On the 13th Euskirchener pigeon Forum in the village of sans was Alfred Berger, Managing Director of the company Röhnfried, the following lecture. The printed text is somewhat similar to the spoken word.

Good morning dear sports friends.

I am pleased that I can be here. Last weekend I was on the other side of the hemisphere in China. What's there about the pigeon sport, it's however today not our topic. Myself I must certainly not particularly present and that degree in biology I was you know also. Already during my studies I occupied myself with the physiology of the pigeon. I have also made their own investigations of the performance and nutrition metabolism of the pigeon. Later as a product manager at Ovator I could apply my experience and have gained more added. The diet of the pigeon is an area which you could spend hours discussing. For you, I was therefore a lecture together with the content that seems particularly important to me. I am very happy with animals, particularly with pigeons. Therefore, I have planned today even a Belgium drive, to strengthen me. Whether this will succeed me, I don't know of course. Because each new Dove, imposing, is a challenge. Yes once, she must demonstrate whether she can meet the expectations. I am also much breeding, with the set of pairs. Why do you do all this? To check later on the Einkorben of drawn and pigeons in the outcome whether it was worth the gain or if the composition of the pairs was right. Because so easy, this is not everything. And I find it always very exciting when the height of the season is the last flight in the travel year. But that's a philosophy that should also be the subject here. If you want to successfully take part in competitions, a certain tension builds up. I aimed to win the 1st prize as possible on every flight. The thereby incurred Championships are actually only the consequence of a very superior travel service for me.

Before we go now, I want to know from you what factors you are most important, to be able to successfully participate in a race?

From the audience: Health; Feeding the pigeons; Supply; Quality of the pigeons.

Alfred Berger: we keep all that as important factors. But for me, it is only once the shock! At the end, the shape suggests the class. You can have the best pigeon material, the best care, but when the animals cannot retrieve it because something with the Dovecote is wrong, then you will experience no excellence. But Dirk van Dyck is the best example. He put a gable roof on the garden beat, who had a lean-to roof, hoping to increase his success. But the pigeons flew far more than before. Same pigeons in the same environment. Finally, degraded the gabled roof and restored the old lean-to roof. And behold, the successes reappeared almost immediately. I said environment. Where the pigeon is the most is the strike. And he has a very important function for the performance of the pigeons in my opinion. I must make sure I have good pigeons on the beat. But the environment must agree. Furthermore you can philosophize also for hours. Example is also my Düsseldorf blow. The pigeons have flown that I've aspired. But it was the blow that did work from the outset. In my current environment, it is much more difficult. Very different climatic conditions prevail in the North. Furthermore, my today's strike is a converted outbuilding. I have long worked and made small changes. Until it was ready, that the doves fly fairly. I received a very good tip from a good friend of sport from Stuttgart, who himself had seen my stroke also critical during his visit. He gave me the advice to install a drainage pipe in the first for the ventilation of the shock. The air is continuously pulled through a duct fan. This device was installed in October/November 2011, and in 2012, I had already three birds with full price number. So my own example, how important is the Dovecote. The good news is, even every day having the chance to control your own pigeon loft and make changes to that then hopefully then also lead to improvements in the climate in doubt. I can not help you, because even if I do visit your beat today I always just a snapshot. For one even added the blindness of operation which makes it difficult the correct observations and conclusions. You can improve the feeding and care. But determine whether the pigeons can retrieve their optimal performance in your environment, this requires careful and lengthy observations. The Dove must feel at home. Not only the oxygen demand is important. But also the relation to the breeder. The pigeons are trustful or fly it one around your ears? This has a significant impact on the performance. It's up to the leadership of the deaf. The breeder is the Manager of the shock. He is a trainer, he is an all-in-one, he is responsible for everything. So, the good news was that one can improve the blow at any time, we must not only recognize but also make. A worse news is that you can now change anything to the important quality of your racing pigeons for 2015. Because the racers for the old travel are already on the beat. Improving the quality of Dove is a long-term task. But for me, the most important factor is the impact. Because he has a crucial impact on the health of the birds. I'm going up on the health of the pigeons even during the lecture at the one or the other point. But I've been holding food to the factor. This factor is not as important as the Dovecote. If you have the Dovecote optimally and corresponding pigeons, only then can the factor diet are important. Because more to get even one or other success this from his animals.

Nutrition. What is it actually? There's a lot on the market feed mixes. Can be chosen according to the season. The Dove has different needs according to the season. What's wrong with the carrier pigeon for different needs? These are special needs?

From the audience: The pigeons will be not too bold.

Alfred Berger: we take the example of this time of year. The pigeons need a calm mix. In it, a large percentage of crude fiber should be included. For example barley. Or paddy rice. Why raw fiber? Crude fibre is more difficult to digest. It goes out undigested back to the part. The barley, used today mostly in the pigeon feed has a low crude fibre content. But it contains much carbohydrates. If they have accounted for 30 to 40% barley in the feed, then you have also a high proportion of carbohydrates. And what happens to the carbohydrates that are not used to the food? You go in the fat pad of the pigeons. The pigeon is set, cold periods to endure lack of periods, etc. and therefore fat pads are created. When the pigeons can fly freely, not nearly as much grease is applied.

What makes the man, if he must stop in extreme cold? What do Eskimos for example? You eat extremely protein-rich. Fish! Eiweißhaltig. Why? Protein generates heat. You can test it if you eat protein on an empty stomach. For breakfast, eat a chicken, without bread, without anything. Then will you properly warm. The protein absorption. The body converts protein into carbohydrates. If you eat only pods, you can eat is always tired and they even lose weight. Quite simply because the body burns more energy than it takes to. Why I'm telling you this? This applies also for the pigeons. If you further feed the high-protein feed for breeding in the dormant period now, the pigeons are not so easily bold. Trimmed slightly oatmeal – not peeled oats – to use and they will see that the pigeons are not too fat. Because the pigeons also don't like eating the neatly trimmed oats. 10% of range. What we to feed the dove, will depend on the requirements. And in the rest period is not a great need.

The protein is to have hormonal functions on the gonads. More protein will cause, that when the hen more eggs and more sperm mature when the bird. That but has much more to do with the length of daylight. For old birds, I would recommend to separate them from the females. You to add a late young females, the testes remain active and it will produce more sperm. The spermatogenesis is once set, it is sometimes difficult to bring them back in old birds.

So food is there to meet the needs. The Dove chicks is one of the few creatures that slip after 48 hours can double its weight. For this there is a considerable need for protein. Not for the old ones, but for the youngsters. Therefore should we to feed in rearing a high protein content, to meet the demand. This is useful in the Mauser. If you increase the protein content in this period, the Dove will increase faster. Feed – the pure grain mix – will be always the most important. Dietary supplement can be only supplements. Dietary supplement feed nutrients ideally, that are not contained in the grains feed. For example, vitamin B2. In any case, it increases the hatchability. But there must be no longer than the requirement demands.

Also feeding like you belongs to the feed feed. Crib, cell feeding. Or after 20 minutes remove the rest. Then, what about the rest? Who gets the? The pigeons which have to eat these, get only remnants. Even if half of my pigeons instinctively dancesport, then the other half incorrectly eats. But I would like that all of my racing pigeons are properly nourished. So I raise my travel mix. And one thing is clear: a lot of energy is required for the journey. Earlier we fed purified after the flight was for the first time, then it rebuilt in the middle of the week the muscles and energy is added at the end of the week. But the three-phase feeding is also suitable for use?

At the University of Saarbrücken, Professor Nightingale had made at the time with pigeons wind tunnel tests. If you look at their results, one wonders. 10 hours to fly, the pigeon needs a lot of energy, which is part of Gramm(g) of a very high-energy bird forage in 180. 14 M was the first pigeon feed, I had developed. It was a high-energy pigeon feed. the pigeon would need 180 g of this mix for 10 hours in the sky. Now think about please. The last four meals before inserting would then consist of respectively 45 g of this mix. The pigeons per meal, not create this amount at most on the day. You have so much earlier already high energy feed. You are wondering when the pigeons fly today 10 hours? But keep in mind they already energy, the dove in the cell only sitting, or consumed in the shock, in addition then training of stroke. From this it is easy to see that we need high energy feed the pigeons-throughout the week. The last four meals is not sufficient. On dietary supplement they can give what they want, oils and the like. But the amount of energy is fed mainly on the grains. If I for example 20% of peeled sunflower seeds to the compound, then I would but also that all of my racing pigeons get 20%. Not that half of the widowers eats all sunflower seeds and the others get little or nothing. Depending on a feed mixture is optimal, the type of feeding is also becoming increasingly important. The Dove may select itself too much in the feed. If I have made me work to make the feed with different percentage together, I also want the deaf equal shares to absorb the food. I could also grind it and make pellets, then each pigeon would have an equal share. Pellets have not prevailed but. Extruded parts are already more of a grain closed up. If an extra grains places (pellet) is in the compound, need to improve the way of the feeding so that each bird gets the appropriate fraction of. Cell feeding would be a solution.

But it starts already with the youngsters. At the moment in which they are set. The one eats first peas, the other eats other corn, again no corn at all. I myself have made this experience. A bird I flew no prices on any tour with two nights basket stay. Then later, in cell feeding, I have found that he ate no corn. Next winter, I've forced him to eat corn. Next year he flew every flight with Thursday set a top up to the second circle Championship. Corn I find also quite good for feeding in the Kabi, due to its low surface in relation to the volume. He is being fed in the Kabi prefers. So, good food, so that it doesn't stop. Also on the way, it's how you feed them. Toni van Ravenstein booklets for example once described in the Ovator "Know how", he sifts the lining for the boys. The boys should learn to eat the large grains. The components can be times separately. Only corn, to see whether all eat him.

Now I would like to go further. We take a look at the digestive tract. A dove, which takes high-fat components on the day of use, digested them very quickly. What is being fed to the day in the evening around 4 pm to 17 pm, can pull the dove on the next day to the energy used. You need not long time. You can see this. When the dove of the flight she drinks first of all. If you then feed what has gotten the dove on the last day, then the feces is again bound for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. The Green comes from bile. Because she has no gall bladder. The green manure has to fly anything to do, but just because she has recorded no lining. And since I've been in Detox after the flight. You must not detoxify the colon. Nothing in the intestine, which should prompt us to give raw fibre food happens during the race. Energy is the first thing the body wants to build. What do the most? Give raw fibre food. The pigeons need but high-energy feed after the flight.

How do you to the lining of the winter fodder on the breeding fodder. You make a slow transition, all always something more of the new variety. They do so because they know if they switch from one on the other day, has the digestive tract so that stress and can get digestive problems. But there are still farmers who give three fundamentally different types of feed during the tourist season in one week. That's stress on the digestive tract. And when we talk about health as one of the prerequisites for success, we must observe the intestines. Health comes from the gut. We must avoid the travel feed conversions and high energy to feed the whole week. Each feed conversion brings unnecessary stress. Therefore, I feed only a variety during the week. The components in the mixtures of such travel are but expensive. In a compound developed by me, the content of the hemp was 8%. I would have liked a higher proportion. But then such a mixture can no longer sell. In 2008 I had put together a proprietary blend for the whole year as a base mix me which was not intended for sale. From this mix I had been at that time some bags for the trip to three sports friends and all three were so 1 RV master. Then I was approached more often on this mix until we have offered it then also. The food was approximately 28 euro the bag at the dealer really expensive, because I've taken in putting together not on sale. Through this mix be errors is minimized, and most successful in feeding can make during the trip at the end of also the breeders, who makes the fewest mistakes.

Before I do now, I would like to stress once again the most important: 1. pigeon loft, 2 good pigeons, 3. performance-optimized feeding. Performance-optimized feeding is the basis for what I would like to address now. She can only lead to improvements if no crucial mistakes were made at the first points.

What's now an exciting for you theme, that I should go. I have brought you also my catalog, the Röhnfried courier 2015, for guidance. To read a lot, what I can't explain here due to the short time. What theme would you hear more?

From the audience: Lower infection pressure…

Alfred Berger: lower infection pressure? Why reduce any infection pressure. Of course I'm on the subject of health. We have a phenomenon in the pigeon sport. There are no species which cause so many animals from different herds in a vehicle together and then back home. Animals are normal way together to the slaughterhouse shut. Since the infection pressure no longer interests us. Relatively many animals in a confined space are always increased infection pressure. In the context, the question "What is health anyway?" arises but once It is not the absence of pathogens. Health is the balance between pathogens and resistance rather the immunity of the animals.

This balance is disturbed in certain stressful situations. Typical example is the young pigeon disease. The youngsters come for the first time in the cabin express and three days later the stock suffering from more or less strongly. We must observe that the contagion a so-called incubation period is up to the outbreak of a disease. And this is more than just three days at the germs famous for the young pigeon disease. In other words, that already before the stay in the Kabi in stock pathogens must have been present. Then, they have won the upper hand in the stressful situation. The germs were there so before and had no trouble in the resilient young animals without large stress factors. When I had my pigeons in Düsseldorf, was a scrap yard in the neighborhood. There were sometimes enormous vibrations. My pigeons were used to stress. It was normal for them. You could deal with stress. Therefore can you run also in the Loft a radio. The pigeons are used then votes. Or they remember the report with the balloons in the young animal to the young animal disease prevention. All factors associated with stress adaptation together. Because 70% of youngsters stocks carry Circo virus and under great stress, they multiply explosively and cause a partial immune deficiency in which proliferate all pathogens and build up to a big infection pressure.

Our goal is the infection pressure with natural remedies that have no side effects or cause other damage to lower it so easily. So what to do?

The most important way the Dovecote is the potions. Who observed the pigeons when drinking white that they always cost and "spit into it" before they drink. To stop this transmission route can be used purposefully preparations, to lower the pH of drinking water on 4.5. When the pH in drinking water under 4.5 can no longer settle the germs and multiply.

To do this, the product is used Avidress plus, a dietary supplement for water protection. So germs in the potions can no longer multiply. The potions can stand the blow for several days without having proliferate disease germs. Also cancer that are otherwise in the crop of pigeons, have become much less common, what we always see if pigeons are presented to the veterinarian. The desired and benign germs are conserved but the low pH value.

Lower infection pressure! What do we have for opportunities? You know garlic and cinnamon for example from the kitchen. Allicin in garlic has strong antibacterial effects. Many give what is already a correct approach therefore also garlic cloves in the potions. But unfortunately, Allicin is not stable. About the freeze drying of garlic that has been Hatchling powder by Röhnfried developed. It is also rich in essential amino acids with immunologically active antibodies from bovine colostrum and egg yolks. It includes freeze-dried garlic and bowel active powder cellulose. Prebiotic components stabilize the intestinal flora. Allicin is also on salmonella, much like an antibiotic. And not absorbed into the blood, which is a big advantage. The immune system, which is 70% in the intestines, is activated. I want to make one point yet, which is very important to me. Hatchling powder increases the reaction speed of the immune system of beta-glucans. With this product, you can so effectively lower the infection pressure and promote immunity.

The regeneration processes of the muscles are another aspect to the race. From recent studies I learned that you should absorb amino acids and carbohydrates in concentrated form in the first 20 minutes after the race and what effectively promotes muscle regeneration. That's why our latest recommendation. As the first ever potions after the race should the pigeon BT Amin forte offer, because it is used in combination with easily digestible carbohydrates guts to regeneration. It contains high doses of short-chain amino acids, electrolytes and B-vitamins. The essential amino acids represent an optimum discharge especially during the tourist season and drug treatments.

In this context, I have our product Entrobac attract. On the Declaration of many competing products “for chickens for fattening”. The bacteria contained in the Entrobac are approved for pigeons, explicitly because you could prove that they also actively arrive in the intestine, so where the effect is desired. So absolutely suitable for pigeons. It contains probiotic bacteria and special dietary prebiotic fibres needed for an optimal settlement of the intestinal flora. The included strain of bacteria is also stable to many antibiotics and therefore it is recommended to use it parallel to any antibiotic treatment. Each antibiotic damages the intestinal flora. That's why at the same time take advantage of Entrobac. Harmful germs we E.Coli, salmonella and Clostridium are back pushed. The product shows its special effect against fungi in the digestive tract.

I know that I'm very theoretical. Why? What I here show and tell, is based on the basis of scientific findings. I would like to make you aware. You must decide for themselves which elements are most important in a week of travel time. Remember the factors impact, pigeons, health. Handling are added with the pigeons and motivation. Motivation alone is to point the females before the onset.

But how can we reduce the infection pressure?

From the audience: Keep only half of the pigeons.

Alfred Berger: Goes also. But that I didn't want out.

From the audience: Give fruit vinegar in the drinking water of the pigeons.

Alfred Berger: Then they must choose as high the percentage of fruit vinegar, that your pigeons will no longer drink this mixture, because only at a pH of 4.5, the acidification of drinking water makes sense. But I have still something a lot cheaper. Hygiene, hygiene in the Dovecote. Frequently clean the pigeon loft! Ground scrape, make everything clean. My best years of travel were always the ones where I performed a special hygiene before the season. All out of the cell, frame, everything moves and wet blasting. It cost work. But it was very persistent and made for better health.

From the audience: You have not addressed yet 6. How can we keep the Airways free?

Alfred Berger: There are also two ways. That would be the hygiene as I just said. Also the Chlamydia cause much difficulty. If you have Chlamydia in the stock, they need 20 days for a meaningful treatment. In five days, there is nothing to do. The shock must be disinfected. Most forget that. The re contagion must be avoided. You can keep the respiratory system free over the entire season. We have to provide a product again. Avimycin for a free airway. It supports the respiratory tract of the dove on the basis of Horseradish and Nasturtium. The product contains high concentration of the precursors of Isothiocyanates. Only with feeding their activity will be properly unfolded, there she after taking first in the blood recorded, and then from the blood into the lungs. There are very strong an antibiotic the addition. The pigeons exhale so to speak and fight strains of respiratory tract so from the inside out. Our product Avisana to watery eyes. It is also cleansing for the mucous membranes of the nose, wounds and injuries. Affected areas will pour up according to the settled with probiotic bacteria. A so called mucus layer is formed that acts as a protective shield. If pigeons include pathogens in the Kabi, this can no longer be so easy attract on the treated pigeon. The pigeons had no protective layer, these would plug themselves with agents much easier. So a way to lower the infection pressure.

And now I would like to thank those who have given me their attention. I wish you health. Because if we are ourselves healthy, even the pigeons then we pay more attention. You have to be aware. Even a small story, an anecdote. How to recognize a good breeder? What the top breeders and the breeders, which does not make its prices? All three go today with the knowledge back home, to improve something, maybe the strike say to install a roof window at the top of the shock. Says the bad breeders “The journey begins in early may, na until end of March made me”. The good breeders says “Alone I do hard for me, but between the holidays I did that on my friend made” and the top breeder says nothing, because the had made it a long time!

From Oral to Written transmitted by Hans Brühl.

Source: Taubenmarkt

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