Moulting Now is the time that our birds are moulting. It’s an important time of year. To be ultra- competitive in the coming races our birds need to have a good moult and produce structurally sound, insulating, silky feathers. When looking at a pigeon on a perch, the feathers you see are called contour feathers. In health they “hug” the pigeon tightly and clearly show the pigeons outline ie body “contours”. Although contour feathers are replaced once a year, the pigeon does moult continuously throughout the year. Powder down feathers are dropped when the bird is healthy, and are replaced. The powder down feather is a specialised down feather which grows and falls out through the entire year (normal down feathers are not common in pigeons). The powder down feathers disintegrate, producing powder as they emerge from the feather follicles. This is spread through the feathers as a preening and waterproofing agent. The vane (extended sides of the feather made up of individual barbs) of the contour feathers can either be pennaceous (compact and closely knit) or plumulaceous (soft and downy). The downy portion produces a fine white waxy powder, which also acts to waterproof and lubricate the contour feathers. Fliers will be familiar with this as a white coating of the outer flights visible in a closed wing. Powder down feathers are lost all year round. However, the drop of these increases when the health of the bird is increasing; for example, when the weather becomes warm after a cold spell, as the birds recover after a hard fly, or when a higher-energy ration is provided after a poor diet (for example, all wheat) or a period of starvation. As well, and very importantly, it occurs when birds are coming into race form. Fliers have long associated the appearance of down feathers adhering to droppings in the morning as a good sign, and the appearance of these is a real indicator of the health of the bird. As the drop of feather down feathers increases, more bloom is produced. This means that the feathers are waterproofed, lubricated, and are silky and shiny. Feather quality is therefore a reflection of the health of the bird. Conversely, dry, brittle feathers are one of the more obvious signs that birds are out of form. When moulting is completed quickly, it indicates that the health and management of the flock are optimal. A slow moult indicates a problem with health or management. What factors trigger the moult and then the regrowth of feathers? Stress Stress is essentially any factor that interferes with the birds’ physical or mental well-being and includes the following. • Overcrowding, which leads to physical competition for food, water and perch space, and also decreased rest. • Overtraining; that is, exercising above the team’s level of fitness. • Overambitious tossing, causing anxiety for young, inexperienced birds. • Incorrect use of medication. Medication must be used correctly during the moult; antibiotics can upset the normal balance of bacteria in the bowel and therefore affect the absorption of nutrients. In addition, some medications (such as oxfendazole – Synanthic) directly interfere with feather formation, causing deformities such as fret marks. • Poor loft design. • Failure to control external parasites. External parasites adversely affect the moult in two ways. Mites, which predominantly feed on blood, weaken the bird, but also their physical irritation prevents adequate rest. Lice directly damage feathers by feeding on feather debris, interfering with the feathers’ insulating property. Lice also eat bloom. This means that instead of the feathers being lubricated and sliding smoothly over each other, they rasp backwards and forwards, creating further wear and tear and increasing the effort necessary for the bird to fly. • Disease. Sick birds moult slowly and the re-growth feathers are of poor quality. In particular, bowel problems such as worms, coccidia and bacterial infections interfere with the absorption of nutrients which are essential for feather growth into the body. Any change in the droppings of moulting birds should be investigated promptly before too much damage is done. Stress causes the body’s adrenal gland to produce cortisone, which decreases the activity of the thyroid gland and retards the growth of new feathers, as well as interfering with actual feather development, leading to persistent feather sheaths or fret marks. Fret marks occur as a result of temporary interference with feather follicle function, such as missing a meal or chilling, in a youngster. Persistent sheaths, which can give the feather a stalked appearance, indicate a more long-term problem, such as a basic nutritional deficiency. All fanciers can recognise the more severe fret marks; however, I find it of value to open the wing and angle it against a light source, so that the light is reflected off the surface of the quill of each flight. Often both the flier and I are surprised at just how many dents and irregularities become visible using this method. Often, birds that appeared superficially to have moulted well are shown to have many small marks. The feather in this way acts as a diary of the events within the loft and, as each mark indicates a period when the birds’ health was not optimal, gives both the veterinarian and fancier an assessment of just how loft practices during the moult are affecting the birds. To minimise stress, young birds should be kept in a sensible loft routine. A feeling of well-being is created by regular feeding and training regimes. Care must be taken in Victoria with the early training of young birds, so as not to compromise their moult and development. Ideally, the pigeon should complete its moult within eight weeks of starting the body moult. Bathing is not necessary for a good moult but it does have psychological benefits, relaxing the birds and assisting with a good moult. Although it is not possible to accelerate the moult in a healthy pigeon, a prolonged moult can be prevented by avoiding stress.
Day length Shortening day length stimulates the moult, while increasing day length retards the moult, but only to a point. In fact, it is possible to halt the flight feather moult by providing a constant day length of ten hours or less. It is not known exactly how this occurs, but it may be due to an effect on the pituitary and resultant sex hormone production. A good moult is one that is completed within eight weeks of onset and produces good-quality feathers. For a pigeon to moult well, two basic criteria must be met. First, the pigeon must have at its disposal in its diet the building blocks to produce a good feather and, second, the bird must be stress-free, which includes being healthy, so that these building blocks can be correctly assembled. Stress relief and good feeding practices are the two most important determinants of a good moult. Feeding the correct balance of food during the moult is vital to the production of healthy feathers. Any deficiency is reflected in decreased feather quality. This is one of the times when supplementation with vitamins and minerals is of benefit. In addition, because feathers are made of protein, the diet must contain extra levels of protein, which usually means increasing the levels of peas and beans in the seed mix. Once the birds have had a good moult, the fancier should remember that the feathers do have to last for a full year. As explained, keeping the birds healthy will ensure bloom production and decrease feather wear and tear. Avoiding overcrowding in baskets and minimising unnecessary basket time will help reduce further mechanical damage. If the quill of a major feather does become bent, it can be straightened by waving it through a jet of steam. Amazingly, the feather will, over a 5–20-second period, slowly swing back into its normal position.
Hormones Several of the body’s hormones affect the progress of the moult. In young birds, as puberty approaches, a small gland at the base of the brain, called the pituitary, releases increasing amounts of sex hormones. These hormones stimulate the birds’ gonads and sexual activity commences. The moult and regrowth of feathers are partially dependent on these. In feeding stock birds, the pituitary also produces a hormone called prolactin. This initiates the production of pigeon milk. Prolactin blocks the production of sex hormones and inhibits the moult. This is an obvious protective mechanism for the birds, as both place a big demand on the birds’ system. Prolactin production means that the birds’ resources are directed towards raising the babies. A gland at the base of the neck, called the thyroid, produces a hormone called thyroxin. Thyroxin stimulates the moult but its effect is over-ridden by prolactin during breeding. The production of thyroxin is dependent on adequate levels of dietary iodine and the amino acid tyrosine. If the feed is deficient in either iodine or tyrosine, then the production of thyroxin is inadequate for a normal moult. Some grain-growing areas of Australia are deficient in iodine and there is a possibility of feeding a diet deficient in iodine. Iodine can be added to the diet via commercial supplements and the better brands of pink minerals and water-soluble multivitamins contain iodine. Tyrosine levels can be increased by feeding foods high in this amino acid, such as wheat, milo, rice and millet. The adrenal glands sit in the abdomen near the kidneys, and produce the hormone cortisol. Cortisol production increases in times of stress, and this can stop the moult. Widowhood cocks often moult irregularly and this is thought to be due to fluctuating levels of sex hormones and cortisol. In Europe, corticosteroids, including cortisol, are sometimes given (illegally), usually as an eye drop, to racers to prevent the drop of critical flight feathers when actively racing.
Program to ensure good feather quality • Consider feather quality as one of the factors when selecting stock birds. Feather quality is heritable, with certain families having better quality, silkier feathers. Similarly, feathers of certain colours deteriorate more rapidly (for example, white and red). • A health check before the moult will ensure birds are not carrying any latent disease that affects their health (for example, canker) or, in particular, cause bowel problems (coccidia), which will interfere with nutrient absorption. A health check involves a throat swab, dropping analysis and other tests as indicated. • Avoid stress during moulting and provide good care to ensure continued bloom production. • Provide a diet with adequate levels of protein and essential trace elements, such as iodine, during the moult. • Control external parasites. • Minimise mechanical feather injury by avoiding rough handling and extended basket time. These points should enable your birds not only to look good but to be at their most competitive when in form. However, if feather quality is becoming poor during racing, silkiness can be increased through improving the birds’ health, thereby encouraging drop of down feathers and bloom production. This usually involves a health check to identify if there are any disease factors, and treating these, together with increasing the energy content of the diet and, sometimes, decreasing the time the birds spend in the air.
Where do down feathers and ‘bloom’ come from? All the feathers that a fancier can see when looking at a pigeon are replaced in the annual moult. In addition to these feathers, pigeons are one of the few bird groups that have specialized feathers called powder down feathers. These are found in two bands, each about two cm wide, that run down either side of the pigeon’s body under the wing onto the side of the abdomen. Unlike the other feathers, these feathers grow continuously and can be moulted at any time. When moulted they are the small white fluffy feathers that often stick to droppings. As they grow their ends disintegrate to form the powder or ‘bloom’ familiar to fanciers. This powder disperses through all the feathers and helps to make them silky, lustrous and water repellant. Powder down feathers only grow, and are only moulted when the birds are well. This is why healthy birds have soft silky feathers, a lot of bloom and drop many down feathers. It is also why unwell birds have dry feathers and why the lofts that house them don’t have down feathers on the floor. Astute fanciers are often alerted to a lose of race or show form by reduced powder down drop by the birds and their feathers becoming dry. Identifying and correctly managing the problem triggers a powder down drop and a return to health.
Order of Australia I am pleased to let my pigeon racing friends know that I received an Order of Australia in this year’s Australia Day Honours. The award is for my contribution to veterinary science with the citation reading “ For service to avian veterinary medicine and pigeon racing” I would like to thank the office of the Governor General for the award . I am thrilled . At the same time , however, I am pleased to see pigeon racing mentioned in the citation. The association of this award with our sport, I believe , adds a degree of professionalism and legitimacy to it, and to some extent, I see it as a recognition and endorsement of pigeon racing. Thank you to all of the fanciers who have contacted me and sent messages. I really appreciated these. When interviewed on Australian national television one of the statements I made was “I feel honoured, thrilled but a little bit shocked because really what I’ve been doing is just living my life as a veterinarian. So I am a little bit surprised that people think that what I’ve done during that time, warrants this award. I am very grateful.” I hope that my activities have been of benefit to pigeon racing. Full details of the award summary are below.
About Dr Colin Walker Dr Colin Walker BSc BVSc MACVS (Avian Health) graduated as a veterinarian from the University of Melbourne in 1979. Through post-graduate examination, he obtained his Membership in Avian Health and thus became a college accredited avian veterinarian with the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists in 2003. He also has a Bachelor of Science majoring in Zoology from the University of Melbourne which he gained in 1976. Until 1994, he worked as a general practitioner in Melbourne. In 1994, he founded the Melbourne Bird Veterinary Clinic and was the practice principal for the next 20 years until retirement in 2013.The Melbourne Bird Veterinary Clinic was the first veterinary clinic in Australia to work exclusively with birds. There are still only a handful of such clinics today. Approximately 30% of the clinic’s clients were pigeon racers. Dr Walker has lectured in avian medicine and surgery to veterinary students at the University of Melbourne and was an external examiner of the final year students in avian medicine and surgery until retirement. The Melbourne Veterinary Clinic is regularly attended by veterinary students wishing to build up their avian experience. Dr Walker has had four books on pigeon health published. Two of these were co-authored with other avian veterinarians while, in the other two, he was the sole author. He has also authored or co- authored several peer-reviewed veterinary papers that have been published in prestigious veterinary journals including the Australian Veterinary Journal. Dr Walker has had many articles published in various pigeon and aviculture magazines and journals including “Birdkeeper” magazine and notably “The Australian Pigeon Racing Journal” where he has been a major contributor for 40 years. He was team co- ordinator of the group that diagnosed and developed a vaccine for the newly recognised pigeon disease of international importance due to Rota virus in 2016-2018. He was also the veterinarian to first diagnose pigeon paramyxovirus in Australia in 2012 and worked with the Consultative Committee for Emergency Animal Disease ( CCEAD) and the Victorian state racing organisations to develop a protective vaccination protocol for this disease. In 2020 he conducted a pilot study investigating the effectiveness of the Australian sub-unit Rota virus vaccine. Since then he has conducted further studies on the effect of natural Rota virus infection on pigeons that had and had not been vaccinated against the disease ( 2021). He has more recently in 2024 investigated the causes of mortality in young pigeons entered into One Loft Races and proposed preventative models aimed at reducing the incidence of disease and death. As part of this investigation an extensive trial was conducted investigating the development of immunity against PMV following vaccination in nestlings. Also in 2024, he conducted a diagnostic investigation into an emerging disease, “Fat Eye” in conjunction with the University of Melbourne and the Melbourne Bird Veterinary Clinic that identified the previously unknown cause of this disease. Dr Walker has been the veterinary consultant to the Victorian Homing Association (the largest pigeon racing organisation in Victoria) for over 30 years, and at various times the veterinary advisor to the Australian National Pigeon Association (the governing body for exhibition pigeons in Australia) and, in fact, the majority of pigeon clubs and federations throughout Australia. He is a former president and honorary veterinarian on the Victorian Pigeon Racing Board. Dr Walker founded the Australian Pigeon Company in 1994, which he continues to own and manage. This company develops, manufactures and distributes avian pharmaceutical products nationally and internationally. Dr Walker has raced pigeons since 1969. He has twice been federation champion (best flyer of the year) and has twice been runner-up. He has won 18 open federation races. He also breeds and shows exhibition pigeons and has had numerous national champions. In 2000, he was inducted into the Victorian Homing Association (VHA) Hall of Fame for “ For his contribution to the Association over a long period of time as Honorary Veterinarian. Further his contribution to the sport in general by removing myth and replacing it with proper health procedures and practices.” In 2018, he was made a life member of the VHA for veterinary service. In 2014, he received a Certificate of Meritorious Service from the Australian National Pigeon Association for providing veterinary service over many years. Dr Walker is also a past president of his local club, The Knox Racing Pigeon Club. Dr Walker has travelled extensively and has lectured to veterinarians and pigeon fanciers not only in Australia but also in the UK, USA, Malta, South Africa, Poland, China and New Zealand. He was keynote speaker at the International Veterinary Conference on Pigeons in Cracow, Poland in 2018. In particular, he has travelled to South Africa five times, once, as a guest of the Transvaal Racing Pigeon Federation, to address their members in Johannesburg and Cape Town. He has also visited Sun City in South Africa to witness the internationally famous US $1 Million dollar pigeon race conducted there and was a guest at the Victoria Falls World Challenge Pigeon Race in Zimbabwe. He has travelled to the USA five times as a guest of the American Union to speak at their annual conference. Dr Walker has also been a guest judge at the internationally recognized Blackpool racing pigeon show in the UK in 2009. Dr Walker has contributed substantially to the international understanding of pigeon disease, in particular its management throughout the racing season. In addition, through the development and implementation of immunity studies, he has developed vaccination protocols that are now routinely used in Australia to control some of the most serious diseases that affect pigeons. Dr Walker’s professional expertise and pigeon breeding and racing experience has led him to have an international understanding of pigeon racing, not only from an avian veterinary medicine point of view but also as an active competitor. In turn, he is recognized internationally as an expert on pigeon veterinary matters and pigeon issues generally. Put simply Colin has done an enormous amount for the sport of pigeon racing over many years and the current level of knowledge and the approach to maintaining the health of the birds is significantly better as a result of his activities. Through his monthly articles, seminars, workshops, presentations, books and importantly through his one on one advice to fanciers, he has elevated the understanding and knowledge of pigeon fanciers on veterinary matters . This has led to an improvement in the health of the birds generally which in turn has improved the standard of racing. It would not be an overstatement to say that of the over 5000 active pigeon racers and approximately 4000 breeders of exhibition and pet pigeons in Australia, that the very vast majority would be familiar with the veterinary work of Dr Walker. As a demonstration of his commitment to the sport of pigeon racing all of his professional service to clubs and federations has always been on a voluntary basis. Since retirement , eleven years ago, in 2013 this has extended to the provision of his veterinary time and expertise to individual pigeon fanciers, with all work being done on a pro- bono voluntary basis. The center of pigeon racing in the world is western Europe particularly in Belgium , Germany and the Netherlands. Pigeon racing was popular in Australia but Australia was not a world player. Dr Walker’s efforts have helped place Australia on the pigeon racing world stage. Tens of thousands of his books have been sold around the world . His veterinary advice articles are regularly reproduced in countries including Canada, Norway, the UK and South Africa. Just in May 2024 Dr Walker represented the pigeon fanciers of Victoria at a VCAT hearing aiming to redefine the activity of pigeon racing into a separate animal husbandry category thus exempting it from many of the requirements necessary to meet planning approval that apply to other bird species . This application was successful. Dr Walker is the Australian representative on the International Pigeon Veterinarian Association (IPVA ). The IVPA is the veterinary advisory body to the Federation Columbophile Internationale (FCI ) which is the international governing body of pigeon racing.
Keeping Health Costs Down Keeping pigeons healthy can be expensive. In particular veterinary medicines can be costly. I have had some fanciers contact me and say that they have spent over $1000 and in some cases over $2000 on veterinary medicines throughout a race season. To keep costs down, I feel that the best way to keep pigeons healthy is to adopt preventative measures that reduce the chances of them getting sick in the first place. And of course, that is best for the pigeons too. I think that the best ways to spend “health dollars” are on vaccinations, supplements and good food. Vaccinations are used to protect pigeons from some of the most serious diseases they face. Although some vaccinations are costly they do represent the most economical way of maintaining health and future race competitiveness. Vaccines protect pigeons from disease and sometimes stop them from dying. The PMV, Salmonella and Pox vaccinations provide full protection while the Rota virus vaccine provides sufficient immunity to decrease the severity of the disease, dramatically reduce internal damage and virtually eliminate deaths. A pigeon that dies, or gets sick to the point where it is culled, or recovers but has had its ability to race compromised, is a total financial loss and, if the situation could have been prevented , a management failure. . Not to mention the potential compromise of an entire season if the birds are damaged. . The costs of petrol for tossing , race entries and feed are the same for disease damaged birds as they are for robust immune birds. These days it costs a couple of dollars to vaccinate against PMV, Rota, pox and Salmonella. Surely every pigeon is worth that, as is knowing that each bird has been provided with the immunity it needs to realise its full potential through the season. The recommended vaccination protocols have been discussed in great detail previously but for those unfamiliar they are described in detail on the Victorian Racing Pigeon Body site . Click on “Pigeon Health “ and then “Vaccination” Good food means sound grains fed in the right volume and proportions in a hygienic way. Much has also been written about this. More information can be found on the APC site and in my book “The Pigeon” in the sections on nutrition. I probably go a bit “over the top” feeding my growing babies as far as offering a variety. At this time of year I provide 40% dun peas and about 10% maize , 10% sorghum, 10% wheat, 10% safflower , 10% APC Maintenance pellets and 10% a mix of peeled sunflower, hemp, peanuts ( I buy blanched whole nuts and crush them ), canary seed, linseed, vetch, millet and hulled oats . It is important to remember though that no matter how wide a variety of grains and seeds is fed, that a dry grain diet cannot provide all of the necessary nutrients for optimal health. This is why supplements are necessary. By a supplement I don’t mean some quack thing put together by some backyard guy with no qualifications. I mean a veterinary product with some science behind it. At the very minimum supplements should include a good quality grit – a blend of hard and soft grits that has been washed and dried that is free of contaminants and the correct size and a pink powder – with the right minerals in the correct ratio , no probiotics and formulated vitamins blended to a human pharmaceutical standard . As the advert said “Oils ain’t oils” , I can assure fanciers that not all grits and pink minerals are created equal. In addition complete multivitamin/ mineral and amino acid supplements are beneficial . Again, products from veterinary outlets are preferred. Pigeons only mature once . I don’t want my birds to be lacking anything. At this time of year I give mine one day per week each of Multivite Plus, Multiboost and Wild Forage. Pigeons are a remarkably robust species . I remember my avian lecturer from years ago at veterinary school describing them as “God’s gift to avian vets” because of their toughness and ability to recover from injury and disease when compared to other birds. In some parts of Australia, however, fanciers seem to have real trouble keeping their youngsters healthy. If young birds are kept clean and dry, are not overcrowded , are in a sensible management routine and birds of unknown health status ( including those from squeaker sales ) are not introduced then if the young pigeons are vaccinated and fed a good diet with appropriate supplementation disease can only really come through bad luck or a silly mistake by the fancier. Practices that help to prevent disease such as vaccination , a good diet that is supplemented and the basics of good care keep the birds healthy while they are maturing. This health includes the development of a strong well equipped immune system ready to protect the birds from disease during racing. This, in turn, is not only likely to reduce subsequent costs involved in maintaining health during racing but is also the best option for the birds and a good season.
Use a fresh needle – a cautionary tale I recently had a fancier contact me from interstate. His club had organised a mass vaccination. Club members were invited to bring their birds to the club so that the club members could work co-operatively to get everyone’s birds vaccinated. The fancier who rang me had been the last fancier to have his birds done. He was concerned that the same needle had been used on multiple members birds. Three days after being vaccinated his birds developed a thirst, many had crops distended with water and the loft floor was covered with large wet patches. Then the birds started dying . Within 2 days 10% were dead and new birds were becoming unwell each day. Many pigeon diseases at various times are in a pigeon’s blood including PMV, Rota, Herpes, Circo, Pox and Salmonella. Using a vaccination needle on your birds that has been used previously on birds from another loft is a very good way of giving your birds any blood borne disease that the birds from the other loft are carrying. If the same needle has been used to vaccinate birds from several, or even worse, multiple lofts this obviously greatly multiplies the risk that your birds will catch something. It turned out that the birds belonging to the fancier that contacted me had PMV. It seemed ironic that in doing something to protect his birds they had actually caught the disease. In addition to changing needles between birds from different lofts it is also important that a needle that has been used to vaccinate birds is not then used to draw up more vaccine from the vaccine bottle. Doing this can transfer disease agents into the vaccine. This means that even though different needles may be used for birds from different lofts that as the vaccine is contaminated disease can spread from one loft to another through the vaccine. Ideally a separate bottle of vaccine and set of needles should be used for each loft. The vaccine bottles are however large and can be expensive. It therefore makes economical sense for fanciers with smaller teams to share a bottle . This is fine but fanciers doing this need to be mindful of the potential risk of spreading disease from one loft to others. Rule number one is keep a separate needle to draw vaccine from the vaccine bottle. Rule number two is to only use the needles used for actual vaccination on birds from a single loft. In addition , if vaccination needles become “dirty” they can introduce local bacterial infections at the vaccination site. It makes good sense, just from a hygiene point of view , to regularly change vaccination needles. The vaccines available to Australian fanciers are very safe. It is however , absolutely imperative , that when vaccines are shared between multiple lofts that they are used correctly so as to not become a vehicle for spreading disease.
University of Melbourne donation Each year the University of Melbourne asks fanciers for about 30 pigeons to be used as teaching aids for veterinary students during their residency years . Veterinary students learn the basics of handling, clinical assessment and diagnostic skills such as crop flushing, dropping analysis and blood collection using these birds. . The pigeons are well cared for in a purpose built loft and are euthanised humanely at the end of the year. Melbourne fanciers are keen to be involved and help the University train the avian vets of the future. This year birds have, very kindly, been donated by John Shore, Stevan Gazzola, Vince Araco, John Mallia, Trevor Balcke and myself. Their involvement is much appreciated.
Vet questions 1/ Some guys put detergent or Pine O Cleen in the bath water to kill feather lice. Your opinion on this? I use Coopex myself with a sprayer. Why do this? These are toxic if ingested. The birds might drink the bath water and certainly preen themselves afterwards. Any macrocyclic lactone eg moxidectin or ivermectin etc at 1mg ( ie half a ml of 2mg/ml strength ) per litre of bath water is more effective and totally safe. Coopex is a powdered brand of permethrin. If you prefer to spray you can get liquid permethrin ( ie the same active as the powder in Coopex ) 40mg/ml and dilute 10ml per litre of water. This is less likely to clog the sprayer and contains a wetting agent so that you get good penetration ie no beading on the feathers 2/ Quick question. Do you do DNA sex and parentage testing for racing pigeons? I am not aware of anyone doing this in Australia. If you would like this done the best person to contact is Dr Pascal Lanneau in Belgium. His web address is www.pascallanneau.be.Samples can be sent to him via express post. The service is quite economical. I suggest contacting him via email. You will find him very good to deal with
3/ Several fanciers in my area have had PMV in their lofts. A friend of mine only has 35 birds left. Can I send him some youngsters? PMV survives in the environment for up to 60 days after the last bird has become well. You may recall that last year I ran a vaccination trial to investigate the effect of vaccinating pigeons under 6 weeks of age. The results were reported in the ARPJ. The trial was conducted to see if vaccinating pigeons at a younger age would be helpful in reducing the effect of PMV in OLRs. The trial showed that if pigeons were vaccinated less than 4 weeks of age that their response was inconsistent. Most birds developed some immunity but many did not develop sufficient levels to completely protect them from disease. Having said that, any immunity that is formed will decrease the severity of the disease . This means that the number of birds that die will be less and in those that live the severity of their symptoms will be less. We know that if pigeons are vaccinated after 6 weeks of age that 70% are fully protected in 4 weeks and if vaccinated again at that time that in a further 4 weeks ( ie at 10 weeks of age ) 100% are fully protected. It appears that if birds are vaccinated before 4 weeks of age that their immune systems , presumably because of their immaturity, cannot act in a predictable way. If it was essential to send youngsters to your friend within 60 days of the disease being present in his loft ie into an environment where PMV was still present you could vaccinate the youngsters at 4 weeks and then again at 6 weeks. This protocol is unlikely to fully protect the birds but should provide sufficient immunity to prevent any dying and sufficiently reduce the severity of the symptoms of those that do get sick so that they are able to recover and subsequently race. This situation is always difficult because of the need to get the youngsters settled in their new loft before they are too old.