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April in the Loft

Successful fanciers turn to the subject of young bird health at this time of year. Many fanciers have at least the first round or two of babies weaned and on their young bird teams, and these teams are in the air by now. We constantly receive calls concerning young bird health, so I’d like to share some advice about preventive measures that can be taken while the birds are young to ensure the overall health and conditioning of a young bird team.

Our very best source of advice about young bird health is a veterinarian who races pigeons, and I seek them out constantly, both in the U.S. and in Europe. I take every opportunity to discuss the cutting-edge health regimens from which every fancier can benefit.

Not surprisingly, there is a consensus among thes that a specific set of preventive measures taken at the right time in a young bird’s life makes all the difference in the world regarding the overall health of a racing team. Based upon my discussions with vets like these, and reinforced by my own experience as a fancier, I recommend that you read on, and urge you to take the following steps.

Check the babies for canker about two weeks after weaning. Canker is most common in young, newly weaned babies, and it can be a very serious problem. Ridzol is especially effective for canker, but there are many other options. Trichoron Forte from Pego, Turbosole from the Australian Pigeon Company, and Ronidazole tablets (individual dosing) are all quite effective.

When canker actually affects young birds, it manifests itself as a cheesy-looking substance in the throat (usually at the sides) or in the mouth. Pigeon pox sores are sometimes confused with canker, and here’s how to tell the difference. A pigeon pox sore is hard, and it will bleed if broken from the skin. Touching the cheesy substance caused by canker, for example with a Q-Tip, will cause the substance to break off and crumble.

Canker can also be internal, because it can enter the bird’s body through its navel, where the yolk sac was attached. Most often, canker is present in our birds with the only visible symptom being a slight throat mucous. This causes problems for many fanciers, because they often think it is a respiratory problem when they see signs of throat mucous, when, in fact, what they are seeing is the early stages of canker.

It’s generally accepted that almost all of the current products in use against canker are not as effective as they once were. If we’re going to keep canker under control, we must increase dosages. In our lofts, we used to give each one of our weaning youngsters one Pegosan tablet along with an Ideal Pill as we took them from their parents. This is a very effective weapon against canker.

Giving the babies a canker product two weeks after weaning means that they will be getting the proper protection from canker during the greatest time of stress in their young lives. Ideal Pills are a great idea because they supply enough sustenance to get the babies through the critical first 10 or 12 hours while they are getting accustomed to their new loft. I’ve actually kept pigeons alive on nothing but Ideal Pills for over ten days.

Our preference is to wean the youngsters early, say at 24-26 days. It’s wise to give one or two days of vitamins and amino acids after any medication. Digestal, Cometose, or another pro-biotic such as Prodigest, on the feed is also a great idea. Pro-Vital All Bird Economy Plus is a good and inexpensive pro-biotic that is new to our inventory. We highly recommend Health Gard as a pro-biotic also. These pro-biotics will stabilize the birds’ droppings almost overnight, and the difference they can make in a bird’s condition is remarkable.

It’s normal for a fancier to get nervous when the young birds first take to the air. Hawks, power lines, and other obstacles make a baby pigeon’s life treacherous, and this causes high levels of stress. To help prevent high levels of stress from turning into more serious problems, use vitamins and amino acids and keep the babies on a regular routine of feed and water. TVG from Pego, Pego Amin, and Recup Lyt from Colombine are all effective in helping to prevent conditions that can hinder racing ability. Recup-Lyt is especially good to give parents who are feeding young.

Depending on where you live, the old bird races are either in full swing or just about to get started. This is the favorite time during the year for many fanciers who prefer to work with more experienced birds over young birds. Many fanciers claim that they can truly determine the quality of their pigeons now, because the “systems” are over, and the fancier who has had the time to train his young birds every day is no longer at an advantage.

With classic and double widowhood being the methods of choice around most of the country, it would seem that the natural system is obsolete, but I have found that to be completely false. It’s interesting to talk to some of the really successful fanciers around the U.S. and Europe and find that many still use the “natural” or “nesting” method to fly the longest distances.

The basic strategy here is that for the early part of the race season the race team is flown on a widowhood or double widowhood method. Many of the best fanciers focus on their cocks for the early races, up to around 400 miles. Widowhood cocks can be very hard to beat in “pigeon” weather, meaning clear to partly cloudy skies and moderate temperatures.

But when the distances get longer and the races get tougher, there appears to be a shift in the balance of power from the quick and sassy widower to the calm and steady hen coming home to ten- or twelve-day eggs. As my good friend Willem DeZutter, the 1998 champion of all of Belgium, once told me, “I like to have a hen coming to eggs about ten to twelve days old, when the weather is hot and the races are hard, because at this point it is more determination than speed that wins those types of races.”

Armand Zazueta, one of the most successful champions that the American fancy has known, often excelled at the long-distance events by re-pairing several of his best old hens. Armand would either let them mate to one another or put them back with their cock so that they would lay. Then he could send them to the 500- and 600-mile races on ten- to twelve-day eggs. Like DeZutter, Zazueta often found that his best distance birds were these hens, and often he clocked both of the hens that were sitting on a nest of four eggs! So if you’ve been just a little off in your distance races, try the hens.

April in the Loft by Ed Minvielle