I keep them basically on wheat with treat mix feed given only when they are down in body, I seem to have better control over them. This of course is based on how much they fly. I've found that with these birds past about 10 months of age, you can't fly them every day or they will get stiffer and climb higher. Though our flying conditions and weather are certainly quite different, you might try the wheat regime and only fly them twice a week and see what happens. I keep mine on about 1.5 tablespoons of wheat each, any more is usually too much and any less and they will start to degenerate quickly.
Last Edited by on Jul 17, 2007 12:56 PM
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Electric-man
406 posts
Jul 17, 2007
4:45 PM
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Confusing, this topic started as a "low flying" subject! I'm hanging in there though!LOL
Val
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Missouri-Flyer
754 posts
Jul 17, 2007
8:10 PM
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LMAO,
my thoughts exactly Val.
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Jerry
Home of "Whispering Wings Loft"
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J_Star
1076 posts
Jul 18, 2007
4:59 AM
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Val & Jerry, flying low or high is in the same topic regardless of the initial post. What is your issue?
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Missouri-Flyer
756 posts
Jul 18, 2007
12:57 PM
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Jay,
a low flying kit is not the same as a high flying kit. You dont feed, train them in any way, shape, or form the same way..
Low flying/early landing is often from underfeeding and them being to hungry to think about flying, being over flown and being tired,or in a low flying routine due to early stages of training.
High flying is "usually" the opposite...There are exceptions to these, but they are, to a degree correct.
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Jerry
Home of "Whispering Wings Loft"
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