WINTER RETREAT

Iam already planning for next spring and the return of the drier weather. Daughter Lucy dropped lots of not so gentle hints that she would like a pigeon loft putting up so she can get a few white fantail pigeons. I don’t mind because we used to keep them many years ago when we first moved to Lincolnshire and we found them quite restful.

When first let out in the morning they circle about for a while and then land on a variety of our buildings and do quite a bit of cooing, and that’s about it. Not a lot, but we liked it. Like all classes of livestock, they do come with their associated problems. The forces of nature are not long taking over. After a few weeks of settling in, the fantails start billing and cooing before breeding. Then eggs appear and after a while, the eggs turn into squabs and then after a few weeks the ugly little devils turn into beautiful white fantail pigeons.

Unwelcome guests

However, all these nubile young beauties plus