Respiratory

[Andy]

I'll answer this one tomorrow - not time tonight.

Suffice to say i've seen and heard absolutely nowt to make me change my mind

Nor have I.

[Andy]

Not suggesting that you don’t know or observe your birds Neil just that you do things differently from me.
I don’t have one pigeon in my loft that has been brought. All are or have been bred down from gifted pigeons.
I just think that some of these testing companies are in it to sell you something. They would soon go out of business if they didn’t.
I am of an age now where I have blood tests every year by the doctor. I was told two years ago that my cholesterol was borderline and they wanted me to go onto statins. I told them what they could do with their statins. They told me that if I agreed to go on them they would receive extra funding. I still refused. Last year my cholesterol was back to normal levels lol.

Not sure if there purchased or gifts it would matter once they mix with others there breathing in germs etc bacteria from shit in the baskets I also think birds can look great but have a issue not visible which means there 10 mins off the pace and not breaking at the race point
I would only worm mine if I kept them and didn’t race as they would still look nice but I send to win so need to have put my birds in the best condition to do that is my feelings
I don’t have any hard sell for the basic tests infact once they asked me why I sent my test in as it was spot on and advised me to close my loft a little due to the unusual cold weather which wasn’t building form
I have a bloke in my club pigeons handle like show pigeons like silk but I avoid mine going in the same crates as him as the smell of mice when you go in his loft is shocking
You wouldn’t think it to look at his birds
He’s never beat me in 7 years
Do you not give a parathyroid treatment at all ?

No as said Neil I don’t treat for anything other than PMV. I wouldn’t even do that if I didn’t have too.
When I was setting up our little test loft I would have youngsters in from 6 or 7 different members. I never quarantined or treated any. They all went in together when they came. Never had a health problem.

[Andy]

I don’t think it’s about that King top week to week fed fliers that I know make sure they are on top of everything including health
Clear before racing a plan for the 12 weeks of racing and a check for the basics or more if your wallet allows as a back up every 4-5 weeks
You could look at a pigeon and condition look great but they could be full of worms I have seen this from a mates stock he bought in no dry feathers or dropping looking suspect but he had a worm issue

That maybe true Neil but if ALL these TOP Fed fliers that are on top of everything including health, they can't ALL win? There's only one winner, when beat do they except they prepared their birds correctly and have no health issues and were beaten by a better birds, or start looking for a health issue?
That's why I asked how far behind do they have to be before it changes from being beat by a better bird, to it's got to be a health issue?

Of course they can’t all win but they all aim to be at the best chance of winning
If I was 3 min behind in my club 2 weeks in a row I would be in a bad way one week would worry me alone
You try to keep your best birds in the best possible health to win in my view
3 min is a lot here
My main two rivals and friends in my club are on you constantly one will send 20 hens have 12 in 2/3 mins weekly to about 160 miles about 5 of the members are split by a min min half on a sprint
That’s why I say no one wins by 10 mins here at 100 miles

Our club result, combine result is split by quite a bit each week but that is very much down to the wind. There is nearly 20 miles difference in distance between our shortest flier and longest flier in our club alone. Much more than that in the combine. Last weeks race the same member took the first 3. His 3rd pigeon was 3 minutes behind his first.

[Andy]

This is an open question. When fanciers are off the pace by a few mins, most seem to think it's a heath issue with their birds? Do the ever consider that it's maybe down to the other fanciers birds are simply better on the day? In my old club, sometimes a unexpected fancier would win and the better fanciers would have every excuse under the sun to why they were beaten.
I'm sure birds CAN be in TOP health naturally, and don't have to constantly treated.
Now some will say to compete competitively every week you have to treat. But that still leaves the door open for a top fancier who's birds are healthy to be beat by better birds which could be both treated and non treated.
The last time I won a race, I was 10 mins clear with a 600 mile hen at 117 miles. It hadn't been treated for anything all year. It did however have its eggs hatch the day of marking.

I agree King. If it was down to health issues you would expect the lofts where everything is treated would have all their birds before the lofts where nothing is treated. My untreated birds are there or there abouts with these treated birds and beet a lot of them.

[NeilA]

I wouldn’t expect that myself as quality of pigeon still is important as is feed etc so if you get that right and your birds are clear of common issues then your going to beat a pigeon not totally healthy
Lofts on top of treatments win I can’t remember one of the old lads that don’t treat winning here for many years
It’s kind of a thing of the past

There or there about what’s that mean mate ? as 5 min behind here is a world away

[Murray]

There's different schools of thought, and I reckon there is no wrong one.

There are those who are firm believers in the need for medication. Since their pigeons are bred from pigeons that were medicated to keep them healthy, and the grandparents were medicated to keep them healthy they seem to need it to stay healthy.
I have a mate who is very methodical and has a monthly medication schedule and a white board on which he records everything.
He won 1 race in our club last year.

Then there are those who prefer to not use medications. I am one.
You cannot take pigeons from a loft that uses medications and go, "righto, I am going to race these totally natural". You will probably loose them all before the first race. But I have pigeons that have never seen an as much as an an asprin for 4 and 5 generations. They have strong natural immune systems. They don't get sick.
I won 1 race in our club last year.

And it's hard winning in that club, there's a 25 mile spread. You don't get a drag home.

Medicate them if you want to, or don't. It's entirely up to you.

[Andy]

If I felt that the only way to win was to use drugs I would give up. Pigeons are becoming like our younger generation, a generation of snowflakes that have no natural immunity, pumped full of rubbish and with everything being to sterile not allowing for natural immunity.
You could be 10 minutes behind in this combine and still be in the top 50. Racing down here is very different to many areas. You can quite easily get 1 or 2 pigeons close together then have to wait 20 minutes or more for the next one. This is the case for all members regardless of how good they are.

[NeilA]

There's different schools of thought, and I reckon there is no wrong one.

There are those who are firm believers in the need for medication. Since their pigeons are bred from pigeons that were medicated to keep them healthy, and the grandparents were medicated to keep them healthy they seem to need it to stay healthy.
I have a mate who is very methodical and has a monthly medication schedule and a white board on which he records everything.
He won 1 race in our club last year.

Then there are those who prefer to not use medications. I am one.
You cannot take pigeons from a loft that uses medications and go, "righto, I am going to race these totally natural". You will probably loose them all before the first race. But I have pigeons that have never seen an as much as an an asprin for 4 and 5 generations. They have strong natural immune systems. They don't get sick.
I won 1 race in our club last year.

And it's hard winning in that club, there's a 25 mile spread. You don't get a drag home.

Medicate them if you want to, or don't. It's entirely up to you.

The quality of the pigeon matters

Equal quality equal management one with its health spot on against One with a slight case of canker the one in A1 health wins for me

[Devo1956]

Like i have said on topic, we all all have our own ways of how we manage our birds. And as the owner of these birds, it is your duty to care for them. Giving good nutrition and looking after their health day by day.
It is a 365 day sport and can be very testing to the birds. So i feel it is important ,first of all make sure you keep up to date with yearly vaccine for Rota virus, salmonella, Para.

Healthy pigeons in good condition are necessary for successful and good breeding. Prevention is better than cure, so in this article we take a closer look at why vaccinating before the breeding season and when weaning youngsters is so important.

1. VACCINATION AGAINST PARATYPHOID BEFORE BREEDING
Paratyphoid fever or salmonella is a common obstacle that can cause major problems in the breeding season: poor fertilisation, mortality in the egg and then death of nestlings or even the breeding pigeons themselves. That is why it is recommended to treat pigeons with a suitable antibiotic for about ten days every year about six weeks before the breeding period, in consultation with your vet.

If you regularly have problems with paratyphoid, it is also recommended to vaccinate against paratyphoid immediately after treatment. Be careful to leave enough time until the you pair the pigeons (four to five weeks), otherwise you might have a very bad breeding.
​Since mid-2016, high levels of mortalities in kept pigeons (racing and fancy) occurred in lofts across most states of Australia. Emergency animal diseases and notifiable diseases, such as avian influenza (AI), Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and pigeon paramyxovirus virus type 1 (PPMV1), were ruled out as the cause. Investigations of these events found they were due to a rotavirus (a member of the reoviridae family).​

In March 2017, pigeon rotavirus was detected in sick pigeons in Tasmania.

Clinical ​​signs​
Clinical signs in affected birds have included depression and reluctance to go out and fly, vomiting, diarrhoea, regurgitation and hunched postures. Birds that appear sick often die within 12 to 24 hours, with deaths in affected lofts continuing for approximately 7 days (Figure 1).​

Mortality rates of up to approximately 30% have been reported in affected lofts. While the history of the pigeon rotavirus outbreak on the mainland indicates there may be a lengthy carrier status for recovered birds of some weeks or months, the full nature of the disease is yet to be elucidated.​​

This is just my thoughts, i have always said the health of the birds is Paramount. Along the way, other forms of a virus may come along. It is your choice on treatment of your birds.

[Andy]

There's different schools of thought, and I reckon there is no wrong one.

There are those who are firm believers in the need for medication. Since their pigeons are bred from pigeons that were medicated to keep them healthy, and the grandparents were medicated to keep them healthy they seem to need it to stay healthy.
I have a mate who is very methodical and has a monthly medication schedule and a white board on which he records everything.
He won 1 race in our club last year.

Then there are those who prefer to not use medications. I am one.
You cannot take pigeons from a loft that uses medications and go, "righto, I am going to race these totally natural". You will probably loose them all before the first race. But I have pigeons that have never seen an as much as an an asprin for 4 and 5 generations. They have strong natural immune systems. They don't get sick.
I won 1 race in our club last year.

And it's hard winning in that club, there's a 25 mile spread. You don't get a drag home.

Medicate them if you want to, or don't. It's entirely up to you.

The quality of the pigeon matters

Equal quality equal management one with its health spot on against One with a slight case of canker the one in A1 health wins for me

Yes you’re right Neil. The quality of the pigeon is paramount. But I would get no pleasure out of having to buying pigeons to win. It’s not something that interests me at all. Yes it will take much longer but I get much more enjoyment out of breeding and testing my own family of birds improving what I have. Yes I want to win, but I’d rather be second or third with one I’ve bred than from brought in pigeons.