A small video for some members.
https://youtu.be/cdjrfyb2giI?si=aifOPycNdjFQROAY
Rota Virus
I well remember when the Rota first hit us. It nearly destroyed the sport in Australia.
It wasn't just the huge mortality in the pigeons, it turned people against each other. It was a preview of the Covid 19. There was a massive push to get a vaccine made so the racing could continue. When one was produced it was released with insufficient testing. Sound familiar?
Just like the Covid vaccines it became more or less compulsory, even though right from the start the was mixed evidence that it even worked.
It became clear that healthy pigeons in a clean environment had a good chance of surviving it. When my small flock got it, I had a shed full of sick pigeons, but they all recovered. Unvaccinated.
Other members had big losses.
Now Rota seems to be in the background all the time. It appears to raise it's head when pigeons are stressed. After the initial epidemic there seems to be a certain amount of immunity in the pigeons. It can still make them bloody sick, but doesn't seem to wipe out whole flocks any more.
Pigeons that have been very sick with Rota don't seem to be any good afterwards. It seems to damage the internal organs.
It's bad news, but it's here now, and we have to keep the pigeons healthy to stay ahead of it.
It wasn't just the huge mortality in the pigeons, it turned people against each other. It was a preview of the Covid 19. There was a massive push to get a vaccine made so the racing could continue. When one was produced it was released with insufficient testing. Sound familiar?
Just like the Covid vaccines it became more or less compulsory, even though right from the start the was mixed evidence that it even worked.
It became clear that healthy pigeons in a clean environment had a good chance of surviving it. When my small flock got it, I had a shed full of sick pigeons, but they all recovered. Unvaccinated.
Other members had big losses.
Now Rota seems to be in the background all the time. It appears to raise it's head when pigeons are stressed. After the initial epidemic there seems to be a certain amount of immunity in the pigeons. It can still make them bloody sick, but doesn't seem to wipe out whole flocks any more.
Pigeons that have been very sick with Rota don't seem to be any good afterwards. It seems to damage the internal organs.
It's bad news, but it's here now, and we have to keep the pigeons healthy to stay ahead of it.
Greetings from the land down under. 
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.
Blessed is he who expecteth nothing, for verily, he shall not be disappointed.