Dear pigeon fanciers:Willem tells us: “At the Dutch Open (pigeon racing fair). Hey spoke to a well know fancier that had very good pigeons. At the beginning of
Because of this change his pigeons flew very poorly the first 7 races. So poorly he considered leaving the pigeon sport.
He mentioned this at the club. The next day a sport friend and club member provided some help and gave him some good advice.
This friend called me and asked if I could come over. It seemed that the lofts and the feeding methods were not right.
The rest of the season his pigeons flew tremendously. This resulted in several championships, several 1st prizes and 4 Teletext pigeons”.
Fast recuperation after the race is the starting point of a racing plan. To accomplish fast recuperation the feed has to be adjusted. After recuperation the intestinal tract must be cleaned.
After this the important nutrients required for muscle repair must be absorbed. When the muscles are repaired and fed, we can fill the “tank” with energy for the next race.
During the “seventies and eighties” there a variety of studies were done on pigeons. These were carried out at Universities such as Mannheim (Germany) and Guelph (Canada). Pigeons were flown in small wind tunnels.
The pigeons were fitted with an apparatus that fit over their beaks and measured the intake of oxygen and the discharge of carbon dioxide. This allowed for the precise calculation of the amount of energy used.
The results were a revelation for the researchers, because they learned that pigeons did not perform like humans and other mammals on carbohydrates, but mainly on fatty acids and that they used from 3 to 3 ½ grams per hour of flying time.
When racing during the first half hour the carbohydrates will be used first, after this the pigeon changes over to burning fatty acids.
The most interesting carbohydrates for racing pigeons are those, which are gradually absorbed by the body. This ensures that less insulin is needed and the blood sugar levels don’t spike as much.
These carbohydrates are absorbed better and more gradually and the pigeons can use them longer during the race. These carbohydrates are called amylopectin.
A pigeon flies fastest when burning carbohydrates. That is why these sugars are of great importance. They can fly fast longer, which provides a great advantage as they can arrive home sooner.
There are two different groups of vitamins. They are the water soluble group (B and C) and the fat soluble group (A-D-E-K) of vitamins. The fat soluble group are stored in the liver.
Too many of these vitamins will cause a loss of form although a shortage is also not desirable. An excess of the water soluble vitamins B and C will be eliminated with the droppings.
You can see this by the yellow or orange colour of the droppings. All vitamins have an important function in the body.
We can separate the by-products into those products which provide little or no energy, but increase or help maintain health and those that can prevent shortages.
Products that can influence health are garlic, onion, thyme, all types of tea, apple cider vinegar, and probiotics etc. Products that prevent shortages are vitamins, minerals and trace elements such as calcium, magnesium, iron, selenium etc.
Besides these there are by-products that provide extra energy for the muscles and the energy supply, Products such as animal proteins and oils, fatty acids and specific sugars.
There are various methods used to peak at just the right time. One of the best methods is still the curve method. The first part of the week the birds are fed enough but not too much.
After cleaning the intestinal system the muscles are fed with proteins after which the feed is changed.
The last days of the week the pigeons are fed enough so that the pigeons will eat very little on shipping day (one night in the basket), if this is the case than they have been prepared optimally for the race.
The new scientific methods of feeding are designed so that they are less taxing on the birds’ digestive system. Especially legumes (peas) tax the pigeons during the breeding and racing seasons.
We can choose for other easier to digest proteins, which produce fewer droppings and greatly reduce the burden on the pigeon’s digestive system. The same can be said for carbohydrates and fatty acids.
This is some of the advice I have given, but many questions come in daily on the care and maintenance of our pigeons and other problems we can have with them.
It is impossible to personally answer all these questions. That is why an E-book (in PDF format) has been put together, with all the best articles that I have written, translated from the original Dutch to English. To be precise, there are in total thirty-seven articles included in the e-book.
I hope that in this way I can answer many of the questions you may have and that as a racing pigeon fancier you can use the material to your advantage and better prepare your pigeons for the races, leading to better performances and giving you more pleasure with our beautiful sport.
Hi Peter, I can truely say that a whole new world opened for me after reading some of the articles your father wrote. The condition of my pigeons improved a lot and we are entering the moult now and I am waiting for the racing season with very high hopes.
I can not say at this moment what the racing season will bring, but looking at the improvement at this stage, it will be good. The feeding scheme that your father sugested will be implemented 100 percent this year and I will let you know about the progress.”
I think the articles and your father’s Nutritional Advice For your Pigeons Ebook are an excellent rescource and… Read more…