digestion times

[dad]

i have been shooting a flighline to and from a barley field not on my perm but they fly across mine this last 3 weeks with quite good results or i should say quite a lot of shots at least 50 shots each time some of the birds shot around 1pm going home are full of barley and birds going out are empty, would the 1pm birds digest their feed and return as there are birds still going to feed at 8.30pm. i would add the 1pm birds are full.

[JDog]

My understanding is that with winter food sources like rape crops are emptied, ie digested three times per day. With hard cereals even though days are longer I cannot see that more than two full crops per day can be achieved. On pea drillings I have only ever known two full feeds in a day.

 

I put a post up a couple of weeks ago about gritting. Grit is needed to help the birdy version of mastication.

 

Last Saturday I saw pigeons going in the same direction to feed on standing wheat until 3:30 in the afternoon. Whether they would have time for a second feed is hard to say.

[dougall]

I think at this time of year with plenty of food around,but mainly cereal based pigeons eat early then sit up/digest,and then fill up again over the afternoon to have a crop full to digest at roost time. See v few eating between say 11am-1pm then hit it again from 2pm onward...this is oats/beans but mainly oats at mo....crops do have bit of clover but mainly oats...but no crops stuffed to full..as I guess they don't need to as so much food around.......?Also seem to eat less when v hot??...