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SAHPA 2016 Year Book Page 9
You never know where your next intro will come from. I have paid good money for good and
bad birds. My stock birds are Wickham x Goodger based and Jim Cox. I have a very good
family of Van Loons and Janssen as well. I have created my only family of birds and I
inbreed and linebreed and if I see a bird I like I will try it out - always looking to improve.
I have put birds bred for stock in the stockhouse but the criteria is the same – they must
produce. If a bird performs on the road and in the stockhouse what more do you want. This
year I am only breeding a few as
I’m undecided if I’m going
overseas. Normally I would breed
about 100 youngsters but it also
depends on the previous year and
how that went. When I mate my
birds I like to see that they
compliment each other similar to
what my friend Stef Orfanos did a
lot of. My birds have their origin
from Stef. I will breed from old
birds if they still produce winners.
If you are mining gold and still
digging it up why would you stop!
Apart
from
patience
and
observation I don’t have any real
secrets. I have been known to
double birds back. Personally I think they need the work but if you want them for the pointy
end of the season you have to keep them fresh. Birds can get hawk shy and hamper weary,
especially the older ones. I like the long distance events.
Breeding is winners to winners and although they don’t all produce it’s not a bad place to
start. Uncle to niece or vice versa is something I like to do and have had very good results.
The wind on the day has a big bearing but to be in it you still need to be in the first batch.
Feeding is nothing special - peas and wheat
mainly with some small seeds and maize when
I think necessary. In recent years I’ve given
peanuts but not too many. I hand feed my birds
twice daily making sure they all get enough. I
buy my small seed pre-mixed (Pryor mix) and
minerals are before the birds at all times. I use
barley early in the season and I give my birds
vitamin B group. My feed is bought from local
farmers but I also use race pellets in small
proportion.
I don’t medicate as a rule when the birds
return but I realise that they can pick things
up in the unit so I watch them closely if I think they need medicating I would not hesitate to
do so.
My loft is 9 metres long in five sections. Floor is concrete with vapour barrier with plywood
overlay. Ceiling and walls are lined. No spartan existence here I try to make them as
comfortable as I can especially when it’s cold.
THE STOCK HOUSE
NEW FLYER?