Geraldy Transporter

[pjc]

put the air conn on!

[pjc]

just think about the heat the birds fly in for the south africa one loft race, the birds are very adaptable and can control there body temp.

 

Phil

[Taylorsloft]

buy a real car   ;D ;D ;D ;D :P

[Guest]

just spoken to a race convoyer who was at a race yesterday he tells me the coolest place was in the back of his GERALDY when all the others were bakeing out side

[pjc]

prob is then frank you have the opposite problem, the birds a sat in a nice cool air conditioned transporter, strings are cut and they fly out into the full heat of the sun and hot air!

[Taylorsloft]

transporter

[Taylorsloft]

note the feeders on top of the drinkers

[little sam]

WHY NOT JUST BUY SOME CHEAP WHITE MATERIAL AND PUT IT OVER PERSPEX WHILE IN ONE PLACE

[Guest IB]

prob is then frank you have the opposite problem, the birds a sat in a nice cool air conditioned transporter, strings are cut and they fly out into the full heat of the sun and hot air!

 

Think its a tad more technical than that. The birds are maintained in a constant environment - that they as individuals and as a group can cope with - -The Sunday name for it is the thermoregulatory neutral zone  (between 20C and 30C). With adequate temperature control, water and air exchange the birds are 100% ready to face the conditions ahead. Those traditional transporters that are so highly spoken of (on here     ) are responsible for 95% of the pigeons in them being beaten before the flaps go down..... not exactly news, or rocket science, Dutch were the first to find out about it in 1998? and built a new fleet of transporters to suit.

[Novice]

the green eyed monster is out again ian they are great ! birds love them and i cant under stand why some fanciers all ways try and call great transporters like this down they are night and day from the old ones

 

I absolutely agree with this post. Why decry progress?

 

 

[Guest bigda]

 

Are you saying that on an air con transporter it will be or should be between 70 - 90F then or have i misunderstood that

he just guessing, making it up, you know the stuff  :X ;D

 

[gangster]

................THEY CANT MAKE THEM QUICK ENOUGH SO THEY MUST BE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT..... ;) ;)

[OLDYELLOW]

i like Geraldy i wouldn't of bought mine if i dint think it was the best i could get for my birds

[Guest IB]

 

Are you saying that on an air con transporter it will be or should be between 70 - 90F then or have i misunderstood that

 

No you are right Rose. The study was Dutch and naturally their focus was on range of temperatures the Dutch pigeons endured on mainland Europe between Spring and Summer, where for example temps in Holland in Spring during their early races are around 14C, but soar to 35-40C in Summer in Spain for their longest races.

 

Its all to do with the heat that say 5000 birds generate in the confined space of a transporter, which isn't that much bigger than a big loft. (Imagine 5000 pigeons in a loft). Each bird has to get rid of its own excess heat without causing a rise or fall in temperature within the transporter. These temperatures also have upper and lower critical limits.

 

This is a precis of the chapter covering that:-

 

Water availability and the optimal temperature zone

 

Water deprivation lowers the upper critical temperature to 32.7C. (YBs died at 39C)

 

With water availability, no increase in these values was seen below the upper limit at 37C. With water availability and increasing ambient temperatures a decrease in heat production values was seen until 20C was reached, and remained constant at higher levels. 20C can be regarded as the lower critical temperature. (LCT)

 

At high ambient temperature levels birds resort to mainly water evaporation for heat loss to maintain normal body temperature. Water deprivation prevents repletion of body water reserves. This results in an increase of 1.3 % body weight loss per degree C above 32.1C and reaches 16.2% body weight loss at 39C, over a 23 hour period. The physiological consequences of this weight loss (dehydration) are: a rise in body temperature; blood high viscosity (‘thickening’); ‘drying out’ of the breast muscles through water extraction; and death when the body weight loss threshold reaches 18%. The combined effects of the temperature level and the time birds are exposed to it determines the mortality rate. Heavier birds are affected more. Smaller birds appear better able to cope with hot environments where water is scarce.

 

During flight, decreased blood viscosity promotes blood flow thus reducing the load on the heart. Therefore dehydration will adversely affect flight performance, and the bird’s capacity to get home.

 

Also during flight, body temperature increases by between 1.5C and 3C, and water loss exceeds water production. Starting the flight with depleted water reserves will cause the pigeon’s body to overheat (hyperthermia). In horses, hyperthermia decreases the time to muscle fatigue.

 

Group behaviour: One parameter increased above 32.1C, regardless of age or water availability – variation of body weight loss. Social interactions within group of confined pigeons increased body heat production, and consecutively, the need for individuals to lose that heat. Water availability doesn’t equate to individual intake either due to social inhibitions and drinking thresholds.  Climate control during transport is useful when water is available, keeping the temperature below 32C reduces the variation of body weight loss within a group and thus the variation in individual hydration status of the birds at the time of release.

 

Age and optimal temperature zone   p23

 

Optimal temperature zone for transporter: 20C to 32C for all ages. Some parameters were different for different age groups.

 

Body heat production was 5% higher in young birds than old. Young birds have higher energy requirements for growth processes.

 

Young birds also had a higher variation in mean body weight losses, may be down to lack of experience. Old birds easily adapt to an already familiar environment.  Hct* values significantly higher in young birds 2.1%, possibly linked to the higher body heat production, requiring a higher oxygen supply.

 

UCT is 32C. Variation in body weight loss increases above this. Water deprivation increases heat production, body weight loss, dry matter content of the breast muscles and mortality at temperatures above UCT. The resultant dehydrated state probably reduces the flying capacity of the pigeon and increase bird losses.

 

*Hct - explanation.

 

Hematocrit (Hct) values decrease when the size or number of red cells decrease, and if red cells increase, Hematocrit values increase. Fluid volume in the blood affects the hematocrit. Pregnant women have extra fluid, which dilutes the blood, decreasing the hematocrit. Dehydration concentrates the blood, increasing the hematocrit.

 

Dehydration causes higher values, and the bird's age was a significant factor in this. Study found readings of 56% in YBs, and 53% in OBs . Water deprivation tended to increase Hct by 1.2%.

 

 

[pjc]

very interesting IB

[Guest]

I just hope the air conditioning on the transporters works better than in our office we are either freezing cold or its like an oven in there doesnt seem very healthy either one gets something and the whole office goes down with it  :-/

lol

[pigeonscout]

def perspex front doors, what you can see are the alloy dowels at the back where the drinkers go.

 

It would be cheaper to put a tin flap on the basket than a PERSPEX one but it has been proven that birds in a race basket with a PERSPEX front if they are given 5 min's before release clear the lib site faster than those birds that cannot see out. This could be down to 1 orientation or 2 their eyes have adjusted to the light.

 

[Guest bigda]

 

It would be cheaper to put a tin flap on the basket than a PERSPEX one but it has been proven that birds in a race basket with a PERSPEX front if they are given 5 min's before release clear the lib site faster than those birds that cannot see out. This could be down to 1 orientation or 2 their eyes have adjusted to the light.

just like when you come out of the cinema  what" way"

 

 

[pjc]

Spot on pigeonscout, the research carried out at Oxford university lofts proved that.

I don't know about others but when training I always stand the baskets out of the car for 5mins before liberating to give them chance to adjust to light and sun position.

 

Phil

[frank-123]

thought the roller shutter came down to cover the baskets then raised before liberation

think the main thing is to get rid of the fowl air and get oxygen into the baskets with water on three side's the birds are a lot better off

 

i know if certain people in positions don't get a move on fanciers are going to be leaving there organisation's and flying with ones that give there birds a better chance of returning from races

[Guest bigda]

thought the roller shutter came down to cover the baskets then raised before liberation

think the main thing is to get rid of the fowl air and get oxygen into the baskets with water on three side's the birds are a lot better off

 

i know if certain people in positions don't get a move on fanciers are going to be leaving there organisation's and flying with ones that give there birds a better chance of returning from races

bart with 30% of birds missing last week  say a thousand birds  with glasgows new transporter that might be debatable  :X

 

[frank-123]

well i for one would take my chance

better than the crap transporter we have

[Guest bigda]

well i for one would take my chance

better than the crap transporter we have

 

thought you where king of the Sky's in your club Bart   ;) 8) 8) 8)

[Guest]

rose there is a diference between air /con and fresh air bieng pumped directly into the baskets like ours air con goes through a cooling system ours does not just pure fresh air in and all stale air out through extract fans and while i see where you are comming from ian the only time you can keep any space at a certain temp that space must be completly sealed the geraldys are not but this system does keep the back of the vech. at a exeptal temp. for the betterment of the birds

[frank-123]

 

thought you where king of the Sky's in your club Bart   ;) 8) 8) 8)

 

hardly

king of last places now your talking