Roll Down
66 posts
May 22, 2009
8:39 PM
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There are so many roller fanciers on this site that have an abundance of knowledge on the hobby.
I believe most of you probably have a good tip ( or 2 or 3 )about how to improve our lofts, breed for consistency, type of feeds to use etc., etc.
I would like to start off this post with a tip I learned just recently that may be useful to some of you.
If you paint the wire on the outside of your "runs" or "fly pens" flat black, it makes it much easier to see the birds while they are out in the run having their bath etc. It really makes a difference! You don't get the glare back from the silver coloured wire and makes the wire almost invisible!
It is much easier to paint during construction but is well worth the effort on an existing run.
I hope some of you will add some more useful tips that can help make the game better for all of us!
George D.
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donnie james
458 posts
May 22, 2009
9:56 PM
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hay george very good post and i have to agree with you donny james
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bigwilly
936 posts
May 22, 2009
11:27 PM
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When breeding in individual boxes make sure that the birds are getting adequate sun. If you are not able to get that much sun feed them pellets and you will not run into the problem of your birds getting weeak on you.
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BIG WILLY
TOPP FLIGHT/NCRC
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bigwilly
937 posts
May 22, 2009
11:27 PM
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Trust Me
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BIG WILLY
TOPP FLIGHT/NCRC
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0221
266 posts
May 23, 2009
12:23 PM
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bigwilly, I agree.
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Bill C
355 posts
May 23, 2009
5:51 PM
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I like to put two drops or three of Iodine tenture 2% in the water (quart) twice a month for the breeders, especially for the hens. If the soil the grain is grown in is lacking Iron the seed will lack it also.
Always keep a water pan outside your loft so the rats and mice will not drink out of your pigeons supply. I keep some wood stacked nearby and always have food for the rodents also ( decon ). Bill C
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Bill C
356 posts
May 23, 2009
5:52 PM
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If you are having some trouble finding out all the birds that roll in a kit, fly them three or four at a time and mark them. They are much easier to tell the difference if you have a lot of blue checks or red checks ect.
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Oldfart
GOLD MEMBER
991 posts
May 24, 2009
7:42 AM
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My grandmother used a material called oil cloth to roll her biscuits out on. It comes in pretty patterns, but it also comes in clear. It is about 3/16" thick, very flexible, will not crack when frozen or melt when hot. Cheap, around six bucks a yard from and fabric store. (Wally World) I use it to line the catch pans or clean out drawer on my kit box's. It protects the drawer bottom from any spilled water or mess. Can be hosed off in seconds.
Thom
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BA Rollers
244 posts
May 24, 2009
9:34 AM
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1.
If you are looking to make a name for yourself, you picked the wrong hobby.
2.
I read it on the Internet so it must be true - Spend more time with your birds and less time yapping about the birds on the internet and you will learn twice as much about your birds.
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Scott
2175 posts
May 24, 2009
1:51 PM
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Never heard of waterboarding a bird before, interesting !
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Just my Opinion
Scott
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Tony Chavarria
Site Publisher
3320 posts
May 24, 2009
3:30 PM
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Scott, the waterboarding thing crossed my mind too! LOL Now when the birds don't roll right, waterboard them. Just call it "enhanced training techniques".
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FLY ON! Tony Chavarria
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0221
275 posts
May 24, 2009
7:13 PM
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You guys are mean!!!!! LOL LOL.
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RodSD
255 posts
May 24, 2009
11:39 PM
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Harrison,
Roller pigeons don't have much homing ability so why do you need to do that?
I don't know where you got the idea of memory loss of bird dunked for 2 seconds, but it doesn't sound convincing unless you are literally drowning that bird causing less blood flow in the brain causing brain damage, hence memory loss. Either way that will not just affect memory. It probably affects everything. It also sounds animal cruelty.
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katyroller
408 posts
May 25, 2009
1:38 PM
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Kind of reminds me of an old post on how to break a dog from killing birds. Alot of the "accepted" techniques were very similiar and widely accepted by the ignorant. I believe there was, "tie it to his collar till it rots off", "throw him in a barrel with the dead bird and roll him down a hill" and I believe my favorite was "beat him with the dead bird everytime he looked at it". :/
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PR_rollers
GOLD MEMBER
2977 posts
May 25, 2009
7:34 PM
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Katyroller funny thing is I know this guy here his dog kill his chicken ,he beat the dog with the dead chicken shove it down his throat and now the dog dosn't look at any of the chicken..
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Ralph.
Life comes down to the choices you make, and then living with the results.
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roller alley
120 posts
May 25, 2009
11:10 PM
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when your loft maintenace day comes cut a piece of roof flashing to the size of your nest boxes and you can scoop the debris in 1 or 2 passes after you roll out the newspapper....holler
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roller alley
121 posts
May 25, 2009
11:25 PM
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when you suspect that hens in the kit have been with the cocks make sure you feel between the vent and the uper ribs for the possibility that there is an egg ready to be laid in mid spin ive cought a few
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harrison
714 posts
May 26, 2009
3:35 AM
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Always make sure that on your nesting boxes there is anougth room (GAP) on the front of the box so any bird that doesnt live in that box can be easiley ejected This stoping any eggs getting smashed or young getting squashed.
harrison the cruel.
UK HULL.
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Roll Down
67 posts
May 26, 2009
7:19 AM
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Good tips!
Thanks for the positive responses!
Some good tips so far!
Like I said, there are a lot of smart roller fanciers on this site and by sharing your knowledge we all benefit.
I would much rather read something which will help me to improve my hobby than the endless ( un-winnable )arguments on color, etc.
Please KEEP IT GOING!
Geo. D.
Last Edited by on May 26, 2009 7:20 AM
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Bill C
359 posts
May 26, 2009
9:20 PM
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Monday I did some work in my mother yard and she had asked me to pick up some springs for her gate so the dog wont get out.
I had left for work one day and had left an individual breed cage door unlocked. The latch was open but the door stayed shut due
to the back of the cage legs were lower than the front. So having springs on all the doors of your lofts and cages is a huge asset
to not accidently letting out a breeding pair. Most of my loft and cages have springs on the doors but not all of them yet. I do not
put anyting on the kit boxes though. Bill C
Last Edited by on May 26, 2009 9:23 PM
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macsrollers
81 posts
May 28, 2009
10:52 PM
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I had a disaster where my son left the breeding pen unlatched and my wife's dachsund got in and killed all the squeakers that we had just moved to the floor. The dachsund has found a new home since then! I did as Bill suggests. It took me a whole 5 minutes to put a spring on that door and now it always closes. But don't get careless. I still latch that door because one never knows when the spring may pull loose or the screw may break over time! Also, I lost 2 nice stock birds in a week from my stock pens while cleaning and working on the automatic waterers. I bought some lodge poles for staking trees from the nursery and a roll of chicken wire- very ecomonical material. In two hours I had a safety pen made in front of all my stock pens and I haven't lost a bird from those pens since. Sometimes we have to suffer from ignorance before we react to correct such mistakes or accidents. Hopefully one man's pain and ignorance will help others by sharing this so they can be proactive and take such precautionary measures! A simple spring and cheap safety pen, and a little time can go along way!
Don M. Mac's Rollers LVRC
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rookie from ct
9 posts
May 29, 2009
10:56 AM
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I keep two large haveaheart traps set at all times against my loft & fly pens and did catch many opossums and ,raccoons in them,no bait they just walk allong the fence
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Bill C
364 posts
May 29, 2009
10:03 PM
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Having a animal trap is good too. I had a squeaker with its leg chewed off from under the wire floor so I set a racoon trap. The first night I got a large opossum and the next night got another one, took them to work and let them go in Elk Grove, in the wild life refuge.
The next day I had a skunk. I thought I would put a black plastic sheet covering me and walked up to put it over with just my eyes looking over and that skunk spayed but did not aim very will and hit the side of a breeding pen and the fence. I covered it up and decided, it was not going in my car for a ride or I would have to give my car to a nephew because I could never sell it with that stuff in it.
The skunk smell you smell along the road is actully pleasant in comparrison the the fresh stuff that comes out of their butts, Man oh man was that stinch so bad it was making me want to vomit. I jumped on the computer and read to wash is down with peroxide and baking soda and saop, so I went out and began spraying it on the wood. I would have to hold my breath and back up 15 feet to breath. It is so bad I could not believe it. I wonder if it had a urinary track infection or WHAT!,
The poor birds had just laid eggs for the first time this year and I was worried they would all die if I didnt get rid of that odor, it was that bad to breath and smell. But the pigoens some how survived and still stayed on the eggs, they all hatched.
Big rodents are bad for you. BIll C
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PR_rollers
GOLD MEMBER
3007 posts
May 30, 2009
10:33 AM
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Make a fly pen next to the kitbox could be small just to push the birds in while you clean,this way you never keep your eyes off your birds when out flying, wait till they come down and once in push into pen and clean..you can even feed them there while you clean..
Always keep your eyes on the ball....
Ralph.
Life comes down to the choices you make, and then living with the results.
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