MsPigeon

I use them in the breeding loft much the same as Valiant. First round is almost ready to wean. They are on a timer to extend the day to 16 hours or so. I leave them on durring the day too as the loft, even though it has windows and plastic skylights, is not very bright durring the day. I also know guys that leave them on all day and night durring breeding season. The purpose is to get early YB's and then when the young are moved to the natural lighted YB loft they molt and are done with it. Yours in the sport. Carol

Wish we had a place to get them cheaper here in the US. I have ordered them before, you only get a small box and as I recall it was expensive back then and I'm sure more now, shipping and all. But they do work very well. I tend to look for free stuff now as I clean out the nest once a week after the hatchlings are a couple weeks old and replace with fresh, t's like changing diapers I usually use straw or alfalfa stems and paper nest bowls, if the birds will sue them :-/. When I have been ambicious I have collected long pine needles and dried them. They make a nice neat nest too. I think the mint sounds like a good idea, I have it growing around the flight pens. Think I'll give it a try next year. Yours in the sport. Carol

Thanks for your response Tony, Sorry, I been away from the forum awhile, is Jeremy his user name? Our club is hosting our state race this year. Just wanted some input from all over to consider when our club discusses this topic. I manage to keep our team healthy and flying competitively, but with birds coming from all over I'm sure this will become much more difficult and a pro-active consideraton. I really thought more members here would have advice! Thanks Again Tony Carol

To those of you that have managed the birds of a one loft race, do you have any advice on keeping the birds healthy? What do you vaccinate them for? What kind of treatments do you give? When? worming? What is your daily/weekly regimine? vitamins, supplements, probiotics, garlic, bleach, vinegar, iodine, etc????? Would like to hear what advice is out there even though I have my own thoughts. We are located in the Pacific Northwest, if that matters. Thanks for your in put. Yours in the sport. Carol

Red Cell is simply a vitamin/minerial supplement that contains iron, which most pigeon supplements do not. Thats why some fanciers use it, they think their birds benefit from the iron. But it is made for horses, 100's of times larger than a pigeon, and thus should not be over done. I have used it but I'm not sure it was any better than any other vit/min supplement made for pigeons. I used it for my pony, and my goats, and then decided it would be good for my canaries too. I saw adverse affects on my canaries. So now I use pigeon supplements for my pigeons and canary supplements for my canaries but I still use Red Cell for my goats and large animals. Carol

I had a pigeon with this also. I had to let the air out twice a day with a large syringe needle for several days and it never got better. Carol

I don't know where I originaly collected these, but they bring a smile and a chuckle. I am collecting pigeon related articles, stories, and jokes for publication in the Washington State Racing Pigeon Organization 2008 Yearbook. If you have some to add to this list for consideration and publication it would be much appreciated. Thanks Yours in the sport. Carol MsPigeon -If you're walking down a street and a passing bird "plops" on you & your 1st reaction is: "Hmm, he was a little out of form", you might be a pigeon nut. -If you're driving in a new town, see a flock of ferals fly over and your 1st comment is: "Gee, there's a lot of heterozygous grizzle in those birds", you might be a pigeon nut. -If you ponder over paying the electric bill or buying that blue-bar on the auction site, you might be a pigeon nut. -If you walk through a turn style to a sporting event and start thinking of ways you can set one up at your loft entrance, you might be a pigeon nut. -If a "high-roller" for you, has nothing to do with gambling, you might be a pigeon nut. -If a cop stops you for speeding, and you ask him to convert your speed to 'yards-per-minute', you might be a pigeon-nut. -If the term "clocking-in" has nothing to do with your real job, you might be a pigeon nut. -If you have to skip church every Sunday for a 3 month stretch, you might be a pigeon nut. -If your nick-name in your neighborhood is "the pigeon man" or "the pigeon lady", you might be a pigeon nut. ~Author Unknown~

Karl, Do you have a brand name or type to look for, I think I would be better off looking for one in the USA. And can you focus and scan slides while looking on screen rather than looking down the microscope eyepiece? Thanks Carol

Wow! I have been away from the forum for some time. And this is GOOD! I remember asking about microscopes a long time ago with not much response. My advice is 'don't give up' and soon things become recognizable at a glance. Also the magnification you are using and referencing the size of what you consider a cocci egg or worm egg to other things in the slide or each other really helps to make a positive diagnosis. I use Dr Chalmers book. These microscopes that connect to the computer sound very interesting. Can you just look at your screen and move the slide around and focus it etc without having to look down the eyepiece? I kind of go cross-eyed after squinting down that eyepiece after awhile LOL. MsPigeon

Wonderful! Thanks So Much! Is this the standard? MsPigeon

Hi crazypigeonboy, I do a dark system, it's not as complicated as some, just simple straight forward. I put my breeders togther the end of November with lights on 15-18 hours a day. Some just leave them on 24 hours, but I use timers on the lights. I can feed after dark when I get home from work and the lights turn off after the birds have had plenty of time to eat and go to perch. So then when the YB's come off and go to the YB loft it is on natural daylight/dark and with the long nights they go into a complete body molt and are good for the race season. This works till April or so then the days are longer and I suppose you could still do it if you darken the loft. But for me it is easier to just do it this way. MsPigeon

In preparation for winter I first move all my Yb's over to the OB loft. It usually takes a week or so to get them settled in and traping there. I also do as you say, put some plastic up on the side of the flight pens where the rain blows in. And then, as franktasker said, it's time to think about breeding. I go over race records and decide which breeders to use or sometimes I may use birds off the race team. Sometimes we try something new, like last year we tried pairing according to eye sign. Then sometime around the first week of November we give the breeders Five in One and worm them. We use individual pens so we sometimes start putting the cocks in pens about mid Nov. And by the end of the month they are paired up. What do you do stormroller? MsPigeon

Thanks for the info and the lovely pics. MsPigeon

Funny how topics have not chaged much, I have been away from the forum for a while. But opinons sure have changed. I have used Ivermectin 1%injectable cattle wormer for over 20 years for all my critters from pigeons to dogs, even myself. It is not for cats or collies though and could kill them. I give my pigeons 2-3 drops in the mouth using an old eye drop bottle which I fill useing a syringe. Young or smaller birds get 2 drops and the larger ones get 3. When in doubt about dosage for a specic animal I just Google it. I have definately seen that it works well in pigeons. I clean the loft before dosing and then look carefully at the dropings after. I have seen it work within hours, finding passed round worms, usually just a few here and there, but a badly infested bird will pass a walnut sized ball of them! YUK! Yours in the sport. Carol/MsPigeon

I use it! Have used it for a year now and found it greatly improved the feather quality. The birds are soft and sleek. I also switched from putting powders such as probiotics in the water to mixing it in the oiled feed. It sticks and is imediately ingested so I don't feel like I'm throwing some away when I give them fresh water. Just my thoughts Carol/MsPigeon

Hi fanciers, I have raised and raced homers for years but have recently decided to pick a breed to raise and show. My choice is Frillbacks. Have have had quite a time locating some breeders near enough to drive to and check out the birds before purchase. My question is what do I look for specific to good show Frillbacks? Thanks Carol MsPigeon

I use a ligt system of sorts. The breeders are on lights starting in November for at least 15-18 hours a day. This also encourages early mateing and nesting. Then when the babies are weaned in January and put in the YB loft with natural light they go into a complete moult within a week or so. Then by the time YB season roles around your birds ar done with the moult. This only works up to about April because of the hours of natural daylight. Carol

I heard of it years ago, I think it's a cocci treatment used durring the race season. I think I've still seen it still sold in pigeon supply catologs. Carol

Yes, your correct Fifer, it's preventative used during the race season. I have used it in the past very succesfully. Last year I used individual preventative treatments with completely differant active ingredients instead so as not to let the bugs build up any immunites. But this year I am back to Vita King 5 in 1. But I still use individual treatment with Ivomec for worms. Carol

After thinking about it, I remembered I do do that with my canaries. But with the canaries it is because they lay 5 eggs and five days difference in the size of a youngster can be a lot. If you didn't remove them so they would hatch nearer the same day the bigger babies would get all the food and the smaller ones would eventually die if you didn't do some switching of babies or hand feeding or something to ensure the younger ones are getting fed. Carol

I don't do that Ed, and I have babies in the nest now! Both eggs hatched. Carol

Thanks Tony, So do you have an opinion of the system? Carol

Hi Sajfos, So is Nystan a treatment for pigeons with fungus infection or something to treat pellets with so they don't grow fungus? If it's a medication I would think that keeping the pellets dry and making sure they get eaten up quickly, as you said, would be a better remedy. Thanks, Carol

All very good answers and informative. I say don't be afraid to change with the times. We didn't have to used to worry about bird flu either! The challenges of racing change and so do fixes. There are always new discoveries and remedies. Never stop listening, reading, and learning. And don't be afraid to try something new. Carol

Thats funny Tony because the American Racing Pigeon Union describes it as " a system that provides percentile scores similar to European scoring systems." This is their description. "... scoring is accomplished useing Universal Performance Rating (UPR) system. Percentiles for each race performance are calculated by dividing the fancier's position in the race by the total number of birds entered in the race and converting the results into a percentage." There is also a team score and nominated birds to earn extra points. But I don't fully understand it all as yet. It is built into the AU software WinSpeed that we use for our race results. Even if we don't use the system at club or Concourse level the AU uses it at the National level for national awards.