Good to know part 2
SEDOCHOL
Sedochol is a registered product (so it can"t be rubbish) with as main components methionine, choline and sorbitol.
It is "for animals of which the digestion is aggravated or isn"t functioning properly, or when they have a bad moult and it is soothing for the liver.
For pigeons, Sedochol is a good product for shows and sales.
When you put Sedochol in the water for 3 days some 10 days before a show or sale, and after an interval of 2 days again for 3 consecutive days, you will be amazed how soft the feathers will feel.
Although you can"t expect miracles regarding achievements, it is about the best product for the moult I have ever come across.
Give them one third of a tablespoon in 2 litres of water.
SHEETS OF CORRUGATED IRON
A lot has been said and written about the loft, and rightly so. The loft is of enormous importance.
Some fanciers even say that it"s more important than the quality of the pigeons.
In a good loft the atmosphere is pleasant, with lots of oxygen and without draughts.
Much attention is paid to oxygen, and that"s why many choose a gabled roof with often ventilation pipes or ventilation tiles within it.
This is therefore the opposite of a flat roof of corrugated iron, but theory and reality often clash.
The late Albert Marcelis had fantastic lofts with almost flat roofs ... of corrugated iron.
Once I was at Dobbelaere in Marke.
I couldn"t see any lofts in front of his house and for a moment I thought that I was in the wrong place. But this was not the case!
In the garden there were several lofts, but you couldn"t see them because of the flat, corrugated iron roofs. And precisely the loft that could get very hot indeed, was the loft from which the pigeons achieved the best results.
The same with Eddy Janssen from Zandhoven, where the pigeons are housed under corrugated iron. As they do with the National Champion of Belgium KBDB extra long middle-distance in 2007 (Theo Janssens), and I could name many more cases.
So people who claim that corrugated iron is not good are contradicted by the facts.
As a matter of interest, Theo Janssens won that title with hens. He like so many other fanciers has raced with hens these last few years.
TRAINING
Especially novice fanciers sometimes wonder if it wouldn"t be better to release pigeons one by one during training; maybe youngsters would learn more that way?
I don"t know a single young bird specialist who does that, and I advice against it.
It"s nonsense as well to wait a moment after opening the boot of the car, so that the pigeons can get used to the light and get their bearings.
I open the boot then open the baskets straight away. No problem whatsoever.
BROKEN FEATHER
Most fanciers know the trick to get a slightly broken feather back into position again: holding it in warm water for a few seconds or under warm steam.
Pulling a feather can be done when you do it in one slow, flowing movement in the right direction.
However, you should not do it with the last flight; if you pull that one the chances are it will never grow a good one back. That feather is important and delicate. That"s why you should never force pigeons during the moult when the 10th flight is still growing back. Some fanciers even keep their pigeons in the loft during this time.
NESTING MATERIAL
Straw, tobacco stems and nest felts are the most common nest materials.
Nest felts are the safest way to avoid breaking the eggs, but newspaper can be used as well, if only because of the price.
Place two double pages on top of each other, put the nest bowl in the centre, fold the four corners over the bowl and press them down.
If the growing young are healthy and produce dry droppings it can happen that the bowl isn"t even dirty after a breeding round.
Nest bowl in paper
Job done
COLI ADENO
There are quite a few products to get pigeons healthy again after an attack of Adeno Coli. Trimethroprim, Cosumix, Baytril, Parastop, "4 in 1", the cola-like liquid from Dr. Marien and other products can all be effective.
In the past there has been quite some resistance against Baytril but most fanciers have come around to it, vets also.
Baytril is also very effective against paratyphoid.
In case of Adeno Coli you have to take the feed away for 3 days.
So long without feed?
Yes, indeed, no grain at all.
Water however; you should never take away, even when the pigeons drink plenty. If pigeons can"t drink you will get even more deaths because of dehydration.
It"s best to put electrolytes in the water, like Belgasol (de Weerd) or Volamin.
One of the contents of these products is glutamine, an important amino acid for good functioning bowel cells.
Where many experts are doubtful about the effect of vitamins, amino acids are considered to be very important for pigeons.
Belgasol, Volamin and many other products also ensure a speedy recovery after a race in warm weather, because they stimulate the replenishing of fluid loss.
Eyes discoloured and a pigeon that does not stand up? Forget. Too bad for the
bird but it is lost.