Sharing Breeding Experience of Racing Pigeons in Winter
Light not only plays a very important role in chemical processes, but is also a major factor in physiological life processes. Because the days are long and the outside temperature begins to climb, behavioral patterns of living forms also change.
This can be proven from the activating effect on the reproductive cycle. The male pigeon once again shows interest in the female pigeon, and the latter no longer avoids their courtship displays. In winter they show some interest in each other. The rest period begins in autumn and reaches its peak in winter. Apart from the normal down feather molt, little activity is seen, and all of this comes to an end.
This rest period at this stage is absolutely important so the body can fully recover from breeding and racing.
In autumn we must make sure that the daily feed mixture is suitable for the molting process. In winter, sufficient nutritionally balanced feed must be provided to maintain the body's health and keep body temperature at a constant level. You must pay special attention to observing the pigeons and prevent them from all forms of overexertion if you allow them to fly without restriction.
Flying should not be too intense. You should constantly remember the fact that pigeons can gain weight very quickly in winter. If this is allowed to develop, it will be a big trouble during the spring breeding and racing period. Regarding the characteristics of the feed given to pigeons in winter, care should be taken not to contain too much fat and to prevent them from becoming too fat. In winter, pigeons should be mentally alert, but not in top condition, because this is not the racing period.
Because the days are short, pigeons rest more in winter than in summer. There is no reason to force them, and we should not artificially lengthen the daylight. Whenever possible, nature should be allowed to handle things freely. If you start a new season in winter by breeding, the pigeons should receive the same treatment in spring, that is, complete rest and molting. At this time the composition of the feed must be changed, mainly to feed containing more protein. For the change of feed, a gradual transition is recommended, and small seeds should be used as a nutritional supplement.
In order to strengthen the mating instinct, pigeons should be separated well before pairing. You will experience that pairs that have been together for some time have fewer obstacles than those paired together for the first time. Therefore, it is recommended to use pigeons that are already accustomed to each other for pairing when breeding in winter, because winter breeding is unnatural. In this way, the difficulties that arise in the winter breeding process are easier to solve and manage. If all the squabs must be the same age at the beginning of January, then when breeding in winter you must slowly increase the artificial lengthening of daylight. The lengthening of daylight should occur when the squabs are ready to hatch.
The parent pigeons must feed the young pigeons once each in the morning and in the evening. Many young pigeons born in winter breeding do not grow very well, because for the animals the daylight is too short.
One last point to keep in mind: winter breeding is unnatural, so try to imitate nature to the greatest possible extent. When the young pigeons hatch, the lengthening of daylight must be increased to last at least 12 hours. But the advantages of winter breeding are obvious: in their first flight you will have more mature pigeons. They can be used with the nesting method or even with the widowhood system, although it is somewhat troublesome because the molting of the racing pigeons is also advanced.
When “winter squabs” molt, an interesting phenomenon occurs. Young pigeons hatched shortly before Christmas develop like “late-born squabs”, that is, they do not molt until the month. On the other hand, pigeons born in the first week of January behave like “early-born squabs”, and begin molting in February and March.