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A well timed antibiotic is a boost pal not all of them boost pigeons and wrong dose can really affect ya season but alot of lofts now have this down to fine tuning .Bowbroom wrote: Sat Dec 20, 2025 4:04 pm It must be me, I fail to see how treating for non existent ailments makes sense, if I misunderstand and we are talking about preventative treatment then I can see but that’s not how the conversation started
Well your right. You CAN'T treat for something they haven't got. Treating 'blind' won't do any harm if it's not too often. Testing is fine if you have plenty of money. BUT if you suspect you have a problem, then that's where experience and common sense is needed. Mike is right it's no good waiting for test results if you have a problem, you need to treat straight away.Bowbroom wrote: Sat Dec 20, 2025 4:04 pm It must be me, I fail to see how treating for non existent ailments makes sense, if I misunderstand and we are talking about preventative treatment then I can see but that’s not how the conversation started
I feel if your an out and out sprint loft then it seems antibiotics/treatments are a crucial part of just about every lofts system and in my opinion one of the reasons why their changing birds every 2 or 3 years (there's commercial reasons as well with a lot of these characters) the birds are shot to pieces. It's a well known fact the more you use the more you will need to use. I can give you 2 very good examples of lofts that are as well respected as you'll get in the country who win out of turn and use NOTHING during the racing season. R & B Smith in the North (is there a loft anywhere been winning at such a level for such a length of time as them lads) and Mark Bulled top man at all distances North and South. You've obviously got to have a keen eye and be on top of things in your own loft Pete as Mike has explained but if your wanting to fly Barcelona and similar distances mate you want tough pigeons and they aren't made by medication. Look at some of the very best in Europe at the Marathon Jellema and Kipp, Jellema a 5 days canker treatment in May NOTHING else and Kipp NOTHING ever unless picked up during testing. ONCE in 13 years has he treated. There's a big difference in what you need for sprint racing as opposed to distance/marathon racing but every distance fancier you talk to or listen to doesn't use treatments for 'lifts' or whatever term you want to call it like the sprint lads do. Got to emphasis again though Pete you've got to use your eyes mate I'm certainly not someone who wouldn't intervene if I thought something was wrong but if their giving you all the right signs I'd steer clear of the medication mate and rely on the pigeons immunity to keep it strong. Only my opinion of course.PeteDerby wrote: Sat Dec 20, 2025 11:11 pm I feel compromised I have to say. I want to be competitive, of course, but also I’ve heard since I came back into the sport that the constant feeding of antibiotics has damaged immune systems and made birds more susceptible to illnesses that just didn’t exist back in the day. I really don’t know what to,do for the best.
The best comment I’ve read on this subjectgoose1 wrote: Sun Dec 21, 2025 9:11 amI feel if your an out and out sprint loft then it seems antibiotics/treatments are a crucial part of just about every lofts system and in my opinion one of the reasons why their changing birds every 2 or 3 years (there's commercial reasons as well with a lot of these characters) the birds are shot to pieces. It's a well known fact the more you use the more you will need to use. I can give you 2 very good examples of lofts that are as well respected as you'll get in the country who win out of turn and use NOTHING during the racing season. R & B Smith in the North (is there a loft anywhere been winning at such a level for such a length of time as them lads) and Mark Bulled top man at all distances North and South. You've obviously got to have a keen eye and be on top of things in your own loft Pete as Mike has explained but if your wanting to fly Barcelona and similar distances mate you want tough pigeons and they aren't made by medication. Look at some of the very best in Europe at the Marathon Jellema and Kipp, Jellema a 5 days canker treatment in May NOTHING else and Kipp NOTHING ever unless picked up during testing. ONCE in 13 years has he treated. There's a big difference in what you need for sprint racing as opposed to distance/marathon racing but every distance fancier you talk to or listen to doesn't use treatments for 'lifts' or whatever term you want to call it like the sprint lads do. Got to emphasis again though Pete you've got to use your eyes mate I'm certainly not someone who wouldn't intervene if I thought something was wrong but if their giving you all the right signs I'd steer clear of the medication mate and rely on the pigeons immunity to keep it strong. Only my opinion of course.PeteDerby wrote: Sat Dec 20, 2025 11:11 pm I feel compromised I have to say. I want to be competitive, of course, but also I’ve heard since I came back into the sport that the constant feeding of antibiotics has damaged immune systems and made birds more susceptible to illnesses that just didn’t exist back in the day. I really don’t know what to,do for the best.