Racing Pigeon

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Dear pigeon fanciers:Willem tells us: “At the Dutch Open (pigeon racing fair), they spoke to a well know fancier that had very good pigeons. At the beginning of March he had moved his flying lofts because he had come into possession of more land.

Because of this change his pigeons flew very poorly in the first 7 races. So poorly he considered leaving the sport of pigeon racing.

He mentioned this at the club. The next day a sport friend and club member provided some help and gave him some good advice. This friend called me and asked if I could come over. It seemed that the lofts and the feeding methods were not right.

The rest of the season his pigeons flew tremendously. This resulted in several championships, several 1st prizes and 4 Teletext pigeons”.

Fast recuperation after the race is the starting point of a racing plan. To accomplish fast recuperation the feed has to be adjusted. After recuperation the intestinal tract must be cleaned.

After this the important nutrients required for muscle repair must be absorbed. When the muscles are repaired and fed, we can fill the “tank” with energy for the next race.

During the “seventies and eighties” a variety of studies were done on pigeons. These were carried out at Universities such as Mannheim (Germany) and Guelph (Canada). Pigeons were flown in small wind tunnels.

The pigeons were fitted with an apparatus that fit over their beaks that measured the intake of oxygen and the discharge of carbon dioxide. This allowed for the precise calculation of the amount of energy used.

The results were a revelation for the researchers, because they learned that pigeons did not perform like humans and other mammals on carbohydrates, but mainly on fatty acids and that they used from 3 to 3 ½ grams per hour of flying time.

When racing during the first half hour the carbohydrates will be used first, after this the pigeon changes over to burning fatty acids.

The most interesting carbohydrates for racing pigeons are those, which are gradually absorbed by the body. This ensures that less insulin is needed and the blood sugar levels don’t spike as much.

These carbohydrates are absorbed better and more gradually and the pigeons can use them longer during the race. These carbohydrates are called amylopectin.

A pigeon flies fastest when burning carbohydrates. That is why these sugars are of great importance. They can fly fast longer, which provides a great advantage as they can arrive home sooner.

There are two different groups of vitamins. They are the water soluble group (B and C) and the fat soluble group (A-D-E-K) of vitamins.  The fat… Read more…