In Europe, sports pigeons appeared in the 15th century, after they were brought from eastern countries. They gained popularity among pigeon breeders who selected offspring according to certain traits.
Selection
Birds with a high speed of returning home are considered to be among the most valuable, and they are not sent to fly to get more chicks. Here, the fertility characteristics of the selected pairs play a special role. It is more influenced by genetic factors and environmental conditions. To grow good chicks, you need a spacious room, a normal level of humidity, mineral dressing with the addition of special vitamins, and the selection of young parental couples. It is believed that the best breeding birds are hatched after the competition of sporting pigeons from distinguished flyers ends.
Among the main selection criteria, the time of nestling maturation and their development are noted. Selection begins at the time of egg laying. Only medium-sized, regular-shaped eggs are left, without damage to the shell, stains and roughness. Inspection of the light reveals eggs with an air chamber located in the wrong place, as well as having two yolks or dark spots - they are also rejected. Training sports pigeons should include any nuances, as well as any sports, because in many situations every second counts.
Winter care
According to novice pigeon breeders, winter is a period of rest in nurseries. But in reality this is not so, it is easier to take the best positions in competitions with careful preparation long before the start of the season. Birds retain their athletic form during training since the beginning of autumn. So, in the spring they begin to fly longer distances faster and return home.
In addition, do not forget about the prevention of diseases such as trichomoniasis and ornithosis. Of particular importance is food in the cold season. The best option is a mixture of sunflower, flaxseed, barley, oats, corn and wheat.
It is undesirable to feed the birds in the late evening, since after that they need to drink water several times. Also in the autumn-winter period, you can accustom young pigeons to the callsign and give them a grain mixture from hands. In this case, the feed rate in winter should be slightly increased.
The room should be dry, clean and suitable for the size of the birds living there, as overpopulation leads to fights due to nests and places at the feeding trough. Because of this, immunity and general characteristics of the flyer are reduced.
Selection
Birds can have breeding value, also having certain drawbacks, so they should not be rejected by mating. Chicks with a tendency to degeneration and noticeable physical defects are also used for crossbreeding.
The offspring in most cases has positive characteristics, such as flight speed, provided that the best flyers are mated. There are several techniques to increase the likelihood of inheriting the required properties. Among them, it is worth noting interline and intraline crossing, outbreeding.
Eyes
It is believed that the eyes of sports pigeons possess important functions, many of which have not yet been studied and are of particular importance in breeding. According to some breeders, this body reflects emotional and energy capabilities.
A healthy strong individual should have expressive, rather large eyes, located with a slight shift towards the beak, which can be seen in the photo of sports pigeons. Gender is also detected by eye expression. The dove has a penetrating expression, and the dove has a softer look. The eye is considered “closed” if the eyeball is completely covered with a grayish eyelid. The shields are a thickening located on the eyelid. Some sports pigeons, the breeds of which can be different, have specific protrusions located above the eyes.
Eye examination is carried out from the periphery, with sufficient electric or natural light. Birds are divided into dark-eyed and light-eyed, their iris with a granular structure can have various shades, ranging from black to white porcelain.
Some flyers may notice a jagged or round stroke of the pupil of a light shade. Also, special attention is paid to the pupil girdle, it should have a dark purple, greenish or blue tint, round or jagged shape. The pupil should have a pure black color and be located with a slight offset to the beak.
The retina of the pigeon's eye has a large number of photosensitive cells that affect visual acuity. To provide a better image perception during the flight, it has a more developed upper part. Therefore, it can be noted that sports pigeons bow their heads when they notice something in the sky.
Birds with dark and light eyes react differently to an identical light source. Dark pupils are characterized by large constriction. The amount of light passing through them also varies. Despite the high reflection properties of pigeons with bright eyes, a larger number of rays pass through the large pupil, due to which the behavior of birds becomes more active, and the nervous system works more intensively. It is believed that light-eyed pigeons of the Belgian breed and English quarries feel better with significant cloud cover.
Thanks to the large pupils and the bright shade of the eyes, the bioenergetic processes are more active due to the greater degree of light transmission. On average, at the age of one and a half years, the formation of the eyes is completed, while the general health of the bird affects the speed of this process.
Eyes and health
The depth of the shade and its intensity are dependent on the physical form and age of the pigeon. Characteristics decrease upon reaching 10 years of age (in particular in females), during illness, and with prolonged exposure to the aviary. The opposite situation can be seen when improving physical fitness.
Health problems are primarily reflected in the shade of the beak and legs, the brilliance of plumage and eyes. Only healthy birds can take part in breeding and flying.
The type of eye and its characteristics are inherited from the ancestors and reflect belonging to a particular line or family. Accordingly, the number of valuable individuals can be increased by careful selection of breeding pairs, among which there may also be pigeons - sports champions.
The color and shape of the eyes are of great importance in breeding. It is desirable that the chicks have a uniform round or serrated stroke, and the color of the iris of the parents is not identical. The time of greatest eye brightness is also taken into account when choosing a mating period. According to pigeon breeders, individuals at this time have more vitality. The result of this parking is the offspring, characterized by high characteristics.
Care Features
Pigeons in a stuffy nursery are characterized by poor appetite and low mobility, and keeping in a crowded room increases the risk of developing diseases. Attachment to the owner increases due to the habit of taking food from the hands.
The national championship of sports pigeons ends in July. Birds have the opportunity to search for food, and even with full feeders, they can fly after him several times a day. At the end of summer, molting begins; some individuals require additional feeding due to reduced flight quality.
Old couples in September bring posterity. Upon reaching four months, the chicks are first released to overcome 10-15 km under good weather conditions, then the opportunity to fly 150-200 km is provided.
After the onset of frost, it is necessary to monitor the goiter of pigeons, in particular their contents. If after palpation it turns out that there is little food in them, the birds should be fed once a day, while the remaining grain is removed from the feeders.
Sports pigeons should have constant access to water and mineral additives, which include edible salt, crushed brick, small pebbles and sand. The composition of the feeding varies depending on the time of year, since at different times the birds need different substances.
Return from a distance
The biological rhythms of birds adapt to the conditions of natural light at their permanent location. Accordingly, when calculating the distance in a zone with identical lighting, you can get better results.
When a pigeon returns from a long journey, much depends on the breeder. The most important thing is timely training in quick entry into the nursery. This skill is honed during the year with the greatest intensity in the winter. This will save such precious seconds in competitions. Often used the method of training birds to the call sign. After the pigeon returns from the competition, regardless of its location, he flies to the owner as soon as he hears his call. Arrival is fixed after removing the control ring. The entrance to the room should not be too low or high. Due to the fact that sports pigeons after a long flight are afraid of unfamiliar sounds and sudden movements, the breeder must be extremely careful.
Competition preparation
Clubs of sports pigeons usually hold standard competitions starting at a distance of 200 km. The passage of this distance is not particularly difficult for experimental individuals. In this case, one-year-old birds can return to the nursery only after a few days. But often such pigeons after show leading indicators. Females that have long covered the distance and out of the rhythm of general nesting are placed in cages or in a separate nursery and stay there until the next championship. The day before the start of the competition, partners are let in for some time. Gradually, depending on the maturation of the chicks, all the females switch to this mode.
Feeding settled animals is done once a day. Males and young birds have free walking opportunities. In this case, it is necessary to systematically release males and females at the same time after sunset and not to let them into the nursery for a certain time. Thanks to this technique, during the competition, sports pigeons later go to bed.
The day before they are released, birds are fed a grain mixture of wheat, peas and sunflower with the addition of vitamin C, which is used to reduce excitability. Upon returning from the competition, pigeons are given sunflower seeds and soft food, and some breeders also use special mixtures to quickly restore strength.
Sports pigeons returned from the race
The best option is to enter the room in the form of a notch with pendants. The returning bird should open most of the space, so it will be more likely to enter the nursery. Care must be taken when catching a pigeon to remove the ring. Otherwise, the next time the arrival will be registered with a significant delay, as the bird will be afraid to enter the room.
After fixing the arrival time, sports pigeons are placed in nests, next to which there should be bowls with food and water. The composition of the feed mixture should include rapidly digesting cereals, such as millet, sunflower, flaxseed, wheat.
It is advisable that bright paint is not used indoors, as this can aggravate the nervous, excited state of the returning pigeon. It is also necessary to consider the possibility of arrival in the dark. Fear of a lighted room can be avoided by prior training throughout the year.
What should be the nursery
When introducing birds, special attention should be paid to the nursery. It is desirable that it is located on a high place away from trees and large buildings.
The room should be free of drafts and high humidity, while the roof should be easily visible to birds. The increase in illumination is achieved by creating windows facing southeast or south. The number of pigeons affects the size of the nursery. For one pair, at least 0.5 m 2 of floor surface should be allocated. For the convenience of capture, the height of the room should be within 2.5-3 meters.
For flooring, a wooden coating is used, covered with large cleaned sand, which is cleaned daily. To rest the pigeons perches along the walls are arranged - they are planks of at least 3 cm wide.
The number of nests should correspond to the available pairs of birds. Pigeons should also have free access to a bathtub for bathing, a drinking bowl and a feeder with grain.
Room processing is done twice a year in the offseason. At the same time, it is extremely undesirable to catch pigeons with the help of a landing net, since feathers can be damaged.