Silky Feathers

[Diamond dave]

I know that good form promotes silky feathering but what do fanciers give to their birds to contribute to this condition?

 

D.D.

[newbold]

i give adherb and plenty cod liver oil

[Guest strapper]

fresh GARLIC...cloves within 3 weeks on this you will notice a change.

it has so many good properties for the birds.

[Diamond dave]

Handling some of the birds on basketing night, I noticed that a lot of the birds were so silky and slick that they could slide out of your hands - It obviously wasn't "natural" and I noticed that these birds weren't among the winners - Is it something in the bath or can you spray the birds with WD 40 or something. :

[fletch]

ad herb and a hand full of conditionig seed before feeding everyday

[hotrod]

i give adherb and plenty cod liver oil

 

this is not the way to go ,cod liver oil contains a high amount of vit a ,its very hard for the birds to get rid of this out their system . a very small amount is ok but( plenty)  A BIG NO NO .

[OLDYELLOW]

many things can contribute to silky feathers , conditioning seeds are oily these will have the desired effect on the feathers so will various vegetables juiced carrots bring feathers to a top shine also takes the fat off the bird so thats how to change from inside out , and the other way is externaly via the bath 3 drops of tea tree oil and 3 drops of olbas oil great for respirity and a deterant for parasites and gives feathers that silky feel,  so conditioning the pigeon inside and out

[Guest]

Handling some of the birds on basketing night, I noticed that a lot of the birds were so silky and slick that they could slide out of your hands - It obviously wasn't "natural" and I noticed that these birds weren't among the winners - Is it something in the bath or can you spray the birds with WD 40 or something. :

 

well Dave ,if you were in my club ,spray the WD40 on . youre not so i wouldnt reccomend it , all the tips are good ,you say the silky birds dont win ,if theyhey will .   andy.

[Diamond dave]

NWN - We all know that pigeons with form and vitality have naturally silky feathering but I have noticed on basketing nights excessive, unnatural silky, slick feathering and I was wondering if this could be induced. In which case are  some fanciers perhaps kidding themselves by getting it from a 'bottle' and if this is the case, - does it work..........?

D.D.

[Guest gladdo]

id say ignore holding the birds with the silky feathers...id much rather hold the ones that are winning and hold as many of them ones as you can !!!!!!!!!!! mikey (dublin, ireland )

[Diamond dave]

To try to make my point, I would compare it to hair conditioner. - it will make your hair shinier but you could still have the flu or diarohea or something - it doesnt make you any healthier just because you have shiny hair............

D.D.

[Guest mick bowler]

Give them Trill once a week.

[Guest gladdo]

yeah mick let the cocks in for an hour bud !!!!! ha ha ha ha

[Guest gladdo]

you ever hear the saying ...never judge a book by its cover .... its like corn it might look shiney on the outside but when you open the grain up its rotten inside !!!! just some thoughts...mikey

[Tony C]

An overweight pigeon will feel silkier than a pigeon that feels light in the hand. More winners come from the latter.

[Guest gladdo]

yeah however you know whats nice.... my best mate in my cabra club brought his birds for the first race and i felt them ... when i handled them they were like silky and in top nick but the way the birds were towards anyone else what impressed me .... i told him he was going to win tomorrow.... he was 1st club, 2nd club... he said how did you know that the next day .... he thought he was kidding me but he knew himself ..... mikey.... so 2 sides to every story ,,, when you go up you have to go down ...when you go dwn you need to bounce back up .... mikey....only time i said that to him aswell about winning a race, he won 2 more with that and plus he was also 2 nd to me when i beat him by a decimal !!!!!! mikey

[Diamond dave]

Thats precisely my point. I have just read John Clements new book "Long Distance Pigeon Racing" (xmas prezzie) - He interviews several top european aces and a common criteria of all of them when selecting a pigeon is Silky feathering. I am sure that these fanciers can tell the difference but how can a novice or beginner tell the diffence between the real thing and the hair conditioner......?

D.D.

[Guest puresoontjen]

Handling some of the birds on basketing night, I noticed that a lot of the birds were so silky and slick that they could slide out of your hands - It obviously wasn't "natural" and I noticed that these birds weren't among the winners - Is it something in the bath or can you spray the birds with WD 40 or something. :[/quot

 

 

WHY DID MY BIRD WIN WITH SILKY FEATHERS NOT ONCE BUT TWICE IN THE MASSAC RACESE 300 MILES. AND NOT ONLY THE CLUBS IT WAS FIRST FEDS.   winning the fearless trophy  

[Guest gladdo]

im not sure dave but it wasnt only the feathering conditioning... these birds felt immac weight, they felt fit , right size birds , they were picture of health, they were relaxed (like many champions are ) they knew what they were doing when they came up to g inthier baskets and top of all these birds were very intelligent aswell ... they had something about them...not 1 after that first race did i say anyone would do well other than myself ... yes id always write in my book how my birds felt and write about the opostion birds lk yeah so and so bird s were well fed etc ....writing stuff down then you can study and go over what went right and wrong and who got it right and wrong .... you learn off others always... condition they were in etc and have got it wrong but i was right that day ...first time and only time with another fanciers birds...he had them prepared id say more than anyone and they were sharp on the wing and sharp in the sky...... maybe sharp training id say aswell !!!!! mikey....

[Guest IB]

Easy enough to tell the 'real' thing, if there is such a thing  , mine are silky coming out the nest. I think it's in the breeding, not the feeding. Another thread on here, Jimmy White I think it was, said there are two distinct feathering types, drier coarser feather associated with sprinters, and silky smooth associated with long distance pigeons.

[Diamond dave]

Thats precisely my point. I have just read John Clements new book "Long Distance Pigeon Racing" (xmas prezzie) - He interviews several top european aces and a common criteria of all of them when selecting a pigeon is Silky feathering. I am sure that these fanciers can tell the difference but how can a novice or beginner tell the diffence between the real thing and the hair conditioner......?

D.D.

[Tony C]

Easy enough to tell the 'real' thing, if there is such a thing  , mine are silky coming out the nest. I think it's in the breeding, not the feeding. Another thread on here, Jimmy White I think it was, said there are two distinct feathering types, drier coarser feather associated with sprinters, and silky smooth associated with long distance pigeons.

 

The coarser type feathering is often referred to as sacking.

[Diamond dave]

Hi Tony, are you saying that it is inherent to certain strains and it is not induced by form?

D.D.

[Guest IB]

Thats precisely my point. I have just read John Clements new book "Long Distance Pigeon Racing" (xmas prezzie) - He interviews several top european aces and a common criteria of all of them when selecting a pigeon is Silky feathering. I am sure that these fanciers can tell the difference but how can a novice or beginner tell the diffence between the real thing and the hair conditioner......?D.D.

 

I know that it is not a good example comparing feathers with hair, but while hair never stops growing, feather does and then becomes a dead structure, (other than powder down feathers which never stop growing or moult out) all this 'gunk on the feed' would need to go into it while the feather is still growing, so you can add as much to the feed as you like, it will have no influence on fully-grown feathers.

 

 

[leighton1984]

massage the oil gland and see how nice the feathers look after a bath do this twice a year as they can get blocked.