Stanley Ogozalek / 7 Jan 2001

Advice should come from Mike and Nino and a few others that have flown well
in contests. I'll give you my advice for what it is worth even though I have
much the same problem as you do.

In my opinion, your tipplers are being fed possibly too much of the better
grains, etc. Maybe more malted barley in the diet, about 60% or more
depending on how they react to that amount in the mix. Just what is your
training mix? When do you feed your tipplers the day before they are flown?

How often are they flown? How have you gotten the young tipplers accustomed
to the droppers? Are you surrounded by trees or is your location an open
one?

Here is a tip on something that Kevin Mayer and I will be trying this
season........get a can of luminescent spray paint, any bright color will
do, and spray a board (3 ft long by 4 inches or so and one inch thick or
whatever scrap board you may have) at least twice so that the paint really
shows and then cover it with some clear lacquer or whatever else. Now, get
another board, a larger one and attach it to your aviary or on top of the
loft. Now, place the smaller painted board inside the flying section of your
loft so that the birds can get accustomed to seeing it and not be afraid of
it. So, when the kit is flying over the loft they will then recognize the
color and it should help at or near dark. Another thing to do NOW is to get
your flyers into the aviary every possible evening for about an hour or so
and allow them to remain until after it becomes dark. Then put the lights on
and let them stay for a while, have the droppers out in the aviary with them
so that they can experience the same darkness, etc. Your hawk problem....get
a trap and get rid of them, if possible.

About your birds flying all night after a training flight..............I'm
not saying that it can't be done but that is probably not what happened.
When you trapped the kit, where they lively or where they droopy winged and
appear tired, etc? Describe their physical condition after these
'overflys'...........Now, I'm not trying to ruffle feathers here so don't
feel offended.

I'm hoping that Nino or Mike will come forward with some advice for you.

Submitted by Stanley Ogozalek on 7 Jan 2001 [Tippler Talk]