Thoughts on Moult Part1
Honestly speaking I do not feel like writing this article at all. It is about the moult and it is all so useless and unimportant. I do not mean the moult, but what I have to say about it, since pigeons just moult, that is in their nature and there is nothing special we need to do for that. Swallows instinctively and inevitably build a perfect ‘swallow nest’ when it is the time to do so, even though they have never seen other swallows do this before. Healthy pigeons are the same story. They inevitably will moult when it is ‘moulting time’. ‘Why then should I write and should you read about the moult?’ you may wonder. That is because there are so many misunderstanding and… I get many questions on it, mainly from novices and novices should be helped.
MEDICINE
It is a well-known fact that one should stay away from medicine as much as possible when birds are moulting. But… in case of health problems you just have no choice. The point is that during the moult birds are more vulnerable to diseases, since renewing the feathers in a short period of time weakens the body of the pigeon so much. One such a problem may be paratyphoid but fortunately the medicine to cure paratyphoid does not influence the moult at all, apart from Baytril (maybe!). Of course you should not medicate against diseases that do not exist, neither in the moulting season nor at other times. If you do, you will undermine the natural resistance little by little until you have a family of birds that cannot be helped any more in case of real health problems. When a German saw the breath taking condition of my birds his inevitable question was what I had given them (Germans are like that, they are addicted to medication and food additives). ‘Nothing at all’ I reacted, adding ‘I give medicine as little as possible, which explains why my birds are so healthy’.Then he asked ‘don’t you need medicine to get birds in such good health as yours?’Questioningly I looked at him and thought ‘poor man, you will be a loser in this sport as long as you are in it’. But as I said, in case of serious problems you just have no choice and you have to take action. The risk of ‘disturbed’ flights is little.
BE CAREFUL
The medicine in particular that you should avoid are those against worms and coccidiose. If these are based on sulpha they may be harmful if you treat birds for a longer time. As I said medicating birds against paratyphoid when they are moulting will not hurt them but vaccinating them will. I am against vaccinating against salmonella; while others promote it, which is confusing for novices, since vets as well have different opinions. Such a vaccination is real tough and birds may suffer a lot for some days. If you mate up birds shortly after a vaccination you ask for big problems and you may ruin a whole breeding round; Hens may not lay or eggs are not fertile. There should be a break of at least 6 weeks between the vaccination and the day you start breeding.
TEA AND VITAMINS
The firms that sell food additives know fanciers love their birds and will do anything they can to get them in good shape. Therefore they aggressively advertise all kinds of stuff that pigeons absolutely need according to them. ‘You need that shit for good race results, for breeding and to get birds through the moult properly. At least that is what they say. If you do not give your birds our golden stuff you will endanger the next racing season’ one cries out louder than the other. Do not fall for their slogans. Of course an innocent tea will not harm the birds, but I do not believe in tea (any more). Vitamins won’t hurt either if you do not exaggerate, but I stopped believing in them as well. Several times I gave half of my birds vitamins, the others not, and the result was that I did not see any difference at all. So forget all that stuff from now on. It is meant to rob you from your money, for which you might have had worked hard. Please bear in mind there is much money to be made in food additives and medicine; therefore so much money is spent on advertising. Did you ever see an ad on grit? You probably did not. Still grit is far more important than tea, vitamins and so on. Why then, you may wonder, do people not promote grit if it is so important? The reason is simple. It is heavy, not handy and… there is little profit in it.
SURPRISED
Every year in spring I am surprised when I see the glossy shining feathers of wild doves in my yard. They did not get any help in winter either, on the contrary. In hard winters they have to fight to survive due to lack of food and water. But still they get through the moult perfectly. I know you cannot compare our pigeons with doves but nevertheless: Food for thought!!!
see also Thoughts on Moult Part2
Thoughts on Moult Part1 by: Ad Schaerlaeckens
The Leading Online Pigeon Racing and Racing Pigeons Magazine – The Pigeon Insider
I feel the same , vitamin and the like its all the same it won’t make good pigeon out of poor pigeon ,I myself have cut down on those unnecessary supplement.
Molting is not for me to inter fear in natures course. So no remedies or medication for my pigeons. In saying so, it always fascinate me when nature is at work. Nothing can stop it or change it. If you care and manage your pigeons well and beyond, every pigeon should be healthy and their moult too. Isn’t it?
Good answer,just I do not agree with the author not believing in tea.I use the “Natural Tea”and find my birds down feathers fall off the birds at an alarming rate when I use the tea,it stimulates the blood flow and in turn good blood flow stimulates good feather growth,my birds always have pink breast mussles no matter when in the season and I cannot race birds without tea.I always judge my coming season on how my birds moulted and every year they moult well,lots of down and other feathers seen around my loft everyday.
If your birds get sick during the moult,then I am afraid you are not going to have a good race season.
Hi all happy new year to all
Has anyone one had babies dying for no reason lately as I have lost 6
New borns and don’t know why or what they dying from. Could it be the
Heat
A good article, natural is always better, people use lots of additives but there is never any proof that they are better than what they would have been without it. With humans its mostly in your mind but birds don’t know what where giving them. To me most are a waste of money that i cannot afford. My pigeons look good are healthy and produced good health young, I need nothing more.
clarky
After reading Thoughts on Moult Part 1 and 2 I come to the same conclusion, Don’t fool with mother nature. I remember following a medication regiment for a month using four different drugs as prescibed by this author of a well known book which I will not mention. The results were two lost rounds of youngsters that never hatched. The eggs were all empty. Things finally came around. Many of my fellow club members gave me young to get the season started.
I don’t medicate unless there is a problem. I don’t change the hours of day or night to speed or slow down the moult. They get clean water and the best food I can get.I buy enough for the season. I use a good grit with plenty of calcium and minerals. Also carbon or charcoal in the grit. The only thing that goes in the water is garlic three days a week and honey after a race. Other than this a clean loft with proper ventilation and insulation. To me this is the key to great form. Insulation to keep loft dry with low humidity and PROPER ventilation to provide more than enough cool oxygen.The heat from sun during the day is held alot longer in a insulated loft well into the night with just the right ventilation, especially during cold nights in summer and winter nights. That’s about it.
All the best to all, Nick
Great article Chris
Question ? Do human atheletes ingest food, drink and supplements that the coaches suggest,(advise) will increase muscle mass, improve the endurance factor and enhance the overall performance of the individual? Every little bit helps, Using teas, food additives and supplements to gain the edge increases the birds chances of success. Use vitamines, minerals, bvrewers yeas garlic and specific food grains or supplements etc In moderation for specific and particular intended results eg. moulting, breeding and racing!
Mel Knight
a very good article to think about!
thanks for posting it. its a big help.
i strongly agree that the natural way is the best way…
but in the natural world of pigeons there are no such word as trapping, training boxes & so on and so forth. and because our birds are kept in the loft most of the time, the birds were constrained to acquire when needed what they required naturally for so many reasons. thus, we give them supplements to somehow substitute these nutrients needed for them to become as healthy as possible.
im a believer the less the better these animals were here before us and wiil still be here after were gone something to think about
Have you accounted for how many wild doves have died fighting the winter without any help from their fancier?
Good thought..
fantastic article, natural is the best remedy