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Ivan Van Den Bossche provides answers to RRP.RO questions
17:08, Luni, 21.12.2009
Ivan Van Den Bossche provides answers to RRP.RO questions
1. What do you think about the increasing usage of medication (drugs and medicine)? Shouldn't we use more natural products?
Medically, our pigeons are vaccinated against paramixo and smallpox when they are approximately one month old. Then they are treated for 5 days against trihomonas (canker). They get as much food as they want till the last wing feather is matured. From March till the longest day of the year, the young birds are kept in obscurity from 5 pm till 8 am the next day. As from the longest day of the year till the end of the season, lightening is put on from 5 till 11 pm. This is to avoid the moult. During the play-season, the birds are treated for 2 days against trichomonas every 2 weeks, and before the first competition they are treated for 5 days against grass tetany (milk fever). In addition, we have regular inspections from a veterinary. Also, we regularly make tee for all the pigeons. The most important to me is to have good pigeons and to keep them healthy, then good perforance will come by itself.
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?
Regarding the old birds, we only play with the females and get them played on „widowhood”. During the week they stay in front of their males shed, and before getting in baskets they stay one hour with their partner. The females perform a flight of approximately 500 km every week. On arrival, they may stay with their males till the evening. They are trained home twice a day. They are medically treated the same way as the young birds.
3. How do you stimulate your widowhood birds? Is there a certain technique or everything depends on each bird?
The youngest pigeons are trained in steps from 5 to 30 km, then I drive them to Quivrain (60 km) before they participate with the association. The young pigeons remain together until the first 300 km flight, then males are separated from females. Males and females are brought together 2 hours before being put in baskets for a flight. After the flight, they remain together till the evening or sometimes even till the day after. Between 2 flights, I usually drive them 60 km away on wednesday for a training flight. The young birds arrive together home, then are separated when I get back. This is to get the young pigeons start quicker when released.
Edited by Andrei – Silviu Oprea