No part of our Secrets can be copied or published without written permission

from Frank McLaughlin.

November 15th 2015

McLaughlin Lofts continues to stay many years ahead. Most recently the Animal Rights
people (MSPCA) reprimanded me for using Virkon S in the drinking water. Now Dupont is
marketing Virkon H2O for use in poultry drinking water. To learn more about Virkon
H2O Click Here:

Secret 1
Attention: On August 26th, I had a visit from MSPCA which is the Massachusetts
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. I was reported for giving my pigeons Virkon S. I have
used Virkon S one or two times per year and found this to be beneficial to the
pigeons. Someone felt I was poisoning my pigeons. This could not be further from the
truth. I would never do anything to harm my pigeons and advocate natural health
methods. Virkon S is not designed for drinking water but has been used from Koi fish
breeders to chicken breeders for years. I will no longer use Virkon S other than to
disinfect my lofts, water dispensers and feeders. It seems that endless use of antibiotics
and bleach in the drinking water is much better than Virkon S. I am disappointed I was
not questioned direct by the person that reported my Virkon S use as a cruelty to
animals. McLaughlin Lofts will not longer advocate Virkon S to be used in anyway other
than instructed by the label. Virkon S is used around the world in many ways but the label
must be followed here in the USA.

Email Received 9/2/2015

Frank – I am the Technical Sales Leader for The Chemours Company, Clean and Disinfect
business in North America, formerly DuPont Animal Health. On 8/20 a report was made to
the Rocky Mountain Poison Control Center that you were recommending online the use of
Virkon S in poultry drinking water. I received the report this morning. I see that you have
posted a notice on your site of being visited by MSPCA. Just to reiterate, Virkon S is not
approved for use in animal drinking water according to our label registered with EPA in
the US. It is a violation of federal law to use a pesticide product in a manner inconsistent
with its labeling. I understand there are uses outside the US that are allowed and even
accepted as common practice but we must adhere to the label instructions that are
approved by EPA. Please remove your recommendations from the attached website.
Thank you !

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly.

Best Regards,
Jeff

Jeffrey A. Odle
Technical Sales Leader NA, Clean & Disinfect, Chemical Solutions

Secret 2 - Updated 3/12/12)

Moxidectin wormer If you are still using Ivermectin or any other wormer you are wasting
time and your birds probably have round worms and other parasites. We have been using
Moxidectin for ten years with incredible results. The easy way to administer is to go to a
feed store with horse products and buy a product called 'Quest'. Quest comes in a
syringe tube and will make eight gallons of water.

Quest is a gel that must be mixed in a blender poured into the water and given to the
pigeons for 24 hours. It lasts in the pigeons system for 30 days. Not only does it
eliminate all internal intestinal worms, it eliminates gape worms and all external
parasites. We treat the race team with Quest seven days before a big race and have only
had super results.

We place 1/2 tube of Quest in one cup of water in the blender. We blend for 30 seconds
and then pour this into 4 gallons of water and stir. When you see the dial on Quest you
will realize it is difficult to make less than two gallons at one time.

If you see worms you can repeat every three weeks for up to six months. If your pigeons
are reinfected from the environment you can treat every three weeks or monthly for six
months. Round worm eggs only live in the enviroment for six months so the life cycle can
be broken.

Once per year we treat with Quest Plus which contains the Tapeworm medicine. The
pigeons do not like to drink Quest Plus so we use it only once in a great while.

NEVER give to dogs, it may be deadly!

Secret 3
Are you a widowhood flyer and wish you could fly hens but do not have the room or time?
Here is a system that will change the way you race pigeons. Before the widowhood
season begins train the hens out 60 to 70 miles. Once the birds are separated feed the
hens 100% high quality barley every day but Thursday evening the day before
shipping. On Thursday evening feed all the small seeds like safflour, hemp along with all
the European mix they want. After about 30 minutes remove the feed and place barley in
the feeder for the day on Friday. Ship the hens every week to each race and upon return
let them eat all the rich feeds and small seeds they want. Place them back into their
holding section or flight pen a couple hours after they home until the process starts over
each week. They are never trained or let out of the loft. They only fly one day a week in
the race. Leave one or two hens home for the first two arriving cocks or use some
unmated stock hens. More often than not the hens will beat the cocks and will even be
better when the distance races come along. The hens only eat barley except for Thursday
evening and Saturday after the race. If you are sending the hens to a long distance race,
you can feed the hens the rich seeds the day of shipping also. Keep every possible
mineral in front of the hens free choice at all times. If the hens fly eight or more hours in a
race you can skip a week and go two weeks between races.

This system works so well and allows you to race more pigeons without any extra time or
effort. You will start to re-think how to train pigeons when you fly this system.

Secret 4
Feeding Tip: Never over feed your race team again. Just add about one ounce of Rabbit
Pellets to the feed each day. Feed enough until the birds leave the rabbit pellets. Any
very hungry birds will eat the rabbit pellets. After we feed our youngsters each day there
is always a sprinkling of rabbit pellets in the feeder. By late in the day the pellets are
gone.

We give all the birds rabbit pellets two time per week year round. This eliminates the use
of any fresh greens. Buy rabbit pellets that have the first ingredient alfalfa.

Secret 5
Resting Tip. Rest is one of big misconceptions when it comes to racing pigeons. If you
want your pigeons to have a long successful career please give one day of total rest for
every two hours on the wing. Four hour flight, two days rest, 12 hour flight 6 days of total
rest. You will not only dominate all season long you will win with 5 year old or older
pigeons if you follow this rest recommendation throughout their career. By total rest we
mean they do not even loft fly.

Secret 6
Buy a hygrometer (Home Depot) with a high low setting. The hygrometer measures
humidity. Place the hygrometer in the racing loft and adjust ventilation to maintain
humidity below 70%. By monitoring the humidity you will learn to keep it lower than 70%
at all times. Pigeons have a big drop in form with humidity over 70%. My widowhood loft
can be kept at 68% humidity when it is 100% humidity outside. My hygrometer monitors
temperature and high low temperature also.

Secret 7
Keep an injectable antibiotic on hand for any one eye colds,rattles or respiratory issues
you may have. We use LA 200 an oxytetracycline. Inject 0.4cc at the base of the back of
the neck and in two to three days all the symptoms will be completely gone. Buy a very
small bottle of LA 200. It goes a long way.

Secret 8
Aquarium Chlorine Removers: Small amounts of chlorine and chloramine are added to
tap water to kill organisms for safe human consumption. Of course, chlorine and
chloramine are toxic to your friendly bacteria and may interfere with antibiotics etc.. Use
aquarium chlorine removers to do away with them. Aquarium chlorine removers often
remove other harmful heavy metals, amonia or otherwise prepare your tap water for
pigeon use. Purchase the one drop to the gallon dose and stop wasting money by killing
or interfering with anything you give your pigeons in the drinking water. Just fill the
bucket or container, drop in chlorine remover stir and add your products immediately.

Secret 9
Most pigeon grit is comprised of ground granite. This ground granite is very sharp,
fragmented, pointed and generally abrasive. Is this grit irritating the gizzard and insides
of our pigeons? Wild birds eat round smooth pebbles for grit. Maybe we should all
rethink grit and find a pebble based grit with no sharp edges. I collect smooth pebbles off
a salt water beach. There are places the pebbles collect at the base of large rocks. The
size ranges from slightly bigger than a grain of sand to a little bigger than a pea. I bake
the pebbles on a tray in the oven at 450 degrees for ten minutes to kill bacteria, let cool
and feed to the pigeons. These beach pebbles also contain shell fragments, trace salts
and minerals.

Secret 10
Not all yellow in a pigeons throat is canker. Fine lines of yellow could be an ornithosis or
some sort of respiratory problem. If your canker treatment does not seem to work maybe
you should be treating with doxicycline. Remember eyes, nose, ears, and throat are all
inter related.

Secret 11
The most important meal after a workout is the first meal. This applies to athletes and
animals. When your pigeons return home from a tough race they need rich feed with
plenty of oil seeds in front of them free choice. They will eat what is needed to
recover. By feeding rich feed your pigeons will recover very fast. We usually place all the
16% European mix along with safflour, pellets, hemp, flax etc.

Secret 12
When our pigeons return home from a race they drink our special blend of water additives
to assist in recovery. In one gallon of water we place one tablespoon of glucose powder,
1/4 teaspoon of chicken vitamin electrolytes, one teaspoon of Probios Horse probiotic and
1/4 teaspoon of iodized salt. They will bounce right back on this mix.

Secret 13
Apple Cider Vinegar is one of the best natural additives that can be given daily to the
pigeons. We give one ounce to the gallon nearly every day of the year. We also mix in
vitamins and probiotics several times per week. For a natural product to have benefits it
must be used regularly over a long period of time. Apple Cider Vinegar makes the gut
acidic. Bad bacteria does not thrive well in an acid environment. The good bacteria and
normal pigeon gut bacteria love the acid (Apple Cider) environment. We usually buy the
gallon container at the super market. If you only have a handful of pigeons the Apple
Cider Vinegar sold at the health food stores is better.

All winter and the entire breeding season we give the apple cider vinegar every single
day. We do not use the vinegar as much during the race season. I am too worried to that
the race team will not be hydrated enough if I put the vinegar in the water. When I do use
it during racing it is in the water for just the morning feeding. Used over the long term
Apple Cider Vinegar has positive effects on the pigeons. I never mix the Apple Cider
Vinegar with medications.

Secret 14
Please do not feed Popcorn to your pigeons. Popcorn is very hard and does not absorb
water easily. If you put popcorn in a glass of water for 24 hours it does not swell or get
soft. Popcorn should not be included in any pigeon feed mix. Use a regular large corn in
the feed mix and your results will improve in both racing and breeding.

Secret 15
We do not medicate youngsters in the first many months of their lives. If possible just
vaccinate and worm with moxidectin. Medicate only if it is absolutely necessary. One
sick youngster does not mean it is time to medicate the entire team. Our young bird team
will not be medicated for anything until they are in the racing season and maybe not even
medicated in the racing season. Our young pigeons that are not raced, either bred for
stock or sale may not receive anything but vaccinations and moxidectin for over a
year. Pigeons that are allowed to build natural immunity when young have less problems
with health for the rest of their lives. Do yourself and your pigeons a favor by keeping
them as natural as possible. We do advocate Avian Solution and Oregano Product sold
by Jedds. Seem to have an antibiotic effect on the pigeons but is all natural.

For pigeons to stay healthy naturally they cannot lack anything. We give apple cider
vinegar just about daily along with numerous mineral cups, grits, probiotic several times
per week, vitamins two or three times per week, garlic etc. If the birds are not lacking
anything, their immune system works optimally.

Secret 16
You can pretty much feed any grain and or pellet mix and raise super babies providing
you have every mineral and grit available to the pigeons. Vitamin deficiencies do not
effect the pigeons nearly as much as mineral deficiencies. We keep pink vitamineral,
brown mineral blocks, pick pot minerals, oyster shells, grit mix, red stone, magnesium
blocks etc in separate cups in front of the breeders at all times. Your babies will be
spectacular.

Secret 17
There is only one type of oil that should be used on our feed for the pigeons. That oil is
Flax Seed Oil. This oil is high in Omega 3's and the health benefits are endless. Wet the
feed with the Flax Oil and then add a good natural flavored whey protein or brewers
yeast. Never chocolate whey because chocolate is poisonous to pigeons. Omega 3 oils
act as an anti-inflamatory which allows the pigeons to keep flying when others have
quit due to swelling and fatigue. Tuesdays and Thursdays during racing (and breeding)
will be enough for a positive effect. You may wonder why supply houses do not sell Flax
Seed Oil in their oil mixes??? Flax Oil is more expensive and must be kept refrigerated.
Use the best oil for top results. Consider using Flax Oil to make your own salad dressing
or just take a tablespoon a day right off the spoon. Brain and cardiovascular benefits are
endless. Flax Oil has a mild nut flavor. You can buy Flax Oil at the Health Food store and
even in the refrigerated section of supermarkets.

Secret 18
Need to up the protein during breeding? Add a high protein small kibble dog food to the
mix. Ten to twenty percent dog food in the mix will do the trick. My pigeons would rather
eat dog food over safflour. Pigeons love the animal protein plus all the vitamins, minerals
and calcium is very high in dog food. We like a puppy food because the protein is higher
and the food is richer for growing dogs/pigeons.

Secret 19
Before breeding we feed a higher percentage of Rabbit pellets. Being predominantly
Alfalfa, the vegatable like pellet is natures way to add a spring diet to the pigeons during
winter. I feel the rabbit pellet also helps with fertility and the droppings will be firm and
black. We always try to fill in any nutritional blanks with our pigeons. 33% in the mix will
be perfect, Rabbit pellets will also help keep their body weight down.

Secret 20 - Updated 11/4/2012

Occasionally we find a super breeding pair. We then try to monopolize the young
produced from the pair by swapping eggs to foster parents. Maybe the racing results are
not what we expected from the fostered out babies. Are we missing something? Could
there be a link between the immunity/antibodies passed from the parent’s pigeon milk , to
the baby, to performance? We know pigeon antibodies are passed to the young through
milk. We always talk about the quality of this milk but never the quality and diversity of
the antibodies in this milk.

Genetics plays a big factor in strong immune system. Exposure to pathogens many
relatively harmless plays a big factor in the development of a strong immune
system. Vaccines also play a major role in the strengthening of the immune system and
increasing the immune response to pathogens. Is there something else?

I have a theory that old pigeons have been exposed to many pathogens in their
lifetime. What they lack in the quality of their milk may be enhanced by the quality and
diversity of antibodies in this milk. Now to my first thought……Consider that champion
breeders may be passing something other than genetics to their young.

Bottom line is mate the old breeder to a younger pigeon. Let them raise the young and
send these out to the big futurity. The youngsters from the old pigeon may have an
advantage with a better immune system. The common theory is the older pigeon has less
quality pigeon milk than the younger pigeon. I am not sure if any studies have been done
on this. It could be older pigeons have less vitality (due to age) and interest to pump
such milk to their young.

If you have a choice let your old champion pigeons raise their own youngsters. Use these
youngsters for breeding. Why not give yourself every opportunity for success. We see
many late breds from the old superstars go on to be exceptional breeders. Usually it is
the late breds that are actually raised by the old breeder. Here at McLaughlin Lofts our
breeders raise nearly 100 % of their own young. If there is a connection between a
champion racer or breeder and its immune system (genetics/pigeon milk) I like to give the
champ every opportunity to pass this to their young.

Nearly all of us in the Baby Boomer generation were bottle fed babies. I feel many health
issues we face in our adulthood could be connected to being bottle fed. This is very
tough to prove but worth considering.

Secret 21
Need a very inexpensive salt/mineral supplement? Go to a Salt Water Aquarium Store and
purchase 5 lbs of Instant Ocean or similar Saltwater fish salt. This salt is loaded with
endless trace minerals. Use just a pinch at a time or change regularly because salt will
attract moisture. Another option would be to keep all your minerals on a warming
plate. Pet stores sell a variety of heating units that can be attached to the bottom of a
glass aquarium. You can attach one of these to the bottom of a glass
pyrex cookware/dish and add all your mineral cups. Minerals will stay dry.

Secret 22
I have found a super vita-mineral/grit combination. The product contains a combination
of grits, vitamins, minerals and supplements. If you wanted to just use one grit/mineral
mix this would be the one of choice. It comes in two size buckets 16lb or 22lb. This mix
contains, sea grits and shells, small round stones, red grit, tiny mineral pellets,
mineralized seeds, pink mineral pellets, B Vitamins, trace elements and assorted
beneficial products for the pigeons. This is a must for every serious pigeon fancier. I
give daily in small containers and move the leftover from the day before to another
pot. Produced in Belgian by Jovati Pigeon Products and can be purchased by the bucket
at Vita King Products (877) 848- 5464 . This produce is now called Ganus Minerals.

Secret 23
Some of the top Belgians treat every new pigeon they buy with ten days of Baytril and
give a vaccination for salmonella on the 10th day. This protocol makes sense before
adding a pigeon to a salmonella free colony. My suggestion would be to treat for canker
upon arrival followed by worming with Moxidectin. Then proceed with the 10 days
of Baytril and the salmonella vaccination. Plenty of probiotics will help keep the gut in
check after this process.

Secret 24
Leave the lights on for 24 hours per day for your first two rounds during the breeding
season. Your breeders should have feed in front of them at all times. The breeders can
feed the babies throughout the night while the day length is short. Your results will
improve!

Secret 25
The wonders of Oregano. Five years ago my 90 lb German Shepherd could not stop
vomiting and also had and intestinal issue. I brought him to the Vet and expected a big
dose of antibiotics. The Vet gave the dog a tube of Oregano Paste. The Vet said it would
work better than the antibiotics. The dog nearly instantly started to improve. He was fully
recovered in a few hours. I have thought about this for several years wondering how
oregano would work on our pigeons. Recently I saw an oregano based water soluble
pigeon product on the market. It is called Avian Solution or Avian Powder made by Van
Beek Natural Science. Can be bought at www.Jedds.com.
The solution is gel like and you must really mix it well but it does dissolve easily. I have
been using Avian Solution for several years now and feel it is the best natural product on
the market.

Secret 26
Young birds can spread any health problems in the bath water. Many lofts notice that
shortly after giving the young pigeons a bath health problems begin. I would suggest
adding one teaspoon of Virkon S to a gallon of bath water for each bath. This should
eliminate the spread of disease and has a nice cleaning effect on the feathers.

Secret 27
Snake Problems can drive even the most careful fancier crazy. Snake can enter into the
loft and eat eggs and youngsters. If the youngster is too big to swallow the snake will just
kill the pigeon. My friend Butch Shoop in Texas has had some luck with a product called
'Bird Block' made by Easy Gardener. Sold at Home Depot the netting can be placed
around the bottom of the loft and over any opening. The product works like Gil Netting on
fish. The snake gets caught in the net trying to get through. If the snake does get
through the net to feed it will certainly get caught on the way out. 'Bird Block' comes in a
roll.

Secret 28
When selecting breeders you can bring in cocks that are not physically perfect if the
pedigree and bloodline is outstanding. You must always pair these less than perfect
cocks to perfect in every way breeding hens. Many of the babies will have the physique of
the mother along with half the genetics of the sire. Mating physically perfect cocks onto
less than perfect hens usually leads to less the perfect babies. The great lofts have great
hens. The super hens will compensate for many flaws in the cocks.

Secret 29
Try wood pellets for a loft floor deep litter. One bag will cover about 5' by 7' of
floor. They break down over time but are really not dusty. The also make a super
compost for the garden. Use the hardwood pellet designed for burning. The pellet used
in wood stoves seem to hold up better than the soft wood pellet designed for bedding.

Secret 30
If you are not able to clean your loft constantly and do not live in a very dry climate a deep
litter system is the best system for keeping pigeons. The birds are very comfortable on
deep litter, the loft stays extremely dry and the pigeons stay in better condition. All
beneficial to keeping healthy happy pigeons. I use straight wood pellets on my floors and
sometimes mix 25% pine shavings into the wood pellets. This fresh bedding will change
the atmosphere of the loft to a very positive state. You will immediately notice clean feet,
clean feather and a bounce up in health.

Secret 31
If you ship pigeons through the express mail in the post office or even by airline you
should hydrate the babies as you place them in the box. An infant bulb syringe made of
rubber in a tear drop shape will make this easy. About a half a bulb of water in each
youngster as you place them in the shipping box will fight dehydration during the trip.

Secret 32 - Updated 8/22/2012

If you can't beat them join. This past week (July 15th 2011) I bought some rotating
mechanical Dove Decoys and wind activated spinning wing Dove Decoys to place around
the loft. The decoys go out when the birds are out. I am hoping when the hawks attack
the young birds they may go for the easy target and hit a decoy over hitting one of the
youngsters. We will see??

Hawk attacked a Dove Decoy the other day. Will this help?? I do not know. Maybe the
hawk will realize those pigeons at McLaughlin Lofts are extreme hard and tough to eat
and leave the pigeons alone? We have witnessed numerous hawk attacks on the decoys.

Secret 33 - Updated 3/12/2012

It is easy to tell if you are caring for your breeders correctly. My top breeders are raising
their sixth and seventh round of young feeding, driving, moulting their bodies etc and still
act and handle like they did before breeding season. The cocks are highly active and are
snapping their wings with that Pop Pop Pop sound bouncing in and out of the flight
pens. I attribute this health and condition at the end of breeding season not only to great
pigeons but great care. Every mineral supplement is available to the breeding pigeons at
all times. We breed right though the high heat and humidity of the summer with no ill
effect. High quality pigeons combined with outstanding care should not show stress at
the end of the breeding season. It is amazing to see yearling breeders mature and grow
flawlessly while the entire time they are raising young. We bred until November and
raised nine rounds from some of our stock pigeons with no detrimental effects.

Secret 34
Saw a very interesting article on the Pipa website that explained that youngsters
vaccinated for Paramyxo-virus (PMV) at 3 weeks had less problems with Adeno-virus
during young bird season. Some vets even claim they have less problems with Circo
also.
In the past I would vaccinate my youngsters for PMV about six to eight weeks before
young bird season. The year I vaccinated the youngsters at weaning. I wean the babies
very young. Boston has had major issues with Adeno-virus this season and McLaughlin
Lofts has not had any problems.
If there is a correlation between vaccinating for PMV at 3 weeks of age and a lessor
incidence of PMV, it is well worth a try. You must vaccinate anyway.
We start with new syringes and load the entire 100 dose PMV vial into the syringes. It is
very easy to just grab a loaded syringe each time you wean a baby.

Secret 35
If you are shipping babies to one loft races use more space and larger boxes than
needed. If you are going to spend large sums of money on entry fees please do not try to
save $40 by packing your babies into one small box. Think big picture. Birds that are
hurt during shipping never amount to anything.

Secret 36
Have some of your better pigeons not performed well this past season? It may be best to
have your vet test the race pigeons for Pigeon Malaria. If you have seen pigeon flies there
is a good chance you loft has pigeon malaria. Moxidectin (Quest) wormer will kill the flies
if the flies bite a recently wormed pigeon.

Secret 37
If hawks are a serious problem in the spring for the old birds this tip may help. Most
pigeons are lost to hawks when they are out of shape and released for exercise around
the loft. Do not release for exercise before the start of training. We at McLaughlin Lofts
get the pigeons weight down with a mixture of barley and rabbit pellets for maybe two
weeks before training. We then keep them very hungry pick a nice day and take them for
a 1/4 mile toss.

The object is road training so why let the hawks chase the pigeons around the lofts. Train
them short and get them right in. Inch them out maybe 1/2 mile at a time. Once the
pigeons are conditioned moderately from the road training they can be loft flown. At least
they have a fighting chance if loft flown in condition than loft flown out of condition.

Secret 38
Yesterday as I was repairing a cracked egg I realized that maybe some do not know the
proper procedure of repairing eggs. For starters eggs can only be repaired if the shell is
cracked or slightly broken but the inner membrane is intact. If the inner membrane is not
pierced the egg can be repaired. I have been repairing eggs with success for 40 years
starting when I was a boy.

One thing to keep in mind is, the chick pecks out of the egg along the bigger end. When
repairing eggs you must try not to cover the area the chick must peck through. If you do
need to cover a section of the dome the chick pecks through keep in mind it may be
beneficial to remove your patch once the chick starts to hatch.

Now to how to repair an egg. In the old days we would cut a postage stamp to size and
use this for a patch. Stamps no longer work for a patch because they are now made of
almost a plastic type paper. The adhesive is different and the stamp will not mold to the
egg.

What works best?? I have been using plain white copy paper and have even used
newspaper in an emergency. The secret is to cut the paper a little larger than the
crack. Now place the paper on your tongue and keep it in your mouth for about five
minutes. The paper will be come very soft and pliable. The saliva is a great adherent and
the paper will breath identical to the egg shell itself.

After five minutes of the paper patch in your mouth place the paper on the crack and very
gently smooth all the edges so the paper makes a complete seal on the egg shell. With
warm breath blow on the patch until it starts to dry. Place the slightly damp patched egg
back under the parent pigeon and it will finish drying under the parent.

You will be amazed at the success rate of these patches. Keep in mind that the chick will
have a tough time pecking through the patch so the patch can be removed once the
hatching process begins. Life finds a way and I have had chicks hatch when I expected
them not to be able to hatch.

Secret 39
Pigeon eggs once laid can be stored for several days and maybe even over a week at
room temperature before the incubation process begins. You must place the egg on its
side and make three or four half turns each day until you put the egg under a foster
parent. If the incubation process has begun you cannot store the egg. If the egg is
freshly laid you can keep the egg until you have a foster pair ready. I am doing some
experiments now on how long a fertile egg can be kept and how much care the egg
actually needs. Today 4/13 an egg hatched that I kept on the shelf in the breeding loft for
10 days. I turned the egg only once a day and the temperature ranged from 45 degrees as
a low to about 65 as a high. I will keep experimenting.

Secret 40
Dust in a pigeon loft may be detrimental to both the pigeons and the owner. The pigeon
dust is composed primarily of bloom which is a powdered feather lubricant that prevents
the wear from the feathers rubbing together.

An easy way to remove dust from the loft is to thoroughly clean and then use a vac to get
into the hard to reach places. Once clean here is the little secret. Pick a nice windy day
and remove all the pigeons. Put on a good dusk mask, open every window and door and
use a leaf blower in the loft until all the dust has been blown out of the loft.

The leaf blower will remove dust from the tops of beams, ceilings, nests etc. The loft will
be like new after this treatment. If you really want to finish the job spray the entire clean
and dust free loft with Virkon S disinfectant. Your loft will be like new and a successful
season will follow.

Secret 41
It is much better to wean babies a little younger than a little older. The younger babies
tend to learn to eat faster and this is easier on the parents if they are not pumping babies
an extra few days longer.

At weaning, I vaccinate for PMV and dip their beaks in the water. The next day if they are
not eating I will pump them up with a pellet soup from a large tip syringe. I do not want
the babies to stress so I make sure they are not hungry. By day two after weaning they
are always eating and drinking well. Feel free to dip beaks in the water to introduce the
water.
Some of the most determined and successful pigeons do not like change and this counts
for babies a weaning. Do not think that because a baby does not want to eat or drink
immediately after weaning that this baby is not a good one. The great pigeons do not like
change and are more apt to sulk and be effected by change. This counts for babies
also.

Secret 42
I hear all the time that it is better to let a hen mature before breeding her. This is
nonsense. Nature will tell you when a pigeon is old enough to breed. If a hen mates and
lays she is mature enough to breed. Breeding young hens or cocks is not detrimental to
the pigeons in anyway. The first two eggs a young hen lays are pure gold. If she is ever
going to raise a one in a million champion it will probably be from one of the first two
eggs she lays in her life.

Secret 43
In my individual breeding pens I feed pellets to the mated pairs until the young are being
fed pellets for two days. Once they have transitioned from pigeon milk to pellets I add in a
high protein high fat grain mix and keep pellets and the grain mix in front of them at all
times.

I feel it is easier on a baby pigeons digestive system to go from pigeon milk to pellets and
then to grain. Nice smooth transition for optimal growth and no stress. Keep the
minerals and grits in front of them at all times.

In the breeding pens that have more than one pair at different stages I keep all the pellets
they want in one feeder and add a grain mix to the other feeder several times per day. I
like to use a good 16% protein large corn mix and add about 30% safflour.

Secret 44
I heard a great tip at a seminar last fall. Dr. Weir said nearly all adult pigeons carry Herpes
Virus. Youngsters must be exposed to built immunity. Problem is they have their parents
immunity when they are being reared. Once weaned they do not get exposed if they are
kept with only other young pigeons. Here is the tip. When you wean your babies keep a
couple adult pigeons in the section. I have two old dropper hens that live with my
youngsters.

Exposure to herpes virus when there is no stress leads to an immune response and
immunity. Exposure to herpes when they are stressed from shipping, a new loft, a few
days missed feed or even extreme heat can lead to sick babies.

Better to expose your young to adult pigeons when there is not any stress. They build
immunity and they will not ever have an issue.

Secret 45
Pyrethrum is a natural insecticide made from the flowers of chrysanthemum. It can be
bought on the web and diluted to the proper dose. I am using it full strength from a tiny
1/2 ounce pump spray bottle that contained bug repellent in the past. Seems to work very
well on lice. I give one quick spray under each wing and by the vent.

The least amount of strong insecticides we use the better. When I was a boy my father
used to give me DDT, Chlordane and numerous other pesticides for minor insect
problems. I have wanted to stay away from harsh chemical ever since. Please do not
confuse Pyrethrim with all the similar sounding chemical versions. Link to buy the
product below. I am going to experiment adding to the bath water. I will update what I
think.
DoMyOwnPestControl.com

Secret 46
Need to settle a strong flying pigeon. Buy some Super Hold Hair gel. Spread the gel
along the last six primary flights of each wing. Let dry. Flights will look like quills. Pigeon
will fly very little. Maybe from floor to perch. Let the pigeon get used to the new wings
before allowing the pigeon outside. After a week of walking around the loft and going in
and out, rinse off the gel with water. Wings will be as good as new. This tip came from
Joe Perrello.

Secret 47
If a Coopers hawk attacks and kills a pigeon and is scared off the kill, the hawk will always
come back to the kill. It may take up to two hours but the hawk is coming back to
feed. We have witnessed this over and over. By removing the dead pigeon the hawk is
going to come back looking for a live one.

Secret 48
We have updated our worming protocol. Mainly because this should be the first approach
to pigeons with loose droppings. We have been using Moxidectin exclusively for over 10
years. If you have been using Ivermectin for pigeon worms you are not killing the round
worms. Everyone goes crazy reaching for antibiotics when pigeons especially old pigeons
have loose stools.

After years of using Quest Horse Wormer we now feel that alternating Antelcide EQ and
Quest every 12 days for 60 days will completely eliminate worms. (See pictures below, we
buy them at the feed store). We use both products exactly the same way. One tube will
make eight US gallons of water. Measure out what is needed in the tube using the dial,
whip up in the blender using a few ounces of water and pour into the desired amount of
water. Start the process with Antelcide EQ.

We usually to keep things simple and mix 1/2 tube for 4 gallons of water. Give this to the
pigeons for 24 hours. Please clean thoroughly after each worming. Round worms reach
maturity in 21 days so by removing litter and hopefully most of the eggs you can break
the cycle. Disinfecting will not kill the eggs. Be careful if you use a flame to kill the
eggs.

Ivermectin is nearly useless in killing roundworms. Ivermectin is great for lice in the bath
water but not a good choice for worming the pigeons. It does not work well dogs
anymore either. Please see Secret #2 for more info on Quest and Quest Plus.

Worms irritate the intestine and produce toxins causing excessive water intake. Keep it
simple and eliminate the worms first. If the the loose stools do not disappear you must
look at Canker as being the possible problem.
Secret 49
In case of Emergency… Break Glass! Here is a list of emergency medications/supplies a
fancier should never be caught without. If your best pigeon is sick you do not want to
waste time placing an order. If you need to hand feed a youngster please be prepared.

Live Saver Capsules http://www.vitakingproducts.com These capsules work when all

else fails. I start with Baytril and or Amoxicillan and if an immediate improvement is not
seen begin the Lifesaver Capsules. You can also follow up a treatment with the Lifesaver
capsules. This product tends to bring the pigeon around and eliminate the problem.

Amoxicillan Powder 10% If I pigeon looks extremely sick and listless, mix 1/8 teaspoon in
one ounce of water and use the bulb syringe to fill the crop of the pigeon. You should see
an improvement the next day. Do not offer feed or water for 24 hours after treating. Give
the same dose on the day two if you see an improvement. Continue treatment for up to
ten days going to 1/16 of a teaspoon of amoxicillan to one once of water each day. Let the
pigeon eat and drink normally after the first 24 hours of treatment.

Metronidazole Tablets Usually if a pigeon does not look well I give it a tablet of
metronidazole and then start using the baytril or amoxicillan immediately. If you eliminate
canker and then start treating for salmonella and ecoli you should cover and cure the
major diseases.

Baytril Liquid You must ask the supply house for this. They do not advertise. Seven tiny
drops each day down the throat for ten days. Can be used in place of the amoxicillan or if
the amoxicillan shows no improvement use the baytril. I use tiny drops off a small
syringe that I use to vaccinate the pigeons.LA 200 Keep an injectable antibiotic on hand
for any one eye colds,rattles or respiratory issues you may have. We use LA 200 an
oxytetracycline. Inject 0.4cc at the base of the back of the neck and in two to three days
all the symptoms will be completely gone. Buy a very small bottle of LA 200. It goes a
long way.

Infant Bulb Syringe at the pharmacy. Great for giving babies water or using with baby
parrot food below.

Kaytee Exacta Baby Parrot Feed. This is amazing stuff. You can feed a baby or a very
tired dehydrated pigeon. Great to have on hand. Highly nutritious. Mix with warm water
to the consistency of ketchup.

Secret 50
Breed from the Crosses! Breeding top performing racing pigeons takes some skill, some
luck and some excellent stock. With that said, many US fanciers are always on the quest
for pigeons that are pure, inbred, line bred, straight etc. Many here are looking for
endless generations without the introduction of a cross.

What do the real champions do? The greats in a sport keep a line of related pigeons and
constantly cross in the blood of other superstar pigeons. If these crosses win in big
competition the cross is then used for breeding and the line continues. Do not be afraid
of breeding from the cross especially if it dominates on the race course.

What do the following sport changing pigeons have in common?? Kleine Dirk, of
Koopman, 178 and Den Dikke 584 of Engels, Invincible Montaubon and Bronze of Casaert,
all the famous original Meuleman pigeons, Bliksem of Vandenabeele, Daniel and Dikke
Prinz of Van Reet, Shadow of Myrtle Lofts, Dromer of Sablon etc etc etc. These pigeons
were all total crosses and all started a legacy of champions in our sport.

Sure there are plenty of inbred pigeons that have become famous breeders but I bet there
are more crossed pigeons that have had a bigger impact. Next time you are
contemplating on breeding from a cross, please think of the above list.

Secret 51
Sometimes I feel our pigeons are more likely to train us than us train them. An example
of this is how quickly they learn to act very hungry at feeding time. They can put on such
a show of starvation when they may not be hungry at all.

One trick I use to keep feed consumption down and make sure the pigeons are fully
satiated in the winter, is to add 25% high quality rabbit pellets to the mix. The pigeons will
eat the rabbit pellets if they are truly hungry. In the winter I feed until there are a handful
of rabbit pellets left over in the feeder after the daily meal. Grain costs will drop
drastically because the pigeons will eat noticeably much less when rabbit pellets are in
the mix.

The rabbit pellets are highly nutritious and provide greens in the form of nutrient rich
alfalfa. The rabbit pellets will help with fertility and fill in the micro-nutrient gaps only to
be found in vegetable matter. 5% rabbit pellets year round in the mix will provide all the
greens pigeons will ever need. I buy rabbit pellets that have the #1 ingredient as alfalfa
or alfalfa meal. 50lbs of rabbit pellets will be less expensive than the low cost grain
blends. Mix in the rabbit pellets, your pigeons and your wallet will be thankful you did.

Secret 52
Super Feather Usually Equals Super Pigeon: One thing that is a constant amongst the
greatest pigeons in our sport is they all have super feather quality. It is tough to describe
the amazing feather quality of National Ace pigeons. I once compared trying to describe
what the feather feels like on one of these elite champions to describing the aroma of
fresh baked bread. Once you handle the pigeon or smell the bread you just know what it
is. I was in the pigeon sport for 15 year s when I first traveled to Belgium and
Holland. That was the first time I handled a pigeon with elite feather quality.

There are many great pigeons with excellent feather quality but very very few have feather
quality that is freakish in nature. These freaks are so few and far between. In most cases
they can never breed a pigeon to compare to themselves. This might be because it is
nearly impossible to find a mate that will be equal. Cherish the pigeons winning in major
competition that have elite feather quality.

Feather quality definitely offers a competitive advantage but more likely this outstanding
external quality is a mirror of the outstanding internal quality. If you are selecting pigeons
start by selecting the pigeons from a long line of champions with incredible
feather. Secret 53 Liquid Death

Rodents can be quite the problem for many pigeons lofts. We are not sure if they give
Salmonella to pigeons but they cannot be good soiling grain and drinking our pigeons
water. Rodents especially mice are nearly impossible to keep out of most pigeon lofts.
Bait stations should be maintained year round. Not only do the mice look for grain they
also will crawl into and drink from your pigeons water. Mice and rats will look to drink in
the lofts after a meal or when water is not easy to find. In the winter when all water is
frozen you can set up low containers of antifreeze in the aisles of the lofts. You must be
certain your pigeons or pets cannot reach this dish of antifreeze. Placing a milk crate
over this liquid death will do the trick. Antifreeze is sweet tasting and smelling to animals
and also a deadly poison. These liquid death antifreeze drinking stations can be used in
high heat areas and summer where water is also scarce.

Please please by very careful your pigeons, children or pets cannot come in contact with
the antifreeze. Mice and rats will die from this poison.
Secret 53
Liquid Death: Rodents can be quite the problem for many pigeons lofts. We are not sure
if they give Salmonella to pigeons but they cannot be good soiling grain and drinking our
pigeons water. Rodents especially mice are nearly impossible to keep out of most pigeon
lofts. Bait stations should be maintained year round. Not only do the mice look for grain
they also will crawl into and drink from your pigeons water. Mice and rats will look to
drink in the lofts after a meal or when water is not easy to find. In the winter when all water
is frozen you can set up low containers of antifreeze in the aisles of the lofts. You must
be certain your pigeons or pets cannot reach this dish of antifreeze. Placing a milk crate
over this liquid death will do the trick. Antifreeze is sweet tasting and smelling to animals
and also a deadly poison. These liquid death antifreeze drinking stations can be used in
high heat areas and summer where water is also scarce.

Please please by very careful your pigeons, children or pets cannot come in contact with
the antifreeze. Mice and rats will die from this poison.

Secret 54
Salmonella Vaccine: There is a new Salmonella Vaccine that has been recently approved
by the USDA to be sold throughout the US. This vaccine is light years ahead of the old
Salbac we all used in the past. We are finally going to increase the health of our pigeons
with a dependable Vaccine. For more info and ordering instructions Click Here:

Secret 55
Vaccination schedule starting at weaning:
24 days old vaccinate for PMV
31 days old vaccinate for Salmonella
46 Days old vaccinate for PMV
53 days old Vaccinate for Salmonella
Three weeks before the beginning of training Vaccinate for Pigeon Pox

Breeders:
30 days prior prior to breeding vaccinate for PMV
21 days prior breeding vaccinate for Salmonella

Old Bird Race Team;

30 days before the beginning of training Vaccinate for PMV
21 days before Training Vaccinate for Salmonella

Secret 56
Pigeons that are being bothered by some type of illness will increase water intake. If the
pigeons look healthy but water intake increases drastically give ½ teaspoon of Virkon S to
the gallon of water for five days. After the Virkon S treatment add one once of Apple
Cider Vinegar to the gallon along with probiotics in the water every day for three
weeks. You can alternate Apple Cider vinegar one week and Van Beeks Avain Solution
(oregano) the middle week and then back to apple cider vinegar. Mix all with probiotics.

This jump in water intake is either in increase in wet canker, or possibly a mild gut
bacteria infection or a combination including a mild case of young bird sickness. Let this
run its course and the pigeons will recover and go back to normal without antibiotics if
you use the apple cider vinegar and or Avian Solution. Whatever is causing the increase
in water will make the babies stronger if you can stay away from antibiotics. If the young
start to look and act sick, start to dies and or stop eating with continued increased water
intake, you can mix doxycycline with the Avian Solution together for ten days. This will
block and stop the problem in its tracks. Only use the antibiotic if several pigeons
become very sick.

Secret 57
Duct Tape Cures Everything: Living in New England, deep freeze causes pigeon waterers
to crack and break. If you have plastic waterers that are cracked they can be easily fixed
with duct tape. I buy Gorilla Brand. Very stong stuff. Clean and dry the plastic and place
a few layers of tape overlapping like shingles on a house in all directions. Waterers will be
good for a long period of time.

Secret 58
Slow the molt on the last few primary flights. If you remove a tiny tip off the last three
primary flights the pigeon molting process will slow for those flights. Let me explain. For
example in nature if the birds body thinks the ninth flight is broken the system will want to
grow the eighth flight out completely before dropping the ninth flight. 1/32 of an inch off
the tip of the flight will do the trick.

Secret 59
Pigeons desire peanuts more than any other feed. Once a pigeon gets used to eating
peanuts they will do about anything for peanuts. I like to call peanuts “Pigeon
Heroin” because they are so addicting. Want your pigeons to trap fast, place a peanuts
on every nest box after a toss or race. Want your pigeons to land on the scanner pads
upon returning from a race. Place a few peanuts on the pads after every toss of race. A
few peanuts go a long way so keep the treats to a minimum.

Secret 60
Reward or not reward. Animals if rewarded every time they complete a task will stop
performing that task after a few times in a row when no reward is offered. Now if you
reward, reward reward, do not reward, reward do not reward and so on, rewarding two out
of three times over a period of time. Now if you stop the reward the pigeons will continue
to do the task over and over and over even though there is no reward. For
example, widow cocks home and the hens are waiting. Next time hens are waiting then
home no hens, then hens, then hens, then no hens. Now they will rush home over and
over and over even though there may be a hen occasionally. Same can be applied with
peanut treats. Peanuts are waiting for them some of the time and they will run in all of the
time. Sporaticallly rewarding a pigeon is more beneficial than rewarding every time.

Secret 61
Pigeons Recognize Faces: Studies have shown that pigeons recognize faces. They know
you from your neighbors. Pigeons certainly know strangers in the loft and also combine
this with an incredible memory of traumatic events. Keep this pigeon memory in mind
whenever you decide to do something very upsetting to the race team. Also keep in mind
the pigeons know you.

Secret 62
When you bring your race team to the club on shipping night never ever let anyone handle
your pigeons no matter how proud you are of the health and condition. Passing pigeons
around the clubhouse causes much stress and immediate dehydration. I do not even
want to handle my own pigeons when I go to a convention race. The convention handlers
like to show off the job they have done but you handling the pigeon only reduces the
chances of success. Handling by strangers in a crowded room greatly decreases the
pigeons chances of success. It also greatly increases my chance of success when my
competitors are showing off their pigeons on shipping night.

Secret 63
Keep a pair of shoes strictly for the clubhouse and do not wear those shoes in your
loft. The clubhouse floor can harbor all kinds of virus and bacteria that you will not want
to introduce to your own pigeons off the bottom of your shoes.

Do not have an extra pair of shoes? Keep a can of spray disinfectant outside the door of
your loft and spray your shoes before entering the loft anytime your shoes may be
contaminated. This is also a quick fix for the bottom of all visitors shoes. I will
regularly disinfect my shoes before entering my own loft.Secret 64

Lasota Vaccine is a chicken Newcastle Vaccine that offers temporary immunity for our
pigeons to PMV. Many have trouble injection Paramyxo vaccine so Lasota offers an easy
option. I inject all my babies at weaning and also vaccinate by injection one month before
breeding and or one month before the race season for the race team.

Several times per year I will use Lasota vaccine as an insurance policy against PMV. I
bought a new garden sprayer and add 1/2 gallon of Distilled water and one vial of Lasota
Vaccine. Shake and spray all your pigeons with a fine mist trying to mist the pigeons in
the eyes. I mist everything from day old squabs to 15 year old pigeons. I mist until the
pigeons are a little damp.

This is an easy way to treat a team of youngsters before shipping to a one loft race. Most
pigeons are vaccinated upon arrival to a one loft race, the spray misting of Lasota one
week before shipping will give your pigeons a nice short term immunity to PMV. One loft
races should mist the pigeons regularly with Lasota to be safe even though they were
vaccinated for PMV with the injectable vaccine. Not every pigeon injected with the
vaccine for PMV has immunity to PMV. Some studies show that only 80% of the pigeons
that were injected with PMV vaccine actually have immunity to PMV.

I keep Lasota at all times. Whenever I hear of a person that may be battling PMV I spray
mist everything on the property with Lasota.

Secret 64
Lasota Vaccine is a chicken Newcastle Vaccine that offers temporary immunity for our
pigeons to PMV. Many have trouble injection Paramyxo vaccine so Lasota offers an easy
option. I inject all my babies at weaning and also vaccinate by injection one month before
breeding and or one month before the race season for the race team.

Several times per year I will use Lasota vaccine as an insurance policy against PMV. I
bought a new garden sprayer and add 1/2 gallon of Distilled water and one vial of Lasota
Vaccine. Shake and spray all your pigeons with a fine mist trying to mist the pigeons in
the eyes. I mist everything from day old squabs to 15 year old pigeons. I mist until the
pigeons are a little damp.

This is an easy way to treat a team of youngsters before shipping to a one loft race. Most
pigeons are vaccinated upon arrival to a one loft race, the spray misting of Lasota one
week before shipping will give your pigeons a nice short term immunity to PMV. One loft
races should mist the pigeons regularly with Lasota to be safe even though they were
vaccinated for PMV with the injectable vaccine. Not every pigeon injected with the
vaccine for PMV has immunity to PMV. Some studies show that only 80% of the pigeons
that were injected with PMV vaccine actually have immunity to PMV.

I keep Lasota at all times. Whenever I hear of a person that may be battling PMV I spray
mist everything on the property with Lasota.