pigeon controller Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 Each weekend I tend to loose twelve birds that I use for decoys, some days I can pass them on to Bunny_Blaster who shoots on Sunday's. In the dark and distant past when I completed my Hunter I. D. I seem to remember that birds had to be chilled to below 4 degrees now BB did offer me a bottle chiller but it's on the old gas and I'm unable to get it gassed. When we started thirty years ago we would treat our decoys with formaldehyde and keep them in a fishing creel and they lasted months. I'm not able to obtain it any longer So the reason for this post do I go for a normal secondhand fridge or one of those beer fridges. That will allow me to respond to call outs in the week with twelve presentable decoys. You may say that loosing 12 decoys is a small price to pay but I have huge respect for the birds that I shoot and discarding them rubs me the wrong way. So come on and educate this thick Brummie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 Think your choice will be bigger if you go for a normal domestic fridge, don’t take so many dead birds with you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDog Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 We have a spare fridge in my office which is only used for domestic purposes when we have house guests. The rest of the time it houses my pigeons which keep in perfect condition for weeks. I cannot tell you what temperature it holds but it is nothing unusual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aga man Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 Just go for the cheapest you can find PC, freeads, Gumtree etc. As long as it works it will do the job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 You have said in the past you have several freezers at your disposal P C , so why not set 10 or dozen up on cradles or however you prefer to present them on a shooting day and lay them in the freezer amongst the pigeons , then if you get called out without prior notice you can take your decoys out of the freezer and use them straight away , then at the end of the day you can put them back in the freezer the same as how you found them when you took them out and you haven't wasted a single pigeon . In one of my freezers is a normal household metal basket , I can lay six pigeons on there backs with the heads dropping through the mesh and when they are frozen I can take them out turn them over and they are ready to use on top of a cradle . I try not to waste any if I can get away with it, and by re freezing your decoys I can keep the waste down to the bear minimum , Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon controller Posted January 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 Thanks for your comments , all useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oowee Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 I picked up a tall fridge free off gum tree which i use to hang deer. There seems to be several offers to collect for nothing. Worth a try? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted January 23, 2018 Report Share Posted January 23, 2018 I use my old fridge freezer for pigeons. I can fit maybe 80 pigeons in the fridge alone. They keep fine until I decide to take them to the dealer. I will rotate decoys. I will use some refrigerated birds for decoys one day. These will then get frozen and taken to the dealer. The fresh ones from that day will be used as decoys next time, and so on. I tend to waste very few birds this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dead eye alan Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 I don't waste any birds as i brest out 10 birds wrap them single in news paper and keep them in a fridge in the garage. these last for several trips until the better half complains of the smell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon controller Posted January 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 12 hours ago, motty said: I use my old fridge freezer for pigeons. I can fit maybe 80 pigeons in the fridge alone. They keep fine until I decide to take them to the dealer. I will rotate decoys. I will use some refrigerated birds for decoys one day. These will then get frozen and taken to the dealer. The fresh ones from that day will be used as decoys next time, and so on. I tend to waste very few birds this way. Motty , that s what I want to do, currently I'm losing approx forty weekends X 12 = 480 birds a year. As space is at a premium in the pigeon man cave I was looking at these beer can fridges approx two foot square ( in old money) but not sure of the temp they work at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 18 minutes ago, pigeon controller said: Motty , that s what I want to do, currently I'm losing approx forty weekends X 12 = 480 birds a year. As space is at a premium in the pigeon man cave I was looking at these beer can fridges approx two foot square ( in old money) but not sure of the temp they work at. A beer fridge sounds ideal for your needs, I would say. They will operate at normal refrigerator temperatures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 If the fridge is in an out building, make sure it is a garage friendly type, as below a certain temperature it will not work. I have this with a domestic fridge that I have in the garage for this very purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriBsa Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 Formaldehyde still seems to be available. Why did people stop using it? Was it health risks or the belief that artificial decoys were the way forward? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon controller Posted January 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 1 hour ago, TriBsa said: Formaldehyde still seems to be available. Why did people stop using it? Was it health risks or the belief that artificial decoys were the way forward? I believe it was a health risk from inhalation , a corpse shifter friend of mine said he cant use any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 8 hours ago, pigeon controller said: currently I'm losing approx forty weekends X 12 = 480 birds a year. At the currant game dealers price for fresh pigeons at 30p , if my maths is correct you are losing £144 a year , more than enough for a good second hand fridge . I rate you as one of the most experience pigeon shooters on the forum and I am a bit surprised you haven't sorted this waste problem out before now . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitebridges Posted January 24, 2018 Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 I use a fair few dead pigeons for deeks and for the rotary, flappers etc. I use a separate fridge/ freezer for these. Every bird i put in there is tagged with a red cable tie on the left leg so this way they don't get mixed up with the fresh shot birds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon controller Posted January 24, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2018 2 hours ago, marsh man said: At the currant game dealers price for fresh pigeons at 30p , if my maths is correct you are losing £144 a year , more than enough for a good second hand fridge . I rate you as one of the most experience pigeon shooters on the forum and I am a bit surprised you haven't sorted this waste problem out before now . I've always accepted that you will have to loose the decoys but the penny has finally dropped!!!! 2 hours ago, Whitebridges said: I use a fair few dead pigeons for deeks and for the rotary, flappers etc. I use a separate fridge/ freezer for these. Every bird i put in there is tagged with a red cable tie on the left leg so this way they don't get mixed up with the fresh shot birds. All my decoys are identified by a cable tie or coloured string so they do not enter the food chain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted January 25, 2018 Report Share Posted January 25, 2018 8 hours ago, pigeon controller said: All my decoys are identified by a cable tie or coloured string so they do not enter the food chain. Or snip one of the feet off.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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