WATER:

http://www.racingbirds.com/water.html

  Pigeons require much more water than most birds, especially during breeding season, so dehydrating foods should be avoided. Salt can dehydrate pigeons, but pigeons love salt, and will attack salt blocks reserved for pigs and sheep. Human food, especially meats, are very dangerous for a pigeon's health. Human food can introduce bacteria to pigeons that they are not capable of fighting off. Diseases and health risks aside, feeding pigeons in the wild can make them dependent on human feeding and less likely to seek food on their own.''

 

 

If you feed pellets to your pigeons, they will need much more water. They will have a drink just after their meal but will come back about 30 minutes later to have a much longer drink!

 

 

Warning

·  Pigeons require much more water than most birds, especially during breeding season, so dehydrating foods should be avoided. Salt can dehydrate pigeons, but pigeons love salt, and will attack salt blocks reserved for pigs and sheep. Human food, especially meats, are very dangerous for a pigeon's health. Human food can introduce bacteria to pigeons that they are not capable of fighting off. Diseases and health risks aside, feeding pigeons in the wild can make them dependent on human feeding and less likely to seek food on their own.

 

 

Hi all,  

If you feed pellets to your pigeons, they will need much more water. They will have a drink just after their meal but will come back about 30 minutes later to have a much longer drink!

 

 

But pay attention to salt for pigeons. 

Dr. Talaber in his book writes that pigeons have a great desire in salt like all animals, including man. If given freely, they might eat more than they need to maintain health.  Over a long period, excessive salt intake will lead to increased thirst, causing excessive fluid intake, which give rise to raised blood pressure and heart diseases kidney disease, cerebral hemorrhages, acute blindness and so on’’

 

Any diet should never go higher than 1% of the total daily feed.

 

Wattle

The fleshy cover on the nostrils behind the upper beak.  

Weaning

Removing the young birds from their parents to put them in an individual loft. The best time to do it is when the young birds are from 25 to 28 years old. 

 WHEAT

Wheat
The pigeons love to eat wheat. It is just as good as corn, because although it contains less fat, it is richer in protein, which is not better biologically. Wheat is also rich in sulphur and therefore highly recommendable during the moult. Wheat may never be given directly after it has been harvested as it has to sweat out. My late grandfather used to spread out a layer of about 20cm in the attic and regularly turn it over with a wooden shovel before giving it to his pigeons.
Wheat can make up 25% of the pigeon food, more is not recommended as wheat can cause the pigeons to gain weight. This last remark for the sprinters who have to avoid their pigeons getting fat, but on the other hand it is interesting for the long distance men who can use wheat to help their pigeons recuperate after a difficult race
 . 


White Flight (Wflt):

A pigeon that have one or more white flights in the wing, mainly in the primary flights or in the tail.

Widow – A lone hen who lost her mate (possibly due to a hawk attack or disease)

Widowhood - A racing system whereby the cock bird races to the hen. He only sees the hen

immediately before and after coming home from the race. There are about a half dozen ways to

fly "widowhood" but they all consist of ways to motivate the bird racing into flying faster to get

home to see what is going on with his family. See also Double Widowhood

Windspeed - Program used in calculating race results.

 

 

WIDOWHOOD SYSTEM: (From Pigeon Insider)

 

Widowhood Racing

When racing the widowhood system, you may notice that the cocks appear to lose interest or the hens act as if they want to start mating with one another, switch the sexes. Allow the cocks to sit on the perches let the hens have the nest boxes. You will have to lock the hens in their box and  feed them in the box, but this can certainly energize a widowhood team and produce excellent results.

Another widowhood system tip is to lock a strange cock into the box with a particular cock’s mate and then let him see the stranger in his box with his hen before I ship. Make sure that the race will be less than 300 miles and not longer than six hours on the wing for such a motivational tactic because sometimes this tactic can backfire on you. Some cocks get so hyped by any additional motivation that they wear themselves out in the race basket the night before and don’t have any energy left when it’s time to fly home.

On the widowhood system, remove the bowls completely from the nest box and always show the bowl to the cock before the cock is allowed to see the hen at the beginning of the season. Then as the longer races come up, put the bowl in the nest box with the cock and let him get in it and start to call. Then ship him. Once all the cocks are removed, allow the hens into the boxes with the nest bowls and let them have their way. You can even put a few old un-mated cocks into the loft to steam up the hens before you ship them. Remember this advice: “Ship the cocks cool and the hens hot.”  This holds true for most races.

On the widowhood system, during a particularly bad race, if one of the birds comes home very late, lock that bird in its nest box (but not with its mate) for at least several hours or overnight would be even better. The race bird is worn out, and having to deal with an over-anxious mate will not do either of them any good. After a few hours of rest, put the pair together for just a few minutes, and then separate them again. This will tell your returned racer that, “Yes, your reward is here and waiting, when you are ready.” That pigeon’s sole motivation to race home may have been to see its mate. And after that performance, the reward is granted. But what that race bird needs most is rest. It’s a wise fancier who knows that this rest must be given.

 

 

 

.

 WATER:

http://www.racingbirds.com/water.html

 

WARNING

WEANING YOUNG BIRDS

WHEAT GERM OIL 

Hi All,

Thank Mike for your effort.  First of all, Dr. Talaber “tells us that wheat germ oil is a good source of vitamin E. Along with the trace mineral selenium; vitamin E also helps to protect the membranes of body cells against degenerative changes caused by certain damaging form of oxygen called peroxides.” (Oh boy one of my friends will say again that it is too technical….LOL..)

Any way, may I keep on?  “Vitamin E and selenium are highly important in the development and maintenance of the immune system. Like vitamin A, D and K, vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin and it can be stored in the body, in contrast to the B vitamins and vitamin A, excess amounts of which are eliminated rapidly.’’

“My attide (still Dr. Talaber that tells us) is that not only should the birds receive vitamins E, but also the entire range of other water-soluble vitamins at the same time—hence my preference for a multi-vitamin mix in the drinkers one day or AT MOST two days a week.”

We should also add that wheat-germ oil is indispensable during the breeding season. It stimulates the libido, improves the fertility and helps the hen to come into lay.

It is suggested to mix it with the feed: 25 drops per pound of feed (50 drops per kg), 3 times a week from 14 days before mating until after the laying. You can then dry it up with brewers yeast, MVS-30, Global Bounty and/or AEV.

More about Wheat germ oil and other oils & other supplements:

Hi All,

First of all, Dr. Talaber tells us “that wheat germ oil is a good source of vitamin E. Along with the trace mineral selenium; vitamin E also helps to protect the membranes of body cells against degenerative changes caused by certain damaging form of oxygen called peroxides.” (Oh boy one of my friends will say again that it is too technical….LOL..)

Any way, may I keep on what Dr. Talaber wrote?  “Vitamin E and selenium are highly important in the development and maintenance of the immune system. Like vitamin A, D and K, vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin and it can be stored in the body, in contrast to the B vitamins and vitamin A, excess amounts of which are eliminated rapidly.’’

“My attitude (still Dr. Talaber that tells us) is that not only should the birds receive vitamins E, but also the entire range of other water-soluble vitamins at the same time—hence my preference for a multi-vitamin mix in the drinkers one day or AT MOST two days a week.”

We should also add that wheat-germ oil is indispensable during the breeding season. It stimulates the libido, improves the fertility and helps the hen to come into lay.

It is suggested to mix it with the feed: 25 drops per pound of feed (50 drops per kg), 3 times a week from 14 days before mating until after the laying. You can then dry it up with brewers yeast, MVS-30, Global Bounty and/or AEV.

A great attention should be given about the quality of the cod-liver oil if you use it and it should be known that it becomes rancid very rapidly if not kept in ideal conditions. In the past, it has caused many problems to pigeons because the fanciers were not aware of this possibility.

A little more information about natural products for our pigeons: Since our birds are kept in an unnatural environment, these supplements are necessary to maintain proper health: (This was in my files but I can’t tell you who wrote it but it is an opinion that worth to be known!)


NATURAL SUPPLEMENTS: FRESH GARLIC, FRESH ONIONS, HONEY, FRESH SQUEEZED LEMON OR LIME, APPLE CIDER VINEGAR, SUGAR. All can be used in fresh water or teas all year. Also, they can be placed in water with medications, vitamins or minerals.

FRESH LETTUCE, CABBAGE, SPINACH AND CHOPPED CARROTS should be washed and placed in the loft.

VITAMINS / MINERALS: We prefer water soluble products because they assure us that all the birds will receive the same benefits and all the birds will take several drinks during the day. I like to use 2-3 different brands of vitamin and mineral mixtures, blended together, to ensure the best results.

VITAMINS / ELECTROLYTES: We prefer a water soluble nutritional balanced formula, premix containing vitamins, electrolytes, organic acidifiers and natural micro-organisms for pigeons and poultry: BREWER'S YEAST, WHEAT GERM OIL, NATURAL OLIVE OIL, MINERAL MIXTURES, OYSTER SHELLS, PICKSTONES, HERBAL TEAS. 

Raymond Julien,

Canada.

WHEY

http://www.racingbirds.com/remedies4.html

WINTER TIME

http://www.ifpigeon.com/IF/articles/if_article_winter_d_marx.html

Hi Mike, You wrote: ''Your post reminded me of Dan Maschke

from Canada. His loft has some huge windows and one
winter he didn't cover them.''

Let me tell you that I have the same organization
here. My windows are ''always'' kept open even if very
cold. At -25, when the sun is there, I even open doors
to have a full wall open to the sun for my pigeons.
When it is close to -35, -40, they all have ice on
their face, beak and in the neck in the morning. But
they are in very good health. The cold, when our
pigeons are fed adequatly seems to never bother them.
They eat full crop mainly with big corn, perch, stay
there untill next meal. When the temperature is
warmer, they seem ready to be paired... I am sure that
very warm temperature is more unhealthy for our
pigeons than very cold ones. Pathogenics of all kind
devellop much more in warm climate than cold one!

Raymond Julien

WORLD WIDE PIGEON GROUPS & SITES:

http://pub11.bravenet.com/freelink/show.php?usernum=925412836&cpv=1

WORMERS (from Dr. Collin walker) ''MELBOURNE VET" 


The parasitic worms drain the birds’ of nutrition, in the process compromising both health and race performance. External parasites such as lice and mites directly damage the feathers. Control of parasites is therefore vital to the long-term success of the loft. At times, both the information and the enormous array of products available to the fancier can be a bit confusing and so what are the important parasites and what are the current preferred medications available to control them.

The important parasites are basically roundworms, hairworms, tapeworms and lice and mites. Roundworms and hairworms live in the digestive tract of the pigeon, releasing eggs, which are passed in the droppings. After several days, they become infective and, if then accidentally ingested by a bird, hatch in the bowel and grow into a new worm. This new worm then grows into an adult and then produces more eggs. This whole lifecycle can be completed as quickly as 3 weeks. In both the racing and breeding lofts, the number of round- and hairworms should be absolutely zero. This can be achieved by worming twice at a 3-week interval and each time following up with a super-thorough clean of the loft. If it is not possible to totally clean the loft, then worming should be repeated every 3 weeks for at least 6 months. Worm eggs cannot survive in the environment for more than 6 months, and treating for longer than this therefore means that there are no further infective eggs in the environment to reinfect the birds. Worm infection is diagnosed by microscopic examination of droppings. Droppings should be regularly checked by a veterinarian or animal technician. If reinfection occurs from introduced birds, returning racebirds or strays, the above protocol should be repeated.

Tapeworms have a different and fascinating lifecycle. The adults live in the bowel, burying their heads deep in the bowel wall and feeding off body fluids. Behind the head stretches a ribbon-like body that is divided into segments. These segments are called egg packets or proglottids. As they mature, one or more of these segments break off from the end of the body and are passed in the droppings. Once in the environment, the egg packets need to be eaten by an insect to become infective. Pigeons, in turn, become infected by eating one of these insects. Tapeworm infection does not require a microscope to diagnose, as the egg packets in the droppings are visible. Most are about the size of a grain of rice and are white to pink in colour. Often a fancier will notice that a bird is a bit quiet and that its droppings are a bit loose. Close examination will reveal the small white glistening egg packets in the droppings. With tapeworm infection, the birds just need to be treated once but the loft should be sprayed with a safe long-acting insecticide (the preferred one is Permethrin) to minimise the chance of the birds eating more insects. The droppings in the loft should then be monitored during cleaning to ensure that infection does not recur.

For roundworms and hairworms, these days there is no reason to use anything else than an avermectin such as Ivermectin (‘Ivomec’) or Moxidectin. These medications are just so safe and effective and of course have the handy side-effect of also killing all external parasites that suck blood. This includes all mites. Do, however, watch your dose rate. Not all Ivomec is the same. It comes in a variety of strengths. Some large-volume bottles that seem really cheap are probably a fairly dilute preparation. One needs 10 mg of active drug per litre of drinking water for the medication to be effective. To figure out how much to add to the drinking water, multiply the strength on the label by what will become the dose to equal 10. For example, a common strength available is 0.8 mg/ml (0.8 g/litre). 0.8 x 13 equals approximately 10. So therefore, one needs to add 13 ml to 1 litre to give an effective dose. Similarly, a brand that is 5 mg/ml will only need 2 ml per litre to be added to the drinker.

All avermectins are well tolerated and the birds can be fed and loft flown routinely. These medications can also be used safely during breeding, racing and moulting. In overdose, the birds will become quiet and some may vomit. However, with withdrawal of the drug the birds become normal in 1 – 2 days.

Some fanciers will notice that some worming preparations contain piperazine. This is an older drug that rarely gives 100% clearance of worms and because it has been used a long time some worms are totally resistant to it. Products based on levamisole – and a number of liquids and tablets are available – have the strong disadvantage that food need to be withdrawn for at least 12 hours before and 6 hours after treatment and even then many birds will still vomit. This makes it very hard to use during racing. Wormers based on fenbendazole and mebendazole cause huge frets to form in the feathers if used during moulting and are not conveniently packaged for use in birds.

When using avermectins to treat mites remember that all mites that infect birds are not always found on them at any one time. Many live in the nooks and crannies throughout the loft. Unless the loft is also treated they quickly reinfect the birds. At the same time as treating the birds with Ivomec or Moxidectin, spray the loft to avoid this. Simply scrape the loft out as you normally would and then spray a diluted insecticide (Permethrin is best) on to the scraped surfaces and into the cracks and crevices. Done on a warm day, the loft will be dry in 1 – 2 hours and the birds can be called back in. Try and do such a loft treatment in the morning so as to ensure the loft is completely dry by night.

Tapeworms are best treated with praziquantel. This drug is very safe and like the avermectins can be used at any time of the pigeon year. During treatment the birds behave normally and can be loft flown and fed normally. Praziquantel is available in tablet form and also as a water-soluble solution called Prazivet. Prazivet tends to be fairly bitter and so often it is better to give each bird 0.25 ml of the neat solution individually to each bird in the back of the throat.

Lice live off feather debris and so the avermectins have limited effectiveness against them. When lice are a problem, it is necessary to spray or dip the birds. As lice live always on the bird, treating all birds simultaneously will rid the loft of these. Whatever you do, do not use any of the older preparations such as Malawash. These are based on organophosphates. Organophosphates have a very narrow safety margin in birds and accumulate in their system to their detriment. Having a fancier ring the clinic in a panic after using Malawash or a similar product, with birds dead or dying, happens all too commonly. Organophosphates are absorbed through the skin and as long as the birds remain wet continued absorption will occur. Often fanciers have been lucky and have earlier dipped on a warm day and have had the birds dry quickly. Dipping on a cooler day means the birds stay wet for longer and absorb more of the poison. This prolonged skin absorption coupled with a narrow safety margin tips the birds into a toxic dose range. If a drug company attempted to register an organophosphate for use in birds these days they would have no chance. The few such products that are on the market are therapeutic dinosaurs. Birds with organophosphate poisoning lose muscle control, start to salivate and vomit, develop diarrhoea, become unconscious and die. If overdose occurs, it is important to prevent further absorption by physically washing the birds. If the birds don’t start to improve immediately, your veterinarian has an antidote injection. Birds regularly washed in organophosphates gradually accumulate the poison in their system. The drug, although quickly absorbed, is only slowly released and tends to be stored in the body, particularly in the body fat and bones. From here, it is gradually released, interfering with a number of metabolic processes. This is particularly so in hens, in which reproduction is affected, leading to abnormal ovulation and abnormal egg shell formation.

These days use a synthetic pyrethroid such as Permethrin. These are very safe yet just as effective as organophosphates, prevent reinfection for up to four months and do not take the bloom off the feathers. To spray the birds, dilute (usually 10 –20 ml per litre ) into a handheld pump bottle and spray the birds liberally. To dip the birds, pick a warm day, fill a bucket with warm water, add Permethrin at the rate of 10 –20 ml per litre together with a wetting agent (e.g. some children’s baby shampoo or a few shavings off a cake of pure soap such as “Velvet”) and away you go. If done correctly, the vane of the feathers will collapse back to their quills, exposing pink lines of skin. The birds look like drowned rats but after spreading in the sun and a bit of preening look normal in about 1 – 2 hours.

Obviously there is no single way of effectively clearing the birds of parasites, but the system preferred by me is:
Moxidectin, 2 mg/ml, 5 ml per litre for 24 hours
Dip birds in Permethrin
Thorough clean of loft and spray loft with Permethrin
In tapeworm areas or if tapeworm segments are seen in droppings, Moxidectin Plus, 0.25 ml to each bird.


Ivermectin (Ivomec, Eqvalen): Broad spectrum wormer. Effective against Ascarids (roundworms), Capillaria (hairworms), and stomach wall worms. Some resistance developing.

Dose : 500 -1000 ug per bird. Can be dosed in the drinking water, but the efficacy of this method is debatable. The surest way is to treat the pigeons individually. 1-2 drops by mouth of Ivomec is the correct dose. The higher dosage is needed to treat roundworms and, for some reason, even this is occasionally ineffective. New generation avermectins such as Moxidectin may be more effective.

Fenbendazole (Panacur): Broad spectrum; effective against roundworms, hairworms and stomach wall worms. Has a narrow range of safety and can easily cause feather abnormalities if birds receive too much. Avoid using.

Dose : 5 mg per pigeon per day for 3 days.

Levamisole (Tramisol, Levasol, Ripercol): Good against roundworms, but usually fails when used to treat capillaria (thread) worms or stomach wall worms.

Dose : 1 to 1.5 grams per gallon for 1-2 days. NOTE: This dosage often causes some pigeons to vomit. This drug is an immune stimulant even at lower dosages.

Piperazine : Effective against roundworms only, and only 60-80% effective here.

Dose : 15 mg per bird (300 mg per gallon) for 2 days. It is best to avoid using piperazine.

Praziquantel (Droncit): Excellent against tapeworms and flukes.

Dose : 6 mg per pigeon once (1/4 of a cat-size Droncit tablet).

Pyrantel Pamoate : Excellent against roundworms.

Dose : 1-2 mg per pigeon – 75 mg per gallon for 1-2 days. Repeat in 3 weeks.

Directions for using Quest Gel (Moxidectin)

By Mike Glynn

 

Get a clear plastic pop bottle or water bottle about the same size as
pop bottle. Put about 2 inches of luke warm water (not hot, about
body temp.) in the bottle. On the oral syringe of Quest Gel horse
wormer are 50 lb. markings on the plunger. They are the black marks.
Set the sure dial ring on the 200 lb. setting. Take the cap off the
nozzle and push the plunger in until it comes in contact with the
syringe barrel. Put the bottle cap on the pop bottle and shake until
dissolved. It takes quite a bit to dissolve it, but it will dissolve.
When it is completely dissolved, pour the entire contents into a one
gallon milk or water jug. Fill the jug completely full with water.
This is the correct dosage. Using the jug of treated water, put
enough treated water in your water jugs to last 24 hrs. Repeat the
process as needed. Make sure the gallon jug is a true gallon, not one
that gives an extra 8 oz of free water.

Tip: The box reads that there is enough to worm an 1150 lb. horse.
There is really enough to treat 1200 lbs. If you'll notice, when you
take the cap off the nozzle, there is gel all the way out to the end
and ready to come out immediately. When you eventually use all the
gel in the syringe, you'll be at the 1150 lb. mark. However, the
nozzle is still full. I pull the plunger all the way out of the
barrel and put luke warm water in the barrel, about half full. I then
put the plunger back in and force the remaining gel out to complete
the last 200 lb. measurement. Give to thirsty birds for one day. Can

be given two days with no ill effects.

Mike Glynn

 

 

 

 

WORMS

Worms are internal parasites, which weaken the birds, leading to a delay in laying, reduced growth rate, and delayed weaning and poor food conversion. They also create a vulnerability to other secondary infections. Roundworms and hairworms are frequently involved in the worm infestation of the pigeons. Other types of worms play a lesser role. Roundworms and hairworms live as parasites in the intestine of the pigeons. They damage a pigeons body by extracting important nutritive substances from the digested food (roundworms), by the toxic effect of their excretion products and by destruction of the intestinal wall (hairworms). Young pigeons show increased susceptibility, whereas adult pigeons seem to develop some kind of immunity to these parasites. Although they may harbor isolated worms, symptoms of the disease are rarely observed. These pigeons are permanent carriers and are a constant source of infection for the rest of the loft, particularly the young pigeons.

http://www.internationalmodenaclub.com/The%20Doctors%20Corner/Articles/WormsPg1-3.pdf

 

 

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