Pigeon Racing and Medication

Did you know that pigeons are not only domesticated to become pets but they are also bred to become participants of a racing sport that has been a growing trend of hobby to many pet pigeon enthusiasts? Some people would find it weird to hear the phrase "pigeon racing" as most people are not yet accustomed to this kind of sport. It's not a surprise thought that a lot of people still don't know a thing about pigeon racing as it is just new and still gaining popularity. And not only that; as of the moment the said sport is still exclusive to only those that know it. One may never know anything about pigeon racing at all.

They say thought that the sport has started all the way back during the early 1900's, when they have discovered that not only can pigeons be used as an ingredient recipe to delectable delicacy, they could also be bred for recreational purposes, in the same way with horses. They can be raced with each other. The said sport is said to be the foundation of the evolution of pigeons being used to deliver top secret messages across seas during the World War II. But at present, only the sport lives on since there hasn't been any war as much as the WWII and technology now is far better than it was before and suppose there's no need for messenger pigeons anymore with cellular phones and hi-tech radio communications around.

Although the sport hasn't gained widespread appreciation yet and its popularity is still limited, those people that are accustomed to the sport do the best that they can to showcase the beauty of the sport in the light of hope that they could foster interest to those that witness it. They hold public events so that many people are able to watch the actual sport. However, most of the time it's exclusive since there aren't a lot of areas where the sport can be conducted; rest assured though, if the sport has gained sufficient popularity, venues wouldn't be a problem anymore when the time comes.

Pigeon Care

Like any animal sport, the owner of the competing animal should always make it a point that their pet is given sufficient care that they need so it will be able to perform optimally during the competition. The same thing goes as well with pet pigeons for racing. They also need to be taken care of and being a different kind of animal, they also have a special set of care guidelines, even a specific set of medications in order for them to stay healthy and competitive for the sport. Also another goal to having specific sets of appropriate medication is to ensure that the pigeons will produce robust offspring using the most natural approaches. This is important because through natural means, the immune system of the younglings will never be compromised in anyway. Unlike using artificial approaches or medications wherein a lot setbacks often do take place.

There are actually two general types of medicines that are induced to a racing pigeon for it to become fit. One is the preventative type of medications and the other is curative. You can already deduce the difference in the function of both medications but for your further comprehension we will be discussing both types thoroughly as possible in this article.

Preventative Medications

You can say that all birds are endanger of the risk of contracting diseases at any time through the circumstances of their environment or surroundings as well as in the activities that they do. In order to ensure that these external factors of risks will not reach your racing pigeon, you have to make sure that your pet is boosted with the necessary supplements and vitamins it would need to become healthy and sick-free. This type of medicines is called preventative medicines; medicines that are basically induced to ensure that the contraction of any diseases will be prevented by keeping your pigeon as healthy as possible.

Usually preventative medicines are associated with boosting the immune system of your racing pigeon pet. It ensures that your bird has a natural resistance to any forthcoming diseases in the environment. Having a racing pigeon will surely pose the risk of it having certain illnesses and when it does happen it will definitely compromise its performance. Also, most preventative medications help prevent respiratory diseases in birds.

Curative Medicines

When there is a disease outbreak that takes place during the racing season, then that's the time curative medicines will be used. As the name would imply, it exists the cure an ongoing disease. It is equally important to that of the preventative medicines as it is crucial that ongoing diseases be cured right away in as much as it should be prevented. Since, we can't be truly certain that there will be no disease that would ever inflict our pet pigeons, even when we have already used preventative medications on them. Hence, there is always the need for curative medicines.

It is important though that the sick bird be brought to thorough observation first to make sure what type of disease it has contracted. This way, you will be able to know which appropriate curative medicine you should use to deal with the disease at hand. As it is called "curative" medication, it is only used to destroy diseases and not used as a supplement to boost the immune system. Using curative medications as preventative means would only result to negative side effects to the pigeon's system. The side-effects could range from sickness due to wrong inoculation of dosage and sterility.

These methods of medications should collaborate with each other in order to ensure that your pet pigeons will always be healthy and competitive during competitions. Don't allow lapses in implementing these medications as they can be the cause why your entire efforts will fail at the end of the day. Make sure that you sustain the medications all the way so you won't have to fear any possibilities that your pigeon will contract any disease.