Race Release Guidelines. On the 14th May this year, one of the larger metropolitan feds in Melbourne conducted a short- distance race from Deniliquin, a distance of 280 km from Melbourne. Competitors sent approximately 350 birds. Only 5 birds got home on the day. Several birds were reported lost over 50 km in the wrong direction. The race from Deniliquin was the fourth in a sprint series . Most entered birds had uneventfully completed a 200 km race from Shepparton the weekend before. The liberation committee was made up of three extremely experienced fanciers, successful in their own right and well respected. After the race they advised that had they been presented with the same weather conditions again then they would have made the same decision and released the birds. Two more sprint races were planned, but with the birds being lost, the season had to be abandoned. The birds wanted to get home and would’ve done so if possible. So, why couldn’t they. A similar situation also occurred in 2010 when the VHA in Melbourne sent approximately 5000 birds to its first federation race of the year from Narrandera, a distance of 400 km. Incredibly there was not a single bird on the day and only scattered returns on the following 3 days. Obviously in the vast majority of races the birds return routinely. The above two races are rare anomalies but such races happen for a reason. If they are not examined then we don’t learn how to prevent them happening again. Any experienced fancier is familiar with weather conditions that make it hard for pigeons to return. Low cloud and mist, the combination of head winds and heat and also fog can all potentially lead to catastrophic outcomes. So what happens on days when everything seems Ok but the birds appear to become confused and have trouble orientating. To try and learn more I have reviewed the release protocols from the home of pigeon racing – Holland and Belgium. In these protocols meteorological terms such as “front”, “trough” and “inversion” are used and so to understand these protocols one needs to have a basic understanding of meteorology. So here goes – meteorology 101 for beginners . Basically there are high (atmospheric ) pressure and low ( atmospheric ) pressure weather systems. Low pressure areas are commonly associated with inclement weather (such as cloudy or windy conditions with possible rain or storms), while high pressure areas are associated with lighter winds and clear skies. As one would expect, at the surface of the earth, air flows from high pressure areas into low pressure areas. In the southern hemisphere air moves into the low pressure areas in a clockwise direction. As the warm humid air from a high pressure system spirals into the low pressure system it cools , moves up and forms clouds A weather front is a transition zone between two different air masses at the Earth's surface. Each air mass has unique temperature and humidity . The zone may be 20 km across or it may be 200 km across, but from one side of a front to the other, one would clearly sense that the properties of an air mass had changed significantly (e.g., contrasts in temperature and dew point, wind direction, cloud cover, and on-going weather). If a wedge of cool air is moving into an area of warmer air, the front is called a cold front. If the wedge is retreating and warmer air is moving into an area previously occupied by cool air, the front is termed a warm front. Cold fronts usually bring cooler weather, clearing skies, and a sharp change in wind direction. Although they can trigger thunderstorms the skies behind a warm front are usually clear. There are also stationary fronts and occluded fronts. Stationary fronts are just that ie fronts that are stationary while occluded fronts occur when a cold front catches up and overtakes a related warm front. This occurs because cold fronts move faster than warm fronts. Occluded fronts usually occur at the end of storms. Fronts are indicated by various symbols on a weather maps as shown below.
A weather trough is simply an elongated area of relatively low pressure extending from the centre of a region of low pressure. Another common term used in meteorology is an inversion. So, what is an inversion. The characteristics of air should change in a particular way with altitude. For example the higher you get then the cooler the air should become. If this does not occur and warm air is above cold air then this is an example of an inversion . This type of inversion is called a temperature inversion and, in fact, an inversion almost always refers to an inversion of air temperature . Normally, air temperature decreases with an increase in altitude, but during an inversion warmer air is held above cooler air. An inversion traps air pollution, such as smog, close to the ground. An inversion can also suppress the upper movement of warm air by acting as a "cap". If this cap is broken for any of several reasons, then the upward movement of any moisture present can erupt into violent thunderstorms. Temperature inversions can also notoriously result in freezing rain in cold climates. The Dutch and Belgian race release guidelines list various characteristics associated with weather and then classify them as either being favourable, neutral, or posing a low or high risk to the ability of birds to complete a race. In summary these are 1/ Visibility – greater than 15 km favourable, 10 to 15 km is neutral, 8 to 10 km is some risk, high risk is fog with visibility less than 1 km, mist with visibility less than 2 km and general visibility between 2 and 10 for inexperienced pigeons and 2 to 8km for experienced pigeons. 2/ Frontal disturbance or trough – all are associated with some risk that is potentially high. Variables include : - a/ the type of front - is it a cold front, warm front or occlusion front. b/ the location of the front – is the front within 30 km of the release point, after flying greater than 30 km or near home. c/ the orientation of the front – is the front parallel , perpendicular or diagonal to the line of flight d/ the strength of the front – how strong is the front expressed as the difference between, temperature and/or humidity e/ the steepness of the front plane – how suddenly do the changes occur between the 2 layers of air f/ the activity of the front - to what extent does the front produce clouds and precipitation g/ the direction of the front – is the front moving into the line of flight or away or is it relatively stationary 3/ Atmospheric stability – an atmosphere that is stable up to 500 m and above is favourable. Some risk is associated with an atmosphere that is only stable up to 400m with inexperienced pigeons and 250 m with experienced pigeons. There is high risk associated with an atmosphere that stable only up to 250 m for inexperienced pigeons and for experienced pigeons up to 125 m 4/ Presence of an inversion – no inversion present is favourable. If an inversion is present then provided it is below 40 m then this is not of concern. Similarly in experienced pigeons an inversion above 500 m where the air in the lower 500 m is unstable will not affect the birds. However a weak inversion ( ie less than 2C ) between 40 and 500 m carries some risk. High risk is associated with an inversion greater than 2 C between 40 and 500 m or an inversion with an accumulation of clouds, moisture, fog or smog. Points to consider when evaluating the potential impact of an inversion on the ability of the birds to return are the type of inversion ( ie heat from the ground, the sun , associated with a front etc ), the height of the inversion, how strong is the inversion ( ie difference in temp and humidity), how suddenly do the changes associated with the inversion occur and to what extent the inversion causes accumulation of water vapour or air pollution. 5/ Thermals – thermals are thought to be an advantage for experienced birds. Thermals are however something that pigeons need to learn to use. They are therefore of less benefit to inexperienced pigeons. No thermals presents some risk for experienced pigeons and a significant risk for inexperienced pigeons. 6/ Temperature – the ideal temperature for racing , described as favourable in the EU is listed as 15 to 20 C. While 10 to 25C is described as neutral. Above 25C for inexperienced pigeons and 32C is described as providing a low risk. Above 29C for inexperienced pigeons and 32C for experienced pigeons is recognised as a significant risk for a successful return home. 7/ Release time – the preferred time for release is greater than one hour after sunrise. Releasing 45 to 60 mins after sunrise poses a low risk. In the EU releasing birds within 45 mins of sunrise is described as posing a significant risk. 8/ Wind -- cross winds and head winds greater than 30 km/hour provide some risk while winds greater than 40km/hour in any direction including as a tail wind pose a significant risk. 9/Rain – dry weather is an advantage, showers alternating with clear spells is described as neutral ie having no effect. Areas with a lot of showers with little or no clear spells , especially in the release or home area pose some risk . Areas along the line of flight with numerous and/or heavy showers, areas with persistent drizzle and areas with thunderstorms are all listed as posing significant risk 10/ Cloud density, type and height – between 1/8 and 5/8 cloud cover where the clouds are cumulus , cirrus, cirrostratus, cirrocumulus, altocumulus or stratocumulus are all listed as an advantage. 6/8 to 7/8 cloud cover is described as being neutral. Areas with no clouds and conversely areas with 100% ( 8/8 ) are thought to pose a low risk for experienced pigeons and a high risk for inexperienced pigeons. Areas with stratus, altostratus, cumulonimbus and nimbostratus all pose a high risk. In days gone by we did not have the sophisticated weather reports of today or even ,without mobile phones ,often the ability to communicate with convoyers. Sometimes, the convoyer would simply look at the weather at the release site. If he could reach his organisation there might be a discussion about what the weather was like at the home end. What was happening, weather wise, in between could be a mystery. Those responsible did the best job they could but, with limited resources, unfortunate decisions were occasionally made. I can remember one of the early 800 km race that I flew in 1972 where I clocked on Tuesday ( after a Saturday release ) and still got third in the club. There had only been 13 birds clocked by the end of the second day. Fortunately today the sophistication of weather reporting and communications give liberation committees information that was not available in the past. Today personalised weather reports are available and weather information is reported in real time. The job of a liberation committee carries enormous responsibility. It is vital that they have a good understanding of meteorology and use all of the available weather resources available. No one cares more or feels more deeply about the loss of birds than pigeon fanciers. They are the ones who have spent their time and money looking after them . They are the ones who know them as indididuals and have nurtured them from young birds and trained them to become competitive race birds. Fanciers are keen to do as much as they can to ensure that their birds return safely. Evaluating the weather along the line of flight is an important part of this. It is hoped that the above information is helpful in this regard. VRPB Update. Why have the VRPB? The VRPB had its inaugural AGM on the 22nd May at the WPF headquarters in Melbourne. The principle purpose of the meeting was to ratify the VRPB constitution. The constitution had been reviewed and presented earlier by VRPB solicitor, Charles Hider, for consideration to members. At the meeting it was agreed to adopt the constitution. The constitution is a lengthy document that will be placed on the VRPB website for fanciers to review. There are however several points to note. The VRPB executive committee was re-elected as a block for 2022. VRPB president is Tony Price ( VRPU rep ) , vice president is Colin Walker ( honorary veterinarian ), secretary is Marc Tenaglia ( WPF rep ) and treasurer is Eddie Szatkowski ( VPO rep ). The constitution allows for each organization with up to 50 members to have one representative. Beyond this, each organization can have one further rep for every 30 members. For example, this means that the VHA this year with its 133 members can have 3 reps. If it had a further 7 reps, bringing its membership to 140, then it could have 4. The constitution sets a nominal fee of $10 payable for each member by an organization for its members to be financial members of the VRPB. Victorian organizations who elect not to become financial members are classed as flying members. The VRPB is happy to represent the interests of all Victorian fanciers but it is only financial members who can vote. Voting is proportional with each financial organization having one vote for every 10 members. It is reasonable for fanciers to ask – just what do they get for their $10. After all, what is the point of the VRPB ?
The VRPB essentially has two purposes : - 1/ to represent the fanciers of Victoria in any state wide issue . Having an elected representative state body such as the VRPB allows for co- ordination between the various organisations within the state. Also as the world becomes more complex, a single state wide organisation can better represent the interests of not only the pigeon fraternity as a whole but those of individual fanciers when dealing with issues at all levels – local, state and sometimes nationally . When issues arise that affect the broader pigeon community, having a single state based entity, helps represent the interests of the sport more effectively. A representative body can be a single voice representing all fanciers .
What happens if there is no VRPB and there is another state wide issue? We have had 3 examples over the last 10 years. a/ 2012 PMV outbreak – a hastily formed group of representatives from the metro feds formed a panel that represented Victorian fanciers to the state government. In the situation, this worked well but rural and many metro fanciers had no say in the decision making process and were simply advised about what was going to happen. b/ 2017 Rota outbreak – a non- elected group of fanciers which claimed to represent all Australian fanciers but in fact, did not, made executive decisions. c/ 2020 Covid 19 – everyone became an expert with several organisations and individual fanciers contacting various government departments independently, each advising that they acted on behalf of Victorian fanciers. The result was inconsistency, confusion and misinformation and an inability of the pigeon fanciers of Victoria to make any real approach of value to the government to deal with the issue.
The VRPB is a democratically elected body that is essentially “ready to go” and in representing the sport in the entire state, is in a much stronger negotiating situation, should another similar situation arise.
2/to provide ongoing information on matters that are likely to benefit Victorian fanciers. The VRPB website atwww.vrpb.org.auhas been up and running for 18 months . The website does not contain material relating to the individual matters involved in the day to day running of clubs or federations but covers matters that affect the sport as a whole. It does not make sense, or indeed, is reasonable or efficient, for each organisation to deal with each of these issues independently. Areas already covered on the website, are reference material for fanciers facing concerns raised by councils over fancier permit applications , the current Australian animal welfare standards and guidelines with specific reference to the keeping of pigeons, the recommended vaccination protocols for PMV, Rota , Pox and Salmonella, recommendations for the management of One Loft Races, an introduction and explanation of the sport of pigeon racing for government and council officials as well as the general public, a summary of the current situation on race doping with reference values and techniques used in doping control, general pigeon health guidelines, information for those getting started in the sport, potential legal issues associated with the keeping and management of pigeons including and more.
In addition VRPB reps are working on further state wide issues. Marc Tenaglia is working on developing a homogeneous set of race by- laws referencing and combining the best points from those already in existence. Tony Price is developing a universal Code of Conduct. Fanciers who comply with a code of conduct recommended by a state authority are obviously much less likely to encounter any council or animal welfare issues. A government site www.sports.vic.gov.au is a useful reference here and Tony is adapting this to be pigeon specific. Colin Walker is working on developing universal criteria that will guide race release protocols. Guidelines from both the AU in the USA and the EU have been obtained and are being referenced. The VRPB is also running a series of veterinary investigations that will not only benefit Victorian but all Australian fanciers. Planned investigations are : - a/ to investigate the high mortality rate and catastrophic losses associated with OLRs. OLRs operate in most states and are supported by many fanciers across state borders. Failing to solve this problem tarnishes the reputation of the loft operators, damages the sport generally and runs the risk of the sport being exposed to Animal Welfare concerns. The principle causes of these mortalities will be investigated through a logical and thorough veterinary diagnostic process. This would involve live bird testing, autopsy, microscopic examination of tissues and various specific tests such as PCRs and bacterial cultures to find out exactly why birds are becoming unwell and dying. b/ to conduct a mini vaccination trial to develop an effective vaccination protocol to protect young pigeons before and soon after weaning from PMV. With the increased transfer of young pigeons between states due to One Loft Racing, squeaker sales and the sale of race teams, a review of the current PMV vaccination protocols has been suggested to find proven ways of protecting young pigeons before being placed in these high risk situations. Anecdotally it appears that vaccinating birds at 3 and 5 weeks of age , if not offering complete immunity, does stimulate sufficient immunity to significantly reduce the severity of the disease. In the proposed trial, blood would be drawn from ten , three week old squeakers to ensure they have no immunity. They would then be vaccinated and blood drawn every 2 weeks to track their developing immunity levels. If the youngsters became immune then altered vaccination protocols could then be recommended with confidence. As it appears that PMV is a significant cause of disease and death in young birds associated with OLRs, squeaker sales and the sale of race teams, offering fanciers a way of protecting their birds that had been shown to effective would benefit us all. To investigate OLR mortalities the anticipated costs are $3000 while to conduct the mini vaccine trial the anticipated costs are approximately $1500 . c/ to investigate emerging diseases that have the impact to affect bird health and racing nationally. Herpes virus ( causing Inclusion Body Hepatitis) is the concern of the moment. The starting point would be to find out just how prevalent the problem is. This can be done by running some pan Herpes PCRs at the University of Melbourne. The University has offered the VRPB a discounted price of $80/ test and about 60 would need to be done. Although donations from several organisations have been gratefully accepted, this investigation is currently also stalled through lack of funds. Anticipated costs are 60 tests at $80 each, making a total of $4,800. 4/ PMV rapid antigen tests ( RATs) are now available . These tests are quick, easy and cheap. This test will enable fanciers to test their own birds for PMV, at the loft , for less than $20. The tests needs to be validated in pigeons. This involves using them to test birds that have been confirmed as having PMV for accuracy. Anticipated costs are less than $200.
Each representative to the VRPB is elected annually. It is an important position that carries responsibility. Fanciers and organisations must appreciate that the person that they elect will be representing them and their organisation. Although VRPB information updates are placed each month in the national magazine, The Australian Racing Pigeon Journal, and everything with longer term significance is on the VRPB website, it is the responsibility of each representative to communicate VRPB information to the members of the organisation that elected them and in turn to also pass information from their members to the VRPB. If this does not occur, fanciers who don’t look at the website or get the Journal can feel that the VRPB is not doing anything. This two exchange of information is critical for the VRPB to be able to work with the fanciers of Victoria.
The VRPB is keen to do what it can for our sport in Victoria and looks forward to hearing from fanciers with suggestions for the future.
VRPB Veterinary Health Management Fund The VRPB is keen to proceed with the veterinary investigations that are outlined above . Any contributions will be most appreciated. Organisations or individuals wishing to make a contribution can contact VRPB treasurer Eddie Szatkowski. His email is [email protected]. I believe that these investigations will benefit all Australian fanciers. Results as they become available will be reported monthly in this Journal and also placed on the VRPB website.
The Use of Red Markers. Like most fanciers I use plastic marker rings to identify some individual birds. I use a variety of colours. Over the last few weeks I have had two birds injured by falcons. Both had bright red blood – coloured markers on their legs. Many fanciers believe that reds, pieds and other birds of unusual colours and patterns are more vulnerable to falcon attack. The thought is that these markings make it harder for these birds to blend into the flock, making them more prominent and potentially a target to a falcon. Falcons look for a weaker or injured bird that potentially might be easier to catch. Birds can see colour and so perhaps it is not unreasonable to suggest that a red area such as that from a marker ring may suggest to the falcon that that bird is injured. Just something to think about when you are selecting a marker ring to put on a favourite bird.
Warning with Individual Bird Dosing with Toltrazuril Toltrazuril is a drug commonly used to treat coccidiosis. The most common brand of toltrazuril that fanciers will be familiar with is Baycox. The dose rate is 5mg per day per pigeon for 2 days. The strength of toltrazuril in Baycox is 25 mg/ ml. As each pigeon, on an average day, drinks about 45 mls of water the dose rate when medicating through the drinking water is 3ml /L. Medicating through the drinking water is the usual method used, however, sometimes it can be handy to simply medicate a single bird. A single bird can be treated with Toltrazuril by giving the dose directly into the mouth. To give a single bird 5mg, a fancier can give 0.2 ml of nett Baycox directly to the beak each day for 2 days. Some vets also suggest that birds can be effectively treated by giving the 2 days treatment as a single dose ie instead of 0.2 ml twice instead give 0.4 ml once . This is fine, however fanciers need to be careful. Some brands of toltrazuril are in bases that are potentially irritant to the crop wall. This means that if they are given nett they can potentially irritate the crop lining. This can sometimes cause the birds to vomit.
An Increasingly Common Diagnosis. An avian vet contacted me for a second opinion recently. The vet’s referral notes described that the fancier had about 250 birds. About 15% of the birds currently were unwell. 10 had died and a further 3 had been culled because they had become so sick. The youngsters , 4 to 16 weeks of age, were most affected but birds of all ages had been affected , some 8 months through to several years old. Most sick birds recovered within a week or two with supportive care and time. The referring clinicians notes stated that the Signs of illness included:
General unwell bird signs (fluffed up, going light, dirty vent, drinking excessively and large wet urine patches in droppings)
Unilateral yellowing/opacification of the pupil in two birds [one young bird (approximately 3-4 months old) and one stock bird (several years old)]
One or two birds with a head tilt and loss of balance
The lofts vaccination status:
The youngsters are vaccinated for PMV at 4 weeks of age, and then at 8 weeks of age - NOTE - two of the deaths were youngsters at 5-6 weeks of age
Stock birds get boostered for PMV every 2-3 years (not annually)
An affected bird was euthanised , autopsied and tissue samples forwarded to a specialist avian pathologist for assessment. The diagnosis was pigeon Herpes virus and a concurrent mild outbreak of PMV due to incomplete immunity in the flock. The important take home message from this is that if your birds are showing vague signs of disease, are just “not right” with a few dying or requiring culling then the initial thing, these days, to consider is the birds PMV vaccination status. Symptoms can be extremely variable because they are modified by the amount of immunity that the birds have against PMV. Other Authors In some of the recent Journals my articles have made up a significant proportion of the Journal content. No one wants to read just what I have to say. So ,anyone out there who has some pigeon information that they would like to share please put pen to paper and forward to our editor Jeff Howell. If you find something interesting or informative then others will too. Jeff will be pleased to receive your contributions Falcon Stories Probably no one gets to observe falcons predatory behaviour more than pigeon fanciers. I remember about 15 years ago the late Ted Stanley and myself were to release birds for Tasmanian fanciers from the VHA headquarters in Melbourne on a Sunday morning. The birds had arrived on the Saturday and had spent the night in the VHA rooms where they had been fed and watered. The VHA had raced from 550 km the day before. We were to release the birds at 9 am. As the time approached we wheeled the birds out into the large carpark area in front of the VHA headquarters, As 9 am approached, Ted and I watched a tired race bird from the day before heading south. After flying 550 km it could not have been more than 15 km from home. The pigeon was obviously tired and focussed on getting to its loft. In an instant a peregrine came diagonally from behind and grabbed the bird . Ted simply said ‘Got it”. We waited another few minutes until 9am and then let the Tasmanian birds go. In another instance , a very successful fancier friend of mine, who lives next door to a golf course, related how he was waiting for race birds from a 600 mile race mid- morning on the second day. All of a sudden two birds appeared. One was his and spiralled down onto his loft. He clocked his bird –it got 6th fed. The other bird , nearly home , continued on across the golf course. As he watched a falcon grabbed it. I also remember from only 4 years ago, a group of us arranged to meet for a toss about 100 km north of Melbourne. We did this obviously so that the larger number of birds released together would offer some protection from falcons. I arrived early and was waiting for the others to arrive. As I waited another fancier arrived. He only had a small number birds, perhaps 20 in total. He decided not to wait, let his birds go and left. As I continued to wait his birds circled overhead. Within minutes a falcon attacked them. About half went straight into the trees. The other half scattered with one bird heading at speed in the wrong direction with the falcon on its tail. I imagine that the fanciers toss went badly. Ask the Vet
1/ I have a Spanish Thief cock bird that has a mate and they have the run of the yard and he never misses filling his eggs, and looks and acts as healthy as any other bird. The problem is, he is gradually losing weight to the extent that you could shave with him, as the saying goes. He has two round lumps in his crop that are gradually getting bigger but are not connected. They are hard as anything and are about 25 mils in diameter. I have treated for canker and it is definitely not that. Would it be safe to have the lumps removed from his crop or would that cause him to bleed to death? What do you think the problem is and what is the cure? Age and recent PMV vaccination status are important. Even though the bird has been treated for canker the lumps could still be canker abscesses. Treatment will kill the active canker infection but the dried balls of pus left behind usually require surgical removal. Infection associated with poor PMV vaccination technique is another cause as are organising blood clots associated with injury to the crop. Older birds can also get tumours in the crop wall. Presumably the birds is losing condition because the lumps are compromising it’s health. Surgical removal of the masses may be appropriate. In the hands of an experienced avian vet, although all surgery and anaesthesia carries some risk, this procedure should be routine.
2/ Last breeding season I had three or four older stock hens which only laid one egg in each round. What would cause this and is there anything I can do about it? Abnormal ovulations such as this where only one follicle releases an egg can simply be a feature of ageing. Single ovulations can however be associated with either general disease or disease of the ovary. Ovaries can become cystic, cancerous or infected. If an infection is present the most likely agents include Salmonella and Chlamydia. In valuable birds the ovary can be examined under anaesthetic through an endoscope by an avian vet . During the procedure samples can be collected for culture and tissue analysis. In less valuable birds a course of antibiotics can be tried eg Baytril 25mg/ml , 0.4ml once daily orally. The frustration is that ovaries tend to be rather fragile and often by the time that it becomes apparent that there is a problem the organ has been significantly damaged. This means that although an infection may resolve , normal ovulations do not re- establish. Birds with infections however are always worth treating even though the prognosis may be poor.
3/What do you suggest to give a pigeon that has solid droppings surrounded by a ring of liquid. I have a good Widowhood cock with this problem, I had his and 5 others droppings and crop samples tested and the results were clear. No Trichs(canker), no Cocci, no worms of any kind and no yeasts. I’ve tried probiotics which helped a little bit but not completely. The other cocks have good solid white capped droppings.
This is not a diarrhoea but rather a polyuria ( ie an excessive production of dilute urine) that often indicates impaired kidney function. These days the most likely cause is PMV exposure in birds which are not fully immune. Normally fluid in urine is reabsorbed in the lower bowel (after it refluxes there) and the cloaca, and a dropping is only be passed when this process is complete. If this process is disturbed, or something creates a thirst in the pigeon these droppings can also be produced. When these droppings are found in the morning it usually indicates a disturbed night’s sleep. If this is the only cock affected consider his nest box location relative to a vent etc . There are however many other causes. All are discussed in detail in the chapter "Dropping Interpretation" in my book "The Pigeon".