People often say: "Three parts to sow, seven parts to nourish." It can be seen that cultivating strength is a more important part of achieving victory, and it is also a part that pigeon breeders tend to ignore. The purpose of breeding is to ensure the physical and mental health of the homing pigeons so that they can hatch and compete in the best condition. In this case, we should start from the following aspects.

1. Pigeon shed environment

In order to ensure the physical and mental health of racing pigeons, it is best for the pigeon shed to face south, be spacious and ventilated, and have far more nests than pigeons, that is, a large shed with fewer pigeons.

Try to keep the pigeon coop as quiet as possible to avoid being harmed by hawks, cats, rats, insects, etc., and also to prevent the patronage of gentlemen on the beam. The pigeonhouse should not only face the sun and receive sufficient sunlight, but also be able to block the light at any time.

Having sufficient sunlight is for the pigeons to absorb calcium, and also allows the viruses and germs in the pigeon shed to be killed by ultraviolet rays; shading is to regulate the early replacement of the feathers of the racing pigeons, which is beneficial to the competition. .

Experience shows that if the sunshine time is long, the pigeons will change their feathers later; avoiding light and reducing the sunshine time can speed up the change of feathers in advance, which is especially beneficial for the autumn competition. At the same time, the dark light in the pigeonhouse is also conducive to the rest of the racing pigeons.

In order for racing pigeons to better complete their home flight training, it is best that there are no tall buildings, big trees, excessive wires and other objects that hinder flight around the pigeon shed.

When conditions permit, breeding pigeon sheds, racing pigeon sheds and young pigeon sheds can be separated. It is best to raise breeding hens and male pigeons separately, practice widowhood, maintain strong physical strength and sexual desire, and pair them when necessary When the time comes, they will hit it off immediately, so the probability of producing excellent offspring is high.

Young pigeons are raised and trained separately, which is beneficial to home flying and reduces the need to travel in the shed.

2. Integration of humans and pigeons

Homing pigeons can work tirelessly, endure hunger, and quickly return to their nests in a foreign place far away from their nests. This is based on their understanding of their nests, spouses, and The loving attachment of children and owners.

And this strong sense of love for the nest, in addition to nature, is the attachment to a comfortable and quiet nest, as well as the reward for the owner's careful care and loving protection.

The more harmonious and intimate the relationship between people and pigeons is, the stronger the pigeons will be in love with the nest, and the greater the possibility of winning the competition. The friendly relationship between humans and pigeons comes from daily interactions with pigeons.

In addition to carefully observing the habits and health of each pigeon and giving them special care, they must also be touched frequently and stroked without scratching them.

Appropriately keep them in a certain state of hunger so that they can get close to the pigeons and fly home when feeding. Let the pigeons come to the owner to eat their favorite food, gradually establish a close and friendly relationship between humans and pigeons, and talk to the pigeons frequently.

When the relationship between humans and pigeons is harmonious, and the owner approaches the group of pigeons, they do not fly away in a group, but circle around the owner, follow the owner, and even fly to the owner's hands, shoulders, and heads. They compete for food and play with their masters.

On the perch in the nest, the owner put his hands on their backs, but they did not fly. It is very difficult to do this. You have to start from a young age, hold it in your hand for a few minutes every day, feed them some of their favorite foods, and be sure not to hurt them.

When feeding them, call them by their names, Tell that feather to feed which feather. After it is cooked, when you call a pigeon, only this pigeon will come to eat the food in your hand.

When you are in this kind of intimate and harmonious atmosphere between humans and pigeons, even if your pigeons do not achieve good results in the arena, you will still get endless fun from the contact with your pigeons. It has an effect on an individual's physical and mental health that pharmaceutical supplements cannot.

3. Comprehensive nutrition

Pigeons need to consume a lot of energy whether in competition or during intensive training.

Research shows that the content of protein and various amino acids per unit mass in pigeons is much higher than that in chickens. Pigeons are different from chickens in that they do not eat animal protein, only seeds.

So pigeons need nutritious and high protein seed food. In order to be nutritious, the more complex the food, the better.

Among various miscellaneous grains, corn and peas are absolutely indispensable, and the proportion is higher. They account for about 20 to 80%, followed by wheat and sorghum, accounting for 20%, and oil crops. Peanuts are the best, but sesame, flax, and rapeseed are also acceptable. It is best not to feed pockmarks. Eating too much pockmarks will cause fatigue.

Oil crops account for about 10%, more appropriately during moulting.

Pigeons require different nutrients at different ages, seasons, and levels of exercise. Nutritional matching at different times is more troublesome. Even if you master the most scientific ratio of various feeds, if the pigeons do not eat synthetic pellet feed, it will not be the ratio you have mixed.

The author advocates that all pigeons be raised alive and participate in certain domestic flying training. They should be fed twice a day, one meal in the morning and one in the evening to be 70% to 80% full. Feed the ones they don’t like first first and last. Feed in the order of your favorite foods.

Doves like to eat different foods in different seasons. Feeding time is a good opportunity to observe the pigeons' performance and whether they are sick.

If it is a full meal in the evening, separate various feeds into different troughs and let the pigeons choose what they are short of.

Non-flying breeding pigeons cannot do this. They have a small food intake and will be picky eaters, which may lead to a partial eclipse.

The brooding parent pigeons can place a small container and a small stove in the nest, and feed them some of their favorite foods, which is beneficial to the health of the parent pigeons and offspring, and is also conducive to the harmony between humans and pigeons.

Peanuts are a high-protein and high-fat food without any side effects. They can extend the breeding time of older breeding pigeons and have the effect of treating infertility and egglessness.

If you feed peanuts to ordinary pigeons, they will often not eat them. But when they are hungry, you can pick out small peanuts and feed them. Once they have the experience of eating peanuts, they often rush to eat them. This provides This gives me the opportunity to feed peanuts to train the pigeons.

Special attention should be paid to feeding pigeons: racing pigeons should be properly hungry!

4. Use of vitamins and trace elements

The vitamins that pigeons need most are A, D, B, E, K, C, etc. Each vitamin has its own role. Just a reminder to pay attention to how to use it. For vitamin B, a variety of vitamin B water solvents can be used, which are sold in veterinary drug stores and can be placed in drinking water for easy use. Vitamin C and K can be supplemented with green feed, or you can buy vitamin C tablets dissolved in water.

As much vitamin B and C as needed in the body, it will be absorbed as much as possible. The excess is not stored in the body and will not be harmful. Vitamin D can assist in the absorption of calcium and phosphorus and prevent keel bone. Adequate sunlight exposure can promote the synthesis of vitamin D in the pigeon body. It should be noted that vitamins D and E will be deposited in the body of the pigeon when there is too much, causing toxicity. Therefore, it cannot be overdosed. One pill every two days is enough.

Old pigeons and breeding pigeons with weak reproductive functions can be fed some vitamin E.

The essential trace elements in pigeons are: calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, iron, chlorine, copper, iodine, sulfur, magnesium, zinc, etc.

The main components of pigeon bones and eggshells are calcium and phosphorus, so breeding pigeons that feed young, hens and young pigeons that lay eggs need a lot of calcium and phosphorus.

The most convenient and economical method is to feed crushed eggshells, shell pellets and smashed bones.

Potassium, sodium, and iodine can be supplemented by table salt. When feeding, put the table salt in a container similar to a trough with a top, and let the pigeons peck at it by themselves. It is best not to put it in the drinking water.

For other elements, you can buy a variety of trace element additives at the veterinary store, put them in the health sand, and let the pigeons eat at will. To illustrate the important role of trace elements, two examples are given.

The author got a new house one year, and the racing results this year were particularly good. Four pigeons were among the top ten in a competition, and a large number of subsequent racing pigeons returned home quickly. The author reported all the pigeons when he checked in. Don't come.

Then I participated in two more competitions and achieved very good results. The breeding pigeons are still the same, and the breeding methods and feed are the same as before. Why are the racing results so good?

Later I found out the reason. It was because I lived in a newly built house and the water pipes were rusty, so the water flowing out had an obvious rust color. Racing pigeons often drank such water, which invisibly replenished iron. Moreover, rust soluble in water is easily absorbed by pigeons.

The author realized this, and later put rusty iron in drinking water, which also achieved the effect of iron supplementation, and good racing results have been maintained.

Coincidentally, one year when the author went to the home of a champion pigeon fancier to inspect the shed, I found that he had also moved into a newly built building. His mother kept complaining that the water was undrinkable and was full of rust. His performance this year was also very good, but he rarely won awards in the future.

During the shed inspection, another pigeon fancier was found to have put rusty nails in the drinking water. He had achieved good results for several consecutive years. This all shows that letting racing pigeons drink rusty water can have unexpected effects.

The pigeon fancier who occasionally won the championship did not realize the effect of rusty water. Once the rusty water in the pipe turned into clear water, the pigeons would not get iron supplements and the racing results would disappear. .

But be careful: Do not leave the water at the root for a long time in order to get rusty water, or do not wash the drinking fountain, which will cause the drinking water to be contaminated by viruses and bacteria, and make the pigeons sick.

The second example is that in recent years, a technological product called "fertilizer essence" has been used in agriculture. It is a reasonable combination of various trace elements. The dosage is very small, but the crop yields are significantly increased.

In agricultural planting, excessive use of one kind of fertilizer does not necessarily increase production. For example, applying only nitrogen fertilizer can only make the stems and leaves of plants grow lush, but they are prone to lodging and the grains are not necessarily full. Only nitrogen Only when , phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are applied rationally can the yield increase be obvious.

If the various trace elements needed for plant growth are properly added, the yield increase effect will be even better! The growth of crops is like this. The health and strength of pigeons and even humans also need to be reasonably supplemented with various trace elements. Here trace elements play the finishing touch.

5. Use of disease prevention and treatment drugs

Pigeons may get sick, especially in recent years, the disease has become more severe, such as Newcastle disease, dry skin disease, salmonella, and even E. coli. To the point where it is difficult to treat with general antibiotics.

In the face of various pigeon diseases, prevention should be the main method and treatment should be supplemented. On the premise of a reasonable combination of feed, vitamins and trace elements, pigeons can often be fed some wild vegetables, such as sourdough, purslane, dandelion, mugwort (mugwort), etc. Inject the Newcastle disease vaccine on time. Strict disinfection should be carried out when injecting the vaccine, one injection per pigeon.

The author has heard several pigeon fanciers say that after they were vaccinated, their pigeons were not prevented and became more seriously ill. After careful investigation, I found out that they used syringes and needles to vaccinate all the pigeons in one go, thus unintentionally transmitting the virus from sick pigeons to other healthy pigeons.

Vaccine injections should be carried out in strict accordance with disinfection procedures. When an individual pigeon is found to have Newcastle disease, it is best to eliminate the sick pigeon in time to avoid infecting other pigeons. If it is discovered late and there are many sick pigeons, simply do not cull the sick pigeons. Dissolve a variety of vitamin B and vitamin C in water, let the pigeons drink it, and feed them some traditional Chinese medicine "Yanwenqing" (veterinary drug of Guangxi Nanning Pharmaceutical Enterprise Group) Factory production) If left to its own devices, not many pigeons will die.

The author’s practice in the past few years has proven that most of the pigeons that have been sick can recover, the racing pigeons that have been sick can also win prizes, and the breeding pigeons can also produce excellent pigeons. For bird plague and salmonella infections, sick pigeons should be eliminated as soon as possible to eliminate the source of the disease. These two diseases are highly contagious and difficult to treat. Even if excellent breeding pigeons are not eliminated, they must be isolated as soon as possible to avoid infection.

(Note: The following operations are relatively primitive due to the earlier date, please refer to them with caution.)

For Trichomonas, one dozen per month, you can use "Metronidazole" (Metronidazole) Dissolve in water and drink for 5 to 7 days. The dosage is half a pill per bird per day.

For internal parasites, you can use SmithKline Intestinal Chongqing (two tablets). Dissolve the medicine in a small amount of water, mix it with flour, and make it into granules. Each tablet is made into 12 tablets. After the pigeons moult, , just feed 1 capsule per feather during the day.

For sick pigeons, it is generally better to eliminate them. If they are indeed good breeding pigeons, try to use traditional Chinese medicine when treating them, and the sick pigeons must be isolated. It is best to give medicine to pigeons after they have eaten, otherwise the medicine will irritate the stomach and the pigeons will spit out the medicine, which will not achieve the purpose of treatment.

When feeding capsule drugs (such as fluoride, etc.), be sure to wet the capsule with water before feeding, otherwise the capsule may block the throat of the pigeon and cause the pigeon to suffocate to death.

In order to prevent pigeons from getting sick and avoid the spread of pigeon diseases, in addition to ventilation and hygiene in the pigeon house and reasonable nutrition, it is also necessary to raise them sparingly and observe them frequently.

Raising less pigeons will not only avoid wasting time and money in raising poor pigeons, but also the bad habits, nest grabbing, food grabbing, and bad genetic effects of poor pigeons on good pigeons. More importantly, the pigeons Too much, resulting in incomplete feeding and management, and individual sick pigeons not being detected in time, infecting the entire shed with viruses and germs.

With few pigeons and a large shed, the pigeon owner can remember the nest position of each pigeon and it is not easy for the pigeons to change nest positions. Pigeon owners should observe pigeon droppings diligently and be able to detect sick pigeons in time and deal with them as soon as possible. Birds entering the shed from the sky and pigeon fanciers entering the shed to catch pigeons are also sources of viruses and germs.

If the pigeon shed is not cleaned for ten and a half months, a healthy pigeon in the shed will not get sick. However, if a bird falls from the sky and the pigeon fancier catches a handful of pigeons, it may make the pigeon group sick.

As soon as the pigeons enter the racing cage during the season, they may be infected with any disease. In addition to regular vaccinations, they also need to be vaccinated before the game and isolated and observed after the game. The best way is not to participate in the training station, but to train alone, understand what diseases are spreading during the season, and give appropriate medicines to prevent them.

Pigeon pox is a viral pigeon disease that is prone to occur in autumn, and the incidence rate is generally high in young pigeons. Pigeons that have suffered from this disease will have immune function and will no longer get sick. There are many ways to treat pigeon pox. One method I often use is to scrape off the initial pigeon pox and then apply some salt. It will usually be cured quickly. The same applies to those born in the mouth, but those on the eyes are generally not treated to avoid improper treatment and discoloration of the pigeon's eyes. Generally, pigeon pox will disappear on its own after a period of time without treatment.

Pigeon disease is caused by improper domestic flying, racing, old pigeons pecking the scalp of young pigeons, and human injuries. For pigeon epidermis tears, scalp pecks, or even crop ruptures, needles can be used to sew them, and ordinary threads can be used for suturing.

Do not sew like a zipper, otherwise you will have to remove the stitches. It is best to tighten the skin and sew a ridge like a spring. Once the scab forms, it will fall off together with the suture thread and scab, thus avoiding suture removal surgery. After the wound has healed, it will be flat and traceless.

Another common trauma is a broken wing or leg. If the wings are broken, if it has no seed value, it will be eliminated. If a leg is broken, whether it is a calf or a thigh, one leg or both legs, as long as there is still flesh attached, it can be cured. Fix the broken leg with a wooden stick and keep it in isolation for a period of time and it will grow back. Generally, it will not affect the competition, let alone seed production.

There is also a common disease in homing pigeons, which is eating iron nails or wires by mistake. The iron nails are stuck in the stomach, causing the sick pigeons to vomit whole grains of food, pick small grains of food to eat, produce green and loose feces, and become thin. Pigeons lacking the trace element iron are susceptible to this disease. You can go to the hospital for an X-ray.

There is a trick to treat this disease. Use broken porcelain bowl pieces to smash them into the size of rice grains, stuff them with about 30 grains at a time, once a day for three days. You can add some antibiotics to avoid infection. If it is effective within a week but not completely improved, you can feed it once or twice more. If it is not effective within a week, it must not be the disease. The cause of the disease should be found out. You can go to the hospital for X-ray fluoroscopy and prescribe the right medicine. The above method is very effective and works repeatedly.

Pigeons can also be poisoned. Accidentally ingesting pesticide-laced seeds or eating toxic soil left over from firecrackers during the Spring Festival can cause pigeons to suddenly become paralyzed, unable to fly, or even die suddenly. This is an obvious symptom of poisoning.

Cactus plants can be used for emergency detoxification. Cut the cactus plants into pieces the size of corn kernels, remove the skin and skin, and stuff them with about ten kernels at a time. As long as the treatment is timely, the lives of poisoned pigeons can generally be saved.