Red Wattle - almost bleeding.

[king]

I just look at my self. I don't take antibiotics just in case I get sick one day.
As a champion flyer wrote, what you treat them for is what they will get. Antibiotics suppress the symptoms of diseases, but they also suppress the natural ability of the pigeon to fight the illness, while increasing the resistance of the bacteria.
It can become a vicious circle.
I don't use medications much at all. I would if there is an outbreak of a disease in the loft and it was clearly diagnosed. I won't treat every pigeon because one gets sick.

I totally agree. It's as if some fanciers are looking for an excuse to treat their birds. Or maybe it's a mindset that they treat because they always have. I too am like you I only ever treated when it was needed. When racing I always had meds in the cupboard, just in case, most of it ended up thrown away when it went out of date,

[MIL]

The no.1 difference between winning consistently and not winning consistently isn't good pigeons - it's good management

Everything is driven in the first instance by the fancier.

They who know when to recognise an issue and deal with it will always be far more dangerous than those who just carry on regardless and hope for better the next week

So, in essence, you're right - that's MINDSET

I'm not trying to tell you I won every week, but I guarantee you I made it bloody difficult to beat me.

[Murray]

I just look at my self. I don't take antibiotics just in case I get sick one day.
As a champion flyer wrote, what you treat them for is what they will get. Antibiotics suppress the symptoms of diseases, but they also suppress the natural ability of the pigeon to fight the illness, while increasing the resistance of the bacteria.
It can become a vicious circle.
I don't use medications much at all. I would if there is an outbreak of a disease in the loft and it was clearly diagnosed. I won't treat every pigeon because one gets sick.

I totally agree. It's as if some fanciers are looking for an excuse to treat their birds. Or maybe it's a mindset that they treat because they always have. I too am like you I only ever treated when it was needed. When racing I always had meds in the cupboard, just in case, most of it ended up thrown away when it went out of date,

Yep!
A few years ago I threw a bunch of bottles in the bin. Some were years out of date!

[Murray]

The no.1 difference between winning consistently and not winning consistently isn't good pigeons - it's good management

Everything is driven in the first instance by the fancier.

They who know when to recognise an issue and deal with it will always be far more dangerous than those who just carry on regardless and hope for better the next week

So, in essence, you're right - that's MINDSET

I'm not trying to tell you I won every week, but I guarantee you I made it bloody difficult to beat me.

You are right, I think.

A good loft can be bought off people who know how to build good lofts.
Good pigeons can be got from people who breed good pigeons.
Modern feed mixes can be purchased everywhere.

And yet, some people can train a shed full of pigeons and win races. Other blokes with the same shed, pigeons and feed will never win a race.
It's a word i have not heard before in this context, but I think it's perfect. Mindset.

[MIL]

Precisely Murray

I've been around pigeons long enough to know the difference, and I've made the transition from being someone who rarely carded to a 2 x West Midlands Region Sprint Champion - an accoloade many super sprinters in the Midlands have never won

It's mindset and it's challenging

[king]

The no.1 difference between winning consistently and not winning consistently isn't good pigeons - it's good management

Everything is driven in the first instance by the fancier.

They who know when to recognise an issue and deal with it will always be far more dangerous than those who just carry on regardless and hope for better the next week

So, in essence, you're right - that's MINDSET

I'm not trying to tell you I won every week, but I guarantee you I made it bloody difficult to beat me.

Your right Mike a good fancier will recognize a problem very early. The thread is about pink wattles due to rain. This was never been a problem in the past and I don't believe it is a problem now. This weekend 1000's of birds will have returned with pink wattles or evidence of flying though rain, especially the longer flying national birds. I'm not against treating for actual problems, but pink wattles isn't one of them.

[MIL]

As you'll see from the above thread I've never once advocated treating for "red wattles"

This is merely evidence of having hit rain on the route home

The problem, as written before, is the impact that the rain has internally

I can tell you from experience that I've had 11 x 1st Fed wins the week after my birds hit rain - and those birds were treated in the manner I saw best

[Devo1956]

At the end of the day, if you know your birds. You know what is best for them , to keep them healthy. This is paramount i would say.

[MIL]

Couldn't agree more

[NeilA]

A bit of rain didn't bother this lad.

That’s just a photo of a wet pigeon king
Not sure what you mean
did it win a few races in the next couple of weeks ?