More about Barley

Jack Prescott
(Internet Published) Dec 2000

Most Sheffield Tippler men would not feed barley on it's own. They usually added some kind of oil bearing seed in small quantity. Some men in the USA have said that their Tipplers would not fly long times on 100% Barley, but that, surely is the reason for using barley.

In training and to gain control many Sheffield men saw fit to restrict flying rather than to encourage excessive flying. Barley is the most fat free grain available and lack of fat in the diet is conducive to dehydration. No wonder then, that barley restricts flight sometimes. However, it is known that pigeons can absorb moisture into their digestive system from the water vapour in the atmosphere. That is why, arguably, Tipplers do well in Britain with it's notoriously damp climate.

In countries where the atmosphere is very dry the Tipplers would soon dehydrate on 100% barley, at least that is my opinion. However, I have no working knowledge of pigeon flying outside of England, so I stand to be corrected in the face of possible conflicting evidence.

[Internet Published Dec 2000 at http://www.tipplers.com/jack/]