Help Needed

[GRAHAM MITCHELL]

Got a few y.bs wattles turning dirty also Old Cock starting to croak his wattle is snow white and eye is bright.They have not lost their appetite and droppings are fine.Any ideas please?

[Tony C]

Any yellow deposits (for a better word 'snot' ) visible on perches/boxes?

[GRAHAM MITCHELL]

No There are no yellow deposits on the perches or the wall behind them.

[Guest Owen]

It is difficult to guess at what could be causing your problem but at a guess there are two candidates for your troubles. First of all you need to check the ventilation of your loft. There has to be a current of air passing through from top to bottem. You should not be able to smell pigeons in there at all at any time. The droppings should be firm and you should be able to sweep them from the perches with a hand brush. The pigeons should have unlimited sunshine at all times. If your loft is poorly ventilated you are never likely to get the birds into top condition and form would be almost impossible to achieve. You will know how your birds perform in the races. If they are constantly behind and never challenge for the first and second prizes, you need to look hard at the environment you keep them in. Even the very best pigeons can not do well in a poor loft environment.

This time of the year there is a lot of canker in the pigeons. The youngsters pick it up from their parents and the old birds become run down due to rearing duties. Old bird Racers are always exposed to it in the race baskets where they are forced to be in contact with birds carrying this disease. The ideal solution is to have the droppings and swabs tested by a reliable Vet and find out exactly what is going on. You need to do this quickly before any more damage is done and to prevent the birds' condition dropping to levels that will ruin your season.