STAFFORDSHIRE MOORLANDS & DISTRICT FEDERATION
by Thomas Garvie
Well, racing is just around the corner and I hope everybody has had a good breeding season. Ours went fairly well but a couple of pairs we wanted eggs from let us down, as is the usual scenario, but there is still plenty time yet. I want to make sure all the young birds are weaned if possible before I go in to hospital for the first of my operations and it is going to be a real pain, literally, when I come out as it is going to be a couple of weeks before the first race. It is going to be in a sling for six weeks but I have every confidence in Liz as she has had birds as long as I have so she knows what she is doing. But there is nothing wrong with my eyes so I will be keeping an eye on what she is doing, especially when it comes to feeding as she is reluctant to cut the food intake down. Apart from that, she is spot on with the birds.
I was sent a brief note from Packmoor who held their AGM on the 8th of February where they elected a new President namely Mrs Janet Slack after their long serving President Mr George Litherland stood down. The members would like to thank George for all his work and advice through the years.
Well I am resuming this after a few days in between and have just started letting the birds out. In the last five days we have been hit by a hawk twice. Not sure what one came the first time but it injured one of our birds which would not come in so when it is dark we have used our tried and tested method of catching them with a fishing net!!!. When I got the bird in the net I took it into the house and gave it good clean with disinfectant and then took it back out to the loft and put it in a box with straw, food and water and left it in for a couple of days. It is back out flying right as rain so maybe I'll name this bird Lucky, as Liz likes to give the pigeons a name. I give some of them a name as well but it is not one I could print. The second visit by a hawk was a peregrine because I saw it swoop over the cottage roof at great speed but the birds were up and away before it actually got to them and luckily this time there were no injuries or any AWOL at closing time.
I mentioned at the start there were birds we wanted young from but today there was a pair that were sitting on youngsters about 5 days old. They are let out themselves usually but today for some reason the cock in the box above decided he would break out and go into the box aforementioned. I was in the garden when I heard the commotion in the loft and when I got in the escapee cock was trampling the two squeakers. When I got him out the box the two squeakers looked to be dead but I took them out and put them somewhere to heat them up to see if there was any hope. They were both badly marked and after about 5 minutes I felt one moving [I can't actually tell you where I stuffed them] so I put it back in the nest and the cock went back on straight away. Unfortunately the other poor mite never made it. When I said that I gave them some names this cock was certainly in that category.
It is now about four weeks till my first operation and I am trying to get as much done as I can before then and the last few days the weather has been really good. That helps a lot with all the plants I am growing and I want to at least get my tomatoes and cucumber plants planted and tied up before I go in. The flowers and veg will not be ready to plant for a while yet so there should be no problems on that front. While the weather is nice I have been taking the opportunity to build a nice fence around the fruit and veg patch because one of the naughty greyhounds had a habit of trampling over all the plants and also helping herself to some strawberries when they are ready. She is also quite partial to digging up the odd stock of Brussel sprouts and eating them on the sofa so I was determined to do something to keep her out. The wood for the fence came from the large static caravan that I have finally dismantled and I got loads of first class wood from the roof.
I know they are quite late in going in to an article but I have added a few photos that I took at the BHW show this year. One in particular is of our friend Eric Milner, who was being interviewed by two ladies from the Times newspaper [hope they don't hack his phone]. They decided to pick on Eric because of his tie which they said caught their eye. It was of course his Midland National tie for whom Eric has worked tirelessly. Another photo which I found quite funny was the glass of beer in a show pen so I awarded that Best in Show. Another photo is of a pair of chaps from our club, Watty and Son, showing them doing a very highly prestigious job which was throwing food in the pens. Joking aside, John has been stewarding at the show for around 20 years, I think he said, and without folk like John and all the other ladies and gents who help, the show would be a non starter in my opinion. The other photos are of our three birds which picked up cards in the show, the mealy picking up her second card in a row and Liz has high hopes for these. The black pied hen which Liz has named Dominique is one of her favourites and she feels great all year round when you handle her. Another photo included was one I took up in the balcony when we were having a lunch break and it gives you a bit of what the main hall with all the show birds is really like.
Our 3rd carding bird
Dominique
Eric Milner
Best in Show
Liz's Star
Watty & Son
Main Ballroom
Well I will finish there for now and will try and get another article of sorts in before my op, but as I said before, keep sending anything you want me to write about and even when racing starts although I may not be able to write for the first few races I will put in all the results and tales when ever I am able so send anything to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or give me a call on 01663 733317. All the articles can be viewed online on the fed's website which is www.moorlandsfedpigeons.co.uk and also on http://www.elimarpigeons.com/ so thats all for the time being.