THE COMFORT ZONE

THE COMFORT ZONE

The length that each fancier is prepared to go to in order to achieve success is a matter of choice. There are those that will leave no stone unturned in their quest to gain optimum condition for their pigeons. Their management includes water programmes, feeding programmes and equally as importantly to them, vaccination programmes. On the other hand there are those who believe that keeping as close to nature will be as equally rewarding. In nature, as with all things in life, for every question there is an answer. With every attack from new viruses, bacterial infections and new diseases, nature’s immune system will eventually find a defence. Unfortunately, eventually is not quick enough for the competitive flier who wants his flock in top condition at all times. ‘Keep Your Pigeons Flying’ written by Leon Whitney so many years ago, but still the reference book for so many pigeon vets, makes the point of the fancier throughout his book. Natural immunity and resistance from disease will become stronger in the flock the less the system is interfered with. Good management is all that is required, so it would seem. Our flocks would be more than happy to live in perfect harmony warding off disease if only we had the time to wait. For instance at my late Father-in-law’s lofts are still nine pigeons cared for by my wife. Their ages range from Ten years old to Twenty years old, they are in perfect health and have never had one treatment in their life.
Years of evolution tells us that there have been very few diseases that have wiped out any one species. I find it hard to believe this will ever happen. In any species there will always be those few that will be resistant. The only thing that will be responsible for the disappearance of man or animal will be natural disasters or wars. It was said Myxomatosis would curb the Rabbit population, has it?
We have a world of information at our finger tips and access to advice from all kinds of experts in their field. Even these experts admit that there is so much that they still have not found the answers to. Infact the great Sir Isaac Newton once said ‘If I have seen further then it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants. For I do not know what I may appear to the world ,but unto myself, I am still just a boy standing on the sea shore of life, casting pebbles into the great ocean of truth undiscovered before me’.
The giants he referred to were the great minds that went before him. The people who’s discoveries led the way for him to question and develop their findings. Like all geniuses his theories were to prove many of his mentors wrong. In much the same way as some of yesterday’s revolutionary drugs and vaccines are now proving to be fatal .Very few people consider the long term affects from the use of antibiotics or medicines, especially the drug companies. The trial periods for drugs and vaccines have long been the subject of review every time a proclaimed wonder drug has had irreversible side affects. In the world of pigeon racing , horse racing or greyhound racing the turn over of stock is so frequent that to most, the long term affects of what they might have over-used does not matter. The long term effects are passed on to the next person and so on.
In every living thing there is a balance and when this balance is disturbed the body is susceptible to attack. Every move we make in our lofts is liable to upset that balance. Just separate the cocks from the hens for a few days and take a look at the droppings, the balance is disturbed and internally things change. Once a pigeons system is put under stress, it, as in all living things, is open to attack. A simple procedure like removing their young disturbs that balance. Racing our pigeons regularly puts them under stress and their system is vulnerable. Move any living thing from its comfort zone and the result is the same. Those fanciers, who find themselves having to use antibiotics regularly, find it hard to believe that success can be achieved without them. They have not realized that the antibiotic has all but taken the place of the pigeon’s immune system. Infact for a while, it becomes the immune system. The first administration of a course of antibiotics is followed by an unmistakeable rise in condition and very often followed by an improvement in performance. Provided of course there are no internal parasites. The rise in condition is understandable. When a broad spectrum antibiotic is used it leaves the system completely free from infection. With that it is safe to assume that a feeling of well-being will follow. After seeing this it is no surprise to see the fancier reaching into the medicine cabinet every time their flock look a little down in the mouth.
Loft management has a major part to play, being able to apply your system without disturbing the pigeons balance is the key. This is what sets top fanciers aside from those who struggle. To do this the fancier has to have the ability to have the trust of his pigeons. Too many disregard their pigeons as only pigeons. They have no respect for their intelligence. The inside of a pigeon loft is a whole community living side by side just like human beings. If you don’t believe me just leave your pigeons on the natural system for a year or so. Let them do as they please, pick who they want as a mate, let them choose to nest where they want. Then sit and watch. Not just for a while but for hours, day after day, I will tell you what you will see. You will see the jealous husband watching his mate’s every move, you will see the flirting wife when she is off of her nest, and you will see the young Adonis chasing every female. The bully of the community, the doting parents, the rebellious cock or hen who refuses to conform. You will see the parents who choose different partners, when the young are off hand. The educated youngsters that act sensible until they are put with others.
It reads like every day life. What makes us think that their life is any different from ours? What makes us think that a dispute with a neighbour would not upset them as much as it would us?
Paratyphoid seems to be number one on the hit list at the moment. Scribes are continually warning fanciers of its impact and they should not be ignored. For me the worry is over but for the majority of fanciers only time will tell. The disease is no stranger to me; we met way back in the autumn of 1984. After a successful season I began to notice the odd pigeon limping. I was slightly concerned but, as most fanciers do, thought it was the result of a fight. After a couple of days one or two yearlings had developed dropped wings. By this time I had already searched the pages of Leon Whitney’s book for the answer. From his description of the symptoms, I was 99.9% sure it was Paratyphoid. Purely by chance at that time, I was on a course of antibiotics myself, for a throat infection. The infection had almost cleared up and I still had a few tablets left. I decided to treat all the affected birds with a tablet each. Although the dosage was much higher than recommended and I could have cut the tablets into half or quarters, I wanted to see what reaction a massive dose would give. The dosage was 250mg of Ox tetracycline. Within a few days all but one pigeon was back to normal. One yearling with a dropped wing did not respond and was eliminated. By then Whitney’s recommendations had really got me thinking. For a start he says that even though the flock can be treated, it does not stop those cured from still being carriers. The drugs do not eliminate the carrier state. Birds may never become non-infective. In some cases the use of sulphur drugs was very effective but the pigeons only remained free from the disease for ninety days. In the next breeding it reappeared.
Since the bacteria can be transmitted via the egg and in pigeon milk, and crop fluids fed to squabs by their parents, one method of control, if the owner does not want to use medication, is to rest all the birds of a loft for a season and to breed the following year without introducing new stock. This will give the birds a chance to recover and build antibodies against the disease, so that they will not transmit it to their young.
I had noticed that the birds affected were only that season’s young and yearlings. I considered that the older birds had been building antibodies against the disease without me knowing. As anyone who has tried it will know, not breeding for a whole year seems to set a loft back two years. So I made the conscious decision not to breed from yearlings for a few years and see the outcome. I know this was not Whitney’s recommendation but it was a compromise that would allow me a continual replenishment for the old bird team. I also stopped introducing any stock. Infact not breeding from yearlings is a policy I stuck to up until I retired from the sport a few months ago. I saw no hardship in having two pairs of young from successful older birds than chancing young from yearlings how ever well they were bred. This programme has kept me fairly well protected from this dreaded disease since. I would be lying if I said I did not have the odd season with problems, I would also be lying if I said that I had never treated, but I never experienced the continual troubled season after season that some fanciers do.
I spent many long hours trying to fathom out how to recognise the carriers Whitney referred to. At that time very few vets around could help, so it was down to me to make my own analytic studies. I observered the birds very closely throughout the winter of 84 and made some notes. I picked four pigeons that showed signs different to the rest. I monitored their performances during the racing of 85, they failed miserably. I was careful not to let them rear any young or under sit any of their eggs. I eliminated them as the season progressed and looked for the same symptoms during the winter of 85. This time three pigeons showed the symptoms so I eliminated them immediately. What were these symptoms you may ask? Simple, droppings.
If you are satisfied that your loft is content and there is no inner unrest that would give rise to stress, then you can safely look for those pigeons who’s droppings fluxuate from normal to watery. Provided a diet is fed that keeps the birds droppings firm, then these culprits are found. Do not ignore them. This is easily detected in a loft where the birds live in their boxes, but not so easy in a section where perches are used. This takes a lot more attention to make sure that the birds responsible will not be mistaken. There is of course no scientific evidence to back my theories but, in my experience the birds that show these symptoms, on every occasion have been poor racers and if allowed to stay ,after treatment, are always the first to show signs that the disease has returned to the loft.
Inoculation programmes, along with the use of antibiotics maybe emerging as one of today’s requirements in the world of pigeon racing but it must not be seen as the be all and end all. The corner, that some fanciers I know have backed themselves into through the misuse of antibiotics, is one that many more will find themselves in if they don’t proceed with caution. I have always been a firm believer in prevention, rather than cure, but there is a world of difference between the odd treatment and total reliance. The widowhood and darkness systems are responsible for putting pigeons under far more stress and imbalance than the natural system. With the systems come extra problems and for the average less successful fancier, not having the answers to these problems means another poor season. They automatically assume their pigeons have some disease, misinterpret articles and listen to the un-informed and before they know where they are, antibiotics become as regular as tap water in their drinkers. Once we can accept that not every unsatisfactory performance is due to disease and needs an immediate course of drugs, then we can start to study the pigeons themselves. So if you find yourself reaching for that secret bottle a little too quickly, and need a little reassurance remember this. There are no vaccination programmes, no antibiotic administration and no specially formulated mixtures given to the migratarory birds that manage to fly thousands of miles each year.



Dennis McDermott.