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       #Post#: 10203--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Culling And Selective Breeding
       By: oldfart Date: December 6, 2011, 8:14 pm
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       Marvin, I understand we will never have a meeting of the minds
       but I would at least try to make my point. I care tooo much for
       my birds to set them free in to nature. Free to starve because
       they do not know how to find food because I have fed them from
       the day they hatched. Free to be killed and suffer while being
       eaten alive or free to hide and slowly freeze to death or
       ....... I cull, it is quick and there is no long drawn out
       suffering. Culling is a neccessery part of keeping and managing
       a loft properly.
       I am finished
       Thom
       #Post#: 10204--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Culling And Selective Breeding
       By: nephilim Date: December 6, 2011, 8:58 pm
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       Hi All.
       This is my first post with you guys! So hello from
       England. I'm not sure I'm totally getting the point of this
       thread/topic. But to add my little point is:- That in the
       loft/coop we the keeper is god, we provide food,water and a safe
       place to live sleep and breed. So therefore it's down to us who
       lives and who dies. We being roller men are probabley more
       relaxed than the racing man, to what lives in our world! The
       racing man will cull the smaller chick in the nest, the bird
       that doesn't home in an acceptable time, the bird that spends to
       long on the house roof, when returning from a race, the bird
       that is constantly late in training. And if the bird is reported
       as a stray. I know this as I've been there. All in the persuit
       of perfection. Does the racing man sell on his unwanted birds?
       Not always, for if it's not good enough for him, it's not good
       for anyone.And think of the reputation if a below par bird is
       moved on and mocked by others that watch it fly, it wont be I
       took it to save it's life, more like this is from a so called
       champ flyer. Although with the current climate of finacial
       hardship, some of the not so goods could be spared a short life.
       I myself only got back into rollers around april  this year and
       have bred 10 birds! Of those as I type this only 3 look like
       they will breed next year. I also culled a whole round of
       youngsters and a hen along with her 2 young. To me she wasn't a
       good mother and the chicks looked sick and feeble. I culled a
       whole round because my corn supplier didnt have the corn I had
       been using, and the youngsters where just not growing as good as
       the previous round on the stuff i had to use. To the guy who
       feeds his sick birds to the hawk, why? what about the fear the
       bird has in it's last few moments? and are you not bringing the
       hawks to your door? These predetors are not daft birds they know
       about routine, and will become dependant, then your flock will
       be on the menu. Well hope i've sort of got the  point, and I
       hope i've not offended anyone.
       #Post#: 10205--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Culling And Selective Breeding
       By: raul carreiro Date: December 6, 2011, 9:19 pm
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       Hi nephilim, welcome to the site! Very well written and thought
       out post! What strain of birds are you flying/breeding?  I fly
       Rubys and Bob Brown birds.
       #Post#: 10206--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Culling And Selective Breeding
       By: Tiraderoller Date: December 6, 2011, 10:54 pm
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       Marvin,
       
       Culling is ones own choice, right or wrong for you, but taking
       your "sick" birds away from your loft and letting them go for
       BOP bait is not a wise decision at all. If your "sick" bird
       evades predators it could then spread what ever illness it has
       to wild birds, whether they be BOPs or songbirds, it doesn't
       matter, but that is worse than ending its life by your own hand.
       Imagine how many birds could be infected by doing this! It may
       seem inhumane to you, but killing many birds by allowing one
       sick to have a last shot at freedom is far worse. Just my two
       cents, but think about it!
       
       Paul
       
       #Post#: 10209--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Culling And Selective Breeding
       By: nephilim Date: December 7, 2011, 5:26 am
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       Hi raul.
       Thanks for the welcome. Ive kept rollers off and on
       for forty years. My current birds are bred down from two
       competion flyers and one pleasure flyer. The pleasure flyer has
       had the same strain of birds for nearly thirty five years, and
       when he wants to add some new blood he goes back to the original
       guy who started him up[who's kept the same family for sixty
       years] occasionaly he'll buy from a club auction, his birds are
       mainly reds, red grizzle or red spangle they start to turn at
       about six months and are tight short spinner doing about ten
       feet or two seconds. The comp breed birds are a mix of colours
       blues, black badge, grizzle and dark checker. Of these one
       family are very loose wingy type when they turn and although
       deeper don't look as neat, they do around the depth of two
       storeys, these birds start turning around six months also. The
       final family are inter bred and are various colours these birds
       take there time in starting to turn, but when they do watch out!
       They are very deep and are very fast [I wait to hear the dull
       thud as they hit the roof or floor] on the whole they have good
       control over there spinning, although are very late to start,
       some being around the ten month when they start! Which I think
       is no bad thing, as they've learnt to extend there flying time
       and seem to manage in the windy weather better. I beleive that
       observation is the key with the birds watch every move they
       make, how they behave in the coop, with other birds, how they
       feed, are they a picker, a seed chaser or just head down no
       messing eater? My dad used to keep pigeons and budgies{which he
       flew out during the breeding season!!!} He told me to watch the
       birds, and as we've read on here on more than one occasion
       Pensom could pick a good bird on the perch, my dad does the
       same. He looked at my birds a few weeks ago and said which he
       would pair to which. I don't know if he sits in his car a few
       blocks away and watches or genuinely have the knack. Maybe
       listening to him has passed something on to me. I recently went
       to a fellow flyers house to collect a bird that had gone
       missing. I didn't know the guy nor his birds, had never been
       anywhere near his place, yet after chatting and looking at his
       birds I managed to pick out his best birds from an open shed
       while they fed on the floor! My set up is two sheds one ten by
       six foot the other eight by six foot. I don't fly to kit boxes,
       I understand the theory behind using them. But I have also kept
       race birds and they kit very well, without the use of a kitbox!
       I keep my birds on a semi darkness system, and when I open the
       trap to let them out they're bouncing all over the place, like a
       little child on a visit to the candy store, just waiting to fly.
       Wow think I've took quite a lot of room and maybe branched from
       the original subject a little. I really enjoy reading the
       threads and post on this site, and hope to add to them in the
       future. Regards
       
       #Post#: 10210--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Culling And Selective Breeding
       By: oldfart Date: December 7, 2011, 7:32 am
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       Nephilim, Welcome and I am certian you will make a fine addition
       to this list! :) We can be a bit testy sometimes but overall,
       not so bad.  ;D
       I look forward to reading your posts.
       Take care
       Thom
       #Post#: 10538--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Culling And Selective Breeding
       By: windjammer loft Date: January 22, 2012, 8:08 am
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       I can certainly understand the sensitivity of this subject.   I
       guess when some people "hear" the word CULL, the first things
       that comes to mind is for it to be killed.  Which for some, is
       HARD to take. Culling, doesn't necessarily need to be done in
       that manner. In our case, some do think that way, which I am one
       of them.  BUT..... if you have the room, you could just keep all
       your culls separated, fly them, enjoy them but, "NEVER" breed
       them. You just need to find out where your comfort level is...
       Hope this puts some of you at ease...
       #Post#: 10541--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Culling And Selective Breeding
       By: oldfart Date: January 23, 2012, 6:07 pm
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       Hey Paul, Culling is a necessary part of pigeon keeping and none
       more then the performance breeds suffers because of the
       hesitancy of some breeders. Even if there is enough room, money
       and time to keep them all it distracts a loft from moving
       forward. There are legitimate reasons for keeping birds that
       other wise would be a cull. Use as fosters would justify keeping
       such birds but giving them to newbie’s would not. Many prefer to
       turn them loose into “The Wild” thinking this a kindness but the
       truth is most will starve and even if they survive only add to
       the wild pigeon population within cities or cause farmers
       problems. I urge everyone to cull with the thought of improving
       the performance of our breed for the enjoyment of everyone.
       Take care my friend
       Thom
       #Post#: 10542--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Culling And Selective Breeding
       By: windjammer loft Date: January 24, 2012, 8:03 am
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       Thom... I agree with YOU 110%..  I do cull hard.  But, for those
       who "won't, can't or don't believe in culling". These are just
       bird keepers..  To me they are "more" damaging to our hobby
       (sport) then the BOP.  Just my opinion  I am trying to cut these
       people some slack and be easy on them...haha
       #Post#: 10544--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Culling And Selective Breeding
       By: oldfart Date: January 24, 2012, 5:58 pm
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       Joe, It will not effect my loft either but I would like to see
       the hobby grow. If a newbie starts with inferior birds he will
       lose interest and leave without ever knowing how great our birds
       really are.
       Paul, I like the way you think! :)
       Take care my friends
       Thom
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