jimmy white

i think it depends on what" medicines" , but i have used ordinary tap water for many years , with no ill effects

all the best mick,,,,,happy birthday

the north sea dordins ,,,,,captain hopas

;D ;D ;D the basket [where he was found ;D]

i think if birds have had paratypoid [salmonella] their left with some form of disability , be it a drooping wing , a twisted neck, etc etc [or in fact got it ] same as the yb,s,,,, old birds that carry this usualy have" dead in the shell" a formed y,b, in the egg, but dead b4 hatching , this disease can be very varied allmost looking like paramyxo [loss of balance ,twisted head etc] but whatever we say about it ,,it still is one of the worst and hardest to get rid of disease in pigeons

do you mean" keeping up with the birds of today" if so i would say velocities have never really changed dramaticly, through the years , but if the races were very hard ,,,,the returns were far better

very good point indeed ,, thats exactly whats happening today

have to agree with rose, allthough this was done years ago it was most certainly not done to the extent it is now,, more and more rejects are being imported for cash from the "mugs" in the uk

no you cant,,,,,this is possibly the worst blight of pigeons , the unseen carrier,, thats why its very important when starting up , to get your birds from a long line of healthy birds , from a fancier who has won for many years [you dont win with ailing birds] a fancier whos management is spot on and whose pigeons have a high constitution and a high immune system ,,,,,hard to get that nowadays

the great dr, anderson did this ,,many years ago [when i was just a boy ;D ;D ;D]

have to agree with "me" here on most points , imagine sitting in the loft for a few hours talking and playing with the birds , when all birds had a name [a knickname ;D] and not just numbers , these birds new you , had confidence in you [or me ;D] dont see anyone doing that much nowadays [feared of the yellow van comming ;D ;D ;D]

with due respect me, in my opinion , it was the" good old days "we kept less birds , kept lofts dry and clean [easy with just a few] coccidiosis reared its ugly head mostly in dirty or damp lofts where droppings lay damp for more than 24 hours and the cocci oocysts would thrive on this , my father used to even dig all round the lofts to keep it clean and give minerals from the upturned earth [mother asked him to plant the tatties at the same time ;D ;D], as you will well know all birds will carry cocci, its just when the level of oocysts[ or eggs ] go higher ,the trouble begins , usually with poor management, when you got the odd one showing signs of high cocci , they were usualy supressed ,and were usually the weaker ones anyway , same with worms , canker etc they will all carry it , but any pigeon showing signs of these, were usualy supressed, therefore their immune system was improving and not weakening :-/ :-/ :-/

and erudites would know better ;D ;D ;D

would not like any convoyers job in weather like this [in scot, at least] were getting 4 seasons in one day

just noticed your post rose ,, good luck to all in this race

well done jazzman

sun out in lothians now ;D

A GOOD AVIAN VETENARY DOCTOR , NEAR ME, COMMENTED , THAT PIGEON FANCIERS ARE THEIR OWN WORST ENEMY , IN USING ANTIBIOTICS WILLY NILLY, AND OTHER UN-NEEDFULL MEDICATION,,,,[sORRY VIC ;D DIDNT MEAN TO SHOUT ;D ;D ;D]

yes vic, they are allready running havoc , but does the , so called cure i,e injection, andbroad spectrum antibiotic ,, really mean cure ? in the long run ? or , in the long run , are we in fact making it worse ?? i honestly dont know ,, but cannot help wondering why this is so bad now, when it wasnt years ago,,

best of luck to you billy, from 4 and a half stone ,and now up to 8 stone , absolutely great ,, youve certainly been through the mill, but great to hear your comming on leaps and bounds , and also getting a house now , lets hope you manage a wee loft of fancy birds , and able to race once more at dovescotes, i must admit dovescote and chickadee have done you proud,,, all the very best billy and carry on the improvements [leave the pies though ;D] cheers mate, wish you well

what beats me,, we never had this years ago [in fact yb sickness is not a recognised desease] its just what we call this ailment of many , it could be circovirus followed on with secondry infections,, the thing is its so common to most lofts now, worsened especialy in the last few years ,,,,we often hear that find the cause is better than the cure,,,yet we still cant definitely find the cause ,, when this" sickness"first reared its ugly head , i remember lofts in cornwall having this prob , same time as lofts in edinburgh, yet they say its airborne, it makes you wonder whats so different now than of years back ,,are we using too much antibiotics ,,not every one does, are we treating too much , not every one does ,,, stress definately in my book makes this worse , but we had stress years ago too,, is it the constitution of the birds that are bred nowadays?? who knows,, ive often wondered that one thing most lofts have in common is the feeding and where it is grown and more importantly , how its grown ,,,grain is sometimes harvested twice a year now, giving out bigger yields in each crop , doesnt seem natural somehow, looking at the wheat [for instance ] years ago it had long stems and small sheaves, now it has short stems and bigger sheaves ,, it seems its all forced, somehow, to make more cash ? grain mostly comes from the same countries and the only thing we all have in common , is we feed them with this same grain , so it makes you wonder at times [just food for thought ,,if you pardon the pun] that , could this be a cause of this" sickness " just a thought,,,,,,were using antibiotics to cure this , are we now too dependent on this ? producing birds with a lesser immune system , who knows ,,but one thing is for sure is , its hitting more and more each year

;D ;D ;D brilliant strapper ;D ;D ;D

near to the belg number i have ?? same owner poss?

will do choc, never thought of that :-/ many thanks

this pigeon has pulled through,, amazingly enough , put it out sunday, bird flew and returned ,, now eating and flying well ,, thanks for the pm,s from some members asking how the bird was ,,,, now just need the owner