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On this page, you'll find
extensive
information leading on Pigeons Roosting information
and products to help you
on your way to success to find all you need about Racing
Pigeon Loft.
The added fat from peanuts or sunflower seeds, etc. is likely a good insurance policy in making sure that birds are properly fuelled for the job ahead, whether it is a 75 mile or a 750 mile race. Note that when 5% fat was added to the diet of a group of racing pigeons, their stamina and endurance in races beyond 200 miles were much improved compared with the lesser stamina and endurance of a group of birds that was not supplemented with fat. Once clocking began, there were more fat-supplemented birds clocked in a given period of time than there were birds not supplemented with fat - facts that support the endurance- enhancing value of fat in the diet. Based on all of this evidence, I simply cannot see how rations high in protein, ie, high in peas and beans, can match the fat-producing capacity of the cereal grains such as maize, rice, wheat, etc., and the judicious use of some high-fat grains used in moderation toward shipping day. Where in the optimal (accent on "optimal") fuelling process do high levels of protein fit?? Note that I haven't said that high-protein grains should be removed from racing diets. Not at all. All I am saying is that the higher levels of protein in breeding and rearing diets should be reduced for the racing season. Suppose that a breeding/rearing ration contained a mixture of 35 parts peas/beans, plus a mix of other grains to provide a final protein level of 18-20%. For racing, as an example, we can drop the level of peas/beans to 20-25 parts (and keep the maple peas and beans combined to not more than 10 parts of the ration, because of the high level of anti-nutritive substances they contain), increase the maize to a level of 40-45 parts, add perhaps 20 parts wheat, and the remainder, a mix of safflower, milo, flax, rice, oats, etc.. Such a ration would provide adequate levels of protein, carbohydrate, and some fat, well enough to do the job. For tougher distance races, we might increase the amount fed per bird, and add a modest amount of peanuts and sunflower seeds in the last few days before shipping, all the while, making sure that the diet contains a lot of maize and other cereal grains as just noted. In my view, a diet such as this one would go a long way toward ensuring that those mighty engines, the great breast muscles, are optimally fuelled for the job ahead. If high fat grains are used in the final few days before shipping, it is highly important that the diet also contain high levels of carbohydrate grains - maize, rice, wheat, etc., and even sugars such as glucose in the drinking water for a day or two at most. This is because if high carbohydrates (grains/glucose) are fed at the same time as the high fat grains, there appears to be little interference with fat production by the liver. As one example, when 10% fat was fed to chicks, there was a startling 40% reduction in the amount of fat the liver was able to produce! Pigeons are not chickens, true enough, but, until there are even more such in-depth studies done in pigeons, I think we have to draw from other species, information that can be of value to us as racing pigeon enthusiasts. Another point - I believe that, in spite of the varied diets used in racing rations, birds should not be allowed to become excessively heavy, and should also retain that ballooned, light, buoyant feel that, in part, signals improving condition and approaching form. However, there is also an obvious need to ensure that all racing birds, particularly distance candidates, have enough fuel in the form of fat to complete the job successfully and for that reason, distance candidates should not be kept as light in weight as short distance candidates. In quick summary, through alterations in the diet, fanciers need to fuel for the distance to be flown each week. I believe that, with some modifications, the composition of the racing diet, such as the one suggested earlier, can remain virtually the same from the beginning to the end of the racing season. The only real change that could be made is in the amounts of feed given, ie, for short races, perhaps 1 ounce per day is sufficient, whereas for very long races, perhaps 1¼ to 1½ ounces per bird may be needed in order to build the level of fuel (fat) needed to accomplish the task ahead. Some fanciers will also feed 80-100% maize, plus some peanuts or peeled (hulled) sunflower seeds in the last couple of days before shipping. On the matter of using grains such as peanuts or sunflower seeds as a source of fat for racing, I recall some of the important work done by Professor Mulligan at Glasgow University. It bears repeating, as follows. Since the energy for prolonged flight is derived almost exclusively from the utilization of fat stored in body fat depots (in the body cavity among the intestines), and since the energy content of fat is known, Professor Mulligan determined that racing birds used about 2.85 grams of fat (about 1/10 of an ounce) per hour during flight. If these birds flew 14 hours on the first day of the race, they would utilise 14 x 2.85 = 40 grams ( 1 1/3 oz) of fat that first day. The next question was: how much fat did these birds have in reserve to carry on the next day? Some of his earlier work showed that old birds in fit condition around the loft had an average body fat content of 18%. So a 500 gram (just over 16 oz) fit bird would begin the race with 500 x .18 = 90 grams (about 3 oz) of fat. After using 40 grams of fat in the 14 hours flown on the first day of the race, these birds would have about 50 grams (about 1 2/3 oz) of fat to start the second day. If the birds had to fly all of the second day for another 14 hours, another 40 grams of fat would be used, which meant that a third day on the road could find these birds in some serious trouble, with only about 10 grams (about 1/3 of an ounce) of fat remaining. This amount of fat would be enough fuel for just under a final four hours of sustained, rapid flight. Then, at this point, these birds would become exhausted and have to begin foraging for food, to say nothing of their even greater need for water on all three days of flight. Some of this information obviously re-enforces earlier findings of the value of fat as the key fuel to allow for rapid, sustained flight, and the endurance and stamina it provides if the distance to be flown is especially long, or if weather conditions on the race course become increasingly difficult. It also points up the value of weighing birds during preparations for any given race. As Major Hutton pointed out so many years ago, some of his best racing candidates were among birds that were gaining slightly in weight as shipping day approached. It was not and still is not my intention to tell Aussie fanciers what they should or should not do, but rather it has been to present, through several current articles in the ARPJ and some seminars, a number of facts drawn from the scientific literature on 1) the gross and microscopic appearance of the major breast muscles, and on 2) the microscopic and chemical-analytical evidence, plus the results of exercise studies, of the fuel requirements (glycogen and fat) of these great muscles. Based on the scientific evidence, I feel that it is then appropriate 3 to suggest how dietry might be utilized perhaps even more effectively to achieve the goal of optimally (emphasis on "optimally") fuelling these powerful muscles for the job ahead, whether it be a short or long distance race. At the same time, based on the evidence, I have added to the sometimes dry fodder of science, a number of considered comments and opinions, based on the scientific literature, to try to provide some insight from the perspective of a long time fellow fancier (myself), albeit one removed physically from the Aussie racing scene. It continues to be my wish to leave it to thinking Aussie fanciers to deal with the facts, and to have them accept or reject these facts as they choose - and in reading Mr. Moore's comments, I gather that this (rejection in this case) is happening now. So be it. In writing these several articles and presenting seminars on the topic, it has been my hope, true enough, that thinking fanciers might examine and study the facts carefully, thereby to make informed judgments on the subject. In presenting the facts, I am not trying to bludgeon anyone into accepting anything, and I think my recent past articles and seminars plus these comments are amply transparent on that point. We strive to provide only quality information, so if there is a specific topic related to Racing Pigeon Loft website that you would like us to cover, please contact us at any time. And again, thank you to those contributing daily to our Pigeons Roosting website. << Return from Pigeons Roosting page, back to Racing Pigeon Loft Home |