Nutrition

When stressed during the preparation for competition, training,  breeding, showing or transporting, birds require more nutrition.

Supplementation is necessary in order to provide the bird with complete nutrition.  You can supplement by adding to the grain or the drinking water.  You can also feed pellets that have been added to during the pelleting process.  There have been some vast improvements in pelleted feed over the past few years and is worth another serious look.

YOU WILL NOT ACHIEVE THE FULL GENETIC POTENTIAL OF YOUR BIRDS UNLESS ALL OF THEIR NUTRIENT REQUIREMENTS ARE MET. You cannot meet all of your bird’s requirements on a 100% grain diet.

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Carbohydrates = Energy

Fats = Storage Of Energy

Proteins = Growth Of Cells and Muscles

Amino Acids = Protein Builder

Fiber = Healthy Gut Functioning

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Using Pellets Long Term

Around the world, knowledge regarding avian nutrition has undergone quantum leaps in the last two decades.  We now have a very clear understanding of the optimal nutritional requirements of pigeons.

Taking a quick look at the level of various nutrients in grain and the average level of these grains used in the various feed blends, it doesn’t take very long to realize that no grain blend can provide a complete and balanced diet. This is why over time a whole range of supplements has been developed and used successfully because they do complement the deficiencies of a diet based solely on dry grain. Further complicating the picture is that pigeons preferentially select certain grains within a mix. This means that even if a grain-blend did provide a balanced diet, it is likely that the balanced diet would be distorted by individual birds selecting the grains they liked. It has been shown, contrary to the opinion of many fanciers, that pigeons do not have nutritional wisdom. They do not necessarily know what is best for them but rather they are like children. They just eat the grain that tastes nice, and these for most pigeons are the grains that are higher in fat.

Throughout the avian world, one of the ways of combating these problems is through the provision of pelleted rations. Pelleted rations can be formulated to contain all the nutrients in just the right proportions and every pellet is the same. In this way, pelleted rations combat the two problems associated with a dry-grain diet, namely that grain diets alone intrinsically fail to provide an optimal diet and the preferential selection of certain grains. In a well formulated pelleted ration the nutritional intake and the provision of a complete and balanced diet is guaranteed.

Despite these advantages the use of pelleted diets has only slowly been embraced by pigeon fanciers. In all poultry species such as chickens and ducks, and in particular in the last few years in pet and companion birds such as parrots, the use of pelleted rations has steadily increased. Such rations are almost invariably recommended by avian vets around the world. The progressive veterinary-based pigeon companies around the world have in line with advances in knowledge started to manufacture and produce pellets.

We think part of the reason pigeon fanciers have been slow to use pellets is a lack of understanding of the product. Some companies produce several types of pellet, designed to be fed at different stages of the pigeon’s life. This is because the nutritional requirements at different life stages vary. In a recent article, a prominent fancier was quoted as saying that when using pellets in the stock loft the raised youngsters were beautiful but when the same birds were raced on the same pellets they seemed to have no power. This is a totally anticipated outcome. To say that one pellet formulation can supply the requirements of a pigeon throughout its whole life is like saying that the dietary requirements of a pregnant woman, a footballer and a growing child are all the same. In the chicken industry, different pelleted blends are produced for laying hens, young chicks, growing chicks, etc. In pigeons, we don’t need such a variety and the provision of too many different pellet blends would make the use of pellets unnecessarily complex.

Extensive work over many years has been conducted so that not only is the ideal level in the diet of each vitamin, mineral and amino acid (amino acids combine to make proteins) known but also the ideal levels relative to each other. These nutrients can then be blended together in the form of a pellet to provide a complete and balanced diet. Many fanciers will say, “I have kept pigeons for many years. I have always fed them grain. They seem fine. Why bother?” What I feel is that many such fanciers accept certain problems that have a nutritional base as a normal part of pigeon management. Examples here include:

1. Hens past 7 years of age no longer breeding winners – associated with decreased yolk and albumen quality, resulting in poor embryo development and the chick getting off to a poorer start.

2. Cocks and hens developing arthritic changes and gout by 8 - 9 years of age – associated with high levels of protein, too low calcium and incorrect levels of vitamin A and D3 in the diet.

3. Obesity in non-breeding hens – associated with fat contents of over 6% in the diet.

4. Infertility in middle-aged cocks – associated with an incorrect vitamin A and vitamin E ratio in the diet. These are both fat-soluble vitamins and are absorbed into the body via the same pathways. Vitamin E is needed for normal sperm function (it affects lipid metabolism in the sperm head). Giving too much vitamin A in the diet means there are no pathways available to absorb vitamin E, leading to vitamin E deficiency even if there is plenty in the diet.

5. Recurrent canker in nestlings, despite medical management – low protein levels in the diet and poor balance of nutrients predisposes to disease generally.

The list goes on and on. Recently, a fancy-pigeon owner rang me. He kept a breed of fancy pigeon that was notorious for poor fertility. Traditional wisdom was that this breed was of poor fertility and that a likely cause was Salmonella. Each year, for the previous 5 years, the fancier had paired 30 pairs together, producing only 6 – 8 youngsters per round. He was becoming totally exasperated and ended up driving 100 miles to our clinic to investigate the cause. The birds appeared normal in the hand and were fed grain, grit and water. Six birds were anesthetized and the gonads were examined with an endoscope through a keyhole incision in their left side. There were no visible abnormalities (such as cysts, adhesion's, or tumors) in any of the birds’ gonads. Blood was drawn from each bird for a Chlamydia test (Chlamydia is the organism that causes eye-colds in young pigeons and can damage the gonads of older birds leading to irregular laying in hens and premature infertility in cocks). The best way to diagnose Salmonella (the organism that causes the disease Paratyphoid) is to culture the site of an infection. Endoscope-guided swabs were collected for testing, taken directly from the gonads. All test results for disease were negative. The birds were changed to a pelleted ration. The next year the first round from 30 pairs contained 57 youngsters.

Fanciers asking if the pellets contain medication to control canker are common. On pelleted rations, they found they no longer needed to treat for canker. In Australia, it is illegal to add medication to pellets (except with a prescription). This effect is simply due to the pellets providing a complete diet and the resultant increased ability of the healthier bird to resist disease.

In another instance, a fancier added turkey grower pellets to his grain blend during breeding. The high level of protein and calcium in this blend resulted in beautiful youngsters being produced. Because of this, he kept feeding the pellets as a proportion of the diet to his stock birds while they were not breeding. Several months later, some of these started to get sick. One was euthanized and autopsied. The persistently high protein, high calcium, high vitamin D3 levels in this diet for non-growing or breeding birds had damaged their kidneys and they were developing kidney failure. Correction of the diet resulted in all remaining birds recovering within 2 weeks.

Fanciers often add iron to the diet or copper sulphate to the drinker (to combat canker). These are both heavy metals that are quickly absorbed into the system but only slowly excreted. With repeated low doses, these birds look fine but as the minerals accumulate in their bodies they have a variety of effects. The most common of these in the stock loft is reduced fertility. It can be hard for the fancier to relate the dead-in-shell youngsters, clear eggs and non-laying hens experienced during breeding to these treatments, which may have been given months earlier.

With the nutritional knowledge available and the expertise used in making maintenance pellets, to me it makes no sense not to use them. Often they are also cheaper than grain.

Disadvantages of Pellets

1. Palatable – Pigeons that are not accustomed to pellets initially do not like them and will select grain every time. Usually racing pellets are accepted more readily than maintenance pellets. It takes most birds 2 – 3 days to become used to them.

2.Watery droppings – Birds fed pellets initially drink more. This makes their droppings wet. Usually within 2 – 3 weeks water intake becomes normal and the droppings improve. Usually however birds on the maintenance pellets, but not racing pellets, have droppings that are not quite as tight as those fed grain.

3. Wastage in the bag – Because the pellets rub against each other in the bag, some powder is produced. This leads to a small amount of wastage.  (I have been using Purina Nutra Green and Gold for some time and there is very little loss)

These disadvantages have got to be offset against the enormous advantage of providing a complete nutritious diet. Advantages such as healthier more fertile longer-lived stock birds, increased disease resistance, and improved race performance. We would strongly encourage fanciers to consider the use of pelleted rations.

 

By Dr. Colin Walker, Melbourne Vet clinic (edited)

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Most hobbyists feed pigeon pellets of one kind or another which are usually about 15% protein. Yet others feed poultry laying pellets containing 16 or 17 percent protein. Some Fanciers also teed grain in addition to pellets and yet there are some who feed grain exclusively. The system which works best for me is that of feeding half 17 percent laying pellets and half grain mixture consisting of about 15% protein.

The feeding of pigeons differs radically from the feeding of other fowl or poultry. They do poorly on mash, and green feed is not necessary. They do not produce well on the ordinary low protein grain mixtures used for chickens since 13.5 to 15 percent protein is required for good growth of young squabs. A high protein grain, such as Austrian winter peas, cow peas, Canada peas and etc. must be used to get the desired protein level in pigeon grain rations.

A good pigeon feed contains other essential elements besides protein. Sixty to 70 percent should be in carbohydrates, 2 to 5 percent in fat and no more than 5 percent in fiber. Proteins are used to build and repair tissue and are essential to the production of large squabs. Carbohydrates and fats furnish the energy requirements and supply material to build fat.  Pigeons don't utilize fiber to advantage; therefore the fiber content should be kept below 5 percent.

The ingredients used in my home prepared grain ration are corn, grain sorghum (milo), wheat and Australian winter peas. The reason for using Austrian winter peas is due to its accessibility in the South. Other areas of our Country may have Canada peas, cow peas or garden peas more readily available.

Corn is one of the best feeds for pigeons and is the basis of all diets for this purpose. Yellow corn is the primary source of Vitamin A in pigeon diets. White corn should be avoided because it is deficient in Vitamin A. Pigeons have the ability to eat large kernels of corn and there is no advantage in paying higher prices for small grained corn.

Milo is a harder grain than corn but similar in composition and is a good feed for pigeons. It however, lacks Vitamin A but is good to feed with corn in a ration.

Wheat is a cereal grain which is higher in protein than corn or milo. There are some who contend that wheat also improves fertility. Wheat will vary in protein analysis depending on variety and where it is grown. Hard red winter wheat will be higher in protein (13.5%) than Soft red winter wheat (10.2%). West coast grown wheat will be lower in protein (9.9%) than wheat grown in other areas of the country.

Peas are the most essential grain in pigeon diets as they are high in protein, Vitamins are excellent for squab development. This ingredient would probably be the highest priced in this ration. The following two rations should give you an idea of mixing your own pigeon grain. The first ration is approximately 13.5 percent protein and the second ration in approximately 16 percent protein.- J. Aubrev Mire

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AVERAGE NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF VARIOUS FEEDS
Cereal grains: Is excellent food for pigeons. Grains have high starch content (40-75%) and are easily digested and provide a good supplement.
	Carbohydrate (g)	Protein (g)	Fat (g)	Comments
Barley	73.5	12.5	2.3	Excellent Feed with fiber and vitamins
Hard red wheat	71	13	2	Excellent Feed, High digestible proteins and low fat content
Corn	74	9	5	Good Food, low protein, high Starch but has the highest fat content from legumes and grains.
Oats	66	17	7	Oats stimulate the nervous system and are particularly useful in preparing for the breeding season.
Sorghum (Milo)	75	11	3	Highest Carbohydrate value but low in protein thus less valuable as a feed.
Legumes or pulses: Is an important part of a pigeon’s diet. They have a greater percentage of protein and minerals than grains and many seeds, and have low fiber content. They are necessary to provide a full range of amino acids.
	Carbohydrate	Protein	Fat	Comments
Austrian Peas	60.4	24.6	1.2	Austian peas are the most suitable protein rich legumes for our pigeons. In addition, the various vitamins are better represented than in other legumes. Peas have good vitamin B content, and contain vitamin E and carotene. Peas should form 50% of the leguminous part of the diet.
Seeds:
Linseed	28.9	18.3	42.2	Linseed has about the same protein content as green peas but a much higher fat content Linseed may be given only in very small quantities. It helps the growth of young birds. Moreover, linseed gives the pigeon smooth and silky plumage.
Hemp	23.2	36.7	32.7	The pigeons eagerly consume hemp. It is high in fat and protein and stimulates the sex drive. Feed it only in small quantities.
Safflower	34	16	38	Safflower seed is high in protein but also has a very high fat content. Therefore 1-2% in the food mixture is adequate.

 

There other grains; peas; and seeds.  This gets you aligned in the right direction..

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