Rooster J. Cogburn

Ma phones an auld crappy thing and doesnae take the best ones but I'll get a loan ae ma sisters camera and get some up.Will dodge away on it over the next few months.Won't have any birds in it til March/April next year.

Watched Burke and Hare the other night.Enjoyed it very much Hot Fuzz wi Simon Pegg is top class as well Austin powers Pink Panther Mean Streets Taxi Driver Once upon a time in the west

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Mk_sUPtYjw A favourite of mine sapper

Got the new doo kit up the day just back from Linlithgow,had a wee fish supper

How you keepin this weekend Toosh??Ye over yer wee right bad spell??

Gan yersel shen

Heard from a man in the know that Orego stim upon analysis was 98% water. Frazers and Millars have a product called Orego Boost you mix on the corn.Everyone I've heard thats used this has been YBS free since

Very true Read the bit in the BHW stud book about the partnership and their great birds the other day

Once you get yer birds used to the taste of hemp you can almost make them dance for it,no matter how full their crop is. I've got a big shiny Godfather,Don Corleone tea mug .They only ever see this when they get hemp(not very often at the moment)but if you get them used to the taste of hemp in a recognisable tin or container you shouldnae have too much bother getting hopper fed pigeons in. Use it in moderation though as it almost has the same fat content as peanuts

Some of the Ochils are capped with snow at the moment.Wouldnae imagine its too far away Toosh

Laid a base fer the new dookit this morning.Its coming tomorrow Will go back up the doos this afternoon and down the town fer a few the night

Wouldnae go as far as to say that as we've enjoyed a lot of races with the club and fed but they are all still overshadowed by timing a bird at 2159 on the day from the SNFC Gold Cup Hopefully more nights like these to come *fingers crossed*

Vandenabeeles look like the ones we'll be talking about in 20 years time

A hero

Any cocks on widowhood we've had in the past that came half like the thing were the ones that had the "best" or most affectionate mates. Hens in good condition and that are keen on the cock are very important. They say if yer hens are begining to pair then you can forget a good performance from the cock.To stop this people lock them in individual boxes or have grills on the floor.Best way I think without the need for this is to have perches in your end that can only hold one bird,whether they are V or box perches.Go to your local newsagents and buy 2 or 3 of the 99p "Fly Away" fitbas and get a tube of tennis balls.Scatter them on the floor in your hens section and they won't pair

No words

New dookit coming this weekend

Some of the doos Louella have had over the years are unbelievable. Think "Solway King" was Uncle Louis' favourite. Cannae really argue with Martin(Aye Ready) either "Louvre III" is a bit of an extra special yin as well-1st, 4th, 5th, 9th Open French National Barcelona 590 miles.Interesting when you hear of the impact her offspring had in our country. Its safe to say we'd all be happy to own a pigeon half as good as any of the birds on the list though

http://www.louellapigeonworld.co.uk/champions?breed=17 Was having a look through some of these doos.May be of interest to some of the PB members. Special pigeons

Not sure about how he handles that wan .Imagine you could give the loft a good scrub down wi something.Think he uses a lot of shavings in his hut as well so he may spinkle plenty aboot and it'll make the cleaning up a bit easier Its no the way I'd do it but the man has few equals results wise.

Best pigeon I have probably ever been gifted was a blue cock from John McNeill when I was only 12.He was a bit later bred and I was told to keep him for stock,I didnae He was beaten to 1st NW fed South Section two weeks in a row by loftmates.They were on darkness,he was 12 weeks and 13 weeks old at the time and coming with them. The following season as a yearling he raced 10 races consectively out to Maidstone being the first pigeon or with the first pigeons 6 out of the 10 times-winning 3x1st and 3 x 2nd. It was then we decided to stop him and breed from him as John advised.He bred three 1st prizewinners as a two year old. Could do with a few more presents like him

Bigda

I didn't post these interviews thinking I agree with all their content,I only posted them as some people may find it interesting to hear points of view from people who have greater experience in this field than most. He is saying he recommends jagging only if the bird has been infected and only after it has been treated,presumably with antibitoics. In the other interview posted Henk DeWeerd seems to believe that jagging for paratyphoid is the wrong way to go entirely. Just goes to show how these trained professionals have differences in opinion as much as us normal fanciers .One thing they do seem to agree on is that its of benefit to treat for two weeks in the winter against paratyphoid but I'm sure somebody else will say otherwise.

Schaerlaeckens speaks to Dr DeWeerd about paratyphoid PARATYPHOID (SALMONELLA). I have three questions about paratyphoid. - In a German magazine there was a publication that no less than 80 percent of pigeons are infected. Is it really that high or what do you think? - My next question. I myself do not take chances and every fall I medicate all my birds against salmonella for about two weeks without having the birds tested before. Right or wrong? - Belgian champions Pros Roosen and Derwa have been doing the same as I do since many years. They are very happy with it apart from one thing: Too many birds get unfertile at a too young age. They wonder if the medicine they use against paratyphoid (Chloramphenicol and furaltodone) are to blame. Is that so? Dr de Weerd. Paratyphoid is indeed a far more common disease than people think. The more birds I had had tested in the lab the more surprised I was that so many birds carry the salmonella bacteria. I would say 80 percent is a bit exaggerated but as many as 40 percent of pigeons do have the salmonella bacteria indeed. What you and others do (take no chances and medicate yearly for a period of about two weeks even without salmonella was proven) is something I can advise everybody to do. The reason is that when you have say 50 birds it is an illusion to think none of them have paratyphoid. The effect of the medication will never be that all your birds will be 100 percent free of the disease but you will surely prevent a lot of problems. As for your last question I do not think that the fact that pigeons become unfertile at a younger age has anything to do with the medication. I think it is due to the fact that you demand too much of the pigeons. They are raced week after week and you will have to pay a price for that. This price is they are worn out sooner. What you can do to keep your birds fertile as long as possible is to give them much freedom. If that is impossible for whatever reason put the pigeons in big aviaries. I would say: make them as big as you can. Small aviaries 'are killing' the prisoners in them. So let the birds fly! Note of the author. Once I was in Japan where I visited a great importer of very expensive birds which had been Aces in Holland and Belgium or which had won National races. Much to my surprise I saw some of them fly out freely. 'How come this man let the birds which had cost fortunes let free with a great risk to lose them?' I wondered. The Japanese saw my surprise and gave the following explanation: 'These birds you see on top of the roof are all Aces for which I paid fortunes indeed. But at the age of about eight or a bit older one after the other became infertile. I bought these birds to sell their babies. But what can I do with birds which do not fill their eggs? I know about others who sell babies off of birds of 15 years or older. Occasionally this is possible but not very often. In many cases people are cheated when they purchase babies off of very old birds, though I hope there will be a change for the better now that we can make DNA tests to check the origin. When the Super birds I bought became infertile I let them out as I had nothing to lose. If the birds got lost they got lost. And you know what happened? I lost many of them indeed but off of those which did not fly away some began to fill their eggs again. Because of the freedom.' That was what the Japanese guy told me and dr de Weerd agrees. Freedom is important. Small lofts are killing the potency of birds. PARATYPHOID ONCE MORE The general idea is now that in case your birds suffer from paratyphoid the best thing to do is medicate them first for a couple of weeks with antibiotics and needle them after the medication. Is this the right thing to do and what is the best vaccine to needle the birds with? Furthermore some people claim that if you needle birds during the racing season they will get into a better condition and consequently better results will follow. Is that so? Dr Weerd: I do not support needling birds against paratyphoid. I did not 20 years ago and I am still against it. The reason is that the vaccines we have got now are not any better than those of the old days. 20 Years research did not bring us any further and believe me I know what I am talking about as salmonella has always interested me very much. I know that there are people who needle their young birds during the season as they mean it stimulates the condition. In my opinion they believe in ghosts. Furthermore I want to emphasize that paratyphoid in Europe is mainly a winter disease. The bacteria seem to flourish better in cold and humid circumstances. Every year in October it is the same story: Then I get phone calls from everywhere and the story is always the same: Paratyphoid. And then there is another thing. In fall pigeons moult (in Europe, Japan and America) and it is very demanding from a pigeon body when in a short period of time so many feathers have to be renewed. Pigeons are weakened and when that is the case they are more vulnerable to all kinds of diseases. Salmonella is one of them. When we have a dry fall the paratyphoid problems start later in winter. In tropical countries I have noticed the same: more outbreaks in periods when the humidity is high. RISKY Another question about this theme. Is there anything a fancier can do to prevent an outbreak of paratyphoid? Dr De Weerd: 'First of all I want to tell you that paratyphoid and quality are quite different things. I know that some people say that good pigeons never get sick. That is bull. When you have many eggs which are not filled or little babies in the nest that die you better watch out. For 90 percent sure you have paratyphoid and this has nothing to do with quality. Even the best pigeons in the world can get it. But the question was 'if we can do something to prevent paratyphoid?' I think we can indeed. Which fanciers do have most problems? A: Owners of breeding stations. B: People that import many birds from different fanciers. What I mean to say is this: You have a greater chance to get paratyphoid when birds of different fanciers get into contact with each other unless you take measures of course. Paratyphoid is a much more serious problem with pigeons than many fanciers are aware of. You know what often happens? The birds are not in good shape, the fancier medicates against all kinds of everything apart from their real problem: Paratyphoid. About this disease I have one final remark: Many vets (collegians) are undeservedly accused of being incapable. Fanciers send the droppings of birds to a vet and he in turn sends these droppings to a lab to have them tested. When in a lab the bacteria is found you may be sure you have a problem. But if they do not find the bacteria, so if the test is negative, this does not mean it cannot be there !!! Moreover it is possible that the bacteria is not found in one sample of the droppings but it is found in another. This is something good to remember for every pigeon fancier. If you have a healthy family of birds the best way to keep it healthy is never to import other birds. But import other birds now and then and try out new crossings is an absolute must for every ambitious fancier. That's why I agree with your method: Medicate preventively yearly. Of course there is also the possibility of a blood test. This is a much safer method

This is something I read by Ad Schaerlaeckens on treating pigeons and Tooshy's favoutrite-the vet Some interesting points "From when I was a kid I remember that my parents, my neighbours, the friends of my parents and my uncles (nearly everybody had pigeons in those days) often discussed the theme ‘with or without a vet’. One group said birds should stay in good health by themselves, those that get sick should be eliminated, others said that without a vet or medication one should forget nice performances. But times have changed. Apart from some ‘sprint guys’ (whose birds only stay in the baskets for one night) the majority of today’s fanciers visit a vet every now and then, how often varies. Some only consult a vet in case of problems, others twice a year (before the racing and the breeding season) and some see a vet weekly. Of course such a vet should be a pigeon man and very few are. A vast majority may know a lot about pigs, dogs, cats or poultry but about pigeons they know nothing. A vet of a younger generation is doctor Vincent Schroeder. He is ambitious and pigeon crazy. For my latest book that I am going to publish late 2008 I had an interview with him. It became a long interview; a short summary maybe interesting for the average fancier. 1. Many fanciers are retired, they have little money and find the money for a visit to a vet a waste. Doctor Schroeder thinks they are wrong. Just as humans birds can get sick and if one medicates without consulting a vest they may really waste money since the wrong medicine may be used against the wrong diseases, or even against diseases that birds do not suffer from. 2. Pigeons that are raced short distance in cold weather may have a bit canker. But if they are raced further in hot weather he advocates a ‘zero tolerance’ which means the birds must not have the least trichomoniasis; NOTHING AT ALL. 3. Fanciers that treat their birds against paratyphoid in fall (6 weeks before mating) do the right thing. He is against vaccinating unless birds are infected. In that case a cure should be followed by an injection. 4. He is strongly in favour of apple vinegar. It does not prevent Coli as many people say but once the birds are totally free from canker they will not easily get it if you often give (apple) vinegar, that means nearly daily outside the season. There is no difference between vinegar and apple vinegar apart from the price. He does not believe in vitamins (nor do I) apart from breeders in winter. It should be a proper mix of A, D and E. 5. He used to believe in tea but not any more. 6. Due to the abuse of medicine more and more birds suffer from Mycosis. Such birds have no appetite and in the crops is too much water or feed that is not digested. In extreme cases the symptoms are similar to those of Adeno Coli which is confusing for many fanciers. 7. Some fanciers find streptococci a problem but pigeons very rarely suffer from it. 8. He does not believe in ‘one day cures’ after every race. If birds are sick they are not effective, if they are not sick they undermine resistance. 9. He found that pigeons may suffer from coccidioses while nothing can be found in the droppings. When birds eat much grit or eat in the yard coccidioses may be the cause. 10. The biggest mistakes fanciers make: - They do not select strongly on results and natural health. - They fall for all the crap that is advertised and that pigeons do not need at all. - They have no patience and train their birds too often and at a too young age. - Some finish their birds with Baytril. It must not be given more than 3 days. - After some races fanciers complain about respiratory problems. In most cases birds were already very lightly infected before the season but they get problems after physical exertions. 12. There is nothing that you can do to prevent an outbreak of Adeno Coli apart from pray. Vinegar nor acids are effective. 13. It happens that fanciers ‘forget’ to vaccinate against paramyxo. When the virus attacks they use La Sota. This is a big mistake. La Sota is a live virus and you will make things worse. Pox is different. In case birds have pox you may vaccinate. 14. Do NOT believe in products or medicine that are effective against different diseases. 15. The best treatment against canker is the following: A cure of about a week before the season and a cure of 3 days every month during the season. In hot weather one should be careful and birds may be treated every 3 weeks. In cold weather canker is seldom a problem. 16. Especially Americans and Asians believe in ‘eye sign’. Eye sign is 100% B.S. for sure 17. He has clients from Holland and Belgium. The quality of the birds is the same but Dutch fanciers differ a lot. They are more ambitious, they go for better birds and better methods while many Belgians still believe in the magic bottle. 18. Doctor de Weerd claims that pro biotics are a pure waste. His college dr. Schroeder fully agrees "