# Tippler feed mix



## hirow08

Anybody here who is willing to share their knowledge when it comes to feeding tipplers? Whats a good flying / training mix.

What are those seeds that they say, oily seeds? Are those millets? milo? canary seeds?

What grains/seeds makes a bird healthy but they dont gain weight?

TIA!


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## Print Tippler

You just need a normal pigeon feed mix. They do not need anything special. The feed is just a small aspect of the whole thing. What is you loft like? How many birds are you flying? How often are they getting let out?


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## johnnyksspeedshop

Hello, I never feed a tippler corn. My tippler mix consisted of 4 main ingredients red milo, white millet, trapper peas and barley. Other seeds were added in small quantities according to what I thought they needed, like hemp, safflower and flax. Before a long day of flying I would give a ration of pure barley in the morning.


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## thepigeonkey

what about wheat?


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## copper

Most Tippler flyers feed their old birds Barley.


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## AZCorbin

Are you going to be back yard flying or competing?
We feed a mix of 16% protein. Leach royal race.
And the bird do great on it.


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## Print Tippler

Is anyone trying to pull 16+ hours times out there birds? Are you flying no more than 7 birds at a time? Do you have a large kit of droppers to bring your birds down? Are you feeding them when it is pitch dark out? Are you flying them into the night or at night at all?

If you answered no to any of those questions the feed really doesnt matter. I don't think anyone on here can speak for most tippler fanciers as they spread the globe. Anyways straight barely is lacking in nutrients. Its like man eating rice everyday and nothing else. Also, birds dont exactly like it. In order for you to feed them straight barely its been said you need to get them on it when they first learn to eat at about 4 weeks old.

If you look well into what it takes to fly good birds your see that what you want to do will probably only be half hearted, if even that, most likely.


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## copper

hirow08,if you want to get your birds into flying condition then you should feed your flying team 85% barley, 15% oil seeds .


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## Print Tippler

Heres an article from late Jack Prescott a formal tippler flyer who has writtern much about the birds. The articles can be found here

http://jack.tipplers.com/frm_articles.htm

In one article intitled "Use of Barely"

This is the article



> I have said that Barley is of very low nutritional value. The old timers of Sheffield used it for getting the excessive weight off Tipplers that had been confirmed to the loft for many months. For example, after the last adult Tippler fly in June the Tipplers were not flown until the following March. June to September, the Tippler men were involved with young bird contests only and then after the last young bird fly these young birds too were confined to the loft. Often though, the imprisoned Tipplers were allowed into aviaries, but of course this was never considered to be exercise.
> 
> The old timers kept Tipplers only for the purpose of flying contests so preservation of kits was essential. Obviously after long detention the Tipplers were stiff and over weight and in need in re-training. Barley therefore was used as a slimmer and a means of smartening them up.
> 
> I don't think that it is a good idea to place young Tipplers on Barley. They are still growing and need something more substantial. The old timers, if they used Barley at all, would seldom use it without including a little oil-bearing seed. To place young pigeons on 100% barley could retard them physically as well as mentally.


Then there is also this article off the same website as above also by Jack Prescott.

The article is titled "Become Invovled with Tipplers"

Here is how it starts off



> There are two ways whereby a man can become involved in Flying Tipplers.
> 
> (1) He can go along to a man who has some repute as a flying man--as near as possible to his own address and write out this man's instructions. On return home, he carries out the instructions, to the letter, blindly obedient notwithstanding the fact that he doesn't understand what he is doing-- or not. Any problems--as time goes by, can be solved by questions over the phone or "DARE I SAY IT?" letters.
> 
> I stress the fact, that not all instructions but even the stock, comes from some successful fancier, who lives not too far away. Climate, geographical features and a lot of unknown aspects, can affect the behavior of Tipplers. It is no use becoming too involved with the ideas of some Englishman. As my learned friend Michael Beat has said, "What works for one man--does not necessarily work for another."


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## copper

Hi print tippler, The original question's that Hirow08 asked were; what is a good flying/training mix ,and what grains make a bird healthy but does not make them gain weight.
I have never fed my fling birds(G. Hughes family) just barley, and I'm not saying they should. But, My tipplers have never flown more then 2 hours.
I do have a friend who (lives down the road)has the same family of birds, and when he wants his birds to FLY, he starts a feeding program that depletes the body of its carbohydrates stores and supersaturates the muscles and blood with glycogen. I've seen his birds fly for 13 ,14 hours .I can see them from my own yard, they sometimes fly over my home.They fly all night !!! I don't know exactly what and how much he feeds but he has told me me he feeds a lot of Barley !
My friend's name is John Quinn and he now stationed in Afghanistan and will be home before October.


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## hamlet

I have read that only the strong birds should be fed barley and flax(oil) seed. The rest should be fed a depurative diet untill they are strong. I tried barley and flax on tumblers and one roller type tumbler got so light and crashed twice while tumbling. I can think of some oily seeds like hemp, safflower, sunflower, canola, flax(linseed). I think straight barley is the key when settling young pigeons. Then i would add oily seeds slowly as they get strong. Wheat is too strong for tipplers and you could loose them on straight wheat. I think that flying on straight barley could kill the young tippler pigeon during the 90 plus hot weather. My tumblers flew well with 13.5% so the tipplers could do with a little less. God bless.


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## hirow08

copper said:


> Hi print tippler, The original question's that Hirow08 asked were; what is a good flying/training mix ,and what grains make a bird healthy but does not make them gain weight.
> I have never fed my fling birds(G. Hughes family) just barley, and I'm not saying they should. But, My tipplers have never flown more then 2 hours.
> I do have a friend who (lives down the road)has the same family of birds, and when he wants his birds to FLY, he starts a feeding program that depletes the body of its carbohydrates stores and supersaturates the muscles and blood with glycogen. I've seen his birds fly for 13 ,14 hours .I can see them from my own yard, they sometimes fly over my home.They fly all night !!! I don't know exactly what and how much he feeds but he has told me me he feeds a lot of Barley !
> My friend's name is John Quinn and he now stationed in Afghanistan and will be home before October.





hamlet said:


> I have read that only the strong birds should be fed barley and flax(oil) seed. The rest should be fed a depurative diet untill they are strong. I tried barley and flax on tumblers and one roller type tumbler got so light and crashed twice while tumbling. I can think of some oily seeds like hemp, safflower, sunflower, canola, flax(linseed). I think straight barley is the key when settling young pigeons. Then i would add oily seeds slowly as they get strong. Wheat is too strong for tipplers and you could loose them on straight wheat. I think that flying on straight barley could kill the young tippler pigeon during the 90 plus hot weather.  My tumblers flew well with 13.5% so the tipplers could do with a little less. God bless.


Thanks guys! nice input.
Thats exactly what I wanted to know. I know it does have something to do with the weather and all those. Also read that just use regular flying mix and add "what you think the bird needs" ex. If a bird has gone too thin give him corn or linseed or safflower(grains rich in fat/protein to repair muscles) and rest, for the bird to recuperate.
*So a bird does go light when fed 100% barley!? w/exercise as well. Thanks!
Because I know the bird would have a hard time flying if its not toned down. 
I've read it as well that we aren't supposed to give 100% barley not unless the bird is in top shape, matured age, muscles fully developed etc etc.
If we compare a tippler to a human, they should look like marathon runners right? thin and ripped.
*Im curious about those lil oily seeds. Because from what is said it makes their feathers powdery and oily. Which they need for very long hours of flight.
Im not competing or anything. I just wanted to make sure I'd be able to get my tipplers to fly longer and make sure they are HEALTHY and in top shape as well. 
Dont want to "ruin" them by not knowing what I needed to know and end up blaming the birds on why they couldn't fly as they should 

Keep em comin guys!


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## hamlet

Hirow 08: Hi, have you settled your tipplers? This year I did a bad job settling my birds because of my new location. Now they land on the wires when tired unlike last years young. Settling is something one has to think ahead before hand otherwise getting them to stay up longer would be tough. I am thinking that how much dedication it takes to watch the youngsters for tiredness and drop them with the droppers or something so they do not land on their own. If you never settled them, than watch for the weakest link; Drop them as soon as you see them lowering themselves towards the coop even if it is just one bird. Good luck.


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## AZCorbin

Do you not throw your young up with your old?


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## hamlet

AzCorbin, if you are asking me, then my answer is no, because tumblers and tipplers have different settling methods. How to get a an older tippler not to fly too much during the settling period? Maybe starve it somewhat and then use it to help settle the young. I do not know how well that would work with tipplers, because I have never owned or flew tipplers. I am only going by what I have read from the tippler men.


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## AZCorbin

I do not do anything special. I move them from the breeding loft to the flying loft around 30 days. I base it bird to bird.
From there they get about a week of trap training and they get let out with the loft. Currently about 50. They get another week to sit around outside and after that they meet my flag.
My tumbler YB (Iraqi Busrawi) will get flight time with the tipplers early on as to get them strong on the wing.


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