St Finnan Loft Posted March 11, 2012 Report Share Posted March 11, 2012 No doubt some fanciers will disagree with what I am going to say but please think before you give pigeons milk my father in law had cows as well as goats the milk from the goats was sought after by the parents of kids who had skin problems eczema etc we gave this milk at no charge but told them the family doctor must be informed. And yes I witnessed it being given to pigeons and had a problem convincing the fancier to stop this but not before his season was ruined, birds do not possess the digestive enzymes necessary to process milk. Although pigeons feed their babies crop milk,this is actually sloughed cells from the crop and secretions, and not a milk product at all. Milk sugar is called lactose. Mammals have a digestive enzyme, lactase,to digest milk sugar. Birds simply lack lactase and cannot digest milk products containing lactose. Birds will develop diarrhoea when lactose in the diet reaches between 10 and 30 percent. Products that contain a significant amount of lactose are dried skim milk Some milk products contain little or no lactose, and these may be safely given to pigeons. Yogurt is a good source of calcium for birds. No doubt as in the past some fanciers will disagree but give it a thought for the sake of the pigeons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victorious Posted March 11, 2012 Report Share Posted March 11, 2012 No doubt some fanciers will disagree with what I am going to say but please think before you give pigeons milk my father in law had cows as well as goats the milk from the goats was sought after by the parents of kids who had skin problems eczema etc we gave this milk at no charge but told them the family doctor must be informed. And yes I witnessed it being given to pigeons and had a problem convincing the fancier to stop this but not before his season was ruined, birds do not possess the digestive enzymes necessary to process milk. Although pigeons feed their babies crop milk,this is actually sloughed cells from the crop and secretions, and not a milk product at all. Milk sugar is called lactose. Mammals have a digestive enzyme, lactase,to digest milk sugar. Birds simply lack lactase and cannot digest milk products containing lactose. Birds will develop diarrhoea when lactose in the diet reaches between 10 and 30 percent. Products that contain a significant amount of lactose are dried skim milk Some milk products contain little or no lactose, and these may be safely given to pigeons. Yogurt is a good source of calcium for birds. No doubt as in the past some fanciers will disagree but give it a thought for the sake of the pigeons. USED TO USE IT YEARS AGO I GOT IT FREE FROM DAIRY FARM WERE I WORKED ,BIRDS RACED WELL ON IT BUT ALWAYS HAD GREASY WATTLES,DONT USE IT NOW OF COURSE BUT READ WHAT YOU STATE ON THE NET RECENTLY BUT YEARS AGO WE DIDNT KNOW ANY BETTER WE DIDNT HAVE THIS INFORMATION FREELY WOULD NEVER USE IT AGAIN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiley Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 I only use milk as a detox, half milk, half water and honey, on return from racing only, it cleans them out youll never see droppings like it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IB Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 No doubt some fanciers will disagree with what I am going to say but please think before you give pigeons milk my father in law had cows as well as goats the milk from the goats was sought after by the parents of kids who had skin problems eczema etc we gave this milk at no charge but told them the family doctor must be informed. And yes I witnessed it being given to pigeons and had a problem convincing the fancier to stop this but not before his season was ruined, birds do not possess the digestive enzymes necessary to process milk. Although pigeons feed their babies crop milk,this is actually sloughed cells from the crop and secretions, and not a milk product at all. Milk sugar is called lactose. Mammals have a digestive enzyme, lactase,to digest milk sugar. Birds simply lack lactase and cannot digest milk products containing lactose. Birds will develop diarrhoea when lactose in the diet reaches between 10 and 30 percent. Products that contain a significant amount of lactose are dried skim milk Some milk products contain little or no lactose, and these may be safely given to pigeons. Yogurt is a good source of calcium for birds. No doubt as in the past some fanciers will disagree but give it a thought for the sake of the pigeons. Heard this one a while back, and tended to agree with it back then. But now reckon it's not strictly correct. Yes, pigeons don't have lactase, and cannot directly digest milk products - but they have lactic acid bacteria in their gut, these do have the enzyme and it is bacterial action, rather than the pigeons that breaks the lactose down so that pigeon's gut can absorb it. I agree with your point on loose droppings tho. I used to use live yoghurt on their feed as a probiotic. If I fed it anymore than 3 consecutive days, their droppings got loose, OK kept to 3 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tooshy Boy Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St Finnan Loft Posted March 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Yes info is readily available now, when I was a boy I was always encouraged to visit the library, Dad said read about it, and you wont forget, back to the milk my friend was an avid Old Hand reader so to convince him to curtail his daily milk ration I wrote a letter to Old Hand and received a very nice hand typed letter back this was in 1971 and had the desired effect,(see your view bacterial action). We all tend to look for some magical solution to increase our birds chances in the race, I recall in Melbourne talking to a retired jockey who told me the story of one of the greatest champion thoroughbred racehorses ever. What he tried to relay was this horse became a champion in spite of an addition to his diet that the jockey reckoned eventually killed him due to the build up of arsenic which was an ingredient in this so called tonic which I may add was used on a regular basis in all countries a film was made about this horse and his death remains unconfirmed even put down to gangsters who gave him a fatal dose of arsenic however recent hairs removed from his remains point to a build up (Champions are born and only require the correct environment and opportunity). They even win in spite of our mistakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter pandy Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 I have given Cheddar Cheese to the birds for 50 years and they love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St Finnan Loft Posted March 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 I have given Cheddar Cheese to the birds for 50 years and they love it. Have read IB views and done some research in the modern world ..............Some milk products do not contain lactose, such as cottage cheese and other types of cheese. Generally, it is thought that it is safe to offer yogurt and cheese, although products that contain lactose are probably safe, if offered in small amounts. Interestingly, live culture yogurt does contain lactose when it is produced; however the live organisms in the yogurt consume the lactose, eventually removing the lactose entirely from the yogurt before it is consumed! Cheese products with onions or garlic in them are best avoided, because of the risk of Heinz body hemolytic anemia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TAMMY_1 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 never contemplated giving the birds milk,only use for milk is in tea or on cornflakes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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