Mark Vandaele - provides answers to RRP.RO questions

15:48, Miercuri, 04.11.2009

Mark Vandaele - provides answers to RRP.RO questions

It’s our pleasure to introduce you a new section on our website, entitled „Answers provided by experts”. On this occasion, the well known Belgium champion, mister Mark Vandaele, proved to be a very kind person and he provided the Romanian fanciers, through the agency of RRP.RO, with his advice concerning three important topics. Here’s what mister Vandaele answered us: 

1. What do you think about the increasing usage of medication (drugs and medicine)? Should't we use more natural products?  

About medication I can be very short. My pigeons are checked by the vet every month. If nothing's wrong we don't give medication, but if a problem shows up we give adequate treatment. Every year I inject my pigeons against salmonella and I think it make's the birds healthier. Since I vaccinate against salmonella (paratyfoid) I never had problems with the young birds disease (Adeno coli). The thing I fear most and I consider it as „the mother of all diseases” is pigeon canker (trichomonas ). If the birds are infected, results will go down very fast. To prevent canker in my birds I treat my youngsters every three weeks during the racing season. The widowers are treated every month during racing season. So my final device is no
medication unless needed and advised by the vet.

2. How far do you go with the widowhood during the racing season. I mean, after how many races do you switch to the natural system? 

My widowers are paired up by the end of March. I let them together for only a few days (no eggs allowed). After that they go on widowhood for the whole season. That means they are on widowhood from early April until August. In August the widowers are allowed to breed a pair of youngsters. After that they go in the aviary for moulting. The stay in the aviary until early March. I believe it makes them healthier and stronger when they are in the aviary during winter time. 

3. How do you stimulate your widowhood birds? Is there a certain technique or everything depends on each bird?

To motivate widowers is very important. I always pay great attention to their behavior in their cells. They must be very attentive and defend their cell at any time. A widower that is thrown out of his cell is mostly finished ! No more results in that case ! Also, during the training, widowers must be happy and fly all over the place. If one has 20 widowers it must
look like one has 40 because they are all over the sky. That's a sign they are in great shape. They drop on the roof for a few seconds and than they're off again with powerful claps of the wings. My widowers are training twice a day for one hour. After training they are fed and than they have to rest. Early in the week I supply a very light mix: Vandenabeele Mix from Beyers. The last four meals before basketting I make the mix gradually stronger: I add some corn, pealed sun flower pits, pealed oats, hemp seed and some nuts. The day of the basketting the widowers must feel hard and strong. The feathers must be silky soft and the noses clean and white. I never show the hens before basketting because I think widowers are getting far to nervous and they spoil their energy in the basket. I like it when they are calm while basketting. I'm sure they know the hen will be there when they come back from the race.

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