? How often do you need to feed ?                                                                                                                         Answer: Once a day in the morning. This way the birds do not start the day off hungry. I think that it's necessary for them to have feed in the morning. Also if they are feeding babies then they can feed babies first thing when they wake up in the morning. I think that this helps the babies get a good start to the day.

     Some breeders like to feed twice a day. This is a very good way to feed if you have the time to spend with the birds. Make sure though that if you are going to feed twice a day that you make them clean up the feed that you give them at each feeding. Otherwise you will have feed everywhere and they will pick through what you feed and just eat the sweet feed that they want. When this happens you don't get the balanced nutrition that you need to give them.

? How much do you feed?                                                                                          Answer: I usually like to feed what they will clean up within 15 minutes but sometimes they don't clean it all up so I leave it for later in the day. Then when I come back they usually have it gone.

? What percent of protein do you feed?

                                                 Answer: I usually feed 16% Leach's feed w/Popcorn. The reason that I feed that particular feed is because Leach cleans their feed more than most other feed companies.

     I also feed no corn 15 1/2% feed during the summer. They always seem to leave the corn during the summer because corn produces heat in the body so the birds don't want to eat corn during the hot months. 

     To me the cleaner the feed the better. Because then I don't seem to have a problem with dust getting to the pigeons when they eat and they don't seem to cough or hack at all. I noticed that if I feed other feeds that have a little more dust in them then they have a tendency to cough more often.

    Another reason is that when I open a bag of Leach's feed I have never seen any bad feed at all. To me this means that they have a good quality control.

    I even drive 225 miles to pick up my feed instead of getting it right here in town where I live. It is worth the trouble to me.

? Does it hurt the birds to overcrowd them?

                                                 Answer: YES! To many birds crowded into a pen is very, very bad for the birds health. They fight all of the time and they also seem to contract more diseases. They have trouble staying clean also.

? Do you feed vitamins to your birds?

                                                 Answer: Yes I feed vitamins to my birds in their drinking water. I like this method because all of the birds drink water on a regular basis so they all get a little every so often.

     The use of one-half of Centrum vitamins/minerals, (administered prior to the start of breeding season) along with some cod liver oil is a quick way to get the hold outs to produce. 

     The use of mineralized salt, Calcium chips for poultry and good vitamins/mineral powder in water along with probiotics is something that does help! Worming on an individual basis is very important, Centrum, cod liver oil and yeast on the feed with Cod liver oil is a mainstay once a week. ( It is called conditioning for breeding. Later it will be the difference between a  second rate bird and a first rate bird.

    A multi vitamin like Vitin from Chevita products is a good one to use. You can purchase this from Denica Enterprises (909-887-2349). They will ship it to you.

? Do you have a problem with Vermin?

                                                 Answer: Not to often. I use a product that deters them. What you do is spray it around the pen in the corners, at the bottom of the walls and places that they might frequently walk by and this product stops them from going there anymore. They don't like the scent. You can also buy this product from Denica Enterprises (909-887-2349) it is called ro13. It comes in a 50ml spray bottle.

? What do you use for feather lice?

                                                 Answer: What I usually use is Purge 3 in a mist can. This I spray 1 pump under each wing and 1 pump under the tail feathers close to the vent area. This seems to work very well.

     You can also use Ivermectin by ruffling the feathers on the neck backwards and while they are reversed with the skin on the neck exposed drop 1 drop on the neck under the feathers and this will get rid of the Lice and Mites and any other pests that they can get on the feathers.

     I also put a couple of drops of Permectrin in the bath water each time.

     The other thing that we do is about 3 times a year we literally give all of our birds a bath individually by hand. We put aprox. 1 table spoon of malithion 50 in a 5 gal bucket of water almost full. We dunk the birds backwards, back and forth up to the head until they are wet and then set them back in the pen wet. Then when you release them they shake and by shaking it distributes the malithion around the pen so it helps get rid of any bugs in the pen as well.

? How often do you lace a tail on a bird?   

                                                  Answer: I like to lace the tail on a bird almost every time that I pick the bird up. By doing this the birds tail gets used to being laced and the bird gets used to you doing that to them when you pick them up. This way when you take them to the show they are used to being handled and they allow you to work with them a lot better.

? How often do you give your birds bath water?

                                                  Answer: At least twice a week.

     This way the birds feathers stay clean.

     They don't have a chance of getting stained as easily this way. And this helps keep the dust down in the loft from the feathers.

     I like to add a couple of drops of Permectrin to the bath water as it seems to keep down the Lice and Mites that the birds would normally get.

? What do you clean their feet with at show time?

                                                  Answer: I like to use WD40 on the feet. This cleans the feet really good and at the same time it softens their feet really well.

     The one thing bad about using WD40 is don't get it on the pants (leg feathers) or the legs will look real long. It is really hard to get off of the feathers. That's not good.

     Some people like to use alcohol because it cleans pretty good and it also dries up pretty quick so you don't have to worry as much about getting it on their feathers.

     You can clean birds at the show hall with alcohol and within 30 minutes usually it has totally dried up.

? Do you pluck many feathers at show time?

                                                  Answer: Not to many. Hopefully I don't need to. I only pluck feathers if it does not hurt the birds showing ability. Small feathers here and there aren't to bad but if there is a lot of them then leave it and show it in the mismark class. If over 25% of the bird is marked then it goes in the Pied class. These are the show rules of the Western Fantail Club.

? Does The Newcastle Disease have any effect on people ?

                                                  Answer: No, Not at all.

     The only effect that it has on us is that we have to contend with all of the regulations and quarantines with The Newcastle Disease in the chickens because of the fear of the pigeons carrying the disease from place to place. This can happen when being flown or taken to bird shows or a place where there might be some other type of fowl (such as fairs or even sale yards). This can be a problem because it will kill chickens, geese, turkeys and a lot of other fowl.

     It has NOT been proven to be detrimental to pigeons or people.

? Do you treat your birds for worms, canker, etc. ?

                                                   Answer: Yes, it is imperative to eradicate worms, canker, and reduce pathogens before they can get out of hand.

     If you never take your birds to a show and you never get new birds or mix with anyone else's birds or get around any other birds I suppose you could try to get by without worming, but I don't recommend trying it.

     But remember your caged animals cannot do everything for themselves so it is up to you to see that worms, canker, parasites and bacterial infestations do not overcome your birds.

     Also remember to go by the recommended directions on the label for safety. And that's another good reason to use Chevita Products.

     They test over and over to insure quality control.

     The dosages on the Chevita products are setup strictly for pigeons.

       If you want more info in general on medications go to this web page:             http://www.dcppp.com/denicap.html

? How often do you worm and with what wormer?

                                                Answer: I feel that worms' are the root cause of most Disease outbreaks. The STRESS FACTOR produced with excessive worm build-up is the greatest, by far, compared to even overcrowding.

     When we worm regularly, the products we use only reduce the numbers, or, keep them in tow. Continuous cleaning and dust removal is essential. Yet, when we build a new loft we place a bucket of old guano' (droppings) in first and mix with the new litter

     I try to worm at least every 4 to 6 weeks. I also believe that the birds can pick up worms very easily. If your birds are listless, feathers fluffed up a lot, not as energetic as you think they should be then maybe you need to start worming on a regular basis.

     The products that can be used are several, and they recommend rotation.  Piperazine is good for large round worms, but almost useless for hair worms. 3mls down their throats?? has proven better than no treatment.

     Mebendazoles are the safest and we use them during Breeding season, IF the need arises. 1gm/gallon. The apple flavored soluble pastes for horses is a favorite here. A marking ring gives the dosing quite accurately.

     Eprinex is an Ivermectin, and is in pour on form. It is used individually or a dropper full in bath water or drinking water; however any Breeding problems are dealt with individually with a dropper bottle and 4-6 drops on vent.

     Tramisol pig powder is a drench and we find it a good alternative. It has several drawbacks we need to be aware of though: In hot summers stay with the 0.8, or low end of dosage and use the 1.2 per gallon in Winter