News by Vet. Ruben Lanckriet

NEXT LEVEL PIGEON RACING: support during breeding.

Besides a good health, there are a few things that are important to have a good breeding season. A first important element is whether the pigeons are overweight.
Obesity is an important cause of bad laying of eggs. It is also better when the cocks are in good condition weight. During and at the end of the moulting process, it cannot do much harm that the pigeons are a bit overweight (it is better than the other way around). In nature, this is a natural phenomenon in birds because, due to the abundance of food in late summer, they can eat a lot and create a reserve for the winter, but it is a clear disadvantage for breeding for our pigeons. By the way, this is most likely the reason why birds moult during this period due to the natural selection and evolution process. Conclusion: in the period before mating, the pigeons should be rationed if they are overweight.

Many will use lighting before and during coupling to suppress melatonin production by the pineal gland and thus positively influence the production of sex hormones. This makes a difference in speed and efficacy in laying eggs.

What support can be done with NEXT LEVEL products? Again, it does not have to be too complicated. In the run-up to the couplings, it is good to regularly give TOP Omega 3 oil; both the vitamin E, fats, and omega 3 fatty acids help for a good fertility. Especially for older pigeons this can be a great help to have a better chance of fertilization. As throughout the year, TOP Probiotics is a good continuous support, so it can be used to dry the food after wetting it with Top Omega 3. In the run-up to laying the eggs, it may be advisable to add high-quality proteins under the form of TOP Protein. This can be very useful for the hens when forming the egg. There are a lot of antibodies from the blood into her eggs, so it is also important that she has sufficient high-quality proteins available in her body. Once the pigeons start to feed youngsters, TOP Protein can be used again to supplement all the good proteins for the fast-growing youngsters.

Besides all this, a balanced diet and sufficient grit and minerals remain of great importance. Sufficient calcium is important for the hens. Too often it happens that an injection with calcium must be done because a hen shows paralysis symptoms after or during the laying of her eggs because she has a calcium deficiency in her body. The paralysis symptoms disappear soon after the injection. Besides a shortage of minerals in the ration, the calcium deficiency may also be related to an insufficient absorption of calcium in the goiter-gastrointestinal tract. TOP Probiotics can also help here because the administered lactic acid bacteria enable a better absorption of calcium in the body. Gastrointestinal disease can also reduce absorption.

A possible schedule;

- 8 days before pairing and the first week after pairing every other day TOP Omega 3 + TOP Probiotics
- 2 days before the laying of the first egg until after the laying of the second egg TOP Omega 3 + TOP Protein
- during breeding 1x per week TOP Omega 3 and / or hepatoveto + TOP Probiotics
- TOP Omega 3 and / or hepatoveto + TOP Protein on a regular basis during the feeding of the youngsters

Vet Ruben Lanckriet