Apple Cider Vinegar

I keep hearing about the benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar and I keep hearing what sound to me like pseudo-scientific explanations of why it's supposed to be beneficial for the animals. I don't doubt that it's beneficial; I doubt the explanation that's been offered for why it's beneficial. And having something beneficial without knowing why it's beneficial could lead to misuse. So I decided to see if I could find any mention of ACV from someone that I would consider a more expert source than some of those I'd previously seen. That lead me to this page: Solutions Used With Poultry and this particular passage:

ASTRINGENT SOLUTION

This solution can be used to treat young birds that show non-typical disease symptoms of poor growth. The solution can also be given to birds suffering from respiratory diseases that produce a large amount of mucus exudate. This solution will help "cut through" the mucus and allow it to be expelled easier.

Two quarts of apple cider vinegar diluted into 100 gallons of water
(4 teaspoons/gallon)

The tannin in the apple cider vinegar aide in removing any mucus or coating from the mouth, throat, or intestinal tract. Nutrients and drugs are more readily absorbed. Offer this solution as the only drinking water source for two to three day intervals.

Now he only mentions poultry--not pigeons--so I'm not sure that this would necessarily be effective for pigeons. But given the context I would think that probably it would work for pigeons too.

What I find most interesting is that most of the pigeon people who've commented on ACV focus on the acidic nature of vinegar. That seems to be the wrong explanation of the benefits of using ACV if you use it at all. Since a certain amount of mucus is normal and healthy in the mouth, throat and intestinal tract, I would say that it would seem wise to only use ACV if you suspect the animal is having some sort of respiratory problem lest you accidentally reduce the healthy, normal level of mucus present in those areas.

It would also seem wise to use if the animal seems to be malnourished. I suspect some people will read that sentence "Nutrients and drugs are more readily absorbed." and say to themselves--"Better absorption of nutrients? Wow, I'll give it to my birds every day because then they'll all get a lot more nutrition from their food!" To those people I would suggest that they would be wise to consider that an otherwise healthy pigeon should be able to absorb the proper nutrients from their food without needing the aid of ACV (or any other substance foreign to their digestive system for that matter).

Anyway, I thought others might be interested in seeing this too. As with any advice of this sort, I would say the wise fancier follows any of this advice with care; individual circumstances are variable and the wise fancier should take that variance into account before blindly following generic veterinary advice.

Technorati Tags: domesticated pigeons

Pigeon bite? kills man

I find this news item from India incredible on two counts:

1. I've never seen a pigeon "bite" anyone. They don't have teeth. Perhaps they meant to indicate that the pigeon pecked the man? I don't think I've ever even had a pigeon pinch my skin between their beaks; I have had hookbills pinch my skin that way.
2. There is some sort of implication of the pigeon "bite" killing this person. Again, I find this extremely difficult to believe. Even if a pigeon were to peck as hard as it could, unless it pecked you directly in your eye it wouldn't hurt you.
   

I wonder if somehow this story got translated incorrectly or if the story was written by someone with a not-so-great command of English.

Technorati Tags: domesticated pigeons

Champion Pigeon Racer Quits Over Cheating and Spying

I don't know which aspect of this story strikes me as being saddest.

1. The fact that people figured that a championship racer could only win consistently by cheating.
2. The fact that people have taken something that should be an enjoyable hobby and raised it to the level of importance to either possibly cheat in order to win or to justify to themselves that invading someone's privacy is ok because if they're cheating they need to be caught and thrown out of the hobby.

I know that in any hobby there are people who are so compelled to win that they have no compunction about resorting to cheating. And I also know there are people who are so galled by cheating that they feel completely justified in pursuing any measure they need to pursue in order to prove cheating and get the guilty party punished. But at the end of the day, it's just a hobby--supposedly an enjoyable way to spend time with birds.

It seems that either Mr. Gibson was not cheating or there was no conclusive proof of him doing so because the governing body decided not to take any action. But maybe the police will want to take some action because this surely sounds like an invasion of a person's privacy no matter what motivated it.

If anyone from Scotland knows more details about this story and reads this post, please share them with me. I get the feeling there's more to this than the news article would indicate.

Technorati Tags: domesticated pigeons, sport, racing

405 Breeds

A fellow fancier from Europe was kind enough to point me to a document for the EE which lists their accepted standards. As best I can count they list 405 breeds of domesticated pigeons. And this was in 2003 and there were more breeds that are being developed that had not yet been accepted for the official list. Amazing.

Technorati Tags: domesticated pigeons, breeds