Secret to Feeding and Training Young Birds. Dominate with Less Work! 

So very happy and proud of you! Not many fanciers ever win their very first race. Congratulations!

​@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeonsI'm

Thank you and I am happy if I can help. I have had major success without a lot of work and that alone will help many fanciers balance life/family with pigeons. It is nice to be competitive.

Hi John, Thank you and I appreciate this. I will keep doing the videos. I have many in my head just must find the time .

@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons Hi Frank, I live in Florida, I raced pigeons with my father in the UK for 20 years, he 76 and still racing. I send him the links to all the videos you share, we discovered the wonder of barley many years ago, in a similar fashion to yourself, we were feeding our stock pigeons on a mostly barley mixture to keep them light and noticed how well they handled and flew around the loft. Over the years though we've gotten away from using it so much. Your videos have reawakened that discovery, and barley is now making a much needed comeback in Dad's loft. He's a long distance man, competing only in National Racing, so no weekly club races, and barley is going to help keep the birds lighter. I'm no longer directly involved in the management of the birds, but we talk on the phone every day and I enjoy being home in the summer for a couple of the big races. Thanks again I really appreciate your candid no nonsense advice.

Hey John, Thank you for this and keep me posted on your Dad's results. Barley is the most important grain for racing by far.

@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons Will do Frank, we're looking forward to getting back basics next year and seeing how things improve

Thank you for this. I have used Creatine Monohydrate in the mid 90's and did not find any benefit. I have also used B-15 back in the 90's and got away from it because again I feel fanciers do it because the old timers were giving it years ago. There may be some benefit but not going to make much of a difference. This year I was very busy and did not use my normal supplements. I never mixed anything on the feed, I never gave yellow drops and my pigeons were winning long races by a wide margin. I feel for fanciers just moving to natural health that the supplements I suggested will help. My birds being antibiotic free for so many years maybe do not need all the natural health products.

I tried to go day by day during the young bird season with this video. You can learn much on preparing birds by watching my video on Preparing the Celibate Hens to win Back to Back Long Distance Combines. I was 2nd overall in the 3rd Distance Race. This video shows the day by day Natural Health Supplements you can use. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-aLjysaQflgM.html This explains Young Bird training: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZC1vv0u2TmQ.html Let me know what you are thinking?

You are so welcome. I have been wanting to do this for quite some time.

I am in Massachusetts North East USA. I deal with about every possible climate here.

Most of the sport medicates the pigeons and many times they do not need it or they must make weak pigeons. Instead of giving a canker pill give each pigeon a Yellow Drop every Wednesday. www.siegelpigeons.com/product/yellow-drops/

@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons awesome thank you so much once again 👍

Central Jersey Combine is the biggest combine in the USA for those outside of the US. I have watched a couple relatively new fanciers have super success racing in CJC using my methods. Many fanciers race forever without being competitive. My methods can help someone be competitive weekly and if you are near the top all the time you will win your share. Hard to get fanciers to change.

Hello Darren, I understand what you are trying to do. Have you used Barley? You will find that if you feed the pigeons barley say 100% for a couple weeks they will become super buoyant and corky. You should experiment with the feeding of barley and try feeding like we feed our race team. 70% barley in the husk with 30% breeder mix fed once a day until they leave a handful of barley. Without any exercise I feel you will get super show condition. Try it off season once they finish the molt and see what you think. You may win Blackpool this year.

@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons I have never try the barley with the show birds I will give it a try. And I really appreciate your time. and Blackpool I will be there but not showing this year as I have just started back after 18 years out. So next year maybe 😊 Many thanks Darren

Your pigeons will have a buoyancy and feel super on barley. They will be full but light in weight. Judges will love them. Experiment.

Hello John, That might be too late to be letting them out. It might be getting dark on them and scaring them. Usually if the pigeons are not going in close to the evening there is something bothering them or scaring them at night. Could be cats hanging around, racoons or in some cases rats get in the loft at night to make the birds uncomfortable. Pigeons want to be in the loft as it gets dark so this is very strange. I do think they are uncomfortable for some reason and we must find out why. There is a chance that night creeped up on them because they went out too late. Not sure where you can get barley. Maybe check with the local guys or contact Global Pigeon Supply to see if there is a dealer in the area.

It is much better to maybe miss a couple races or not be competitive early to save the team from the crazy heat. I bet most of your competitors trained through it and the losses were very high plus the birds get hurt. I started today. Drove around and released in front of the lofts. First race was today for my combine but I will be ready middle of September and race to get the pigeons for experience until the November 2nd convention.

@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons our first race isn’t until October 7th Mississippi we started. Still time.

Take your time. No rush at all and wait for the best days to train.

If you feed like me you can to work the pigeons much less. I do not loft fly the birds once training starts and my birds exercise on the average two times per week during the race season between races. Many fanciers loft fly the birds two times per day. This is at least one time per day too much. I can win against really good competition exercising two times per week. I am able to do this with because of my feeding program.

Hey Bruce, Never thought about Black Strap Molasses but I feel you may be onto something to help the birds recover after the race. Very rich in nutrients. Do not use too much in the water or the pigeons will not hydrate well. Maybe a tablespoon of molasses plus a pinch of vitamins and electrolytes will be beneficial. For anyone reading this here are some Black Strap Molasses info below: However, unlike refined sugar - which has no nutritional value - blackstrap molasses packs plenty of iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus. In fact, ounce for ounce, blackstrap molasses contains more iron than eggs, more calcium than milk, and more potassium than any other food (3). In addition, it provides 18 amino acids (1).

Hi Frank. I’ve been also using spirulina as a source of protein and minerals added to the food, have all essential amino acids and a good balance of minerals and vitamins. I have a question about when is better to give the fats, I’ve heard that need to be 48hrs before the race day for the pigeon to be able to use it due to metabolism. What’s your experience on this?

I like blue green algae and used it maybe 25 years ago. I also heard about giving the birds fat 48 hours before and I do that for long distance only because that is how it works with shipping. I do not think this is true and just spread around the sport. I feel you should feed for long distance a couple days before but for young it is not really necessary. Body weight is more important. The pigeons eat and 12 hours everything is totally digested and into the bloodstream or tissue. Feeding some fat the day of shipping is just great. If it does take longer to get into the system then the bird will have some extra should it run into trouble.

Most Fanciers can mix their own feed using the 80% barley 20% breeder mix. If you can get the Depure from Versele Laga you can feed that. Depure is excellent and easy to use. Do not worry about a few peas if you mix your own. Does not matter at all.

Hope you have success. Once you realize that shipping round full pigeons to the races is a losing proposition. Keep me posted.

Great suggestion. Something I will consider. Molting is easy just plenty of rich feed with grits and minerals. Prepping for the races is a bit more.

Looks like the video will be a big hit. Thank you for the push. Maybe share with your friends.

No sure what you mean? Let me know. This feeding system will not affect the molt and they should not fall apart. They also do not need much work when you feed like this.

Hey Kevin, Congratulations. Nice job. So happy for you.

Glad you like them! I am having fun doing it.

Just so glad to have someone to promote the sport and help new flyers just got back after 15 absence and the emails from flyer in my combine ready to go absent again

The game is not difficult if birds are healthy, good loft, trained adequately and shipped with perfect body weight. You will do great.

Great to hear! Congratulations.

No need to rest the birds with such a short season and the first three races are very short. If you rest them a few days during the week they should be okay. Here in my combine we start middle of August and race to the 1st of November and have at least an 11 week season.. Easy to give the birds a week off with such a long season.

​@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeonsold bird racing

Glad you enjoyed it!

Thank you for the nice words . Hope this video helps and it should if you send pigeons with correct bodyweight. Email me Frank@McLaughlinLofts.com

hi frank I will reach out to you via email. We are out of barley here in Hawaii but the natural food store has pearl barley would that be okay? I bought 5 lbs at $2.00 a pound to get by until the feed store gets theirs in.

I do not think Pearl Barley will work. This is usually not in the hull. Not a good substitute. Paddy Rice is a good substitute but that might be tougher to find.

Hi Kerby, Thank you. Hope this does help and show what can be done and still have much success. Very few new fanciers have endless time for pigeons.

I feel everything you are doing will only help and be positive. Chopped carrots are so low calorie and can fill the pigeons up. Garlic and lemon are both positive. Maybe keep doing what you are doing and implement some of my methods.

@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons Thank you for the vote of confidence! I plan to add more barley to my feeding mix and try feeding once a day.

Once you Master Feeding you will Master Racing. If you can nail the body weight the game gets very easy. Watch my other feeding videos for more insight if you have not already watched them. My favorite is here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nZ4Oab8hG10.html

These are very old timers and my first clock is in the video. My first clock was ancient when I got it in 1973-1974

If you enjoy watching your birds fly and fly effortlessly for long periods of time, feed 50% barley. You will be amazed. They will home much better also being more buoyant.

Hello Kenny, It is so much more fun when you can race with less effort, feed right and win with the pigeons. This will drive your competition nuts. You may be able to add another hobby. lol

​ hi Frank I have been using your methods I have been very competitive finishing second almost every race in our club. I just won my the first race. At 1592 yd per minute starting to get it dialed in thanks so much Frank😊

I appreciate that

Try Siegel www.siegelpigeons.com/product/comed-roni/

Glad you enjoyed it

I will do a video in the next day or two and show the Yellow Drops, what they are and how to use them.

Try to feed them until they walk away and leave a handful of barley in the feeder. If you feed the young once a day until they leave barley that is enough. I can get more strict with the old birds because they are adults and not molting or growing. Say they eat about a pound of feed, feed them in parts over a couple minutes. Soon you will see how much they eat until they start walking away and leave a small amount of barley in the feeder.

@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons Thank you 👍

I thought it might add a little visual. My first clock from 1973 is in the video. My second clock is also the steal one. The other two I collected.

@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons That Sounds Cool 😎

Hi Brian, I would feed slightly more on Thursday the day of shipping if they are getting fed on the truck on Friday. Feed the 70% barley mix. You want them to eat on the truck but not go totally crazy. On a Thursday ship for a young bird race feed about 25% more than the normal daily amount so they will eat light on Friday on the truck.

@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons cheers

I feed a rich 15% grain mix and supplement with some chicken pellets until the body molt is complete. Make sure you have some good grits and minerals in front of them. After that I switch to corn and chicken pellets to cut costs. See this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5UqvtfoQ0iM.html

Try to feed them until they walk away and leave a handful of barley in the feeder. If you feed the young once a day until they leave barley that is enough. I can get more strict with the old birds because they are adults and not molting or growing.

I assume you meant to say they are fed Friday on the truck. My suggestion would be on Thursday to give 25% more of the light depurative mix than they normally eat in a day. This way they will not eat too heavy on the truck on Friday. You want them to eat on the truck but not gorge themselves. Hope you do great!

@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons Thank you Frank. If you can only loft fly them, what days would you loft fly them if you are basketing on Thursday for 300miles races?

I would loft fly Tuesday and Thursday morning. Because a loft fly is not as good of a workout as a training toss you could loft fly Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning.

@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons Thank you

I appreciate that

My pleasure 😊

@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons hoping it will bring me success on my racing this season thank

Here is the video for my Feeding and Training on Long distance: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Xvol6GUU5TE.html

My pleasure!

Thank you so much. I am having much fun with RU-vid and sharing what works for me. Been living pigeons for 50 years and love to win but do not have the time to work too hard at it.

When you begin training go to 50% barley and feed once a day until they leave barley. Few days before races start go to 75% barley.

March and April Hatch pigeons will be great to compete in both local racing and One Loft Racing. They can actually be better because they are trained younger. I bred in February most of my career.

Acriflavine is used in the tropical fish industry. You can maybe buy this in your country and use one drop.

In some cases I have not changed anything and still had success. I will not train or loft fly day of shipping so if I planned a training flight and now we are shipping a race I keep the birds in that day. If the race is pushed back you can certainly take them on another short toss if you think the body weight is not perfect. Either way a short flight day before shipping will not hurt. If I feel the body weight is perfect I may leave them in for a couple days before shipping. All depends and sometimes the race is pushed back or forward you can adjust the training accordingly. Feeding is more important if the birds are in condition.

I do not loft fly or train the birds during the week of rest.

Hope you win it. Do not get crazy over week one. It is a long season. Let me know how it goes.

There are some McLoft birds so cross your fingers

Hi Pete, That is exactly what I do. The birds that do not race get all the barley mix they want early before the race team comes home. The birds home are not able to over eat the fat seeds because they are full from the barley mix.

The water is in front of them at all times. I never restrict water.

Hope you have some great luck. I feel you can win with some minor changes. Master Feeding and you Master Racing. I am fairly sure you send the birds way too heavy to the races.

Hello Dean, Are these young birds? Most likely CircoVirus. I need more information. Can you email me photos or videos? Frank@McLaughlinLofts.com

Because half the team is racing and half is resting you must keep feeding the resting pigeons the same as the racing birds. I rest half the birds one week and half the birds the next week. The resting birds will be fine and concentrate on the birds racing.

Hi Peter, You are too nice to me. I keep it simple with good pigeons and correct feeding. Most make this game too difficult. I hope to see you again next year.

Better to feed the young until they leave a small handful of barley each day once a day.

That is sad to hear. It is possible the results would have been the same no matter what. Going antibiotic free takes some time. You cannot just go from Antibiotics one day to natural the next and expect no issues. It takes a year or more for the birds that can perform and breed antibiotic free to show themselves. The more medications used over time will keep making the pigeons weaker because the fancier is racing and breeding from weak pigeons that normally would have been lost. I am sorry you did not have success but many around the world are finding that once they commit to natural health the results come more than ever.

Once training begins feed the young birds once a day until they leave a handful of barley. You will be great.

Thank you sir I won the first race of my club with you feeding system thanx you for you videos I'm learning every day something new

Great News. Congratulations!

Thank you! Makes the game easier when the birds have correct body weight.

I only go over to the lofts in the morning so feed most birds all they want once a day. Breeders have feeders in front of them at all times one with Grain mix and one with pellets but they eat very few pellets. I also have feeders in the flight pens for pigeons that are extra or for sale. Some of the others eat all the want once a day like my old bird race teams. You may find this video interesting on me feeding my breeders. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Jm2DyiOH96M.html Most my pigeons when not racing, are given all they want each day.

Always whole barley in the shell. Rolled barley is not a good substitute

I want you to feed just barley at 70% and the remaining a good 15-16% grain mix. You could use a good depurative at 100% six days a week.

Water is always available 24 hours a day seven days a week. The birds can drink whenever they like

I feel with young birds during racing it is best to feed the barley mix, once a day until they leave a handful of barley. You cannot make a mistake and you will race super.

@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons Thank you for getting back to me. I willbelracing young birds this year on your

@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons My mix will be farm barley and a racing mix called Multi- Task its 56.60%carbs and 8.30% fats and 15.20% Protein. as i cann"t get anything higher than that.

Should work just fine.

I use B-12 Vitamin made by Rooster Booster for Chickens. Here is the link to what I use: www.walmart.com/ip/Rooster-Booster-B-12-Liquid/51443701

You are so nice. I am pleased you enjoy.

On a two day ship I assume the race is a little longer. I would give the birds the half fat seeds half barley mix and let them have plenty. You want them to eat light on the truck and hopefully drink.

This program works anywhere. Give it a try.

75% barley is about the right amount.

Glad to help

Once the races start I do not loft fly the young pigeons at all the entire season. I race them on Saturday, train down the road Tuesday and Thursday and then race on Saturday. Everything is done with feeding. Check out these videos to see how to feed the racers so you can win without much effort. ru-vid.com/group/PLfjpm1Kc9E0UkXcdnfTrnV_VKTkfNozbt

Looks like you are doing perfect. Hope your results are super.

Very very big thankyou for you validation mr frank

Hello Graham, Mixing your own feed is excellent and I will put the ingredients to Champion Mix below but you can use the ingredients of any good breeding mix. Just never use Popcorn in the mix. Two hard to digest and never absorbs water. Champion Mix: red maize 18%, premium cribs maize 6%, small cribs maize 2%, toasted soya beans 5%, maple peas 3%, small green peas 6%, tares 2%, mung beans 1%, white pigeon wheat 11%, white dari 10%, red dari 3%, safflower 12%, peeled barley 2%, paddy rice 3%, peeled oats 2%, hempseed 2%, buckwheat 2%, brown linseed 1%, rapeseed 1%, black coleseed 2%, pellet I.C.⁺ 6%

Thanks again Frank@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons

Normally if you feed the young once a day until they leave barley they want to fly more. Pigeons flying two hours a day is at least an hour more a day than needed. Three hours a week of flying is plenty if they are racing and you are feeding correctly. Give me more info. So many are dominating feeding like me. You also must concentrate on training more like me if you are feeding like me.

I did think it could be that mate. I obviously need to change the training to suit the new feeding system 🙄. Thanks frank 👍

I do not train very much each week and show my measurements in one of these videos. ru-vid.com/group/PLfjpm1Kc9E0UkXcdnfTrnV_VKTkfNozbt

I am a manager and want to have success without spending too much time. Most of what I do is common sense but most of what the sport does is the same as their grandfathers did.

I do not measure but if you feed until they are walking away and leaving a handful of barley you have fed enough. Soon you will know the exact amount each day.

You can still win but your pigeons must have perfect body weight and you must teach them to break. If they have perfect body weight they will fly away from the other pigeons after being in the air for four or five hours. If you teach them to break that will make a big difference. See my Feeding Young Birds Video, Master Feeding Video and Educating Young Birds. I will put links below. You must do everything correct to beat your competitors. ru-vid.com/group/PLfjpm1Kc9E0UkXcdnfTrnV_VKTkfNozbt ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZC1vv0u2TmQ.html

Thank you very much Frank. I appreciate what you do.

If you are loft flying the pigeons more than once a day you are overworking the pigeons and also over feeding the pigeons. If you are going to loft fly, which I do not, you must only loft fly once a day maybe four mornings per week. Always feed the race team once a day and please watch the Feeding Series of Videos here. ru-vid.com/group/PLfjpm1Kc9E0UkXcdnfTrnV_VKTkfNozbt

Hi Robert, I would do this maybe 7 to 10 days before shipping. Not closer than that.

@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons ok thanks!

Thank you! Hope you enjoyed and I offered something valuable.

When I start training, they are on 50% barley and I go to the strict feeding about a week before the first race.

If fed correctly and the pigeons were on the 80% barley mix while resting they do not need much work. After the rest they can go on a 35 mile toss and a 50 mile toss before the 300 mile race. You could also do a few loft flights but the workout is not the same as a training flight down the road. They pump much harder and fly much faster on a road train. If you see how I set up my long distance pigeons you will see after a week of rest they get two training flights and then come back and win again at the long distance.

@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons thank you Frank I appreciate it looking forward your next video 😊

The pigeons fly much faster with lighter body weight in both fast and headwind races. Watch my feeding series of videos. You will enjoy and start to dominate your competition with much less work. ru-vid.com/group/PLfjpm1Kc9E0UkXcdnfTrnV_VKTkfNozbt

@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons Thanks a lot. ❤️

Check out this video and it may help: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-euD2T2MsNGk.html

Great to hear and keep the faith. Game is not difficult with good pigeons, kept healthy and trained adequately. Perfect body weight for the races makes such a big difference. I have late breds off my race team that may work for you and they are super. Email me. Frank@McLaughlinLofts.com

@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons they are beautiful

See this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-euD2T2MsNGk.html

Yes, total rest is no training and no loft flying. Keep them in for a week. Split the team so one group keeps going while 1/2 is resting. Over a two week period they can all have one week of total rest.

@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons thanks for response I'll give it a try 👍

I think I set this video with Polish Subtitles. Hope this works.

Great news. Keep tweeking until you get them perfect. They need to be light but not round.

@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons noted sir, thank you again

Hello Terry, I am not sure if you are talking about a Faraday Cage by saying earthing your lofts. You may want to try this to help offset all the electricity around the birds. You can do this fairly simple and I have seen this in Belgium years ago. Talk to a couple experts to see if you can run this around the inside off the loft. A Faraday cage or Faraday shield is an enclosure used to block electromagnetic fields. A Faraday shield may be formed by a continuous covering of conductive material, or in the case of a Faraday cage, by a mesh of such materials. Faraday cages are named after scientist Michael Faraday, who invented them in 1836.[1] A Faraday cage operates because an external electrical field causes the electric charges within the cage's conducting material to be distributed so that they cancel the field's effect in the cage's interior. This phenomenon is used to protect sensitive electronic equipment (for example RF receivers) from external radio frequency interference (RFI) often during testing or alignment of the device. They are also used to protect people and equipment against actual electric currents such as lightning strikes and electrostatic discharges, since the enclosing cage conducts current around the outside of the enclosed space and none passes through the interior.

Hi Frank thank you for your reply yes I'll try to speak to a electrical engineer to see if he can help thank you again for taking the time it's much appreciated other than that I'll have to give the birds up take care. Terry

Please do not give the birds up. They can adapt to many things. Try a cheap Faraday cage setup and let me know if this helps.

My first clock from 1973 was on the table and it was very very old then. All the owners signed inside the cover of my first clock and I printed my name also. I may show this sometime.

@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons Hey sir would it be ok to use that wormer you suggested the name escapes me at the moment.. on young birds that are still moulting a bit? Neck and ears

Yes, you can use the Quest Wormer when they are molting. I will put link here. I just wormed my young bird team a week or so ago. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UFPEhcS37CE.html

@@FrankMcLaughlinPigeons thanks! That’s great news.

Hey Marvin, I am not sure why your pigeons are molting but this has nothing to do with the feeding. It could be a lighting issue or maybe the birds are at the stage in their lives to start molting these feathers. Let us try to figure this out but the feeding will not cause this.

Thank you sir, the first time i tried your feeding program I came 1st place in our pigeon club. Even the birds have no 10th flight. Thank you for sharing and more power to you

Wow, congratulations. Excellent job!

Once the races start I do not loft fly the pigeons. I race them on Saturday, train down the road Tuesday and Thursday and then race on Saturday. Everything is done with feeding. Check out these videos to see how to feed the racers so you can win without much effort. ru-vid.com/group/PLfjpm1Kc9E0UkXcdnfTrnV_VKTkfNozbt