Correct maintenance of sports pigeons

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Sports pigeons are becoming more and more popular. The days when the winged were used as proxies to deliver letters are long gone. Sports pigeons are often white, namely white birds are associated with carrier pigeons, but now such birds are retrained into top-class athletes.

Sports pigeons

The content and training for "recruits" in the pigeon sport is strikingly different from the usual. Dove sport takes time and effort. And not every little dove will become a great athlete, and those who are close to this must be constantly kept in shape. To raise a real champion, you need to start by choosing the right chick, creating all the necessary conditions for him, regular training. You will have to invest a lot of perseverance and work in your pet before plunging into the joy of victory.

Before you buy a sports breed, you should study a lot of information about sports pigeons and read reviews. It is best to choose nurseries of sports pigeon breeds on the basis of recommendations or reviews. A qualified nursery will have all the necessary documents, as well as the breed of pigeons and their photographs can be presented on the site for review. Champions among birds can be represented on the honor board, such individuals are valued by breeders more than others.

Nurseries and clubs for sports pigeons lovers

Sports pigeons in a photo or video always look very beautiful. Many collectors have these champions. Sports pigeons in competition are able to bring glory, honor, win many medals and certificates. In Russia, the existence of sports pigeon breeding, and many poultry farmers are trying to give birds to sports pigeon distances. Nurseries are located all over the world, but most of all they value pigeon breeding and all races of pigeons in the Czech Republic, Germany, Romania, Belgium, Holland. The Czechs speak especially fondly of these birds. In their homeland, the Czechs have opened many clubs for sports pigeons.

Sports pigeons from Holland are as popular today as Czech ones. There are many breeding plants in Holland that breed this breed of birds. Sports pigeon championships, competitions and nurseries can also take place in Romania, Belgium, Poland and in the center of Lviv. Belgian medium pigeons have repeatedly become flying champions. Belgian individuals are the most recognizable and popular of all breeds. There are many clubs in Russia, where they can even organize championships for sports pigeons. Medium tape Volga pigeons are especially popular with Russian breeders.

Preparing a new bird house

When deciding to breed sports pigeons, it is first of all important to take care of where they will live. The basic requirements for the housing of pets-athletes are no different from the requests of decorative and flying individuals. The conditions are quite simple: pigeons must live in a house made of natural materials, the room must be warm, dry and light. The house may be small in shape, some farmers keep pigeons in their attics, but it is best to build a whole enclosure for the birds, where they can move freely and go outside.

Pay particular attention to the cleanliness of the house. The first rule of a successful breeder is a clean dovecote. Keeping a bird house clean is not difficult at all. Cleaning will be required daily, but this process will not take much time, since birds of this breed do not sit locked up, but fly from time to time. They would rather prefer to spend time outdoors, and will return to the poultry house to feed and spend the night. It is necessary to get rid of bird droppings every time after its formation. You should also replace the old water in the drinking bowls with fresh water and be sure to monitor the cleanliness of the feeding bowls.

Twice a month it is necessary to carry out

• boiling drinkers and feeders in a soda solution;
• cleansing by boiling a bathing bath;
• replacement of litter.

In warm seasons, bathing tubs are installed in the dovecote. Doves happily bathe in them, cleaning their plumage not only from pollution, but also from parasites, and in summer, in especially strong heat, they also cool down. The water in the bathhouse must be changed very often, since the bird not only uses it for its intended purpose, but also drinks from there.

House for young animals

Sports pigeon breeding pays special attention to the maintenance of champions. The features of cleanliness control in a children's pigeon room are very important. It is necessary to periodically change the litter to protect the young from parasites. If you breed white pigeons and such individuals will participate in competitions, then the room for the birds should be perfect cleanliness, since white and smooth feathers are more dirty than others in unsanitary conditions. It is necessary to sprinkle the litter with wood ash, tobacco leaf, wormwood, this measure helps to protect against parasites.

If the shell is dirty, then it should be cleaned, because otherwise it does not allow all the necessary nutrients for the chick. You should also pay attention to the bird's nest, because it must be kept clean. Materials such as small twigs, straw, feathers, burlap are suitable for the nest. Lay bedding on the bottom of the nests. This will prevent the youngsters from curving their fingers.

Thoroughbred athletes

Among the entire multitude of breeds, only a dozen are distinguished, of which champions are raised. Why so few? Endurance and the ability to develop high speeds are possessed only by birds that have a certain set of physical characteristics. Among sports breeds, there are four main, most common and demanded:

• Guests from Foggy Albion - English Quarry. Features: erect posture, broad chest, long neck and beak, wide leathery growths around the eyes and on the beak.
• The Belgians adopted their external features from their wild counterpart: a wide chest, a powerful torso, a small rounded head, a proportional body, and a classic color. Distinctive features, by which this breed is well defined, are dark eyes against the background of pale eyelids, short plumage, narrow tail and short legs.
• Russian carrier pigeons are distinguished not only by the highest indicators of endurance, but also by their appearance. They are strikingly distinguished by their appearance from other breeds: a pointed beak, lack of plumage on their legs, red-orange eyes in a hoop made of white outline.
• The German breed is the result of crossing the Belgian and English quarries. The result is a small breed with long legs and neck, but also a short beak and tail. Distinctive characteristics are high speed combined with excellent endurance.

Features of the maintenance and nutrition of sports pigeons

Sport pigeons must have normal development, therefore a healthy diet is the key to their success in competitions. Increased loads are imposed on each individual participating in the championship, and therefore the nutrition will differ from that inherent in ornamental representatives of the genus. Also, the requirements for health indicators are slightly higher. The main task of the breeder is to provide pets with everything necessary to maintain the basic indicators at the highest level.

Grains and beans should be the basis of the future champion's diet. In this case, it is better to give preference to corn, red millet, hemp seeds, oatmeal, wheat waste. From legumes, farmers feed yellow peas and lentils.

Note that green peas sometimes cause intestinal upset in pigeons.

You can add bread, sunflower seeds, rice, barley, boiled potatoes, rapeseed, cabbage leaves, grass, lettuce, sorrel to the main diet. But this nutrition should in no case be independent. These are just additives to the grain mixture. Pigeons are fed 2 times a day. This diet is quite enough. The availability of clean drinking water must be constant. Ideally, it is necessary to equip a running water system, especially if the dovecote contains a large number of individuals and the water is quickly polluted.

Don't forget about vitamin supplements. They are used for feeding, not only in the winter, when it is time for vitamin deficiency, but also during the training process. Vitamin supplements are best purchased ready-made. It is extremely important that they are for a special purpose: for sports breeds. They are intended both for individual feeding and in the form of admixtures to feed. The choice is determined more by the number of birds in the house than by other characteristics.

Pigeon disease prevention

It is impossible to tell everything about wonderful sports pigeons without mentioning diseases and methods of dealing with them. Farmers do not hide any secrets, the basis for the prevention of diseases and the appearance of parasites is cleanliness in the premises where the poultry is kept. If you observe a sufficient level of hygiene, keeping an eye on the cleanliness of the floor, nests, water and feeders, then problems can definitely be avoided. In addition to these preventive measures, it is necessary to carry out sanitary days using disinfectants and sanitizing all surfaces. Every day you need to watch the birds: how they behave and look is the main indicator of their health.

The pigeon should have a good appetite and fly with pleasure to feed. If the bird loses its head, closed its eyes, pulled its neck into its head, lowered its wings, then it is possible that it is sick and should be immediately isolated and treated. The pigeon knocks its paws on the floor from the formed lumps of droppings on the claws, which means that the bird is weak and unhealthy. Each individual showing signs of malaise should be isolated from others and examined. It is best to keep her in quarantine until she recovers completely.

Choosing a future champion

With self-rearing chicks, culling begins with the appearance of eggs. So, any defects in the size, shape of the egg are the reason for its rejection. From 3 to 6 days, the presence of a blood stain or streak in the egg indicates the death of the embryo. A newly hatched chick should not have a large yolk sac, bad fluff or bloody shells. Starting from the third week of life, the chicks are assessed for the respiratory opening, pupils, and if they are large, the pet must be discarded.

If the goal is to buy a grown-up chick, then this should be done in a nursery, at an exhibition or on the market. I would like to note right away that a passport is issued in the nursery, which guarantees breeding selection and good pigeon genetics. His parents are guaranteed to be healthy and in good physical condition. But in the poultry market, you can also find a future champion, you just need to pay more attention to the selection of birds. It is not for nothing that many experts pay special attention to the eyes of a bird. By the brightness and saturation of their color, one can determine the age, state of health, the duration of being locked up, and readiness for the reproductive period.

The eyes should be bright, shiny, wide open. Any healthy bird has dense plumage, healthy shiny eyes, and a good appetite. The individual is active and does not grovel, sitting on the sidelines. The physique is developed, muscular. Broad, strong chest and wings. Increased sense of homing (craving to return home) and dim color of the city pigeon. All this is the key to the ability to survive on long flights and to achieve high sports performance.

Training process

Training sports pigeons requires a human investment of time and endless patience. In order for sports pigeons to show good results in competitions, you need to know all the nuances of how to go through competitions and distances. The basis of any training process is the domestication of a bird. To begin with, you need to follow some rules: it is better to come to the birds in the same clothes; show patience, love and warmth that birds feel intuitively; approach gradually (for a start, pour food into the feeders, then around you and, finally, into your hand). When the habituation period is over and a relationship of trust and some kind of attachment has been established between the bird and the person, training can begin.

You need to avoid the following actions

• Take the dove 2 days before or after laying the egg.
• Wean both parents from small pigeons 3-5 days old.
• Release paired birds (males and females are trained separately from each other).
• Give heavy feeds before a long flight.
• Release birds in rainy or foggy weather.

It is necessary to take into account

• For training, it is preferable to choose the morning hours.
• Flight distances should not be too tiring and long. The best choice is a short distance of 50 or 60 km.
• For transporting poultry, spacious and clean transport is used. Do not allow the crowding of pigeons in the cages.
• Only birds of the same sex are placed in carriers.
• The training should start in April, and the chick should not be less than 4 months old.
• Experienced birds and young animals are not allowed on joint flights.
• The initial flight distance should not exceed 5 km. It is a workout for both muscle mass and orienteering ability. Gradually, the distance increases: pigeons conquer medium and long distances.
• Between repeated flights, there should be sufficient time intervals for rest and recuperation.

Raising a champion from a sports pigeon is difficult, but possible. Pets must be kept in shape at all times. Orienteering training is carried out in two stages, the first of which is to release the bird first in the aviary to get acquainted with the house and the weather conditions, and then, when the sports pigeons have returned from the race, they are released in different directions. All sporting races should undergo a similar training: this way the pigeon will study the surrounding area well and adapt.

At the second stage, pigeon breeding includes preparation. The bird is taken further and further, which already becomes the very preparation for the competition. Upon returning, the pet should wait for nutritious and tasty food to restore the spent energy and as a reward for good work.Only after successful orienteering classes should you start endurance training. Competitions for the sports training of pigeons should be held only after the bird has been fully prepared.