Common medications and how to use them Some of the most common and important health problems to control during racing are wet canker, respiratory infection. coccidia and worms. Some common medications used to control these are discussed below. Respiratory Medications Doxycycline or “Doxyvet” In pigeons, doxycycline is used primarily to treat respiratory infections. Respiratory infection in pigeons is usually due to either Chlamydia, Mycoplasma or bacteria either individually or together. Doxycycline is a tetracycline antibiotic and is particularly useful to treat pigeon respiratory infections because it is one of a small number of antibiotics that are affective against Chlamydia as well as Mycoplasma and also some bacteria. Doxycycline was invented in the late 1980s . It has many advantages over other tetracycline antibiotics ( that particularly older fanciers might remember) , such as “Tricon” ( chlortetracycline ). When compared to other tetracyclines doxycycline is rapidly absorbed from the bowel, causes less disruption to the normal bowel bacteria, is less affected by concurrent calcium ingestion and lasts in the blood after a single dose for longer – 20 hours compared to 4 hours . With Tricon birds had to drink medicated water every 4 hours to maintain continuous drug levels . Pigeons are unlikely to do this through the day and certainly don’t do this through the night. With Doxyvet, one drink every 20 hours is enough to maintain continuous therapeutic levels of the drug in the blood. This is part of the reason why response to medication is so good compared to the other tetracyclines and why today doxycycline has in most situations replaced them. The most common application of straight doxycycline is to treat respiratory infection in young birds. Often due to Chlamydia the classic sign of a “one eye cold” is typical of infection. Other symptoms include stained ceres , a nasal discharge , swollen sinuses and general lethargy. Treatment does not aim to eliminate Chlamydia but rather restore health as ongoing low level exposure to Chlamydia is necessary for the development of natural immunity. If less than 10% of a group of young birds are affected just treat these individuals either by using doxycycline tablets or separating affected birds and just medicating their water . If more than 10% are affected then give a flock treatment. Treatment should continue for 2 days after all birds have become well. Treatment courses of 5 to 7 days are common. If the birds need a longer course or relapse after treatment this suggests other concurrent health problems or management flaws that are compromising the young birds ability to maintain health. Doxy T Doxy T is a blend of doxycycline and another antibiotic called tylan. Tylan is particularly effective against Mycoplasma. Because Mycoplasma and Chlamydia infections often occur concurrently in pigeons it makes sense to use a blend of antibiotics that target each of the two organisms involved . The most common application of Doxy T is to treat respiratory infection in race birds. Race birds carry Mycoplasma in their respiratory tracts . With the stress of racing the Mycoplasmas can start to cause disease. Essentially they begin to superficially inflame the lining of the respiratory tract including the airsacs , lungs, sinuses and windpipe .This inflammation not only compromises the function of these areas but also makes them vulnerable to infection with other organisms notably Chlamydia and bacteria . Controlling the Mycoplasma often prevents the establishment of more serious infections. Because of the older age of race birds and their more developed natural immunity , the signs of respiratory infection are much more subtle than in a young bird. The most common sign observed by most pigeon racers is an increase in the level of sneezing in the loft although other signs such as yawning, wiping the side of the face on a wing butt and flicking the head are sometimes seen. All of these symptoms are associated with the sinus and throat irritation caused by the Mycoplasma. The main thing, however, is to monitor for sneezing. Ideally there should be no sneezing in a racing loft . In a dust free, well ventilated loft, several sneezes in a few minutes is likely to be due to a respiratory infection. In my experience , if caught early 3 to 5 days on Doxy T will resolve this. TripleVet TripleVet is a blend of doxycycline, tylan and spiramycin. This blend is used to treat a respiratory infection, usually in race birds , with a significant bacterial component. Once bacteria become involved the signs displayed by race birds pass from simple sneezing to being more similar to those of a young bird. In particular the ceres are more likely to be stained, the sinuses are more likely to be swollen and there may be discharge from the nostrils . On opening the mouth , the pigeons tonsillar areas – the pharyngeal tonsil and the laryngeal mound are more likely to be swollen. Activity in the loft stops and the loft becomes quiet. Birds loose their natural vigour and the keenness to fly evaporates. Spiramycin is an antibiotic. In the EU it is more commonly known as suanovil. Spiramycin is not a commonly used antibiotic in mammal or human medicine but it is commonly used to treat pigeons. The reason for this is that its use has anecdotally been shown not to affect race form. This means that it is possible to treat a suspect respiratory infection in a race team without the risk of knocking them “off form”. Respiratory infections with a significant bacterial component are not good things to have during racing. Without prompt treatment , the respiratory system can be physically damaged. The fine gossamer like airsacs are particularly vulnerable . Once a bacterial infection is established treatment times are longer and there can be significant loss of fitness. This can necessitate a break from racing. In my experience prompt treatment with Triple Vet is an effective treatment.
Worm treatment Moxidectin Moxidectin is a primarily used as a wormer but also kills mites and feather flies if given orally and also lice if used in the bath. Worming pigeons can be problematic. Some readily available products have side effects, some of which are severe. Fenbendazole if used during moulting causes severe frets. Levamisole causes nausea and vomiting. Many worms are resistant to piperazine. Moxidectin is in a group of drugs called macrocyclic lactones. Other drugs in this group that fanciers will be familiar with are ivermectin ( “ivomec”) and selamectin. The big advantage with moxidectin compared to other wormers in the same group is that it kills worms at a lower dose. It is possible to clear worms using a lower dose of moxidectin than the higher doses required when using other wormers in the same group. The only limitation of macrocyclic lactones is that they should not be used during breeding. If used then, stock birds can, after drinking medicated water, give the drug to their chicks , which for the chicks weight is a high dose . This can lead to the death of the chicks. Once the chicks are over 2 weeks of age they are big enough that this is not a concern. Although this is a problem, fanciers shouldn’t be worming their stock birds during breeding anyway. Worming should be done before pairing. For worming to be affective all birds in the loft that are older than 21 days need to treated and the loft needs to be thoroughly cleaned afterwards – both difficult jobs with chicks in nestboxes and of variable ages. If essential, stock birds can be given moxidectin 1/4ml neat to the beak and basketed for several hours before going back into the loft. Really, however, if it did become necessary to worm breeding stock birds this reveals a flaw in the lofts overall management. For all times of the pigeon year, except breeding , Moxidectin is the safe, effective wormer that I recommend. Moxidectin is also available in a preparation called Moxidectin Plus where the drug is combined with praziquantel. Praziquantel kills tapeworms . This product is therefore an allwormer – killing all of the common pigeon worms. The addition of praziquantel , however, makes the product bitter. Where the straight moxidectin is readily drunk by the birds , the Moxidectin Plus is not . If tapeworms treatment is necessary ( this is easy to determine because the tapeworm segments can be seen in the droppings of infected birds ) it is best to dose each bird directly to the throat. Give 1/4ml of the neat Moxidectin Plus into the throat as you would a tablet. This ensures accurate and effective treatment.
Coccidia medication Toltravet Toltravet treats coccidia and contains the active ingredient toltrazuril. It is the same as Baycox but is formulated in a different base to be a bit more palatable for pigeons. The other commonly used coccidia medication is amprolium . Amprolium needs to be given for 5 days . This is not ideal, particularly when racing , as it would mean that the birds are virtually drinking amprolium medicated water for the whole week between races. Toltrazuril, on the other hand , only needs to be given for 2 days and then 5 days later for another 2 days ( ie treatment days are day 1, 2 and 7, 8 ). The short initial treatment means a quicker response to treatment and works in better with other treatments that may be necessary. Toltrazuril also has the advantage that it can be combined with any other medication except vitamin supplements that contain vitamin B (because vitamin B blocks the effect of the drug)
Canker medications Wet canker remains the most common health problem during racing . It stops teams from performing at their best. Monitoring and treating when necessary is a cornerstone of maintaining consistent race form. Any one of a group of medications called nitro-imidazoles is effective against the organisms that cause wet canker , the trichomonads. There are five commonly in use in Australia : 1. Dimetridazole – The common brand name is "Emtryl" or “Emtril”, available as a water-soluble powder. Dimetradazole was the first nitro-imidazole available and is still an effective drug, although Trichomonad resistance to it in some areas is a problem, because it has been used the longest. It must be used with care as it has a narrow safety margin. Overdose leads to a reversible loss of balance and coordination and, in high doses, death. The medication can interfere with sperm production in cocks, leading to a temporary infertility, and so is not recommended for use during breeding. The usual dose is 1 teaspoon (3g) to 4½–8 litres of water. Lower dose rates should be used in stock birds feeding youngsters and during hot weather, when water intake increases and evaporation occurs from drinkers, increasing the concentration of the medication. 2. Carnidazole – The common brand name is "Spartrix". It is only available in tablet form. It has a wide safety margin and is very useful for individual bird dosing, particularly for youngsters in the nest. The dose is one 10mg tablet daily to an adult pigeon. 3. Metronidazole – The common brand name is "Flagyl". This is available as a water-soluble syrup and as tablets in a variety of strengths. It is very economical, with the tablets being useful to dose individual birds. Individual birds are given ¼ of a 200mg "Flagyl" tablet once daily. "Flagyl" syrup (metronidazole, 40 mg/ml ) is water-soluble and is given at the dose of 10ml per litre, but it is sugary and not very palatable to the birds. 4. Ronidazole – This is available as a water-soluble powder under a number of brand names world-wide, including "Ridsol-S", "Turbosole", "Tricho-Plus" and "Ronivet". The usual strength used is 10%. The dose at this strength is 3 g( 1 teaspoon ) to 2 litres. Weaker preparations are available but the birds need to be treated longer with these. The drug is very bitter, so preparations stronger than 10% tend to be unpalatable to the birds. It has a very wide safety margin and is safe to use during breeding, racing and moulting. World-wide, ronidazole is the current medication of choice to treat canker. However, in some countries it is not available for use in pigeons, authorities being concerned that resistant organisms may develop. As the drug is used in food-producing animals such as pigs, its use is reserved for these. 5. Secnidazole – A long-acting anti-canker medication taking over 24 hours to exert a therapeutic affect but then staying in the system for 2–3 days. Combined with the short-acting ronidazole in "Ronsec". When pigeons are given a "Ronsec" tablet, the ronidazole starts working straight away. After 24 hours, as the ronidazole is being cleared, the secnidazole starts to work and then works for 2 days. This means that a single "Ronsec" tablet can exert its effect for 2–3 days. Clinical notes from the manufacturers of "Ronsec" state that 2 tablets given 48 hours apart will clear up to 95% of Trichomonad strains, including some hyper-resistant strains. In any canker-control program, it is often best to rotate between at least two of these medications in order to decrease the chance of a resistant trichomonad strain developing. Currently, ronidazole-based preparations are used as the primary treatment, because of their effectiveness and wide safety margin, but it is a good idea to swap to one of the other available drugs every third or fourth treatment. In my experience 3 days on a canker medication every third week ( often on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday) is sufficient to control wet canker in 90% of race lofts. All canker medications can be combined with any of the above respiratory medications.
These notes are all very brief and just touch on some of the medications in common use that I recommend. If anyone has any queries about other medications or needs more information about these they are welcome to call me.
Understanding pigeon orientation How do pigeons orientate ? An apparently simple question but the answer is important. If we don’t know how pigeons find their way home then we can’t identify factors that might interfere with this ability. Problems that are identified can potentially be avoided. The knowledge of just how the pigeons know which way to fly to get home gives us the ability to avoid situations that might compromise this ability or cause it to fail.
Whenever pigeons become a topic of conversation between a pigeon racer and someone not involved with the hobby almost invariably the question is asked, just how do the birds manage to find their way home? People not involved in pigeon racing often think it amazing that pigeons find their way home from even 10 kilometres and expect them to take several hours to do this. When told that pigeons routinely come home from distances of hundreds of kilometres, and at average speeds of 70km per hour, they are amazed. Pigeon fanciers who see this happening every weekend, tend to become desensitised to the innate incredible ability of pigeons to do this. In the mid-2000s, due to work and travel commitments, I could not race for several years and when starting again in 2007 I saw the pigeons as they returned through new eyes and could re-experience the wonder I had felt as a young teenager when I first started to keep pigeons. I find it really amazing when reading convoyers’ reports from 1000–1200 kilometre race releases. These almost invariably state that after circling for a short time the birds grouped up, formed into a crescent and headed off in the correct direction, usually in under two minutes! How do they do this? Bird navigation is currently a hot topic amongst avian investigators. The race is on to fill in the gaps in our knowledge. Much has been learnt just in the last two years. Many fanciers would be aware of the fascinating early experiments held in the 1960s and 70s in California. Here pigeons were routinely trained to a loft. They were then taken 120 kilometres and released after being effectively temporarily blinded by placing dark contact lenses over their eyes. Instead of grouping up like normal pigeons on release, they scattered into the sky (presumably because they could not see each other). The scientists watched in horror as the apparently confused birds disappeared into the sky. Incredibly, at the usual time (approximately 1½ hours later) that sighted birds would have returned to the loft, the ‘blinded’ birds appeared in the sky over the home loft. They circled overhead, gradually tiring until fatigue forced them down. They hovered down, feet extended, feeling for the ground. Most landed around the loft but some actually landed on the loft roof, an area 2m x 2m. Despite being effectively blind, the birds had been able to return and some had been able to pinpoint the four square metres of the loft roof from a distance of 120 kilometres. I coincidentally met one of the researchers who ran this experiment at a barbecue years later in Sacramento. He was still impressed that the pigeons could do this. I do not think that anyone could fail to be impressed. How do pigeons return from such great distances so reliably and predictably? Without this ability, pigeon racing just could not occur. How do they do it? There are two mechanisms that are principally thought to be involved. 1. Sun orientation – Pigeons can orientate through evaluating the position of the sun in the sky at a particular time of day. Pigeons have an inbuilt chronometer (i.e. they can tell what time of day it is) and know at what position the sun should be in the sky at any particular time of day. When released at a distance from their loft they know that at that time of day the sun should be in a particular position but in fact it is in a slightly different position. They are then able to know which way they need to fly in order to get the sun back into the ‘correct’ position; that is, the position it would be in at that time of day at the home loft. It is incredible that they can do this in the first place. It is even more incredible that they can do this in seconds. 2. Sensing the earth’s magnetic field – Early work done in the 1960s and 70s showed that if bar magnets were strapped to the backs of pigeons they could be predictably disorientated. This showed that the sensing of magnetic fields was at least partly involved with a pigeon’s ability to navigate. Scientists now believe that birds have two types of magnetic field receptors, both of which are believed to be in the head. a. A magnetic field meter – which measures magnetic intensity. Many birds have two forms of iron oxide – magnetite and maghemite – in their upper beak. When stimulated by the earth’s magnetic field, these minerals affect the cells around them which in turn initiates the spread of information through a nerve impulse. Interestingly, if local anaesthetic is injected into the beak near these areas, birds lose the ability to sense the magnetic field. b. A compass – which measures magnetic orientation. The compass that most people are familiar with “just” identifies which way is north or south The pigeons compass direct towards a pole or the equator. To some extent the earth acts like a giant bar magnet. A magnetic field comes from the South Pole, curves around the earth over the equator and then re-enters vertically through the North Pole. This means that at both poles the field is more perpendicular to the earth’s surface whereas at the equator the field is horizontal to the earth’s surface. This means that being able to detect the orientation of the magnetic field relative to the earth’s surface enables detection of the direction to either the equator or the pole. The organ capable of sensing this is thought to be in the right eye and possibly also the left. This type of magnetic receptor is based on particular proteins in the retina called cryptochromes. When certain light wavelengths (mostly blue) hit the retina, the earth’s magnetic field induces a chemical reaction initiating a nerve impulse from the retina along the optic nerve to the brain. The primary function of the eye is visual and the magnetic compass is considered a secondary function. Just what the magnetic field ‘looks’ like, is unknown. It is thought that the way a pigeon moves its head backwards and forwards when it looks around helps the bird generate a visual impression of the magnetic field. Researchers still have much to learn but one thing is certain; the world looks very different to our pigeons. Magnetic memory and solar flares Some fanciers have noticed a correlation between sun spot activity and returning racing pigeons experiencing difficulty in orientation. In theory, any activity that could alter the earth’s magnetic field has the potential to confuse the birds. Presumably they have a ‘magnetic memory’ of the area around their loft and if this is transiently altered by sunspot or other activity then the birds might fail to recognise terrain that would otherwise be familiar. As birds approach the loft in a race they would be attempting to interpret an altered magnetic field .It is logical to assume that this would be confusing and adversely affect the birds’ ability to return quickly, particularly so on overcast days when sun orientation was not as readily available to them Night flying To some extent these findings help us understand how pigeons can return through the night. Most established pigeon fanciers have experienced the thrill of having winning pigeons return to the loft from long distance races after flying all day but running out of daylight and pushing on into the dark, flying quietly through the night sky often for several hours and across 100 kilometres or more to reach their loft. One very good long distance fancier once said to me that the secret of night flying was that the birds had to be ‘fit enough to still keep flying’. That is very true, but the fact that some will do it is amazing. However, just because they can, does not mean they will. In addition to knowing which way is home, successful long distance birds, and particularly night fliers, obviously need to be motivated, fit, healthy and of the correct constitution. The second time I won my Federation’s championship, winning pigeons arrived in Melbourne through the night in long distance races on four occasions. I was lucky enough to have birds come on all four occasions even though I only fly and train my birds in the morning. There was no doubt, however, that the willingness of pigeons to do this can be enhanced through additional training. Two very successful fliers in my Federation, who are friends of mine, start tossing their pigeons just before dark as the long distance races approach in the season. Initially they might, for example, take the pigeons 50 kilometres and release them 30 minutes before dark so that the birds are approaching the loft as the light is fading. With continued experience the birds build up the confidence to fly progressively longer and longer times in darkness to reach their loft. In a toss towards the end of the 2012 season they took their birds 65 kilometres, the idea being to release the birds at 7:00pm. This would allow the birds just enough time to get home. Road works held the fanciers up and they decided the birds would have to be released closer to home, but with the heavy evening traffic there was nowhere to stop. And then it started to rain. They pushed on and eventually arrived at the release point at 7:20pm. The decision was whether to release the birds or forget about the whole thing. With basketing for an important 800 kilometre race only two days away this would mean the birds had not only missed a fly but had been basketed and transported around the city for nothing. Neither would be likely to help their performance. The fanciers looked in the direction of home. It was getting dark and the rain was becoming heavier. In a moment they decided to release the birds. It was 7:23pm. The birds came out of the baskets and, without circling, skimmed around in the direction of home clearing the roof of the nearest building by a metre. In an instant they were gone. The mood driving home, through the darkness and rain, was sombre to say the least. The fanciers got home at 8:30pm. The electronic timer told them all birds had come together at 8:07pm. The wet pigeons were sitting quietly in the loft in the dark. On the following weekend’s 800-kilometre race four of the birds in that toss finished in the top 10 in the overall result with 1218 pigeons competing. The performance of the first of these was exceptional. She is pictured on page 20 of my book “The Pigeon”.. In this race the pigeons were released at 7.00am, 800 kilometres north of home. Sunset was 8:30pm. Sunset came and went, but at 8.58pm two birds were clocked in two northern lofts that are close to each other. One of the two fanciers involved in the toss the previous week clocked his first bird at 9:49pm, flying 45 kilometres longer to take third place. There were only three birds in the whole Federation home on the day. This bird presumably had been with the other two and had had the presence of mind to fly the last 45 kilometres solo through the night sky, after flying all day, to reach home. Another successful Melbourne fancier took night tossing to a whole new level. He would actually take his pigeons 80 kilometres from home and release them two or more hours after sunset. The birds would fly the whole toss in total darkness. He won our state-wide 1200 kilometre race with the only two birds home on the day. I was the race co-ordinator and was to be notified by fanciers when birds arrived. He rang me at 8:30pm on the day of release to say that he had clocked his first bird, a blue bar hen, and was surprised because he thought he had a dark checkered pied hen away that he thought was better. He rang me back at around 10.00pm to say that he had just clocked the dark checkered pied hen. These were the only two birds home on the day out of 1500 pigeons. No doubt scientists will continue to unravel the mysteries of avian navigation and fanciers will continue to train and select birds that can use these skills the best. All the while, however, the final job is left up the pigeon.
Vet Questions
1/ A friend of mine who manages a OLR has advised that he diagnosed E.coli in the birds through a microscopic examination of a crop flush. Is this possible? He independently put the birds on antibiotics. Is this a good idea? No , it is not. E coli is a mid- sized rod shaped bacteria that is sometimes motile. It can be seen when magnified 400 times with a normal light microscope. However, the problem is that many bacteria look like this—including some beneficial bacteria. Probably this is what he was seeing . Even if it was E. coli that he saw, its mere presence does not mean that it is causing an infection. Primary E.coli crop infections are, in fact, quite rare. E.coli is a normal inhabitant of the bowel of many pigeons. If it did turn out that the bacteria he saw was E.coli the usual way that it gets it’s into the crop is through deep vomiting ( where E.coli , not doing any harm , are brought up into the crop from the bowel ) or more likely through feeding or watering the pigeons in an unhygienic manner where the food and water has become contaminated with droppings and the E.coli they contain. Putting the birds on antibiotics simply because mid- size rod shaped bacteria are seen in the crop is likely to be a waste of time and may be harmful. So , the situation is – the bacteria that your friend is seeing may or may not be E.coli, if they are E.coli they are unlikely to be causing an infection but are simply crop contaminants, his time would be better spent reviewing his feeding and watering methods. If the E. coli is coming from contaminated food or water it is probably the good bacteria in the pigeons bowel that are preventing the E.coli from establishing an infection. Giving antibiotics is likely to disrupt these making the development of an active E.coli infection more likely. A better approach would be to monitor the birds, if the problem persisted , send a sample for testing. If testing showed the sample to be E. coli then look for the source of contamination and eliminate it.
2/ Fanciers tell me that birds with Rota are in pain. My young birds have become naturally infected with Rota each year for several years now Each time , within four or five days of the first symptoms appearing they seem to be already recovering. They don’t look like they are in pain. Are some fanciers overstating the supposed pain that the birds are meant to experience ? The main organ that Rota virus affects is the liver. It is important to remember that Rota does however not cause a hepatitis ie liver inflammation. Rather than inflaming the liver cells, Rota causes liver cells to die. It tends to be conditions that cause swelling, such as inflammation, that lead to pain rather than conditions that destroy cells. Humans with liver inflammation tend to complain of pain while those with conditions that kill and destroy liver cells, such as cirrhosis, tend to complain more of nausea. It is likely that this analogy can be extended to pigeons. So , it is more likely that our pigeons when infected with Rota virus feel nausea rather than pain . However we all know that pigeons tend to mask pain and conceal ill health very well . They don’t have the facial muscles of mammals and so they are unable to display the facial expressions that we associate with various feelings and sensations in mammals. Also there has been very strong evolutionary pressure on, not only pigeons, but birds generally, to mask any disease or injury. Any bird that looks sick or injured to a predator is considered easier to catch and therefore an easier meal and so is targeted. This has led to the mistaken belief by many fanciers that pigeons don’t feel pain in the same way as us because pigeons with quite severe injuries can behave surprisingly normally at times. The reason is not that they are not feeling pain but rather that they have evolved to hide it so that they are more likely to survive. Only if a health problem has progressed to the stage where the bird can no longer mask the problem will a pigeon look sick. This is why a pigeon that looks sick is very sick and is also why mammals look sick at the start of an illness while birds look sick at the end of the problem as the condition enters its terminal phase. So, Rota virus pigeons are probably not so much in pain but are likely to feeling nausea. Just because they may still look Ok , don’t assume they are – they are likely to be sicker than they look. Don’t wait for them to look sick before thinking there is a problem -- if some actually look sick then you are dealing with advanced disease.
3/ A good fancier near me likes to “clean out” his birds periodically as a “preventative”. He gives the birds 1ml per litre for one or two days. He flies well so should I do this too? Your friend flies well despite doing this. Antibiotics don’t work preventatively. They work while the birds are on them and it is impossible for them to work when the birds stop taking them. This is why you can treat an infection successfully but if the source or cause of the infection is not identified then it will come straight back once the antibiotics stop. The dose of Baytril is 10ml per litre and it needs to be given for an absolute minimum of three days but more likely for five to seven or as long as ten days to exert its effect. Giving a tenth the recommended dose for short periods just kills the “easy to kill” bacteria and leaves the harder to kill so called “superbugs” behind. This is the way drug resistant bacteria are created. This means that rather than “cleaning out” his birds your friend is “littering” his birds with potentially harmful bacteria. Definitely don’t follow his example. 4/ The winner of my feds averages just feeds peas , pink minerals and grit during breeding. His babies look great at weaning and go on to be good race birds. Why don’t more people do this? One can never argue with success. I remember visiting the late John Prior. He was a true champion but fed his birds in an unconventional manner. He was best flier in his state for many years. He fed his birds a very poor diet, based largely on peas but seeing him with his birds , it was obvious that he was an exceptional manager. All I can say is that the nutrient levels of all of the commonly used grains and seeds are well documented – not only the protein, fat and carbohydrate levels but also the vitamins, minerals and amino acid levels. No single grain contains everything that a pigeon needs in just the right levels. In fact no blend of all the grains that are available to us can do this . This is why pigeons to be at their best, benefit from supplements such as formulated multivitamins and more natural supplements like the APC’s “Wild Forage” with its all natural intrinsic nutrients. I have been fortunate enough to visit a number of the best fanciers in the world in Europe. Without exception they all fed grain blends containing many grains. Some of their grain blends included pellets and all used supplementation. So , although there will always be fanciers who use unconventional methods and achieve success I feel it is better to “follow” the science.
5/What is your equivalent to Moxi-T for Streptococcus and Staphylococcus treatment/prevention? It is not regarded as necessary to regularly treat race teams to maintain health and race form for Streptococcus and Staphylococcus. In fact, this practice has the potential to do your birds harm. The opinion of regularly treating race birds for these bacteria is not held by the wider veterinary profession. Both of these bacteria are normal inhabitants of the bowel and other areas and their mere presence does not indicate disease. You will find that treating Streptococcus and Staphylococcus “infections” in the droppings is required again and again because these bacteria are actually meant to be there. By medicating you are trying to eradicate something that is normal. It is a bit like treating a human to kill all the bacteria in the faeces. It just does not make sense. Moxy T contains a synthetic penicillin called amoxicillin and tylosin, . Both medications are readily available to veterinarians. They are used when an infection caused by bacteria sensitive to them has been diagnosed. More information about Streptococcus in pigeons can be found on our website in the “ Common Bacterial Infections” section and also on page 125 in my book “The Pigeon”.
6/ Is it o.k. to treat my team as a preventative with Doxy -T for a couple of days. The birds are going very well with returns and times and they look and feel great after three races? Doxy T is a very safe and effective way of treating respiratory infection during the racing season. Like all antibiotics it is effective while the birds are taking it but does not have a preventative action once the medication stops . If you were suspicious of a respiratory infection in the team -- during racing an increased level of sneezing is often the first indication --then Doxy T would be a good treatment choice. If there is no respiratory infection and they are going well there may be no need or benefit in treating.
7/I have racing pigeons and we are currently in the middle of the racing season.Our birds are struggling at the moment and we are a bit lost as to why they are this way.They are reluctant to loft train and when they do it's only at roof top height for a duration of 5-10 minutes.We clean them out every day and give them apple cider vinegar in the water throughout the week along with fresh clean water the night before basketing. We are also getting poor returns during race days and losing birds that have been to several races already. Every 4 weeks we give them Emtryl and Doxy T in the water for 2 days with no increase in training times and intensity. When they are being treated we feed them as much as they want but when they aren't being treated we restrict to 28g per birds or until they go up for water. We feed 3 parts a proprietary seed mix that is 5% peas, 3 parts wheat, 1/2part safflower and ½ part corn. I was hoping that you may have a bit of advice that you could give us, we are currently desperate and with the way people are during racing season the advice and help is next to non from fellow racers. Pigeons at this time of year should be really wanting to fly. A reluctance to fly is most likely either a nutritional or health issue. It would be wise to take some birds along for a routine veterinary examination to an avian vet but your birds problem may be related to their diet. I think that your diet is too low in protein. Using the method described in last months ( July ) journal the level of protein in your diet is under 12%. Once the diet contains less than 12% protein , the birds will not only have any spare energy and will actually start to break down muscle mass. Pigeons eat, on average one tenth of their body weight in grain daily. For an average 400g pigeon this is 40 g per day. So, it is likely that the pigeons are also not eating enough. I suggest :- a/ getting a vet check done and then treat any problems that are identified b/ hand feed the birds twice daily giving them as much as they want but not leaving food in the loft when they have eaten c/ altering the seed mix so that the total protein level is in the range 12 to 16%. Many blends will meet this requirement but as a guide – 2 parts peas, 1 part corn, 1 part safflower ½ part sorghum, ½ part wheat, ½ part mixed small seeds ( vetch, canary seed, hemp, peeled sunflower, crushed blanched peanuts, linseed, millet, hulled oats ) would work well. This blend provides a good range of nutrients but it would still be beneficial to give the birds one day on the APC Multiboost and Multivite Plus on alternate weeks and one day per week on the all-natural Wild Forage. A good grit and reputable brand of pink minerals should always be in front of the birds.